Contents filtering method, contents filtering apparatus and contents filtering program

• US 20030093518A1
• Filed: 03/26/2002
• Published: 05/15/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Hiraga, Masaki
• Granted Patent: US 7,203,749 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 Grouping of entities

Abstract

A contents filtering method is capable of allowing use of network resources to be filtered, within a predetermined allowable range. The contents filtering method monitors communications of contents on the network and determining whether the contents are regulated contents satisfying predefined regulatory requirements or not (step S1), and then counts the number of times that the regulated contents are communicated (step S2). The contents filtering method converts a loss caused by communicating the regulated contents into an incurred cost based on the counted number of times that the regulated contents are communicated (step S3), and, if the incurred cost is in excess of a preset permitted cost, inhibits subsequent communications of the regulated contents (step S4).

Claims

1. A method of filtering contents on a network, comprising the steps of:

monitoring communications of contents on the network and determining whether said contents are regulated contents satisfying predefined regulatory requirements or not;

counting the number of times that the regulated contents are communicated;

converting a loss caused by communicating said regulated contents into an incurred cost based on the counted number of times that the regulated contents are communicated; and

if said incurred cost is in excess of a preset permitted cost, inhibiting subsequent communications of said regulated contents.

2. The method of filtering contents according to claim 1, wherein costs are established for respective types of the regulatory requirements, and when the loss is converted into said incurred cost, costs depending on the types of the regulatory requirements satisfied by the regulated contents which have been communicated within a predetermined period are integrated with each other.

3. The method of filtering contents according to claim 1, wherein said permitted cost is calculated based on a permitted time per person for permitting use of said regulated contents and a cost per unit time per person.

4. The method of filtering contents according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

calculating said incurred cost for each of groups of an organization which uses said network; and

setting said permitted cost for each of said groups, and, when a group in which said incurred cost exceeds said permitted cost is detected, inhibiting communications of said regulated contents based on a request of a user included in the detected group.

5. The method of filtering contents according to claim 4, wherein when the group in which said incurred cost exceeds said permitted cost is detected, all communications of said contents based on the request of the user included in the detected group are inhibited.

6. The method of filtering contents according to claim 1, wherein the loss is converted into said incurred cost at predetermined periodic intervals.

7. The method of filtering contents according to claim 1, wherein said contents whose communications are monitored include Web pages which have been browsed and e-mail messages which have been transmitted.

8. The method of filtering contents according to claim 7, wherein when the communications of said regulated contents are inhibited, the outputting of an access request for accessing Web pages satisfying said regulatory requirements to a network other than said network is blocked.

9. The method of filtering contents according to claim 7, wherein when the communications of said regulated contents are inhibited, the transmission of e-mail messages satisfying said regulatory requirements is blocked.

10. An apparatus for filtering contents on a network, comprising:

regulated contents determining means for monitoring communications of contents on the network and determining whether said contents are regulated contents satisfying predefined regulatory requirements or not;

communications counting means for counting the number of times that the contents which have been determined as the regulatory contents by said regulated contents determining means are communicated;

incurred cost converting means for converting a loss caused by communicating said regulated contents into an incurred cost based on the counted number of times that the regulated contents are communicated; and

communication inhibiting means for, if said incurred cost produced by said incurred cost converting means is in excess of a preset permitted cost, inhibiting subsequent communications of said regulated contents.

11. A program for filtering contents on a network, said program enabling a computer to perform a process comprising the steps of:

monitoring communications of contents on the network and determining whether said contents are regulated contents satisfying predefined regulatory requirements or not;

counting the number of times that the regulated contents are communicated;

converting a loss caused by communicating said regulated contents into an incurred cost based on the counted number of times that the regulated contents are communicated; and

if said incurred cost is in excess of a preset permitted cost, inhibiting subsequent communications of said regulated contents.

12. A recording medium readable by a computer and storing a program for filtering contents on a network, said program enabling a computer to perform a process comprising the steps of:

monitoring communications of contents on the network and determining whether said contents are regulated contents satisfying predefined regulatory requirements or not;

counting the number of times that the regulated contents are communicated;

converting a loss caused by communicating said regulated contents into an incurred cost based on the counted number of times that the regulated contents are communicated; and

if said incurred cost is in excess of a preset permitted cost, inhibiting subsequent communications of said regulated contents.