System and method for improving internet communication by using intermediate nodes

• US 10,277,711 B2
• Filed: 07/30/2017
• Issued: 04/30/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bright Data, Ltd. (f/k/a Luminati Networks)
• Original Assignee: Bright Data, Ltd. (f/k/a Luminati Networks)
• Inventors: Shribman, Derry, Vilenski, Ofer
• Primary Examiner(s): Scott, Randy A
• Application Number:
  US15/663,762
• Publication Number:
  US 20180219970A1
• Time in Patent Office: 639 Days
• Field of Search: 709218, 709219, 709225, 709226, 709238, 709245, 707783, 707791, 707802, 707805
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0864 Round trip delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/029 Firewall traversal, e.g. tunnelling or, creating pinholes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0407 wherein the identity of one or more communicating identities is hidden cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for anonymous credentials or for identity based cryptographic systems H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/567 Integrating service provisioning from a plurality of service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/59 Providing operational support to end devices by off-loading in the network or by emulation, e.g. when they are unavailable
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/60 Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A method for fetching a content from a web server to a client device is disclosed, using tunnel devices serving as intermediate devices. The client device accesses an acceleration server to receive a list of available tunnel devices. The requested content is partitioned into slices, and the client device sends a request for the slices to the available tunnel devices. The tunnel devices in turn fetch the slices from the data server, and send the slices to the client device, where the content is reconstructed from the received slices. A client device may also serve as a tunnel device, serving as an intermediate device to other client devices. Similarly, a tunnel device may also serve as a client device for fetching content from a data server. The selection of tunnel devices to be used by a client device may be in the acceleration server, in the client device, or in both. The partition into slices may be overlapping or non-overlapping, and the same slice (or the whole content) may be fetched via multiple tunnel devices.

Claims

1. A method for anonymously fetching a first content by a first device from a second server over the Internet via a first server, the first content identified in the Internet by a first URL and the first device is identified in the Internet by a first Internet Protocol (IP) address, and for anonymously fetching a second content by the first device from the second server over the Internet via the first server, the second content identified in the Internet by a second URL, for use with a group of client devices each identified in the Internet using a respective IP address, the method by the first server comprising:

receiving a message over the Internet from each of the client devices in the group;

storing, in response to the receiving of the messages, the IP addresses of each of the client devices in the group;

receiving the first URL over the Internet from the first device;

selecting a client device from the group in response to the receiving of the first URL;

sending the first URL over the Internet to the selected client device;

receiving the first content over the Internet via the selected client device from the second server;

sending the first content over the Internet to the first device;

receiving the second URL over the Internet from the first device;

selecting an additional client device from the group in response to the receiving of the second URL;

sending the second URL over the Internet to the selected additional client device;

receiving the second content over the Internet via the selected additional client device from the second server; and

sending the second content over the Internet to the first device.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising sending the stored IP addresses to the first device.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising sending the IP addresses of the selected client device to the first device.

4. The method according to claim 1, further for anonymously fetching a third content by the first device from the second server over the Internet via the first server, the third identified in the Internet by a third URL, the method by the first server further comprising:

receiving the third URL over the Internet from the first device;

sending the third URL over the Internet to the selected client device;

receiving the third content over the Internet via the selected client device from the second server; and

sending the third content over the Internet to the first device.

5. The method according to claim 1, further for anonymously fetching a third content by the first device from a third server over the Internet via the first server, the third content identified in the Internet by a third URL, the method by the first server further comprising:

receiving the third URL over the Internet from the first device;

sending the third URL over the Internet to the selected client device;

receiving the third content over the Internet via the selected client device from the third server; and

sending the third content over the Internet to the first device.

6. The method according to claim 1, further for anonymously fetching a third content by the first device from a third server over the Internet via the first server, the third content identified in the Internet by a third URL, the method by the first server further comprising:

receiving the third URL over the Internet from the first device;

selecting an additional client device from the group in response to the receiving of the third URL;

sending the third URL over the Internet to the selected additional client device;

receiving the third content over the Internet via the selected additional client device from the third server; and

sending the third content over the Internet to the first device.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selecting comprises randomly selecting out of the devices in the group.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selecting comprises selecting based on attributes or characteristics of the devices in the group.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selecting comprises selecting based on the physical geographical location of the client devices in the group.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the physical geographical location associated with each of the client devices in the group is based on, uses, or responsive to, the actual physical geographical location of the respective client device of the group.

11. The method according to claim 9, further comprising receiving, by the first server, the physical geographical location from each of the client devices of the group.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein the physical geographical location includes at least one out of a continent, a country, a state or province, a city, a street, a ZIP code, or longitude and latitude.

13. The method according to claim 9, wherein the physical geographical location of each device of the group is based on a geolocation.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the geolocation is based on W3C Geolocation API.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selecting comprises selecting based on the value of the IP addresses of the devices in the group.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selecting comprises selecting based on past activities of the devices in the group.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the selecting comprises selecting based on timing of an event.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein the selecting comprises selecting based on timing of the last communication with the devices in the group.

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first server is further storing, operating, or using, a server operating system.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the server operating system consists or, comprises of, or based on, one out of Microsoft Windows Server®

, Linux, or UNIX.

21. The method according to claim 19, wherein the server operating system consists or, comprises of, or based on, one out of Microsoft Windows Server®

2003 R2, 2008, 2008 R2, 2012, or 2012 R2 variant, Linux™

or GNU/Linux based Debian GNU/Linux, Debian GNU/kFreeBSD, Debian GNU/Hurd, Fedora™

, Gentoo™

, Linspire™

, Mandriva, Red Hat®

Linux, SuSE, and Ubuntu®

, UNIX®

variant Solaris™

, AIX®

, Mac™

OS X, FreeBSD®

, OpenBSD, and NetBSD®

.

22. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first content includes, consists of, or comprises, a part or whole of files, text, numbers, audio, voice, multimedia, video, images, music, or computer program.

23. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first content includes, consists of, or comprises, a part or whole of a web-site page.