System and method for improved detection and monitoring of online accounts

• US 9,571,590 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2011
• Issued: 02/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Smith Micro Software Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Location Labs (Gen Digital Inc.)
• Inventors: Hodges, Daniel, Anakata, Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Thieu, Benjam M
• Assistant Examiner(s): WOO, ANDREW M
• Application Number:
  US13/316,360
• Publication Number:
  US 20120180135A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,894 Days
• Field of Search: 709/223, 726/26
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/168 above the transport layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

A computer-implemented monitoring and reporting method is provided. Identifying information is received corresponding to a user of a social networking application enabled by a social networking system. The social networking system is queried via a network for information corresponding to the user. The queried information is compared with predetermined criteria to determine a content category corresponding to the identifying information, and a report is provided including an indication of the determined content category.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented monitoring and reporting method for monitoring social networking application use of a first user based on instruction of a second user, the method comprising:

receiving identifying information of the first user of a social networking application enabled by a social networking system;

querying the social networking system via a network for information corresponding to the first user responsive to the instruction of the second user;

comparing the queried information with predetermined criteria that identifies at least one content category to determine the at least one content category corresponding to the identifying information, the at least one content category corresponding to at least one of an activity or a communication enabled by the social networking system;

querying at a first time instance and at a second time instance the social networking system to determine in which of a plurality of communication channels the at least one content category is shared, wherein a particular communication channel of the plurality of communication channels corresponds to at least one of a recipient or a recipient group;

determining a change in which communication channels the at least one content category is shared from the first time instance to the second time instance; and

providing a report to the second user responsive to the determined change in which communication channels the at least one content category is shared from the first time instance to the second time instance, the report comprising an indication of the determined at least one content category with the determined change of in which communication channels the at least one content category is shared.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising receiving the identifying information as at least one of a name, a phone number or an electronic mail address of the first user.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising accessing account information for the social first user based on the identifying information via an application program interface (“

API”

) enabled by at least one of the social networking system or a system which aggregates user information.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting HTTP requests via the network to the social networking system to access account information for the first user.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

receiving the identifying information from the second user.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the queried information is publicly available via the network.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

assigning a numerical risk to the at least one content category;

determining a risk score for the first user based on the numerical risk of the at least one content category, and

providing the report to the second user further comprising the indication of the determined at least one content category with the risk score.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising assigning the numerical risk to the at least one content category based on an age of the first user.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising assigning the numerical risk to the at least one content category based on a gender of the first user.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the at least one content category corresponds to a plurality of content categories, the method further comprising:

assigning a numerical risk to each of the plurality of content categories, wherein the plurality of content categories correspond to a plurality of numerical risks;

determining a risk score for the first user based on the plurality of numerical risks of the plurality of content categories.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, the method further comprising:

receiving a designation of the numerical risk associated with the at least one content category from the second user;

assigning the numerical risk to the at least one content category responsive to the designation by the second user.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising:

assigning the numerical risk to the at least one content category based on a preference of the first user.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising:

comparing the risk score for the first user with a risk score for at least one other user of the social networking application to generate a risk score comparison; and

providing the report with the risk score comparison.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the at least one other user of the social networking application comprises a plurality of peers of the first user.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising

receiving an indication of a demographic associated with the first user;

and

assigning to the at least one content category at least one of a numerical risk or expository text based on the demographic; and

providing the report based on the at least one of the numerical risk or the expository text assigned to the at least one content category.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising providing the report with expository text corresponding to the at least one content category.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, further comprising providing the expository text based on at least one of the age or the gender of the first user.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising providing the report with an indication of a default privacy setting for the determined at least one content category indicating what persons or groups of persons are able to access content associated with the at least one content category in the associated default privacy setting for the at least one content category.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising providing the report with an indication of privacy options indicating what persons or groups of persons can be selectively provided access to content associated with the determined at least one content category.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising providing the report with privacy considerations for the at least one content category.

21. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising providing the report with instructions for changing the privacy settings of the at least one content category using the social networking application.

22. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving login credentials for an account on the social networking system;

accessing the account on the social networking system via the corresponding login credentials; and

querying the social networking system for the information corresponding to the first user via the account.

23. The computer-implemented method of claim 22, further comprising:

providing an application on a local device corresponding to the first user; and

obtaining the login credentials via the application during use of the local device by the first user;

wherein the login credentials correspond to an account of the first user, wherein the social networking system is queried for information corresponding to the first user via the account corresponding to the first user.

24. The computer-implemented method of claim 22, wherein the login credentials correspond to the second user of the social networking system, wherein the social networking system is queried for the information corresponding to the first user via the account corresponding to the second user.

25. The computer-implemented method of claim 24, wherein the account corresponding to the second user of the social networking system comprises an access permission with relation to an account corresponding to the first user on the social networking system.

26. The computer-implemented method of claim 22, wherein the login credentials correspond to an account of the second user comprising an access permission with relation to an account corresponding to the first user of the social networking system, the method further comprising:

querying the social networking system for the information corresponding to the first user via the account corresponding to the second user;

querying the social networking system for the information corresponding to the first user via a publicly accessible communication channel;

comparing the information queried via the second user'"'"'s account with the information queried via the publicly accessible communication channel to determine a difference between content categories accessible publicly and content categories available via the second user'"'"'s account; and

providing the report with an indication of the difference between the content categories accessible publicly and the content categories available via the second user'"'"'s account.

27. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

querying the social networking system via the plurality of communication channels to determine at least one difference in content categories accessible in different ones of the plurality of communication channels; and

providing the report with an indication of the difference in the content categories accessible in the different ones of the plurality of communication channels.

28. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

retrieving real-time content corresponding to the at least one content category from the social networking system; and

providing the report with the real-time content.

29. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

receiving from the second user an instruction to change the communication channels in which the at least one content category is shared; and

providing the instruction from the second user to the first user.

30. The computer-implemented method of claim 29, further comprising:

enabling an interface via the network for the second user to designate the at least one content category to provide the instruction; and

receiving the instruction via the second user'"'"'s designation.

31. The computer-implemented method of claim 29, further comprising:

monitoring the social networking system to determine if the first user has complied with the instruction to change the communication channels; and

providing notification to the second user regarding whether the first user has complied with the instruction to change the communication channels.

32. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

querying the social networking system to determine a feature or an application used by the social networking system user via the social networking application;

determining at least one communication channel the feature or application is operated in; and

providing the report with an indication of the determined feature or application and an indication of the determined at least one communication channel.

33. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

enabling a browser extension/plug-in on a system operated by the first user; and

accessing the social networking system via the browser extension/plug-in to retrieve the information corresponding to the first user.

34. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the social networking system comprises a first system, the method further comprising querying a second system via the network for information corresponding to the first user.

35. The computer-implemented method of claim 34, wherein the second system comprises a search engine.

36. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising querying a plurality of social networking systems for the information corresponding to the first user.

37. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the information corresponding to the first user comprises location sharing information.

38. A computer activity monitoring and reporting system for monitoring social networking application use of a first user based on instruction of a second user comprising at least one computing system including at least one memory comprising instructions operable to enable the at least one computing system to perform a procedure comprising:

receiving identifying information of the first user of a social networking application enabled by a social networking system;

querying the social networking system via a network for information corresponding to the first user responsive to the instruction of the second user;

comparing the queried information with predetermined criteria that identifies at least one content category to determine the at least one content category corresponding to the identifying information, the at least one content category corresponding to at least one of an activity or a communication enabled by the social networking system;

querying at a first time instance and at a second time instance the social networking system to determine in which of a plurality of communication channels the at least one content category is shared, a particular communication channel of the plurality of communication channels corresponding to at least one of a recipient or a group of recipients of content;

determining a change in which communication channels the at least one content category is shared from the first time instance to the second time instance; and

providing a report to the second user responsive to the determined change in which communication channels the at least one content category is shared from the first time instance to the second time instance, the report comprising an indication of the determined at least one content category with the determined change of in which communication channels the at least one content category is shared.

39. A computer activity monitoring and reporting system for monitoring social networking application use of a first user based on instruction of a second user comprising at least one computing system including at least one memory comprising instructions operable to enable the at least one computing system to perform a procedure comprising:

providing an application including an online monitoring agent for installation on a local device corresponding to the first user, the online monitoring agent configured to capture electronic identifying information;

receiving from the online monitoring agent via a network electronic identifying information;

querying, based on the instruction of the second user, a social networking application system for social networking information corresponding to the first user based on the electronic identifying information captured by the application installed on the local device;

comparing the queried social networking information with predetermined criteria to determine at least one content category corresponding to the identifying information, the at least one content category corresponding to at least one of an activity or a communication enabled by the social networking system;

querying at a first time instance and at a second time instance the social networking system to determine in which of a plurality of communication channels the at least one content category is shared, a particular communication channel of the plurality of communication channels corresponding to at least one of a recipient or a group of recipients of content;

determining a change in which communication channels the at least one content category is shared from the first time instance to the second time instance; and

providing a report to the second user responsive to the determined change in which communication channels the at least one content category is shared from the first time instance to the second time instance, the report comprising an indication of the determined at least one content category with the determined change of in which communication channels the at least one content category is shared.

40. The computer-implemented method of claim 39, wherein the identifying information comprises information posted by the first user on the social networking system.