Method for monitoring and providing information over a peer to peer network

• US 20050163050A1
• Filed: 01/23/2004
• Published: 07/28/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kroll Information Assurance LLC
• Original Assignee: Tiversa, Inc. (Tiversa Holding Corp.)
• Inventors: Hopkins, Samuel P.
• Granted Patent: US 7,761,569 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/042 comprising distributed management centres cooperatively managing the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0816 the condition being an adaptation, e.g. in response to network events
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/50 Testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1063 Discovery through centralising entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/107 with limitation or expansion of the discovery scope
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1093 Some peer nodes performing special functions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/145 avoiding end of session, e.g. keep-alive, heartbeats, resumption message or wake-up for inactive or interrupted session
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/632 using a connection between clients on a wide area network, e.g. setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet for retrieving video segments from the hard-disk of other client devices broadcast-related systems characterised by transmission among terminal devices H04H60/80; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99956 File allocation

Abstract

The present invention relates to a pseudonode used for deployment on a peer to peer network which pseudonode comprises an IP address and client ID that is changeable upon the occurrence of a preselected event and includes a list containing at least one searchable data object. The pseudonode is programmed for monitoring the network to receive search requests therefrom and to compare each said received search with said list of data objects and to respond to such request. The invention also provides a method for monitoring search requests for selected objects by nodes on a peer to peer network. The method includes interposing the pseudonodes on the network in which it is configured to provide at least one IP address and optionally at least one client ID. The pseudonode has at least one stored object corresponding to a request object stored at said pseudonode; and monitors the network to detect requests matching at least one of the stored objects and acquires a unique ID generated by any network node requesting the object matching that stored object on the pseudonode and responding to substantially each node representing an acquired ID

Claims

1. A method for monitoring search requests for selected objects by a node on a peer to peer network, said network having at least two nodes, and providing a response to substantially all of such requesting nodes, said method comprising the steps of:

a. interposing at least one pseudonode on said network, said pseudonode configured to provide at least one IP address and optionally at least one client ID, said pseudonode having at least one stored object corresponding to a request object stored at said pseudonode;

b. monitoring said network through at least one of said pseudonode to detect requests matching said at least one of said stored objects;

c. acquiring a unique ID generated by any network node requesting said object matching said stored object; and

d. responding to substantially each node representing an ID.

2. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein at least one of said IP and client ID is changeable upon the occurrence of a preselected event or events.

3. A method as set forth in claims 1 and 2 wherein responsing comprises transmitting null data to each of said nodes having an acquired ID.

4. A method as set forth in claims 1 and 2 wherein said responsing comprises transmitting data to each of said nodes having an acquired ID wherein said information contained in said response is data different from that requested.

5. A method as set forth in claims 1 and 2 wherein said responsing comprises transmitting data to each of said nodes having an acquired ID where such data is a message notifying said nodes that they are or may be violating copyright laws.

6. A method as set forth in claims 1 and 2 wherein said responsing comprises transmitting to each of said nodes having an acquired ID information that comprises file names that are in a form to notify said nodes having said acquired ID that it is or may be violating copyright laws.

7. A method as set forth in claims 1 and 2 wherein responding comprises file name information which is the result of a second search originating from at least one of said pseudonodes.

8. A method as set forth in claims 1 and 2 wherein responsing comprises transmitting to each of said nodes having an acquired ID information that is the result of forwarding a search request to other nodes and receiving a response.

36. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said responsing is in response to a specific request.

42. A method as set forth in claim 7 wherein said list is generated by recording the client identification of nodes that are responding to requests.

43. A method as set forth in claim 7 wherein said list is generated by recording the client identification of nodes that are responding to a specific search request.

44. A method as set forth in claim 7 wherein said list is generated by recording the client identification of nodes whose responses match a certain term.

45. A method as set forth in claim 7 wherein said list is generated by recording the client identification of nodes who respond to the pseudonode when the pseudonode sends a specific request.

9. A pseudonode for deployment on a peer to peer network comprising an IP address and optionally at least one client ID, that is changeable upon the occurrence of a preselected event and having a list containing at least one searchable data object, said pseudonode having means for monitoring said network to receive search requests therefrom and to compare each said received search with said list of data objects and to respond to such request.

10. A method for calculating statistics for search requests and responses for selected objects by a node on a peer to peer network having at least two nodes, said method comprising the steps of:

e. interposing at least one pseudonode on said network configured for;

f. monitoring said network through at least one of said pseudonode to detect requests and responses; and

g. using said detected requests and responses to calculate statistics.

11. A method as set forth in claim 10 wherein the statistics calculated are business loss statistics.

12. A method as set forth in claim 10 wherein the statistics calculated are statistics of requests or responses or both that occurred on the network.

13. A method as set forth in claim 10 wherein the statistics calculated are used to provide before and after comparisons of network searches, responses, or both.

14. A method as set forth in claim 10 wherein said statistics calculated are used to provide evidence or documentation for other purposes.

15. A method as set forth in claim 10 wherein said statistics calculated are used to provide statistics on the file types that are shared on the network.

16. A method for viewing available files on a specific node on a peer to peer network having at least two nodes, said method comprising the steps of:

a. interposing at least one pseudonode on said network configured for;

b. requesting a specific node upload a file index number starting at N, where N is a real number, to said pseudonode;

c. recording said specific file name that is sent; and

d. incrementing the file index number and repeating the request until such time as the specific node no longer responds.

17. A method as set forth in claim 16 wherein said method is used on specific nodes thought to be providing terrorist information or information detrimental to national security.

18. A method as set forth in claim 16 wherein said method is used to locate copyrighted or illegal information.

19. A method as set forth in claim 16 wherein said method is used to build profiles of users and what they have downloaded.

20. A method as set forth in claim 16 wherein said method is used for marketing purposes.

21. A method for obtaining an IP address that will help identify a node on a peer to peer network having at least two nodes, said method comprising the steps of:

a. interposing at least one pseudonode on said network configured for;

b. requesting that the specific node upload a file index number starting at N, where N is a real number, to said pseudonode; and

c. recording an IP address of a node that is in communication with said pseudonode.

22. A method for obtaining attribute information on nodes on a peer to peer network having at least two nodes, said method comprising the steps of:

a. interposing at least one pseudonode on said network configured for;

b. sending at least one search request containing specific or generic terms or by forwarding on real requests from other nodes from said pseudonode; and

c. recording requested attribute information of those nodes that respond.

23. A method as set forth in claim 22 wherein attribute information is an IP address.

24. A method as set forth in claim 22 wherein attribute information is a client ID.

25. A method as set forth in claim 22 wherein attribute information can be used to identify the node.

26. A method for obtaining and recording a list of searches that are occurring on a peer to peer network having at least two nodes, said method comprising the steps of:

a. interposing at least one pseudonode on said network; and

b. recording search requests that said pseudonode receives.

27. A method of obtaining and recording search responses that are occurring on a peer to peer network having at least two nodes, said method comprising the steps of:

a. interposing at least one pseudonode on said network configured for;

b. forwarding search requests by nodes that are received by said pseudonode; and

c. recording responses that are received.

28. A method for monitoring responses from a specific node on a peer to peer network having at least two nodes, said method comprising the steps of:

a. interposing at least one pseudonode on said network configured for;

b. monitoring search responses;

c. detecting search responses from a specific node; and

d. recording responses that are sent by a specific node.

29. A method for monitoring search requests for selected objects by a node on a peer to peer network having at least two nodes and removing responses from the network, said method comprising the steps of:

a. interposing at least one pseudonode on said network, said pseudonode configured to provide at least one IP address and optionally at least one client ID and having at least one selected requested object stored at said pseudonode;

b. monitoring said network through at least one of said pseudonode to detect requests matching said at least one of said stored objects;

c. forwarding said request to other nodes of the network; and

d. dropping and responses that are received.

30. A method for monitoring search requests for selected objects by a node on a peer to peer network having at least two nodes and removing responses from the network, said method comprising the steps of:

a. interposing at least one pseudonode on said network, said pseudonode configured to provide at least one IP address and optionally at least one client ID and having at least one selected requested object stored at said pseudonode;

b. monitoring said network through at least one of said pseudonode to detect requests matching said at least one of said stored objects;

c. replacing the search term within the search request with random characters; and

d. forwarding said request to other nodes of the network.

31. A method for monitoring search requests for objects by a node on a peer to peer network, said network having at least two nodes, said method comprising the steps of:

a. interposing at least one pseudonode on said network, said pseudonode configured to provide at least one IP address and optionally at least one client ID and

b. monitoring said network through at least one of said pseudonode to detect search requests from nodes on said peer to peer network.

32. The method set forth in claim 31 wherein said detected search requests are stored on said pseudonode.

33. The method set forth in claim 32 wherein said detected search requests detected by said pseudonode and a unique ID generated by the network node requesting said search is at least temporarily stored by said pseudonode.

34. The method set forth in claim 33 wherein said pseudonode responds to said requesting node.

35. A method for advertising on a peer to peer network having at least two nodes, said method consisting of:

a. interposing at least one pseudonode on said network configured for;

b. monitoring said network through at least one of said pseudonode to detect requests; and

c. responding with information that is used to advertise a product or service.

37. A method for identifying terrorist activity on a peer to peer network having at least two nodes, said method consisting of:

a. interposing at least one pseudonode on said network configured for;

b. monitoring said network through at least one of said pseudonode to detect requests or responses; and

c. data mining said detected requests or responses for terrorist information or patterns.

38. A method for identifying terrorists on a peer to peer network having at least two nodes, said method consisting of:

a. interposing at least one pseudonode on said network configured for;

b. having said pseudonode send a request for a specific term; and

c. data mining said detected requests or responses for terrorist information or patterns; and

d. recording the client identification of the responding node.

39. A method for identifying the terrorist threat level of a node or user on a peer to peer network having at least two nodes, said method consisting of:

a. interposing at least one pseudonode on said network configured for;

b. having said pseudonode send a request for a specific term; and

c. walking the list of files of any responding node; and

d. making a threat determination using commonly accepted principals and methods.

40. A method for reporting which files are currently being acquired on a peer to peer network having at least two nodes, said method consisting of:

a. interposing at least one pseudonode on said network configured for;

b. monitoring said network through at least one of said pseudonode to detect search requests that are in a filename format.

41. A method of automatically collecting and recording the location of files on a peer to peer network, said method consisting of:

a. interposing at least one pseudonode on said network configured for;

b. requesting from a list of client IDs that they upload a file index number starting at N, where N is a real number, to said pseudonode; and

c. recording said specific file name that is sent; and

d. automatically incrementing the file index number and repeating the request until such time as the nodes no longer responds; and

e. automatically recording the client identification and their responses into a data collection system.

46. A method for monitoring supplemental search requests for selected objects by a node on a peer to peer network, said network having at least two nodes, and providing a response to substantially all of such requesting nodes, said method comprising the steps of:

a. interposing at least one pseudonode on said network, said pseudonode configured to provide at least one IP address and optionally at least one client ID, said pseudonode having at least one stored object corresponding to a request object stored at said pseudonode;

b. monitoring said network through at least one of said pseudonode to detect supplemental search requests matching at least one of said stored objects;

c. acquiring a unique ID generated by any network node requesting said object matching said stored object; and

d. responding to each node representing an ID that the request is available from the pseudonode; and

e. transmitting invalid data to said node upon its connection to pseudonode.