SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MONITORING AND REPORTING PEER COMMUNICATIONS

• US 20120151046A1
• Filed: 12/01/2011
• Published: 06/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Smith Micro Software Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Wavemarket Incorporated (Gen Digital Inc.)
• Inventors: Weiss, Andrew, Hodges, Daniel, Anakata, Joseph
• Granted Patent: US 9,460,299 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3438 monitoring of user actions tracking the activity of the user H04L67/535
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/604 Tools and structures for managing or administering access control systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2149 Restricted operating environment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1425 Traffic logging, e.g. anomaly detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/308 retaining data, e.g. retaining successful, unsuccessful communication attempts, internet access, or e-mail, internet telephony, intercept related information or call content

Abstract

A computer-implemented subject monitoring method is provided. The method includes providing an online-monitoring agent configured for monitoring a personal computing device, receiving identifying information associated with at least one of an account, email address, site, and service from the personal computing device via the online-monitoring agent, and monitoring via a network the at least one of the account, email address, site, and service based on the identifying information received via the online-monitoring agent.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented monitoring and reporting method comprising:

receiving via a network identifying information associated with at least one of an account, email address, site, and service corresponding to a particular subject;

monitoring via a network the at least one of the account, email address, site, and service based on the received identifying information for at least one communication received by or generated by the particular subject;

detecting a triggering criterion in the at least one of the account, email address, site, and service; and

reporting the detection of the triggering criterion to a user.

2. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a monitoring agent configured for local monitoring of a personal computing device; and

receiving the identifying information from the personal computing device via the monitoring agent.

3. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 1, further comprising monitoring the at least one of the account, email address, site, and service via an Application Program Interface (API) enabled by a system storing data for the at least one of the account, email address, site, and service.

4. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 1, wherein monitoring the at least one of the account, email address, site, and service comprises scraping an interface enabled by the social networking application.

5. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 1, wherein the identifying information comprises login credentials for the at least one of the account, email address, site, and service, and wherein monitoring the at least one of the account, email address, site, and service comprises providing the login credentials to a system storing data corresponding to the at least one of the account, email address, site, and service.

6. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 1, wherein monitoring the at least one of the account, email address, site, and service corresponding to the particular subject comprises accessing contents of a subject'"'"'s account by way of an account of at least one entity having an access permission to the subject'"'"'s account data.

7. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 1, wherein monitoring the at least one of the account, email address, site, and service comprises monitoring at least one of social networking application activity, electronic messaging activity, email activity, and telephone communication activity.

8. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 7, further comprising comparing text within the at least one of the social networking application activity, electronic messaging activity, email activity, and telephone communication activity with at least one of a trigger term and a trigger phrase, wherein detecting the triggering criterion comprises detecting the at least one of the trigger term and the trigger phrase.

9. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 8, wherein detecting the triggering criterion further comprises detecting the at least one of the trigger term and the trigger phrase a predetermined number of times for a predetermined duration.

10. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 7, wherein detecting the triggering criterion further comprises determining that a plurality of communications including trigger data originate from a particular peer in communication with the subject.

11. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 10, further comprising:

determining a severity level of the plurality of communications based on a frequency of the plurality of communications, and

reporting the detection of the triggering with the determined severity level.

12. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 10, further comprising reporting content of the plurality of communications with the particular peer.

13. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 10, further comprising:

recording a phone or video conversation between the particular peer and the subject; and

providing the recorded conversation to the user.

14. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 10, further comprising:

determining a severity level of the plurality of communications based on a frequency of the plurality of communications, and

reporting the detection of the triggering with the determined severity level.

15. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 10, further comprising:

determining a severity level of the plurality of communications at a plurality of times based on at least one of frequency of the plurality of communications and the triggering data in the plurality of communications originating from the particular peer;

generating an activity history based on the determination of the severity level; and

reporting the activity history to the user.

16. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 10, further comprising:

determining parties mutually having access permission to the account data of the particular peer and the subject; and

reporting to the user the determination of parties mutually having access permission to the account data of the particular peer and the subject.

17. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 7, further comprising:

detecting images within the at least one of the social networking application activity, electronic messaging activity, email activity, and telephone communication activity; and

comparing the detected images with at least one of predetermined image profiles, colors, luminosities, shapes, and patterns;

wherein detecting the triggering criterion comprises matching the detected images with the at least one of the predetermined image profiles, colors, luminosities, shapes, and patterns.

18. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 1, wherein detecting the triggering criterion comprises detecting a change in at least one of a frequency and amount of communication.

19. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 1, wherein detecting the triggering criterion comprises detecting a change in at least one of a frequency and amount of communication of the subject.

20. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 1, wherein detecting the triggering criterion comprises detecting a change in at least one of a frequency and amount of communication with a particular peer of the subject.

21. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 1, wherein detecting the triggering criterion comprises detecting a change in at least one of a frequency and amount of communication with a particular peer of the subject relative to at least one of a frequency and amount of communication with other peers of the subject.

22. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 1, wherein detecting the triggering criterion comprises detecting at least one of a trigger term and a trigger phrase in the at least one communication.

23. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 1, further comprising applying a machine learning classifier to the at least one communication to determine a classifier score, wherein detecting the triggering criterion comprises determining a classifier score exceeding a predetermined threshold.

24. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a redirection agent for redirecting network traffic from a personal computing device corresponding to the particular subject;

receiving with a proxy server via the redirection agent an outgoing connection to a targeted application server; and

determining if the outgoing connection to the targeted application server website should use HTTP or HTTPS to meet the security requirements of the targeted application server website, and if the URL list indicates a HTTP level of security, accessing with the proxy server the targeted application server website via HTTP, and if the URL list indicates a HTTPS level of security, accessing with the proxy server the targeted application server website via HTTPS.

25. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a redirection agent for redirecting network traffic from a personal computing device corresponding to the particular subject;

receiving with a proxy server via the redirection agent an outgoing connection to a targeted application server;

removing an automatic redirect if the targeted application server executes a HTTP redirect process;

accessing the targeted application server website directly such that at least one website page can be intercepted; and

rewriting the intercepted at least one website page to retain a connection using HTTP.

26. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a plurality of communications between the particular subject and at least one peer on the at least one of the account, email address, site, and service;

comparing the plurality of communications with trigger data;

for each of the plurality of communications which correspond to the trigger data, increasing an indicator corresponding to the peer who at least one of generated and received the communication;

if the indicator for the peer exceeds a predetermined threshold, designate the peer as at risk for involvement in aggressive or bullying activity with the subject; and

reporting the aggressive or bullying activity to the user.

27. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting an amount of activity of the particular subject on the at least one of the account, email address, site, and service;

comparing the amount of activity of the particular subject with a predetermined threshold; and

reporting the detection of the triggering criterion to the user responsive to detecting the amount of activity meeting a predetermined threshold.

28. The computer-implemented-monitoring method of claim 1, further comprising determining the predetermined threshold based on account activity of other users of the at least one of the account, email address, site, and service.

29. A computer activity monitoring and reporting system comprising at least one computing system including at least one memory comprising instructions operable to enable the at least one computing system to perform a procedure comprising:

receiving via a network identifying information associated with at least one of an account, email address, site, and service corresponding to a particular subject;

monitoring via a network the at least one of the account, email address, site, and service based on the received identifying information for at least one communication received by or generated by the particular subject;

detecting a triggering criterion in the at least one of the account, email address, site, and service; and

reporting the detection of the triggering criterion to a user.