Patent ID: 7962742

Claim:
A method of securely sending private input data over the Internet using a secure terminal connected by a short connection to a personal computer, said method comprising the steps of: (a) providing said personal computer which is connected to the Internet; (b) providing said secure terminal which includes a user interface and memory, and which resists tampering, detects attempts to be tampered with, responds to said attempts by erasing data from said memory, and executes only authorized software; (c) connecting said secure terminal by said short connection to said personal computer, wherein said secure terminal is a local peripheral of said personal computer; (d) executing both TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) socket software and secure terminal device driver software on said personal computer; (e) executing both PC (Personal Computer) interface software and Internet client software on said secure terminal; (f) directly entering said private input data into said user interface of said secure terminal; (g) processing said private input data within said Internet client software, said processing including wrapping using application Internet Protocols above the Transport and Internet Layers, wherein said private input data is transformed into private application data; (h) processing said private application data within said Internet client software, said processing including encryption using security Internet Protocols above the Transport and Internet Layers, wherein said private application data is transformed into encrypted private application data; (i) sending said encrypted private application data from said Internet client software to said PC interface software; (j) sending said encrypted private application data from said PC interface software to said secure terminal device driver software, the sending using a transmission protocol over said short connection; (k) sending said encrypted private application data from said secure terminal device driver software to said TCP/IP socket software; and (l) sending said encrypted private application data from said TCP/IP socket software to a remote Internet server, the sending using Internet Protocols at and below the Transport and Internet Layers; wherein steps (f), (g) and (h) are performed in their entirety on said secure terminal; wherein Internet Protocols at and below the Transport and Internet Layers operate on said personal computer, and Internet Protocols above the Transport and Internet Layers operate on said secure terminal; wherein Internet Protocols at and below the Transport and Internet Layers, on said personal computer, are bridged to Internet Protocols above the Transport and Internet Layers, on said secure terminal, by said transmission protocol over said short connection; and wherein the method prevents a malware on said personal computer from observing said private input data.