System for managing user-characterizing network protocol headers

• US 6,237,033 B1
• Filed: 01/13/1999
• Issued: 05/22/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 01/13/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Pitney Bowes Incorporated (Böwe Systec AG)
• Original Assignee: Pitney Bowes Incorporated (Böwe Systec AG)
• Inventors: Porter, Paul W, Macdonald, Marcy F., Prakash, Suti, Sansone, Ronald P., Reichman, Ronald, Doeberl, Terrence M., Martin, Judith A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Coulter, Kenneth R.
• Application Number:
  US09/231,358
• Time in Patent Office: 860 Days
• Field of Search: 709/223, 707/532
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• 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 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A system for enabling a user of a computer attached to a computer network, and accessing sites on the network, to manage user-characterizing protocol headers on the user'"'"'s computer. A particular application of the present invention is to manage so-called Internet cookies on a computer attached to the Internet and using a browser to access websites through the World Wide Web. Such cookies have a type and a value. The managing includes displaying to a user an interpretation of cookies that have been set on the user'"'"'s computer; the interpretation is made by an interpreter referring to a local cookie dictionary, on the user'"'"'s computer, having entries corresponding to different types of cookies. In various alternative embodiments, the managing also includes changing the values set by the websites, and fabricating cookies of types not necessarily used by a website in order to express to the website preferences a user wants the website to know. In some embodiments, the system also includes a means by which the fabricated cookies are made knowable to websites on the Internet, namely a universal cookie dictionary; and a site-specific cookie dictionary maintained by a third party so as to contain updated entries for interpreting cookies used by websites on the Internet. In one aspect of the invention, a user can periodically update the local cookie, using a local cookie dictionary, to include changes to the site-specific and universal cookie dictionaries.

Claims

1. A system for interfacing with a string of characters defining a protocol header on a user'"'"'s computer to provide a user with an interpretation of at least a portion of the string of characters, the system comprising:

a dictionary containing at least one entry, the entry comprising a first string of characters representing at least a portion of the protocol header and a second string of characters representing a meaning associated with the first string of characters;

an interpreter for retrieving the second string of characters based upon the first string of characters; and

an editor, for displaying the second string of characters retrieved by the interpreter.

2. The system claimed in claim 1, wherein the first string of characters defines a type for the protocol header.

3. The system claimed in claim 1, wherein the first string of characters defines a value for the protocol header.

4. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the editor enables the user to edit the content of the protocol header.

5. A system for interfacing with a protocol header on a user'"'"'s computer, the protocol header consisting of a string of characters defining at least a type and a value, the system comprising:

a) a principal dictionary, having at least one entry, each entry corresponding to a protocol header of a particular type, each entry containing content data indicating an interpretation of at least one type of protocol header;

b) an interpreter, for associating a specific entry in the principal dictionary with a particular protocol header, and for providing an interpretation of the protocol header according to the content data contained in the entry; and

c) an editor, for displaying the interpretation provided by the interpreter.

6. A system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the editor also enables the user to alter the value of the protocol header.

7. A system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the interpreter also provides access to any entry in the principal dictionary, and wherein the editor displays each entry provided by the interpreter.

8. A system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the editor also enables the user to fabricate a protocol header expressing a preference of the user, based on an entry, provided by the interpreter, from the principal dictionary.

9. A system as claimed in claim 8, further comprising:

a) a universal dictionary, containing types of protocol headers not necessarily used by any network content provider and content data indicating interpretations of these types of protocol headers, for selection by a user in conveying preferences to a network content provider;

b) a principal dictionary manager, for updating the principal dictionary so as to include entries from the universal dictionary.

10. A system as claimed in claim 9, further comprising:

a) a site-specific dictionary, containing at least one entry for a type of protocol header, each entry providing content data indicating an interpretation of at least one type of protocol header used by at least one network content provider.

11. A system as claimed in claim 10, wherein, in case of a protocol header of a type not contained in the principal dictionary, the interpreter refers to the site-specific dictionary to interpret the protocol header.

12. A system for managing protocol headers on a user'"'"'s computer, the user from time to time interfacing with a network content provider server at a network site by using site interfacing software executing on the user'"'"'s computer and communicating with the network content provider server through a network operating system, the interfacing resulting in the network site setting on the user'"'"'s computer a protocol header, the protocol header consisting of a string of characters defining at least a type and a value, the system comprising:

a) a principal dictionary, located on the user'"'"'s computer, having at least one entry, each entry corresponding to a protocol header of a particular type, each entry containing content data indicating an interpretation of at least one type of protocol header;

b) a site-specific dictionary, containing at least one entry, each entry containing an interpretation of at least one type of protocol header used by at least one network content provider;

c) a universal dictionary, containing entries for types of protocol headers not necessarily used by any network content provider and content data indicating interpretations of the types of protocol headers, for selection by a user in conveying preferences to a network content provider;

d) a principal dictionary manager for updating the principal dictionary to include entries from the site-specific dictionary needed to interpret each protocol header on the user'"'"'s computer that originated at some network content provider network site, and also to include at least one entry from the universal dictionary;

e) an interpreter for examining the protocol headers and for providing an interpretation of each by reference to the principal dictionary, and for providing entries in the principal dictionary; and

f) an editor for displaying interpretations provided by the interpreter and for enabling the user to alter, in case of a protocol header set by a network content provider, the value of the protocol header to any of the values used by the network content provider, and also for enabling the user to fabricate a protocol header expressing a user'"'"'s preference, the fabricating based on an entry in the universal dictionary.

13. A system for managing cookies on a user'"'"'s computer, the user from time to time interfacing with an Internet content provider (ICP) website by using a browser executing on the user'"'"'s computer and communicating with the ICP website through the World Wide Web, the interfacing resulting in the setting of a cookie on the user'"'"'s computer, a cookie consisting of a string of characters defining a type and a value, the system comprising:

a) a local cookie dictionary, located on the user'"'"'s computer, having at least one entry, each entry corresponding to a cookie of a particular type, each entry containing content data indicating an interpretation of at least one type of cookie;

b) a site-specific cookie dictionary, containing an interpretation of at least some types of cookies used by at least one ICP website;

c) a universal cookie dictionary, containing types of cookies not necessarily used by any ICP website and interpretations of the types of cookies, for selection by a user in conveying preferences to a website;

d) an interpreter, for associating a specific entry in the local cookie dictionary with a particular cookie, and for providing an interpretation of the cookie according to the content data contained in the entry; and

e) a local cookie dictionary manager for updating the local cookie dictionary to include entries from the site-specific cookie dictionary needed to interpret each cookie, on the user'"'"'s computer, that originated at some ICP website, and also to include at least some entries from the universal cookie dictionary;

f) a cookie editor for displaying interpretations provided by the cookie interpreter and for enabling the user to alter, in case of a cookie set by an ICP website, the value of the cookie to any of the values used by the ICP website, and also for enabling the user to fabricate a cookie, expressing a preference of the user, based on an entry in the universal cookie dictionary.

14. The system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the cookie interpreter refers to the site-specific cookie dictionary to interpret the cookie.