System and method for content filtering using static source routes

• US 20030123465A1
• Filed: 11/15/2002
• Published: 07/03/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DIRECTV, LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hughes Electronics Corporation (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Donahue, David B.
• Granted Patent: US 7,149,219 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/401
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/02 Topology update or discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/306 Route determination based on the nature of the carried application
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/34 Source routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0227 Filtering policies mail message filtering H04L51/212
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0236 Filtering by address, protocol, port number or service, e.g. IP-address or URL
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0263 Rule management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 Grouping of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers

Abstract

A packet containing a request for content is initially received at a content filtering router. The packet comprises a destination Internet Protocol (IP) address of a content server that stores the content and a bogus IP address. It is ascertained that the destination IP address is on a list of approved destination IP addresses and the packet is routed in accordance with the destination IP address. Alternatively, it is ascertained that the destination IP address is on a list of probably unapproved destination IP addresses and the packet is routed in accordance with an alternative IP address to a content filtering server. In this alternative, at the content filtering server the bogus IP address is used to determine a content filtering category and it is ascertained whether the destination IP address with the content filtering category should be filtered based upon a list of IP addresses and associated content filtering categories.

Claims

1. A method for filtering content, comprising:

receiving at a bi-directional Internet Protocol (IP) communication device a packet from a client computer containing a request for content, where said packet comprises a first destination IP address of a content server that stores said content and a user identifier;

determining filter privileges for said user based upon said user identifier;

adding filter privileges for said user to a header of said packet;

adding a second destination IP address of a content filtering router to said header, as a source specified route; and

routing the packet toward said content filtering router, such that said content filtering router can determine whether said packet should be sent to a filtering server for filtering based on said first destination IP address and said filter privileges.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said receiving further comprises:

receiving login details from said client computer.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said determining comprises:

authenticating a user of said client computer based on said login details; and

determining said filter privileges based on said login details.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said adding comprises:

inserting a bogus IP address, indicative of said filter privileges, into said header.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving content from the content server and sending the content toward the client computer.

6. A method for filtering content, comprising:

receiving at a content filtering router a packet containing a request for content, where said packet comprises a first destination Internet Protocol (IP) address of a content server that stores said content, a second destination IP address of said content filtering router, and content filtering privileges;

determining whether said first destination IP address is on a list of IP addresses to be filtered; and

routing said packet toward a filtering server for filtering if said first destination IP address is on said list of IP addresses.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising, prior to said determining, configuring a routing table of the content filtering router such that a plurality of IP addresses are amalgamated into a negative address block making up said list of IP addresses.

8. The method of claim 7, where said determining further comprises:

establishing that said first destination IP address is in said negative address block and therefore that said request for content is to be routed to said filter server.

9. The method of claim 7, where said determining further comprises:

establishing that said first destination IP address is not in said negative address block and therefore that said request for content is not to be routed to said filtering server.

10. The method of claim 6, further comprising, prior to said determining, configuring a routing table of the content filtering router such that a plurality of IP addresses are amalgamated into a positive address block that does not include said list of IP addresses.

11. The method of claim 10, where said determining further comprises:

establishing that said first destination IP address is in said positive address block and therefore that said request for content is not to be routed to said filtering server.

12. The method of claim 10, where said determining further comprises:

establishing that said first destination IP address is not in said positive address block and therefore that said request for content is to be routed to said filtering server.

13. The method of claim 6, further comprising removing said second IP address from said packet.

14. The method of claim 6, wherein said routing further comprises adding a third destination IP address of the filtering server.

15. A method of filtering content, comprising:

receiving at a content filtering server a packet from a content filtering router, where said packet contains a request for content from a user comprising a destination Internet Protocol (IP) address of a content server that stores said content, and a bogus IP address, said bogus IP address indicative of content filtering privileges of said user;

determining that said destination IP address is on a content filtered list that lists IP addresses and associated content filtering categories, by comparing said destination IP address to said list;

establishing whether a content filtering privilege of the content filtering privileges of said user matches an associated content filtering category of an IP address on said content filtered list; and

blocking the request for content if said content filtering privilege matches said associated content filtering category.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising, prior to said receiving step, accepting a new list of IP addresses and updating said content filtered list with said new list.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

sending the packet to the content server in accordance with the destination IP address, if for each content filtering privilege of the content filtering privileges of said user, the content filtering privilege does not match an associated content filtering category.

18. The method of claim 15, where said blocking step further comprises routing the packet to an alternative destination.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising notifying a client computer of said user that said content is blocked.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising removing said destination IP address from said packet.

21. A computer program product for use in conjunction with a computer system, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium and a computer program mechanism embedded therein, the computer program mechanism comprising:

a communication procedures module for receiving a packet containing a request for content, where said packet comprises a first destination Internet Protocol (IP) address of a content server that stores said content, a second destination IP address of said content filtering router, and content filtering privileges; and

a routing protocol module that utilizes a routing table to determine whether said request for content is to be filtered based on said first destination IP address and routing said request for content toward a filtering server for filtering if said first destination IP address is to be filtered.

22. A method for filtering content, comprising:

receiving at an IP device a packet from a client computer containing a request for content from a server, where said packet comprises a user identifier for a user;

determining filter privileges for said user based upon said user identifier;

denying the request for content based upon the filter privileges of said user and the IP address of said server;

displaying a filtering page with a notification link;

establishing that the link has been selected;

notifying an administrator of the denied request;

accepting a reply from the administrator; and

providing content from the server to the user.