System and method for detecting and reporting online activity using real-time content-based network monitoring

• US 9,058,416 B2
• Filed: 12/11/2001
• Issued: 06/16/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Network Monitoring LLC
• Original Assignee: Peter K. Trzyna
• Inventors: Angeles, Patrick
• Primary Examiner(s): Shin, Kyung H
• Application Number:
  US10/013,827
• Publication Number:
  US 20020128925A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,935 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224, 709/238, 709/206, 707/10
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3414 Workload generation, e.g. scripts, playback
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3438 monitoring of user actions tracking the activity of the user H04L67/535
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3476 Data logging G06F11/14, G06F11/2205 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3495 for systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/95 Retrieval from the web
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9566 URL specific, e.g. using aliases, detecting broken or misspelled links
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/986 Document structures and storage, e.g. HTML extensions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/875 Monitoring of systems including the internet
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/06 Generation of reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/10 of different types
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0281 Proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/029 Firewall traversal, e.g. tunnelling or, creating pinholes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 : using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/166 : at the transport layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 : based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 : Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 : in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 : Network security protocols

Abstract

A computerized system and method for tracking and reporting online activity across a plurality of clients and servers is disclosed that intercepts and logs secure and non-secure HTTP request and response pages, analyzes each of the received page records, associates each page record to an event type based on user-defined parameters, identifies and extracts user-defined attributes of each page record based on its event type, and reports on the occurrence of the event along with its associated attributes.

Claims

1. A method of capturing on a computer programmed digital electrical tracking system information about activity of a user browser accessing a Web server, the method comprising:

providing the user browser with a Web page containing a URL specifying both an address of the tracking system and information that specifies a URL on the Web server;

upon receipt by the tracking system of a Web page request from the user browser, determining a Web server URL from the Web page request;

identifying and extracting captured information indicating that the user browser has requested the Web server URL, the captured information stored within a database;

forming parameter data based upon pre-determined selection parameters from the database;

encoding an original URL as part of the tracking system URL path to construct at least one rewritten URL;

embedding the rewritten URLs in the response such that a browser request to each of the rewritten embedded URLs is sent to the tracking system; and

causing the Web page specified by the Web server URL to be returned to the user browser.

2. The method of claim 1, where the causing the Web page specified by the Web server URL to be returned to the user browser comprises:

requesting the Web page from the Web server based on the Web server URL;

receiving a response from Web server; and

forwarding the response to the user browser.

3. The method of claim 1, where the causing the Web page specified by the Web server URL to be returned to the user comprises redirecting the user browser to the Web page on the Web browser.

4. The method of claim 3, where the redirection is performed using an HTTP redirect.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

dynamically maintaining the pre-determined selection parameters based upon revisable, operator-defined instructions on how to select and extract information from a text page; and

analyzing the parameter data sets to predict future user activity.

6. A computer programmed digital electrical tracking system apparatus connected to a user browser and a Web server on the Internet, the apparatus adapted to:

provide the user browser with a Web page containing a URL specifying both an address of the tracking system and information that specifies a URL on the Web server;

upon receipt by the tracking system of a Web page request from the user browser, determine a Web server URL from the Web page request;

identifying and extracting captured information indicating that the user browser has requested the Web server URL, the captured information stored within a database;

forming parameter data based upon pre-determined selection parameters from the database;

encoding an original URL as part of the tracking system URL path to construct at least one rewritten URL;

embedding the rewritten URLs in the response such that a browser request to each of the rewritten embedded URLs is sent to the tracking system; and

cause the Web page specified by the Web server URL to be returned to the user browser.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the apparatus causes the Web page specified by the Web server URL to be returned to the user browser by operations comprising:

requesting the Web page from the Web server based on the Web server URL;

receiving a response from Web server; and

forwarding the response to the user browser.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, where the apparatus causes the Web page specified by the Web server URL to be returned to the user by redirecting the user browser to the Web page on the Web browser.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, where the redirection is performed using an HTTP redirect.

10. The apparatus of claim 6, is further adapted to:

dynamically maintain the pre-determined selection parameters based upon revisable, operator-defined instructions on how to select and extract information from a text page; and

analyze the parameter data sets to predict future user activity.