SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DISCOVERING SOURCES OF ONLINE CONTENT

• US 20140052851A1
• Filed: 08/15/2013
• Published: 02/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Evidon, Inc. (CrownPeak Technology, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Evidon, Inc. (CrownPeak Technology, Inc.)
• Inventors: Nielsen, Patrick Mylund
• Granted Patent: US 10,291,492 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/04 Processing captured monitoring data, e.g. for logfile generation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/53 using third party service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

To determine an association between elements associated with a unified display on a screen, a request associated with the unified display is received from a browser, and a response to the request is identified as a first element associated with the unified display. A second element is identified as being spawned from the first element, if a parameter associated with the first element, which can be an event, a source, or both, is determined to be associated with the second element also. In that case, the second element is determined to be associated with the first element via the parameter.

Claims

1. A method for determining an association between elements associated with a unified display on a screen, the method comprising:

identifying, by a processor, a first element associated with a unified display;

identifying by the processor a parameter associated with the first element;

determining by the processor that a second element is associated with the parameter; and

establishing by the processor an association between the first element, the parameter, and the second element.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the parameter comprises at least one of an event and a source.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the association to an end user.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving by the processor a request from a browser, wherein the first element is identified based on, at least in part, the browser request.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the parameter comprises;

(i) an event specified in the first element, and (ii) a location specified in association with the event; and

the second element comprises an element that is;

(i) specified by the event, and (ii) accessible at the location specified in association with the event.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the parameter comprises at least one of, at least partially:

(i) parsing and (ii) emulating the first element, at least one of the at least partially parsing and emulating steps being performed distinctly from rendering of the unified display on the screen.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the at least partially emulating step comprises at least one of at least partially interpreting and at least partially executing the first element.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the at least partially parsing step comprises a partial parsing of a source associated with the first element, the source being identified via the at least partial parsing of the first element.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the at least partially emulating step comprises a partial emulation of a source associated with the first element, the source being identified via the at least partial emulation of the first element.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the second element is associated with the parameter comprises:

performing a statistical analysis of the first element, the parameter, and the second element; and

computing a probability that access to the second element is caused by the parameter.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the statistical analysis comprises detecting at least one of a company name associated with the second element, a domain name associated with the second element, a path name associated with the second element, and a keyword common to the industry category of the company associated with the second element.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying by the processor a parameter associated with the second element;

determining by the processor that a third element is associated with the parameter associated with the second element; and

establishing by the processor an association between the first element, the parameter associated with the first element, the second element, the parameter associated with the second element, and the third element.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the second element comprises at least one of a displayable content element and an operational content element.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the displayable content element comprises an advertisement.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the operational content element comprises a tracker monitoring user activity on a computer adapted for displaying the unified display.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein each step is performed, at least in part, at a network layer.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein each step is performed, at least in part, at an application layer.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein each step is performed, at least in part, using a browser add-on.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein each step is performed, at least in part, using an intermediary network gateway.

20. A system for determining an association between elements associated with a unified display on a screen, the system comprising:

a memory for storing a request associated with the unified display, the request being received from a browser; and

a processor configured as;

a receiver for receiving the browser request from the browser; and

an analyzer for;

(i) identifying a first element associated with the unified display, (ii) identifying a parameter associated with the first element, (iii) determining that a second element is associated with the parameter, and (iv) establishing an association between the first element, the parameter, and the second element.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein:

the analyzer is further adapted to;

(v) receive from the browser, a response to the browser request, and (vi) designate the received response as the first element; and

the memory is adapted to store the received response.

22. The system if claim 20, wherein the processor is further configured as:

an interface to;

(i) receive a resource identified by the request, the resource being designated as the first element, and (ii) transmit the first element to the browser; and

an emulator to run the resource to identify the second element.