Method and system for monitoring online computer network behavior and creating online behavior profiles
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for collecting network usage data about users accessing a network and resources thereon without associating personally identifiable information with the usage data, comprising:
- obtaining an identifier at a network service provider representing a user of a computer network;
creating an anonymized identifier using the identifier obtained from the network service provider;
associating the anonymized identifier with the user;
identifying a network communication session between a host and the user;
identifying a network request collected by the network service provider, the network request comprising a resource location identifier, the network request being determined to be related to the network communication session;
stripping personally identifying data from the resource location identifier to create a modified resource location identifier, based on matching one or more patterns against the resource location identifier;
recording, in a database, data associating the anonymized identifier with a subset of data related to the network communication session, the subset of data comprising the modified resource location identifier.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for monitoring users on one or more computer networks, disassociating personally identifiable information from the collected data, and storing it in a database so that the privacy of the users is protected. The system receives a user identifier and uses it to creates an anonymized identifier, defined as a user identifier stripped of all personally identifiable information. The anonymized identifier is then associated with one or more users'"'"' computer network transactions. The data is stored by a collection engine and then aggregated to a central database server across a computer network.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for collecting network usage data about users accessing a network and resources thereon without associating personally identifiable information with the usage data, comprising:
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obtaining an identifier at a network service provider representing a user of a computer network; creating an anonymized identifier using the identifier obtained from the network service provider; associating the anonymized identifier with the user; identifying a network communication session between a host and the user; identifying a network request collected by the network service provider, the network request comprising a resource location identifier, the network request being determined to be related to the network communication session; stripping personally identifying data from the resource location identifier to create a modified resource location identifier, based on matching one or more patterns against the resource location identifier; recording, in a database, data associating the anonymized identifier with a subset of data related to the network communication session, the subset of data comprising the modified resource location identifier. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A computing device configured to collect network usage data relating to users accessing a network and resources thereon without associating personally identifiable information with the usage data, comprising:
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one or more network interfaces configured to receive network packets from an internet service provider, the network packets originating from a plurality of computer servers, the network packets comprising information descriptive of a use of a respective computer network; and a processor configured to extract data from the network packets, aggregate the data from different networks for a session into second data that describes use of a plurality of computer networks during the session, and store the second data in a database; the second data being associated in the database with an anonymized identifier associated with a user of the internet service provider, wherein the anonymized identifier comprises no personally identifying information of the user; wherein the extracted data comprises a resource location identifier, and wherein the processor is further configured to strip personally identifying data from the resource location identifier prior to storing the second data in the database. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification