Online identity tracking
First Claim
1. A computer system for evaluating an Internet domain registration, the computer system comprising:
- a processor;
a database comprising a plurality of records corresponding to a plurality of online entities, each record comprising information about one of the online entities; and
a set of instructions executable by the processor, the set of instructions comprising;
(a) instructions to identify a domain registration of interest, the domain registration comprising a data element comprising information related to the domain of interest;
(b) instructions to search the database for the data element to produce a search result comprising a set of one or more records, one of the set of one or more records corresponding to an online entity;
(c) instructions to associate the domain registration with the online entity;
(d) instructions to identify a second data element in the record corresponding to the online entity;
(e) instructions to search the database for the second data element to produce a search result comprising a second set of one or more records, one of the second set of the one or more records corresponding to a second online entity;
(f) instructions to associate the domain registration with the second online entity; and
(g) instructions to determine whether the domain registration is likely to be trustworthy, based upon information about the first and second online entities.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments of the invention provide novel systems, software and methods for gathering information about online entities and for identifying, evaluating and scoring such entities. Merely by way of example, the trustworthiness of an online entity, such as a domain, can be evaluated based information known about other online entities (e.g., the owner of the domain, other domains) associated with that domain. In an aspect of the invention, for example, publicly-available data (and, in some cases, other data) can be obtained and correlated to reveal previously-unknown associations between various online entities, despite, in some cases, the attempts of those entities to obscure such associations. This can facilitate the evaluation of such entities. For instance, if a new domain is registered, there generally is little basis on which to evaluate the trustworthiness of that domain (other than facially-apparent characteristics, such as the domain name itself), since it has not yet begun operating. By ascertaining the domain'"'"'s association with other online entities, however, information known about the reputation and/or behavior of those entities can be used to inform an evaluation of the domain.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A computer system for evaluating an Internet domain registration, the computer system comprising:
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a processor;
a database comprising a plurality of records corresponding to a plurality of online entities, each record comprising information about one of the online entities; and
a set of instructions executable by the processor, the set of instructions comprising;
(a) instructions to identify a domain registration of interest, the domain registration comprising a data element comprising information related to the domain of interest;
(b) instructions to search the database for the data element to produce a search result comprising a set of one or more records, one of the set of one or more records corresponding to an online entity;
(c) instructions to associate the domain registration with the online entity;
(d) instructions to identify a second data element in the record corresponding to the online entity;
(e) instructions to search the database for the second data element to produce a search result comprising a second set of one or more records, one of the second set of the one or more records corresponding to a second online entity;
(f) instructions to associate the domain registration with the second online entity; and
(g) instructions to determine whether the domain registration is likely to be trustworthy, based upon information about the first and second online entities.
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2. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium, the computer program comprising a set of instructions executable by one or more computers, the set of instructions comprising:
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instructions to maintain a database comprising a plurality of records corresponding to a plurality of online entities, each record comprising information about one of the online entities;
instructions to identify a domain registration of interest, the domain registration comprising a data element comprising information related to the domain of interest;
instructions to search the database for the data element to produce a search result comprising a set of one or more records, one of the set of one or more records corresponding to an online entity;
instructions to associate the domain registration with the online entity;
instructions to identify a second data element in the record corresponding to the online entity;
instructions to search the database for the second data element to produce a search result comprising a second set of one or more records, one of the second set of the one or more records corresponding to a second online entity;
instructions to associate the domain registration with the second online entity; and
instructions to determine whether the domain registration is likely to be trustworthy, based upon information about the first and second online entities.
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3. A method of evaluating an Internet domain registration, the method comprising:
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maintaining a database comprising a plurality of records corresponding to a plurality of online entities, each record comprising information about one of the online entities;
identifying a domain registration of interest, the domain registration comprising a data element comprising information related to the domain of interest;
searching the database for the data element to produce a search result comprising a set of one or more records, one of the set of one or more records corresponding to an online entity;
associating the domain registration with the online entity;
identifying a second data element in the record corresponding to the online entity;
searching the database for the second data element to produce a search result comprising a second set of one or more records, one of the second set of the one or more records corresponding to a second online entity;
associating the domain registration with the second online entity; and
based upon information about the first and second online entities, determining whether the domain registration is likely to be trustworthy. - View Dependent Claims (4)
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5. A method of identifying an online entity, the method comprising:
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maintaining in a data store a set of data about a plurality of online entities, wherein the set of data comprises a plurality of data elements, each of the plurality of data elements being related to at least one of the plurality of online entities;
identifying with a computer a first of the plurality of online entities, based on at least part of the set of data;
identifying a first data group, the first data group comprising at least one data element associated with a first of the plurality of online entities;
identifying a second data group, the second data group comprising at least one data element associated with a second of the plurality of online entities;
determining that the first data group and the second data group each comprise at least one common data element; and
based on the at least one common data element, associating the first of the plurality of online entities with the second of the plurality of online entities. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of identifying an online entity, the method comprising:
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obtaining an identifier associated with the online entity;
maintaining a set of identifying data compiled from a plurality of data sources, wherein the set of identifying data comprises a plurality of data elements of disparate types;
correlating the plurality of data elements to ascertain a relationship between the plurality of data elements;
searching the set of identifying data to identify one of the plurality of data elements as being associated with the identifier; and
based on the relationship between the plurality of data elements, identifying the online entity. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of creating an identification database, the method comprising:
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harvesting, with one or more computers, data about a plurality of online entities from a plurality of data sources;
storing the harvested data in at least one data store;
identifying with a computer an online entity from at least some of the harvested data;
searching the data store for additional information related to the online entity; and
associating the additional information with the online entity. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification