Digital media can be automatically transferred between a digital capture device or storage device and one or more other devices with little or no user intervention. Media can be selected for automatic transfer based on one or more media-content or media-context characteristics.

In a printing apparatus, printing requests for first and second target data are received via a network interface from a terminal device. First target data, first password information, and first identification information are stored in association with one another in a memory, and second target data, second password information, and first identification information are stored in association with one another in the memory. When it is determined that the specific password information received via the inputting device matches the first password information, the printing device is controlled to print a first image represented by the first target data, the second target data whose associating identification information is the first identification information associated with the first target data is extracted from the memory, and the printing device is controlled to print a second image represented by the second target data.

The amount of time for scanning a document that includes plural pages is shortened and information leakage is prevented. A file-storage apparatus (12) stores image data of a document that is scanned before as an image file for which access authority is set. A document-feeding unit (3) feeds a document one page at a time from the starting page. A document-reading unit (2) reads that document that is fed by the document-feeding unit (3), and converts the document to image data. A file-search unit (111) that, when a specified number of pages from the start of a document is read by the document-reading unit (2) according to an instruction from a user, searches, based on respective image data of the specified number of pages at the start that are read and access authority, for an image file from the file-storage apparatus (12) that is accessible by the user and that corresponds to the document as a corresponding image file. A liquid-crystal-display unit of an operation unit (5) as a notification unit notifies the user of a corresponding image file that is found by the file-search unit (111).

An information management control apparatus includes a storage unit, a transmission unit, and a permission unit. The storage unit stores a job including one of a pair of keys, with which both encryption and decryption are possible, and address information. The transmission unit encrypts a user ID of a login user by using the one of the keys and transmits the encrypted user ID through a communication unit in accordance with the address information, the user having been logged in in order to issue an instruction for executing the job. The permission unit permits execution of the job, in a case in which a user ID that has been encrypted by using the other of the keys and transmitted in response to the transmission is decrypted by using the one of the keys, if the user ID is the same as the user ID of the login user.

An information processing device includes a linker that links respective identification information of one or more persons and an object involved in a transfer established using a network, and an updater that updates the respective identification information for a subsequent transfer transaction.

Data files with digital envelops may be used for many new applications for cloud computing. The new applications include games and entertainments such as digital fortune cookies, and treasure hunting, unique techniques for digital right management, or even additional privacy and survivability on data storage and transport on cloud computing. Wavefront multiplexing/demultiplexing process (WF muxing/demuxing) embodying an architecture that utilizes multi-dimensional waveforms has found applications in data storage and transport on cloud. Multiple data sets are preprocessed by WF muxing before stored/transported. WF muxed data is aggregated data from multiple data sets that have been customized processed and disassembled into any scalable number of sets of processed data, with each set being stored on a storage site. The original data is reassembled via WF demuxing after retrieving a lesser but scalable number of WF muxed data sets. A customized set of WF muxing on multiple digital files as inputs including at least a data message file and a selected digital envelop file, is configured to guarantee at least one of the multiple outputs comprising a weighted sum of all inputs with an appearance to human natural sensors substantially identical to the appearance of the selected digital envelop in a same image, video or audio format. Enveloping processing is a subset of WF muxing processing. The output file is the file with enveloped or embedded messages. The embedded message may be reconstituted by a corresponding WF demuxing processor at destination with the known a priori information of the original digital envelope. In short, digital enveloping/de-enveloping can be implemented via WF muxing and demuxing formulations. WF muxed data featured enhanced privacy and redundancy in data transport and storage on cloud. On the other hand, data enveloping is an application in an opposite direction for conventional WF muxing applications as far as redundancy is concerned. Enveloped data are intended only for limited receivers who has access to associated digital envelope data files with enhanced privacy for no or minimized redundancy.

A computer-implemented method, system and computer program is disclosed. The method may comprise providing an image comprising a plurality of pixels, identifying at least one portion of the image to be obfuscated, modifying pixels of the at least one image portion using a key for producing an updated image in which the at least one image portion is obfuscated, providing the key, or a link to the key, in an access profile for the identified at least one image portion and allocating permissions to one or more users for enabling them to view the at least one image portion, by use of the key, when viewing the updated image.

Watermark encoders and decoders can be integrated into operating systems, Internet browsers, media players, and other applications and devices. Such integration enables the watermark-enabled application or device to provide additional functionality and information available via the watermark. The watermark, for example, may link to metadata or actions related to a media object. To exploit this watermark enabled functionality, the integrated application uses a watermark decoder to access the related metadata and actions. The user interface of the integrated application is enhanced to present metadata and actions linked via the watermark. Similarly, watermark encoders may be integrated into applications to convert media objects into enhanced, watermarked objects. A variety of other arrangements and features are also detailed. Many arrangements can be implemented using object identifiers other than watermarks.

In a case of a first function of carrying out a cooperative processing in accordance with an instruction from a user of a multifunction peripheral (10), the user is set as an execution user. In a case of a second function of carrying out a cooperative processing in accordance with an instruction from an application, a user instructed by the application is set as an execution user. Further, in a case where an execution user of a cooperative processing carried out using the first function and an execution user of a cooperative processing carried out using the second function are identical, use history information of the execution user is managed as use history information of a single user. This makes it possible to appropriately manage use history information of a cooperative processing.

A printed document manager manages printed documents and is separate from a Document Management System (DMS) that manages electronic soft copy documents also known as source documents. Documents in a DMS repository are registered in a postmark registry by a registration agent. When a document that is registered in the postmark registry is printed, a graphical symbol referred to as a postmark is generated and inserted into the print stream so the postmark is printed on the hard copy of the document. The printed document is logged in a printed document store along with metadata associated with the printed document. The postmark on the printed document can be used for one or more purposes, such as to determine whether the printed document can be shredded after use and to determine whether the printed document is current.