Method and system for monitoring online behavior at a remote site and creating online behavior profiles

• US 20080098220A1
• Filed: 10/30/2007
• Published: 04/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Connexity Audience, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Hitwise Pty. Ltd. (Experian plc)
• Inventors: Spalink, Jan-Dieter, Hatchell, Andrew, Gullette, Brian, Nortman, Randall
• Granted Patent: US 7,725,944 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/168
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6254 by anonymising data, e.g. decorrelating personal data from the owner's identification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2101 Auditing as a secondary aspect
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/383 Anonymous user system
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/102 applying security measure for e-commerce data processing systems or methods, specially adapted for e-commerce G06Q30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/55 Testing of service level quality, e.g. simulating service usage
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0421 Anonymous communication, i.e. the party's identifiers are hidden from the other party or parties, e.g. using an anonymizer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data

Abstract

A method and system for monitoring users on one or more computer networks, disassociating personally identifiable information from the collected data, and storing it in a database so that the privacy of the users is protected. The system includes monitoring transactions at both a client and at a server, collecting network transaction data, and aggregating the data collected at the client and at the server. The system receives a user identifier and uses it to create an anonymized identifier. The anonymized identifier is then associated with one or more users'"'"' computer network transactions. The data is stored by a collection engine and then aggregated to a central database server across a computer network.

Claims

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16. A computer system for collecting network transaction data generated by users accessing a network through an internet service provider without associating personally identifiable information with the network transaction data comprising:

a communication port coupled to a computer network, the computer network providing access to one or more provider collection engines at internet service provider sites;

one or more processors; and

memory containing computer instructions that,

collect network transaction data from the one or more provider collection engines at the internet service provider sites wherein the network transaction data includes one or more anonymized identifiers, and wherein the one or more anonimized identifiers are created at an internet service provider site using an identifier obtained at the internet service provider;

associate collected transaction records with the collected network transaction data; and

store the associated data.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein said memory containing computer instructions further comprises computer instructions that store the associated data in a database, and further comprising a database for having said associated data stored therein.

17. A method for collecting transaction data generated by users accessing a network through an internet service provider, comprising:

obtaining data using a collection engine at the internet service provider representing data transmitted across the computer network, said data being representative of transactions;

creating a transaction record for each transaction including an anonymized identifier; and

storing the transaction record.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein said storing of the transaction record is conducted in a database.