System and Method for Preventing Screen-Scrapers From Extracting User Screen Names

• US 20090077476A1
• Filed: 09/26/2008
• Published: 03/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hua, Morgan, Rawat, Jai
• Granted Patent: US 8,103,960 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/758
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6263 during internet communication, e.g. revealing personal data from cookies
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2133 Verifying human interaction, e.g., Captcha
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases

Abstract

Graphic screen names are used instead of using text screen names in a Web chat room or an instant messaging system so that screen scrapers cannot generate an e-mail list for spam by extracting the screen names from the Web chat room or instant messaging system.

Claims

1. An Internet based messaging system, comprising:

a network in which a plurality of logged-in users communicate with each other by displaying messages on a communication screen from which any of the logged-in users'"'"' screen identification and the displayed messages can be read by all users; and

said messaging system further comprising a mechanism for automatically converting a user'"'"'s screen name into a graphic from which an ordinary person can recognize the user'"'"'s screen name;

wherein the graphic is displayed on the communication screen whenever and wherever the user'"'"'s screen name is displayed.

2. A method for displaying graphical screen names to prevent an automated process from scraping the displayed text information in an instant messaging service, comprising the steps of:

taking each logged-in user'"'"'s text screen name; and

using said screen name to generate a graphic that can only be read by a human but cannot be screen-scraped by an automated process.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of:

enabling a user to add background wallpaper or other personal expression elements to the graphic.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of:

selecting overall graphic appearance from a drop down menu to choose a style for said graphic from a variety of predefined formats.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising the step of:

customizing said graphic style by setting parameters which comprise any of style, font, background, and other customizable features from the drop down menu.

6. The method of claim 2,

wherein said graphic comprises a set of data representing a two-dimensional scene, that is composed of pixels arranged in a rectangular array with a certain height and width;

wherein each pixel may consist of one or more bits of information, representing brightness of the graphic at that point and including color information encoded as RGB triples.

7. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of:

providing a graphics recognition system to avoid ordinarily confusing visual situations.

8. An Internet based messaging method, comprising the steps of:

providing a network in which a plurality of logged-in users communicate with each other by displaying messages on a communication screen from which any of the logged-in users'"'"' screen identification and the displayed messages can be read by all users;

providing within said messaging system a mechanism for automatically converting a user'"'"'s screen name into a graphic from which an ordinary person can recognize the user'"'"'s screen name; and

displaying the graphic on the communication screen whenever and wherever the user'"'"'s screen name is displayed.

9. An apparatus for displaying graphical screen names to prevent an automated process from scraping the displayed text information in an instant messaging service, comprising:

a mechanism for taking each logged-in user'"'"'s text screen name; and

a mechanism for using said screen name to generate a graphic that can only be read by a human but cannot be screen-scraped by an automated process.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising:

a mechanism for a user to add background wallpaper or other personal expression elements to the graphic.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising:

a drop down menu for selecting overall graphic appearance to choose a style for said graphic from a variety of predefined formats.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising:

a mechanism for customizing said graphic style by setting parameters which comprise any of style, font, background, and other customizable features from the drop down menu.

13. The apparatus of claim 9,

wherein said graphic comprises a set of data representing a two-dimensional scene, that is composed of pixels arranged in a rectangular array with a certain height and width;

wherein each pixel may consist of one or more bits of information, representing brightness of the graphic at that point and including color information encoded as RGB triples.

14. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising:

a graphics recognition system for avoiding ordinarily confusing visual situations.