Patent ID: 7734799

Claim:
A machine-implemented method, for transferring a file from a first computer to a second computer, the first computer having a file transfer application instance, comprising: establishing and maintaining, at an Internet-accessible computer, a connection between the first computer and the Internet-accessible computer; upon receipt at the Internet-accessible computer of a request from the first computer, the request associated with a file to be transferred to the second computer, generating a data string that identifies the file and the file transfer application instance; providing, from the Internet-accessible computer, the data string to the first computer, the data string provided over the connection; upon subsequent receipt at the Internet-accessible computer of a request from the second computer, the request associated with a URL that encodes an address of the Internet-accessible computer and the data string, de-referencing the URL by extracting the data string to identify the file and the file transfer application instance; providing, from the Internet-accessible computer, an instruction to the file transfer application instance to initiate a transfer of the file from the first computer to the second computer via the Internet-accessible computer, the instruction provided over the connection; and receiving the file at the Internet-accessible computer over the connection; and forwarding the file from the Internet-accessible computer to the second computer, wherein, during the file transfer, at least one of the first and second computers does not accept incoming Internet connections, wherein the file is transferred through the Internet-accessible computer without being cached or stored in the Internet-accessible computer.