Redirect control in web browsers

• US 8,543,715 B1
• Filed: 01/12/2011
• Issued: 09/24/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Rabbat, Richard, Manor, Eyal
• Primary Examiner(s): Strange, Aaron
• Assistant Examiner(s): SOWA, TIMOTHY JOHN
• Application Number:
  US13/004,958
• Time in Patent Office: 986 Days
• Field of Search: 709/219, 709/224, 709/229, 709/245
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/972 Access to data in other repository systems, e.g. legacy data or dynamic Web page generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement

Abstract

The capability to limit the number of user redirects for a third-party content provider or third-party content provider network, such as, for example, an advertiser or advertising network, is provided. Such a capability extends the functionality of an attribute of a HyperText Markup Language (HTML) element to establish a limit to the number of user redirects. Accordingly, such a limit can be used to enforce restrictions on the number of user redirects through a user'"'"'s web browser.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for limiting user redirects within a web browser, comprising:

parsing a frame element in a plurality of elements to identify one or more attributes of the frame element, the plurality of elements encoded in a web page retrieved in response to a user request;

determining a redirect limit for the frame element from among the one or more identified attributes, wherein the redirect limit specifies a maximum number of user redirects for a third-party resource corresponding to the frame element; and

responding to a redirect request associated with the third-party resource based on the determined redirect limit, wherein the redirect request is ignored when the redirect limit is exceeded.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of elements are Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) elements.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the frame element is an inline frame element.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the inline frame element is associated with a third-party content delivery system.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the responding comprises:

incrementing a redirect counter value in response to receiving the redirect request;

comparing the incremented redirect counter value with the determined redirect limit; and

ignoring the redirect request when the redirect counter value exceeds the determined redirect limit.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

transmitting an error code to the third-party content delivery system when the redirect counter value exceeds the determined redirect limit.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the third-party content delivery system is an advertising delivery system and the third-party resource is an advertisement.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the inline frame element of the web page is encoded using an HTML tag having an attribute that specifies the redirect limit.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the HTML tag is a sandbox tag.

10. A system for limiting user redirects in a web browser, comprising:

one or more processors;

a parser, implemented on the one or more processors, to parse a frame element in a plurality of elements to identify one or more attributes of the frame element, the plurality of elements encoded in a web page retrieved in response to a user request, and to determine a redirect limit for the frame element from among the one or more identified attributes, wherein the redirect limit specifies a maximum number of user redirects for a third-party resource corresponding to the frame element; and

a network engine, implemented on the one or more processors, to respond to a redirect request associated with the third-party resource based on the redirect limit, wherein the redirect request is ignored when the redirect limit is exceeded.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the plurality of elements are Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) elements.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the frame element is an inline frame element.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the inline frame element is associated with a third-party content delivery system.

14. The system of claim 13, further comprising:

a rendering engine, implemented on the one or more processors, to render the inline frame element with the third-party resource within the web page using a display device, wherein the third-party resource is provided by the third-party content delivery system.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the network engine is configured to:

increment a redirect counter value in response to receiving the redirect request;

compare the incremented redirect counter value with the determined redirect limit; and

ignore the redirect request when the redirect counter value exceeds the determined redirect limit.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the network engine is further configured to transmit an error code to the third-party content delivery system when the redirect counter value exceeds the determined redirect limit.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the third-party content delivery system is an advertising delivery system and the third-party resource is an advertisement.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein the inline frame element of the web page is encoded using an HTML tag having an attribute that specifies the redirect limit.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the HTML tag is a sandbox tag.

20. The system of claim 10, wherein the parser and the network engine are implemented as components of the web browser.