System and method for content filtering

• US 7,650,420 B2
• Filed: 06/18/2008
• Issued: 01/19/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: DIRECTV, LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Makaijani, Michael, Chong, Lester J, Cheline, Douglas
• Primary Examiner(s): NEURAUTER, GEORGE C
• Application Number:
  US12/141,797
• Publication Number:
  US 20080250484A1
• Time in Patent Office: 580 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/213, 709/219, 709/225, 709/229, 709/239, 709/245, 707/10
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2141 Access rights, e.g. capability lists, access control lists, access tables, access matrices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0227 Filtering policies mail message filtering H04L51/212
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0245 Filtering by information in the payload

Abstract

The system for content filtering includes at least one content server that stores content. The system also includes at least one client computer configured to transmit a request for the content to the at least one content server. The request contains an address of the content server and a port number associated with such a request for the content. A gateway is coupled to the at least one client computer. The gateway is configured to receive and renumber the request with a new rarely used port number associated with a filter privilege of a user of the at least one client computer. The system also includes a content filtering server, configured to block restricted content based on the filter privilege. Finally, a switch is coupled to the gateway, the content filtering server, and the content server. The switch is configured to listen for the request on the rarely used port number and to redirect the request to the content filtering server.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining a filter privilege of a user associated with a client computer in response to a request for content including a first port number and a Uniform Resource Locator (URL);

renumbering said request for content with a second port number based on said filter privilege;

transmitting said request for content with said second port number to a content filtering server that is configured to listen for requests on said second port number;

when the filter privilege is associated with an inclusion list and the URL is within the inclusion list, returning requested content to the client computer;

when the filter privilege is not associated with the inclusion list and is within an exclusionary list and the URL is not in the exclusionary list, returning requested content to the client computer.

2. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising receiving login details from said client computer;

and

authenticating the user of said client computer based on said login details.

3. A method as recited in claim 2 wherein the step of determining a filter privilege comprises determining the filter privilege based on said login details.

4. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the step of transmitting said request for content with the second port number comprises transmitting an HTTP request from the client computer.

5. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein transmitting the request for content with the second port number comprises transmitting the request to a switch which redirects the request for content having one of a plurality of predetermined port numbers to the content filtering server.

6. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein returning requested content to the client computer when the filter privilege is associated with an inclusion list and the URL is within the inclusion list comprises changing the second port number to the first port number.

7. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising when the filter privilege is associated with the inclusion list and when the URL is not in the inclusion list, communicating a notification of blocked content.

8. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising when the filter privilege is associated with the exclusionary list and when the URL is in the exclusionary list, communicating a notification of blocked content.

9. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising when the filter privilege is not associated with an inclusion list and is within an exclusionary list, when the URL is within the exclusionary list and when the filter privilege is not included in a filter category, returning requested content.

10. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising, when the filter privilege is associated with the exclusionary list, when the URL is in the exclusionary list and when the filter privilege does include a filter category, communicating a notification of blocked content.

11. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the step of returning requested content to the client computer comprises returning requested content to the client computer from a network cache.

12. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the step of returning requested content to the client computer comprises returning requested content to the client computer though an Internet when the requested content is unavailable from a network cache.

13. A system interacting with a client computer having a user associated therewith, said system comprising:

a gateway receiving a request for content from the client computer, said request including a first port number and a URL, said gateway renumbering said request for content with a second port number based on said filter privilege and transmitting the request; and

a content filtering server in communication with the gateway, said content filtering server configured to listen for a request for content on said additional port number, said content filtering server receiving the request for content from the gateway, when the filter privilege is associated with an inclusion list and the URL is within the inclusion list, said content filtering server returning requested content and, when the filter privilege is not associated with an inclusion list and is within an exclusionary list and the URL is not in the exclusionary list, said content filtering server returning requested content.

14. A system as recited in claim 13 further comprising a switch coupled to said gateway, said content filtering server, and at least one content server, wherein said switch is configured to listen for said request on said new port number and to redirect said request to said content filtering server.

15. A system as recited in claim 13 wherein the request to the client computer when the filter privilege is associated with an inclusion list and the URL is within the inclusion list comprises an HTTP request from the client computer.

16. A system as recited in claim 13 wherein the content filtering server changes the second port number to the first port number to obtain the requested content.

17. A system as recited in claim 13 wherein the content filtering server communicates a notification of blocked content to the client computer when the filter privilege is associated with the inclusion list and the URL is not in the inclusion list.

18. A system as recited in claim 13 wherein the content filtering server communicates a notification of blocked content to the client computer when the filter privilege is associated with the exclusionary list and the URL is in the exclusionary list.

19. A system as recited in claim 13 wherein the content filtering server determines a filter category associated with the URL, said content filtering server allowing content to be returned to the client computer when the filter privilege is associated with the exclusionary content list, the URL is not in the exclusionary list and the filter privilege does not include the filter category.

20. A system as recited in claim 13 wherein the content filtering server determines a filter category associated with the URL, said content filtering server communicates a notification of blocked content to the client computer when the filter privilege is associated with the exclusionary list, the URL is in the exclusionary list and the filter privilege does include the filter category.

21. A system as recited in claim 13 further comprising a network cache returning requested content.