Consumer configurable mobile communication web filtering solution

• US 7,516,219 B2
• Filed: 01/22/2008
• Issued: 04/07/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ventraq Corporation
• Original Assignee: Ventraq Corporation
• Inventors: Perez, Carlos Bernardino Eleazar, Sena, Jonjie, Moghaddam, Mehran
• Primary Examiner(s): LIN, KENNY S
• Application Number:
  US12/018,079
• Publication Number:
  US 20080114862A1
• Time in Patent Office: 441 Days
• Field of Search: 709/223, 709/225, 709/229, 379/350
• US Class Current: 709/225
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4552 Lookup mechanisms between a plurality of directories; Synchronisation of directories, e.g. metadirectories
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0245 Filtering by information in the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0281 Proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0892 by using authentication-authorization-accounting [AAA] servers or protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/12 Application layer protocols, e.g. WAP [Wireless Application Protocol]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 Gateway arrangements

Abstract

Consumer configurable mobile communications solution enabling web filtering based on policy-enforcement services allowing authorized users to define, manage and enforce restrictions for mobile web data and services of a secondary mobile device.

Claims

1. A consumer configurable mobile web communications system comprising:

a patrol module adapted to receive configuration information from a primary user, store the configuration information in a patrol database, and forward configuration data based on the configuration information received from the primary user upon updates to said configuration information, said configuration information and data defining rules for restricting web communications over a mobile telecommunications network by one or more mobile devices associated with one or more secondary users;

a subsystem of web filtering components associated with said mobile telecommunications network and interconnected with the patrol module, said web filtering components including a control module adapted to receive and to store said configuration data forwarded by said patrol module, a web filtering module connected to means for enabling wireless access to web content by said mobile communication devices, said control module communicating with said web filtering module to cause said web filtering module to apply said stored configuration data to manage web communications to and from said mobile devices of said secondary users according to appropriate ones of said rules, and a directory service and authentication module in electronic communication with said control module, said directory service and authentication module adapted to maintain a real-time database mapping permanent telephone numbers of said mobile devices to current internet protocol addresses assigned to said mobile devices;

wherein said web filtering components manage said web communications for a given secondary user by identifying mobile web communication requests made by said given secondary user by mapping an internet protocol address for a given mobile device associated with said given secondary user, using said internet protocol address to lookup a mobile telephone number for said given secondary user, and said control module using said telephone number to identify appropriate ones of said rules, and said web filtering module implementing instructions from said control module regarding whether to permit said identified mobile web communication requests.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said directory service and authentication module maintains a database that links a known permanent mobile telephone number for each said secondary user with a current internet protocol address being used for mobile web communications.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said web filtering decisions are based upon one or more mechanisms selected from the group consisting of a lookup process that returns an MSISDN/MDN in response to an internet protocol address, a process that intercepts, inspects, and processes all outbound HTTP requests, and a process that determines a category for all requested URLs.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said web filter module is an HHTP proxy server that interconnects with a service control point and queries said control module to determine whether a given mobile web communication for a given mobile device is permitted according to said rules.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said means for enabling wireless access comprises a serving GPRS support node server in communication with a gateway GPRS support node server, said support node servers providing access to the Internet for said mobile devices, and wherein said web filtering module comprises a proxy server for said support node servers.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the serving GPRS support node server is interconnectable with the mobile devices via a base station subsystem.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the control module further comprises a categorization interface for interconnecting with a content classification service and retrieving classification data for content related to said web communications.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the control categorization interface retrieves standard classification data.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the control categorization interface retrieves custom classification data.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the control module is further adapted to perform runtime optimizations comprising caching of the classification data to avoid subsequent requests and reduce a network lookup cost.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein said web filtering module is operably interconnected with a control point, wherein the web filtering module intercepts, inspects, and processes requests made by the each mobile device and queries the control module for access restrictions for associated secondary users.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the web filtering components further comprise a WAP gateway module operably interconnected with said control module, wherein the WAP gateway module manages WAP requests for the mobile devices by allowing or denying WAP traffic based on instructions received from the control module, and wherein said directory service and authentication module provides authentication services for the mobile devices for each said secondary user, said directory services and authentication module adapted to maintain mapping information for said mobile devices and provide said control module with access to the mapping information to identify particular secondary users associated with a particular one of said mobile devices by looking up an internet protocol address for the particular mobile device from the mapping information.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the web filtering components further comprise:

a visitor location register (VLR) module for interconnecting with said mobile devices and providing authorization to said mobile devices;

a mobile switching center (MSC) module for interconnecting with the mobile devices upon authorization by the VLR module and transmitting short message service (SMS) messages with the mobile devices;

a short message service center (SMSC) module operably interconnected with the MSC module and the control module, wherein the MSC module forwards each SMS message to the SMSC module and the SMSC queries against the control module to determine if an associated one of said mobile devices is allowed to deliver or receive said each SMS message.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the web filtering components further comprise:

a multimedia messaging service center (MMSC) module operably interconnected with the means for enabling wireless access and the control module, said MMSC adapted to introspect a multimedia message and query against the control module to determine if a particular one of said mobile devices is allowed to access the content of a multimedia message; and

a home location register (HLR) interconnected with the MMSC module for identifying the particular mobile device, wherein the control module retrieves an originating phone number from the home location register for identifying the secondary user for each multimedia message.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the web filtering components further comprise an instant message gateway module interconnected with the means for enabling wireless access and the control module for receiving an instruction from the control module and filtering an instant message according to the instruction.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the web filtering components further comprise an e-mail module interconnected with the means for enabling wirelessly accessing web content and the control module for receiving an instruction from the control module and filtering an e-mail message according to the instruction.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein said control module stores said configuration data in a database, and is further adapted to store records of network traffic of said secondary users for later review by said primary users.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein said primary users may activate an unrestricted setting for a particular secondary user that temporarily disables rules that pertain to said particular secondary user.

19. The system of claim 1, further comprising a media module in communication with said control module, said media module adapted to provide notices to a primary user according to one or more notice mechanisms predefined by said primary user, and further comprising a provisioning module adapted to forward notices describing attempted network traffic of said secondary users that violates said rules.

20. A method for configuring and controlling the use of mobile web communications device operable over a mobile telecommunications network, said method comprising:

presenting a patrol system having a patrol module, and a subsystem of web filtering components associated with said mobile telecommunications network and interconnected with the patrol module, said web filtering components including a control module adapted to receive and to store said configuration data forwarded by said patrol module, a web filtering module connected to means for enabling wireless access to web content by said mobile communication devices, and a directory service and authentication module in electronic communication with said control module;

receiving configuration information from a primary user via an interface of said patrol module;

storing the configuration information in a patrol database of said patrol module;

creating configuration data based on the configuration information whenever updates to said configuration information are made, said configuration data defining rules readable by said control module for restricting mobile web communications by one or more secondary users over the mobile telecommunications network;

communicating said configuration data to said control module;

storing said configuration data at said control module;

mapping an internet protocol address for a given mobile device associated with each said given secondary user with a mobile telephone number assigned to said given mobile device;

intercepting mobile web communication requests made to said means for enabling wireless access by each secondary user; and

applying said stored configuration data with said web filtering module and said means for enabling wireless access to manage network web traffic to and from said secondary users according to said rules, said directory service and authentication module using said internet protocol address to lookup a mobile telephone number for said given secondary user and using said telephone number to identify appropriate ones of said rules in said patrol database.