Crawling multiple markets and correlating

• US 9,043,919 B2
• Filed: 05/30/2012
• Issued: 05/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lookout Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Lookout Incorporated
• Inventors: Wyatt, Timothy M., Strazzere, Tim, Mahaffey, Kevin Patrick, Swami, Yogesh
• Primary Examiner(s): Yalew, Fikremariam A
• Application Number:
  US13/484,132
• Publication Number:
  US 20120240236A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,091 Days
• Field of Search: 707/708, 726/25
• US Class Current: 726/25
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3409 for performance assessment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3452 Performance evaluation by statistical analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/562 Static detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/564 by virus signature recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/81 Threshold
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/865 Monitoring of software
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/88 Monitoring involving counting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2213/0038 System on Chip
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0185 Product, service or business identity fraud

Abstract

A crawler program collects and stores application programs including application binaries and associated metadata from any number of sources such as official application marketplaces and alternative application marketplaces. An analysis including comparisons and correlations are performed among the collected data in order to detect and warn users about pirated or maliciously modified applications.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

retrieving, by an application collector program, a first application program and first metadata associated with the first application program from a source of application programs;

storing the first application program and first metadata;

parsing the first metadata to identify at least one keyword in the first metadata;

submitting to the source of application programs a first query based on the at least one keyword in the first metadata;

receiving a first search result responsive to the first query, wherein the first search result identifies a second application program related to the first application program;

retrieving the second application program and second metadata associated with the second application program from the source of application programs

comparing the first metadata with the second metadata to identify a keyword that is in the first and second metadata;

submitting to the source of application programs a second query based on the keyword that is in the first and second metadata;

receiving a second search result responsive to the second query, wherein the second search result identifies a third application program related to the first and second application programs; and

retrieving the third application program and third metadata associated with the third application program from the source of application programs.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of storing the first application program and first metadata comprises storing an application binary of the first application program.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of storing the first application program and first metadata comprises:

extracting first data from an application binary of the first application program; and

after the step of extracting the first data, storing the extracted first data.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the extracted first data comprises a package name, declared application permissions, an application icon, or an application signing certificate.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of storing the first application program and first metadata comprises storing a name of the source of application programs.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the application programs are mobile application programs.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one keyword in the first metadata comprises a name of a publisher of the first application program, or a title of the first application program.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the title is a name of the first application program.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the title is a package identifier of the first application program.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the first metadata associated with the first application program includes at least one of rating information, a price, a number of ratings, user comments, or an icon that is displayed to users accessing the source of application programs.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the source includes a mobile application marketplace, an internet forum, a download site, or an application market application programming interface (API).

12. The method of claim 1 comprising after the step of receiving a first search result responsive to the first query,

retrieving, from the source, updated first metadata associated with the first application program;

parsing the updated first metadata to identify at least one keyword in the updated first metadata;

submitting to the source of application programs a second query based on the at least one keyword in the updated first metadata;

receiving a second search result responsive to the second query, wherein the second search result identifies a third application program related to the first and second application programs; and

retrieving the third application program and third metadata associated with the third application program from the source of application programs.

13. A method comprising:

providing to a first source of application programs, a first client personality indicating that a portable electronic device having the first client personality is requesting the application programs, and sending a first request to the first source, wherein the first request comprises a first query and indicates to the first source that the first query regards a portable electronic device having the first client personality;

receiving from the first source a first listing of application programs that the first source makes available to portable electronic devices having the first client personality;

providing to the first source a second client personality, different from the first client personality, indicating that a portable electronic device having the second client personality is requesting the application programs, and sending a second request to the first source, wherein the second request comprises a second query, different from the first query, and indicates that the second query regards a portable electronic device having the second client personality, wherein the first query is based on the first client personality, and the second query is based on the second client personality;

receiving from the first source a second listing of application programs that the first source makes available to portable electronic devices having the second client personality,

wherein the first listing includes a first application program and does not include a second application program, and the second listing includes the second application program and does not include the first application program;

downloading into a repository the first application program and first metadata associated with the first application program; and

downloading into the repository the second application program and second metadata associated with the second application program.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the first client personality specifies that the portable electronic device is of a first model, and the second client personality specifies that the portable electronic device is of a second model, different from the first model.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein the first client personality specifies that the portable electronic device is located in a first country, and the second client personality specifies that the portable electronic device is located in a second country, different from the first country.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein the first client personality specifies that the portable electronic device has a first set of capabilities, and the second client personality specifies that the portable electronic device has a second set of capabilities, different from the first set of capabilities.

17. The method of claim 13 wherein the first client personality specifies that the portable electronic device is from a first manufacturer, and the second client personality specifies that the portable electronic device is from a second manufacturer, different from the first manufacturer.

18. The method of claim 13 wherein the first client personality specifies that the portable electronic device has a first operating system, and the second client personality specifies that the portable electronic device has a second operating system, different from the first operating system.

19. The method of claim 13 wherein the first client personality specifies that the portable electronic device is on a first carrier network, and the second client personality specifies that the portable electronic device is on a second carrier network, different from the first carrier network.