Methods and apparatus to identify session users with cookie information

• US 9,232,014 B2
• Filed: 03/09/2015
• Issued: 01/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Original Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Duterque, Gilles, Srivastava, Seema Varma, Ion, Cristina
• Primary Examiner(s): Bates, Kevin
• Assistant Examiner(s): RAHMAN, SM AZIZUR
• Application Number:
  US14/641,982
• Publication Number:
  US 20150180991A1
• Time in Patent Office: 302 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/04 Processing captured monitoring data, e.g. for logfile generation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/146 Markers for unambiguous identification of a particular session, e.g. session cookie or URL-encoding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

Methods and apparatus are disclosed to identify session users with cookie information. An example method includes locating, with a processor, a first storage location associated with a first browser and a second storage location associated with a second browser, identifying, with the processor, a first cookie in the first storage location having a most recent timestamp, when the first storage location includes the first cookie of a first type, establishing a first user associated with the first cookie as a current user of the computing device. The example method includes searching, with the processor, the second storage location for a second cookie having the same type as the first cookie, when the second storage location includes the second cookie, comparing, with the processor, the timestamp of the first cookie and a timestamp of the second cookie to determine a most recent cookie, when the first cookie is the most recent, confirming the first user as the current user of the computing device, and when the second cookie is the most recent, replacing the first user with a user associated with the second cookie as the current user of the computing device.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method to associate a current user of a computing device with current usage activity, the method comprising:

locating, with a processor, a first storage location associated with a first browser and a second storage location associated with a second browser;

identifying, with the processor, a first cookie in the first storage location having a most recent timestamp;

determining, with the processor, a type of the first cookie;

when the type of the first cookie is a first type, establishing, with the processor, a first user associated with the first cookie as the current user of the computing device;

searching, with the processor, the second storage location for a second cookie of the first type having a most recent timestamp;

comparing, with the processor, the timestamp of the first cookie and the timestamp of the second cookie to determine a most recent cookie;

when the first cookie is the most recent cookie, confirming, with the processor, the first user as the current user of the computing device; and

when the second cookie is the most recent cookie, replacing, with the processor, the first user with a user associated with the second cookie as the current user of the computing device.

2. A computer implemented method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first type is indicative of at least one of a social networking service, an email service, or a banking service.

3. A computer implemented method as defined in claim 1, further including:

determining the second storage location contains a third cookie of a second type having a timestamp more recent than the first cookie and the second cookie; and

replacing the first user with a user associated with the third cookie as the current user of the computing device.

4. A computer implemented method as defined in claim 3, wherein the second type is indicative of a web-service.

5. A computer implemented method as defined in claim 1, further including classifying the user associated with the second cookie as a guest when the user associated with the second cookie is not one of a plurality of known household users.

6. A computer implemented method as defined in claim 1, wherein the timestamp of the first cookie is indicative of at least of (1) a time of creation of the first cookie, or (2) a time of modification of the first cookie.

7. A computer implemented method as defined in claim 1, wherein the establishing of the first user associated with the first cookie as the current user of the computing device further includes:

comparing an identifier of the first cookie to identifiers in a cookie table of panelists; and

determining the identifier is associated with one of the panelists identified in the cookie table.

8. A computer implemented method as defined in claim 1, wherein the establishing of the first user associated with the first cookie as the current user of the computing device further includes:

comparing an identifier of the first cookie to identifiers in a cookie table of panelists; and

identifying the first user is a guest when the identifier is not associated with one of the panelists identified in the cookie table.

9. A tangible computer readable storage medium comprising instructions to associate a current user of a computing device with current usage activity, the instructions, when executed, cause a machine to at least:

locate a first storage location associated with a first browser and a second storage location associated with a second browser;

identify a first cookie in the first storage location having a most recent timestamp;

determine a type of the first cookie;

when the type of the first cookie is a first type, establish a first user associated with the first cookie as the current user of the computing device;

search the second storage location for a second cookie of the first type having a most recent timestamp;

compare the timestamp of the first cookie and the timestamp of the second cookie to determine a most recent cookie;

when the first cookie is the most recent cookie, confirm the first user as the current user of the computing device; and

when the second cookie is the most recent cookie, replace the first user with a user associated with the second cookie as the current user of the computing device.

10. A storage medium as defined in claim 9, further including instructions that cause the machine to at least:

determine the second storage location contains a third cookie of a second type having a timestamp more recent than the first cookie and the second cookie; and

replace the first user with a user associated with the third cookie as the current user of the computing device.

11. A storage medium as defined in claim 9, wherein the first type is indicative of a first web-service.

12. A storage medium as defined in claim 9, further including instructions that when executed cause the machine to at least:

determine that the user associated with the second cookie is not one of a plurality of known household users; and

classify the user associated with the second cookie as a guest.

13. A storage medium as defined in claim 9, wherein the timestamp of the first cookie is indicative of at least one of (1) a time of creation of the first cookie or (2) a time of modification of the first cookie.

14. A storage medium as defined in claim 9, further including instructions that when executed cause the machine to at least:

compare an identifier of the first cookie to identifiers in a cookie table of panelists; and

determine the identifier is associated with one of the panelists identified in the cookie table.

15. An apparatus to associate a current user of a computing device with current usage activity, the apparatus comprising:

a platform analyzer to locate a first storage location associated with a first browser and a second storage location associated with a second browser;

a cookie manager to identify in the first storage location a first cookie having a most recent timestamp, to determine a type of the first cookie, and when type of the first cookie is a first type, establish a first user associated with the first cookie as the current user of the computing device;

a duplicate identifier to search the second storage location for a second cookie of the first type having a most recent timestamp;

a cookie temporal analyzer to compare the timestamp of the first cookie to the timestamp of the second cookie;

an activity associator to confirm the first user as the current user of the computing device when the first cookie is the most recent, and to replace the first user with a user associated with the second cookie as the current user of the computing device when the second cookie is the most recent.

16. An apparatus as defined in claim 15, further including an application storage interface to determine the second storage location contains a third cookie of a second type more recent than the first cookie and the second cookie, the cookie manager to replace the first user with a user associated with the third cookie as the current user of the computing device.

17. An apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein the first type is indicative of at least one of a social networking service, an email service, or a banking service.

18. An apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein the cookie manager is further to:

determine that the user associated with the second cookie is not one of a plurality of known household users; and

classify the user associated with the second cookie as a guest.

19. An apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein the timestamp of the first cookie is indicative of at least one of (1) a time of creation of the first cookie or (2) a time of modification of the first cookie.

20. An apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein the cookie manager is to:

compare an identifier of the first cookie to identifiers in a cookie table of panelists; and

determine the identifier is associated with one of the panelists identified in the cookie table.