System and method for content filtering using static source routes

• US 20060256788A1
• Filed: 07/21/2006
• Published: 11/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DIRECTV, LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Donahue, David B.
• Granted Patent: US 8,085,774 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/389
• 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 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

1-21. -21. (canceled)

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.