Automatic proxy setting modification

• US 8,676,922 B1
• Filed: 06/30/2004
• Issued: 03/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Milner, Marius C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Hee Soo
• Application Number:
  US10/882,791
• Time in Patent Office: 3,548 Days
• Field of Search: 709217-219, 709/202, 709/203, 709/225, 709/229, 709/232, 709/220, 717/121
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0803 Configuration setting

Abstract

The proxy settings for a browser are modified to route public Internet traffic through a local client assistant, while keeping previous proxy policies intact. The process compares the previous proxy results for a known, public Internet address to the previous proxy results for the desired Internet address. If the two proxy results are equivalent, then the request is directed to the local client assistant, otherwise the request is directed according to the previous proxy results. If the testing of the public Internet address had resulted in the use of a proxy, then the local client assistant will route its requests to the proxy so indicated.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for modifying proxy settings for a browser on a client system, comprising:

on the client system,

obtaining current proxy settings for the browser on the client system for first and second sets of internet protocol addresses, the second set of internet addresses including a range of internet protocol addresses; and

replacing the proxy settings for the first set of internet protocol addresses, while leaving the proxy settings for the second set of internet protocols addresses unchanged.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein addresses in the second set of internet protocol addresses are within a private network to which access is limited and the first set of internet protocol addresses are not within the private network.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the current proxy settings for the first set of internet protocol addresses indicates a direct connection and the current proxy settings for the second set of internet protocols addresses indicates connection to at least one predetermined proxy;

the method including replacing the proxy settings for the first set of internet protocol addresses with replacement proxy settings that direct access requests in the first set of internet protocol addresses to a predefined proxy.

4. A computer-implemented method for modifying proxy settings for a browser on a client system, comprising:

on the client system,

launching a client assistant;

identifying existing proxy settings for the browser on the client system for a first set of internet protocol addresses and for a second set of internet protocol addresses;

determining modified proxy settings for the browser, wherein the modified proxy settings cause the browser to recognize the client assistant as a local proxy for communicating only with the first set of internet protocol addresses; and

indicating to the browser the modified proxy settings.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

waiting for a predetermined connection status prior to identifying the existing proxy settings.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the waiting for predetermined connection status includes waiting for a connection between the client assistant and a server, wherein the server is in communication with the first set of internet protocol addresses.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the determining modified proxy settings includes creating a computer program object that:

returns a predetermined proxy as a proxy if a first proxy, for a predetermined internet address, determined according to the existing proxy settings is equivalent to a second proxy, for a desired internet address, determined according to the existing proxy settings,

otherwise returning the second proxy as the proxy.

8. The method of claim 4, further comprising restoring the existing proxy settings upon a predetermined event.

9. The method of claim 4, wherein addresses in the second set of internet protocol addresses are within a private network to which access is limited, and addresses in the first set of internet protocol addresses are not within the private network.