Whois server verifying whois records and search engine accesses

• US 8,583,612 B2
• Filed: 06/14/2012
• Issued: 11/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Enpulz LLC
• Inventors: Bennett, James D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Spieler, William
• Application Number:
  US13/517,820
• Publication Number:
  US 20120259830A1
• Time in Patent Office: 516 Days
• Field of Search: 707/694, 707/801
• US Class Current: 707/694
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques

Abstract

A system and method monitors and weeds out illegitimate/illegal websites during search engine indexing and domain name registration. The whois database generated during domain name registration is used as a reference database for correlation with a database generated by the search crawler on a search engine server. A whois analyzer from the search engine server extracts a set of URLs into a database called the uncorrelated URL database. The uncorrelated URL database contains those URLs from both the aggregate whois database and reverse index database after removing common URLs. The uncorrelated URLs are contacted and advised by the whois administrator to take necessary action to be listed in the whois database and properly be indexed during search engine crawling. This process ensures that every URL is properly registered and identified on the Internet thus eliminating the success of illegal/unwanted websites.

Claims

1. A Whois database server that generates Whois data of business firms, the Whois database server comprising:

memory;

a processor operably coupled to the memory, the processor to implement;

a Whois database server communicatively coupled with a search engine server, the Whois database server including;

a first database storing records associated with domain name registrations of a first category of website addresses; and

a second database storing records associated with domain name registrations of a second category of website addresses and excluding records associated with domain name registrations of the first category, wherein the first category comprises verified website addresses and the second category comprises unverified website addresses;

a domain name registration module;

a domain name registration timer;

wherein the domain name registration module facilitates registration and verification of a new business firm into the Whois database server; and

wherein the domain name registration timer tracks a domain name registration duration associated with a Whois database record and enables notification of a business owner through output circuitry of the Whois database server regarding expiration of the registration.

2. The Whois database server of claim 1, wherein the domain name registration module facilitates registration of a new business firm into the Whois database server wherein the Whois database server accepts registration information in the form of a Whois database record.

3. The Whois database server of claim 2, wherein the Whois record further comprises at least a name of the registrant, a registration date and duration, a geographical contact address, a telephone number of the business firm, and a URL of the registrant'"'"'s website further comprising the domain name.

4. The Whois database server of claim 1, wherein the domain name registration timer tracks a domain name registration duration associated with the Whois database record and issues a warning to a person identified in the Whois database record as a Whois database contact person and a business firm contact person to alert both the Whois database contact person and the business firm contact person before a domain name registration expires.

5. The Whois database server of claim 4, wherein the domain name registration timer tracks the domain name registration duration and issues a warning to a person identified in the Whois database record as a Whois database contact person and a business firm contact person on a predetermined alert time before domain name registration expires.

6. The Whois database server of claim 1, wherein the Whois database server issues a warning to the business firm contact person on a predetermined alert time before domain name registration expires and wherein upon receipt of the warning the business firm contact person renews the domain name registration before the registration expires preventing any loss of rights in the domain name.

7. The Whois database server of claim 6, wherein a person identified in the Whois database record as a Whois database contact person sends at least a reminder message and telephone call to the business firm contact person for domain name renewal in response to receiving the domain name renewal alert.

8. The Whois database server of claim 1 further comprising:

a Whois crawler that crawls through a plurality of differing Whois database servers; and

wherein the Whois crawler extracts at least portions of Whois information records from the plurality of differing Whois database servers and stores the Whois information records into at least one of the first database storing records and the second database storing records.

9. A method performed by a Whois database server that is adapted to be communicatively coupled to a plurality of search engine servers, the method comprising:

sampling a Whois database record read request;

determining whether the read request is from a previously registered search engine server;

in response to a favorable determination, allowing the search engine server to access Whois database records, wherein the Whois database server includes;

a first database storing records associated exclusively with verified domain name registrations, and a second database storing records associated exclusively with unverified domain name registrations, wherein the first database excludes records associated with unverified domain name registrations;

in response to an unfavorable determination, performing a human challenge response identification to authenticate the read request; and

processing the Whois record for read requests that were authenticated.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving the Whois database record read request and testing the request for existing registration as a high volume user of Whois records; and

delivering the Whois records requested by the high volume read access from the search engine once registration is determined.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving the Whois database record read request;

testing the record read request source with a human challenge authentication and a denied access list; and

denying the Whois record if the source is resident on the denied access list.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving write requests from online registrants and offline human registrants for writing information into a Whois database;

testing the authenticity of the online registrants and offline registrants by retrieving and updating categorized registration information via Whois database information;

testing for writing search engine feedback on a web page of a business along with testing of a search engine'"'"'s authenticity to write into the Whois database; and

updating the Whois database by writing information to Whois database records.