System to control content and prohibit certain interactive attempts by a person using a personal computer

• US 6,065,056 A
• Filed: 08/13/1998
• Issued: 05/16/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Trustwave Holdings Incorporated (Singapore Telecommunications Limited)
• Original Assignee: Logon Data Corporation
• Inventors: Bradshaw, Michael S., Shih, George Y.
• Primary Examiner(s): Matar, Ahmad F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): WINDER, PATRICE L
• Application Number:
  US09/133,708
• Time in Patent Office: 642 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/217, 709/218, 709/219, 709/224, 709/232, 709/246, 709/225, 709/229, 713/200, 713/201, 713/202, 707/10, 707/104
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1408 by monitoring network traffic monitoring network traffic per se H04L43/00

Abstract

A computer, terminal and a method for blocking the use and creating of vulgar and pornographic material in a responsive and interactive matter that comprehensively monitors computer operations for creation or transmission of vulgar and pornographic material. Data created by the keyboard, data passing through the clipboard, data selected by the mouse pointer, and data passing through the Internet interface are monitored for content and further operation of the computer terminal is blocked. The computer terminal may only be unblocked by a supervisory intervention, such as by entering of a password, or by restarting or resetting the terminal. Key word searches, such as those in Internet search engines, are also monitored, but the terminal adapts to monitor not only for words of a profane and vulgar nature, but also for words that are behaviorally tested to produce lists containing vulgar and profane items, e.g., Internet sites. The computer terminal and method can be modified to block other forms of communication or computer operation, such as blocking transmission of secret business data, blocking execution or opening of certain programs or files, and the like.

Claims

1. A method for limiting the scope of a key word search from a computer terminal to prohibit undesirable key word searches, the method comprising:

providing a first database of prohibited terms;

providing a second database of prohibited search terms, the second database having contents different from contents of the first database;

monitoring generation of key words and comparing the generated key words with the contents of the first database regardless of whether the computer is not logged to a search engine;

monitoring generation of key words and comparing the generated key words with the contents of the second database only while the computer terminal is logged to a search engine; and

blocking use of the generated key words when the comparing step matches one of the generated key words with one of the terms in either the first or second database.

2. A method of limiting key word searches from a computer terminal having at least one user input device, the method comprising:

providing a database including a first file of prohibited terms;

determining when the computer terminal is connected to a search engine;

adding a second file to the database only when it is determined that the computer terminal is connected to a search engine, the second file comprising prohibited search terms;

monitoring and comparing data strings input to the computer terminal with the terms in the database when the computer terminal is connected to a search engine and when the computer terminal is not connected to the search engine; and

blocking use of a compared data string which matches one of the terms in the database.

3. A method of censoring use of selected data strings with a personal computer, the method comprising:

monitoring generation of a data string on at least one input device;

comparing the data string with a first list when the personal computer is not connected to a search engine;

comparing the data string with a second list different from the first list when the personal computer is connected to a search engine; and

preventing transmission of the data string when either of the comparing steps finds the data string to correspond to a member of the lists.

4. A computer terminal for blocking use of selected data, comprising:

a central processing unit in communication with a hardware input device, a network interface, a volatile memory and a non-volatile memory, the non-volatile memory including

a first library of prohibited input strings,

a second library of prohibited search strings, the second library having contents different from contents of the first library, and

a third library of search engine sites;

a hardware input sentinel comparing input data strings to at least the first library;

a search engine identifier recognizing connection of the computer terminal to one of the search engine sites in the third library;

a blocker preventing use of the input data strings; and

a blocker initiator initiating the blocker, the blocker initiator responsive to matches between the input data strings and the contents of at least the first library, and the blocker initiator responsive to matches between the input data strings and the contents of the second library only when the search engine identifier recognizes connection of the computer terminal to one of the search engine sites.