METHOD OF GATHERING INFORMATION RELATED TO ACTIVITY OF A USER AND A DATA PROCESSING SYSTEM PROGRAM PRODUCT

• US 20110029663A1
• Filed: 10/12/2010
• Published: 02/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ip Ot Sub Ulc
• Original Assignee: Open TEXT SA (Open Text Corporation)
• Inventors: McCullough, Sean M.
• Granted Patent: US 9,172,761 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display

Abstract

Information related to activity of a user may be provided using a method or a data processing system program product to perform the method. In one embodiment, the method includes sending a first view request to a first electronic site, receiving a first view from the first electronic site, and first information related to the first view request to a second entity that is different from the first entity. In another embodiment, a data processing system program product may perform a method of sending information related to a view request from the user for an electronic site. The information is to be sent to an entity that is different from an entity that substantially controls or owns the electronic site and different from an Internet service provider of the user, if the user is to use the Internet service provider in accessing the electronic site.

Claims

1-22. -22. (canceled)

23. A method of providing information related to activity of a user comprising:

causing to be stored at a user computer, information specific to a first view request made by a web browser running on the user computer for a first web page from a web sites hosted at a first server controlled by a first entity;

causing to be stored at the user computer, information specific to a first view request made by the web browser running on the user computer for a second web page from a web site hosted at a second server controlled by a second entity;

at a user information system controlled by a third entity separate from the first entity and the second entity, receiving the information specific to the first view request and the second view request; and

at the user information system, compiling a user request history for a user using the information specific to the first view request and information specific to second view request.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the information specific to the first view request comprises an identifier related to a user, and temporal information related to the first view request.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the information specific to the second view request comprises an identifier related to a user, and temporal information related to the first view request.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein the web browser sends the information specific to the first view request separately from the information specific to the second view request.

27. The method of claim 23, wherein the information specific to the first view request comprises a cookie.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein the information specific to the second view request comprises another cookie.

29. The method of claim 23, wherein information specific to the first view request comprises an IP address associated with the user computer and a URL associated with the first web page and the information specific to the second view request comprises the IP address associated with the user and a URL associated with the second web page.

30. The method of claim 23, wherein the information specific to the first view request comprises a first unique identifier and the information specific to the second view request comprises a second unique identifier.

31. A computer program product comprising a nontransitory computer readable medium storing computer instructions executable by a user information system to:

receive from user computers over the Internet, information specific to view requests made by the user computers for web pages hosted on a plurality of servers remote from the user information system and controlled by a plurality of entities, wherein the information specific to view requests comprises, for each view request, an identifier for a corresponding user and a URL of a corresponding web page;

compile, at the user information system, a browsing history for each user that includes browsing at servers controlled by different entities.

32. The computer program product of claim 31, wherein the information specific to each view request comprises temporal information related to that view request.

33. The computer program product of claim 31, wherein the information specific to each view request comprises a cookie.

34. The computer program product of claim 31, wherein information specific to each view request comprises an IP address associated with a corresponding user computer.

35. The computer program product of claim 31, wherein the information specific to each view request comprises a unique identifier.

36. A user information system comprising:

a processor;

a non-transitory computer readable medium coupled to the processor storing a set of computer instructions executable to;

receive from user computers over the Internet, information specific to view requests made by the user computers for web pages hosted on a plurality of servers remote from the user information system and controlled by a plurality of entities, wherein the information specific to view requests comprises, for each view request, an identifier for a corresponding user and a URL of a corresponding web page;

compile, at the user information system, a browsing history for each user that includes browsing at servers controlled by different entities.

37. The user information system of claim 36, wherein the information specific to each view request comprises temporal information related to that view request.

38. The user information system of claim 36, wherein the information specific to each view request comprises a cookie.

39. The user information system of claim 36, wherein information specific to each view request comprises an IP address associated with a corresponding user computer.

40. The user information system of claim 36, wherein the information specific to each view request comprises a unique identifier.