Patent ID: 8352742

Claim:
A system, comprising: a) a public key infrastructure email account website hosted on one or more computers in a network, wherein the public key infrastructure email account website is dedicated to creating a public key infrastructure email account and is configured to: i) receive a public key infrastructure email account request from a user, wherein the public key infrastructure email account request is the only interaction required by the user to create the public key infrastructure email account; ii) generate and send a certificate signing request to a certificate authority which does not interact with the user, wherein the certificate authority automatically trusts one or more certificate signing requests from the public key infrastructure email account website and wherein the certificate authority is hosted on the one or more computers hosting the public key infrastructure email account website; iii) receive and install a certificate issued and signed by the certificate authority; iv) create the public key infrastructure email account configured to access one or more cryptographic functions to securely receive and transmit mail, wherein the public key infrastructure email account is accessible to a first email website displayed on a client computer communicatively coupled to the network and wherein the client computer is not relied on to store or recall public key infrastructure keys; b) an email server communicatively coupled to the network and the public key infrastructure email account website and configured to encrypt and decrypt email received and transmitted between the first email website and a second email website, using the certificate and a public key for the user.