Access to network content

• US 8,887,239 B1
• Filed: 08/08/2012
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Jain, Arvind, Ramachandran, Sreeram
• Primary Examiner(s): McNally, Michael S
• Application Number:
  US13/569,477
• Time in Patent Office: 825 Days
• Field of Search: 726/3
• US Class Current: 726/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/95 Retrieval from the web
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9574 of access to content, e.g. by caching
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/128 involving web programs, i.e. using technology especially used in internet, generally interacting with a web browser, e.g. hypertext markup language [HTML], applets, java
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0253 using browsers or web-pages for accessing management information

Abstract

A method and system for improving access to search results are provided in the disclosure herein. Aspects of this disclosure minimize the delay in accessing network content by priming certain regularly viewed content (e.g., a search engine home page or a web search page) in a hidden browser instance. As the user accesses the content prerendered in the invisible browser instance, a new instance of the prerendered content is created to facilitate future accesses to the network content (e.g., future search queries). The security state of the network content may be determined and/or monitored, and appropriate action taken in response to a change in the security state.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

preloading, using a processor, a set of network content in a hidden browser instance, the set of network content configured in a first security state;

determining that the set of network content has entered a second security state different from the first security state; and

reloading the set of network content into the hidden browser instance in response to the determination that the set of network content has entered the second security state, wherein the reloading operation configures the set of network content to operate in the second security state.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the set of network content has entered a second security state is performed at a particular time interval.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the set of network content has entered a second security state is done in response to a user performing an action that indicates the user intends to interact with the set of network content.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining and reloading steps are performed by a script executing in the set of network content.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of network content is a search engine results page.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the search engine results page is a default search engine associated with a browser.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the browser performs the determining that the set of network content has entered the second security state by communicating to the default search engine via a search engine application programming interface.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein determining that the set of network content has entered a second security state is performed in response to a user entering a search query to be executed by the search engine results page.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the set of network content has entered a second security state is performed by a browser, and wherein the browser detects a session identifier associated with the set of network content to determine if a security state change has taken place.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first security state is an insecure browsing environment and the second security state is a secure browsing environment.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising predicting network content to preload based on a prerender tag associated with the network content, the prerender tag indicating that the network content is a candidate for prerendering.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein a change from the first security state to the second security state is associated with a user login operation.

13. A tangible, non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform a method, the method comprising:

preloading a set of network content in a hidden browser instance, the set of network content configured in a first security state;

determining that the set of network content has entered a second security state with different from the first security state; and

reloading the set of network content into the hidden browser instance in response to the determination that the set of network content has entered the second security state, wherein the reloading operation configures the set of network content to operate in the second security state.

14. The computer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein determining that the set of network content has entered a second security state is performed at a particular time interval.

15. The computer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein determining that the set of network content has entered a second security state is done in response to a user performing an action that indicates the user intends to interact with the set of network content.

16. The computer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the set of network content is a search engine results page.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the search engine results page is a default search engine associated with a browser.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the browser performs the determining that the set of network content has entered the second security state by communicating to the default search engine via a search engine application programming interface.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein determining that the set of network content has entered a second security state is performed by a browser, and wherein the browser detects a session identifier associated with the set of network content to determine if a security state change has taken place.

20. A processing system, comprising:

at least one processor coupled to a memory, the at least one processor being configured to;

preload a set of network content in a hidden browser instance, the set of network content configured in a first security state;

determine that the set of network content has entered a second security state different from the first security state; and

reload the set of network content into the hidden browser instance in response to the determination that the set of network content has entered the second security state, wherein the reloading operation configures the set of network content to operate in the second security state.

21. The processing system of claim 20, wherein the set of network content is a search engine results page.

22. The processing system of claim 20, wherein the processor is further configured to predict network content to preload based on a prerender tag associated with the network content, the prerender tag indicating that the network content is a candidate for prerendering.