U.S. patent application number 14/167799 was filed with the patent office on 2014-05-29 for internet use monitoring system and method.
This patent application is currently assigned to RCS Dynamics, LLC. The applicant listed for this patent is RCS Dynamics, LLC. Invention is credited to Ronald J. DeHaas, Scott D. Hammersley, Collin J. Rose.
Application Number | 20140149588 14/167799 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34573096 |
Filed Date | 2014-05-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140149588 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
DeHaas; Ronald J. ; et
al. |
May 29, 2014 |
INTERNET USE MONITORING SYSTEM AND METHOD
Abstract
A system for monitoring Internet use of a selected computer user
includes a remote server and a computer having a monitoring program
voluntarily installed thereon by the user communicatively connected
to the remote server. The monitoring program is configured to
monitor various Internet access activity of the computer user and
record the Internet access activity on the remote server. The
Internet access activity includes access of at least one Internet
protocol from the group consisting of newsgroups, file sharing
programs, file transfer programs, chat rooms, peer to peer chats,
and electronic mail activity. A method of using a monitoring system
includes the steps of a computer user voluntarily installing a
monitoring program on a selected computer, recording the Internet
access activity, and providing the recorded information to a third
party recipient. A report may be provided that includes a variety
of information and may include a plurality of portions.
Inventors: |
DeHaas; Ronald J.; (Owosso,
MI) ; Hammersley; Scott D.; (Corunna, MI) ;
Rose; Collin J.; (Corunna, MI) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
RCS Dynamics, LLC |
Owosso |
MI |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
RCS Dynamics, LLC
Owosso
MI
|
Family ID: |
34573096 |
Appl. No.: |
14/167799 |
Filed: |
January 29, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
13565947 |
Aug 3, 2012 |
8671192 |
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14167799 |
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10605886 |
Nov 4, 2003 |
8255514 |
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13565947 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
709/224 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 67/20 20130101;
H04L 67/22 20130101; G06Q 10/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
709/224 |
International
Class: |
H04L 29/08 20060101
H04L029/08 |
Claims
1-40. (canceled)
41. A system for monitoring Internet use of a selected user,
comprising: a remote server, said remote server includes a server
cluster containing multiple servers; and a computer communicatively
connected to said remote server having a monitoring program
voluntarily installed thereon by the computer user, said monitoring
program configured to monitor Internet access activity of the
computer user and record said Internet access activity within said
remote server; wherein said Internet access activity includes
access to at least one Internet protocol from a group consisting of
network news transfer protocols, file sharing programs, file
transfer protocols, chat room access, peer to peer chats, and
electronic mail activity; wherein said remote server includes a
processing program configured to analyze the content of each page
of said Internet access activity and assign a score to each said
recorded Internet access activity, and wherein said score and said
content provide an indication of whether said Internet access
activity is considered an objectionable activity, and generate a
report on various protocols.
42. The system of claim 41 wherein said remote server is a personal
computer.
43. A method of monitoring Internet use of a selected computer
user, the method comprising the steps of: a user voluntarily
installing a monitoring program on the selected computer, said
program configured to monitor Internet access activity of said
user, said Internet access activity including at least one Internet
protocol from the group consisting of news-group access, file
sharing programs, file transfer protocols, chat room activity, peer
to peer chats, and electronic mail activity; monitoring said
Internet access activity; recording said Internet access activity
on a first database located within a remote server that includes a
server cluster containing multiple servers; processing said
recorded Internet access activity; and transferring said processed
Internet access activity to a second database, which includes a
report on various protocols, and further including the steps of:
analyzing the content of each page of said Internet access
activity; and assigning a score to said Internet access activity
based on predetermined scoring criteria, wherein the score provides
an indication of whether said Internet access activity is
considered an objectionable activity.
44. The method of claim 43 wherein said remote server is a personal
computer.
45. The system of claim 44 wherein said processing program is
configured to generate a report of said Internet access activity;
said report being accessible by a third-party recipient; said
third-party recipient accessing said report in a variety of ways
including one or more of said remote servers sending said report;
said third party having access to said remote servers to request
said report.
46. The system of claim 45 wherein said request includes viewing
said report while said third party has access to said remote
servers.
47. A system for monitoring Internet use of a selected user,
comprising: a remote server having a monitoring program installed
thereon and a computer communicatively connected to the remote
server, said monitoring program configured to monitor Internet
access activity of the computer user and record said Internet
access activity within said remote server; said Internet access
activity includes access to at least one Internet protocol from a
group consisting of network news transfer protocols, file sharing
programs, file transfer protocols, chat room access, peer to peer
chats, and electronic mail activity.
48. The system of claim 47 wherein said remote server is configured
to generate a report including a plurality of portions, and each
portion containing a list of the recorded Internet access activity
of at least one of said Internet protocols, and wherein said report
is accessible by a third-party recipient.
49. The system of claim 47 wherein said remote server includes a
server cluster containing multiple servers.
50. The system of claim 47 wherein said remote server is a personal
computer.
51. The system of claim 47 wherein said remote server includes a
processing program configured to analyze the content of each page
of said Internet access activity and assign a score to each said
recorded Internet access activity, and wherein said score and said
content provide an indication of whether said Internet access
activity is considered an objectionable activity.
52. The system of claim 51 wherein said processing program is
configured to generate a report of said Internet access
activity.
53. The system of claim 52 wherein said report includes a list of
said recorded Internet access activity and said score assigned to
each said recorded Internet access activity.
54. The system of claim 52 wherein said report is accessible by a
third-party recipient.
55. The system of claim 53 wherein said report displays said list
of said recorded Internet access activity sorted by said score.
56. The system of claim 53 wherein said report displays said list
of said recorded Internet access activity sorted
chronologically.
57. The system of claim 53 wherein said report includes at least
one portion and said at least one portion includes at least one
link to at least one other portion.
58. The system of claim 51 wherein said score is one of a numeric
score and a relative score.
59. The system of claim 58 wherein said relative score is a letter
or other symbol.
60. The system of claim 54 wherein said third-party recipient
accesses said report in a variety of ways including one or more of
said remote servers sending said report, and said third party
having access to said remote servers to request said report.
61. The system of claim 60 wherein said request includes viewing
said report while said third party has access to said remote
server.
62. A method of monitoring Internet use of a selected computer
user, the method comprising the steps of: a user voluntarily
installing a monitoring program on the selected computer, said
program configured to monitor Internet access activity of said
user, said Internet activity including at least one Internet
protocol from a group consisting of network news transfer
protocols, file sharing programs, file transfer protocols, chat
room access, peer to peer chats, and electronic mail activity;
monitoring said Internet access activity; storing and processing
said Internet access activity within a remote server, said remote
server also configured to produce a report on various protocols,
and further including the steps of: analyzing the content of each
page of said Internet access activity; and assigning a score to
said Internet access activity based on predetermined scoring
criteria, wherein the score provides an indication of whether said
Internet access activity is considered an objectionable
activity.
63. The method of claim 62 further including the step of providing
said report to a third-party recipient selected by said user.
64. The method of claim 62 wherein said remote server includes a
server cluster containing multiple servers.
65. The method of claim 62 wherein said remote server is a personal
computer.
66. The method of claim 62 wherein said score is one of a numeric
score and a relative score.
67. The method of claim 66 wherein said relative score is a letter
or other symbol.
68. A method of monitoring Internet use of a selected computer
user, the method comprising the steps of: a user voluntarily
installing a monitoring program on the selected computer, said
program configured to monitor Internet access activity of said
user, said Internet activity including at least one Internet
protocol from a group consisting of network news transfer
protocols, file sharing programs, file transfer protocols, chat
room access, peer to peer chats, and electronic mail activity;
monitoring said Internet access activity; recording said Internet
access activity in a single database located within a remote
server; generating a report on at least one of said Internet
protocols within said single database; and further including the
steps of: analyzing the content of each page of said Internet
access activity; and assigning a score to said Internet access
activity based on predetermined scoring criteria, wherein the score
provides an indication of whether said Internet access activity is
considered an objectionable activity.
69. The method of claim 68 further including the step of providing
said report to a third-party recipient selected by said user.
70. The method of claim 68 wherein said remote server includes a
server cluster containing multiple servers.
71. The method of claim 68 wherein said remote server is a personal
computer.
72. The method of claim 68 wherein said score is one of a numeric
score and a relative score.
73. The method of claim 72 wherein said relative score is a letter
or other symbol.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This Application claims the benefit of the priority date and
is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/565,947, filed on
Aug. 3, 2012, which claims the benefit of the priority date and is
a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/605,886, filed on
Nov. 4, 2003, both which are hereby incorporated herein by
reference in their entirety for all purposes.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention generally relates to a computer
program for monitoring select Internet activities of a user of a
selected computer to which the program is installed, and more
particularly to a voluntary monitoring program configured to
monitor multiple Internet access activities, such as web browsing,
file sharing programs, news groups, chat rooms, peer to peer chats,
file transfer protocols, e-mails sent and received, and the
like.
[0004] 2. Discussion of the Prior Art
[0005] Although it would be desirable or even necessary to block
access to objectionable material from some users in web sites and
the like, this is often not possible as a practical matter. Such
blocking may either compulsorily or voluntarily monitor the usage
of a selected computer or in some case televisions and compile a
record of the web sites or channels accessed by that particular
user. This record could be made available to select third party
recipients automatically and at pre-determined time intervals, or
access to the record may be provided to the selected third party
recipient.
[0006] For example, U.S. patent application 2003/0130979 to Matz,
et al. describes a system having a content-access-history database
that includes information about actions the subscriber has taken to
access certain types of content, such as television programming and
the like on web sites. Although one of the embodiments of this
invention states that providers may use the system for monitoring
the internet, it does not describe how the system could be adapted
for such use and mainly describes the use as applied to
televisions.
[0007] Site specific internet usage monitoring programs are also
generally known in the art. Such monitoring programs may be
installed by employers or parents to monitor the web sites visited
by employees or children respectively. It may also be desirable to
monitor web sites accessed by other persons under a variety of
different circumstances. Involuntary applications of these types of
programs are often used by employers. The employee has no choice
but to accept the monitoring activity on the computer since they
have no expectation of privacy for business owned systems. In a
voluntary monitoring system, the user knowingly and voluntarily has
the monitoring program installed on a particular computer to
monitor his internet activities. The user may even select one or
more third party recipients to receive, or have access to a report
containing a record of the internet activity of the computer
user.
[0008] For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,606,657 to Zilbertstein, et
al., describes a system to gather and report detailed information
on a user's web site visitation. Here, a server system is connected
to the internet and receives, processes and supplies detailed user
information such as the sites visited and the duration and times of
such visits. Such information is gathered and transmitted to
subscribers who have reporting and communicating software
installed. In addition, the users submit profile information about
themselves. Demographic information as to the popularity of visited
web sites may then be easily determined, stored and updated by the
server. This demographic information, in turn, may be provided to
other users, or web site operators and advertisers. The invention
disclosed also allows users to initiate chat sessions with other
users visiting a particular web site, or post a virtual note on the
site for other subscribers to read. A disadvantage to this
invention is that most of the web monitoring information is
provided to the website owners and operators not the users.
[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 6,449,604 to Hansen, et al. describes a system
for displaying information on the Web page usage. Statistical
information and usage analysis produced by this invention is
available to owners and web-site operators. A disadvantage to this
invention is that it focuses on website use, not a user's usage.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,052,730 to Feliciano, et al. discloses a method for
monitoring web browsing activities that does not require
modification or reconfiguration of client software, and does not
require information from other servers. Complete tracking of a
client browsing session is allowed, including detailed link usage,
page visits, and the sequence in which the accessing took place.
The invention also allows such tracking information to be generated
and recorded through the use of a single server. The disadvantage
to this invention is that the method is transparent to the client
browser.
[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 6,397,256 to Chan, et al. describes a device
for transmitting browser activity to a monitoring unit. The
monitoring unit is remotely located from the Internet access unit
and coupled to the transmission device, the monitoring unit
including a display for viewing, and recording Internet activity of
the Internet access unit. The system may be activated via a remote
command module and may include a password protected interface on
the Internet browser (via the software plug-in). Unfortunately,
this system is fairly complicated in that it requires an installed
transmission adapter card.
[0011] While the voluntary programs currently available in the art
are configured to monitor web sites accessed by the computer user,
they do not offer the capability to monitor the activities
resulting from use of other protocols, such as access to file share
programs, news groups, chat rooms, peer to peer chats, file
transfer protocols, and e-mails. Without these capabilities a user
may circumvent a monitoring program by accessing unmonitored
internet protocols.
[0012] Although there is known in the art various means to monitor
computer use, there is a desire and need in the art to provide a
computer use monitoring program capable of monitoring and recording
a variety of internet activities of a particular computer user
including web browsing activity, file share programs use, news
group access, chat room activity, peer to peer chat activities,
file transfer protocol use, e-mails sent and received, and the
like. This monitoring could then be recorded and made available to
not only the user, but also to a third party recipient. There is a
further need to provide an internet monitoring program capable of
generating and providing a report having information related to the
above described internet activities.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0013] Accordingly, the present invention provides an Internet
monitoring system and method configured to monitor and record
Internet activities of a particular computer user including web
browsing activity, file sharing program access, news group access,
chat room activity, peer to peer chat activity, file transfer
protocol access, and e-mails sent and received. Current voluntary
monitoring programs available in the art are limited to monitoring
and reporting on web browsing activities. The system and method of
the present invention also records and makes available this
monitoring activity to a designated third party recipient. The
reports may further include a link connecting reported information
related to these different protocols.
[0014] In one embodiment of the present invention, a system for
monitoring Internet use of a selected computer user includes a
remote server and a computer communicatively connected to the
remote server and having a monitoring program installed thereon by
the computer user. The monitoring program is configured to monitor
Internet access activity of the computer user and record the
Internet access activity on the remote server. The Internet access
activity includes at least one Internet protocol from the group
consisting of network news transfer protocols, file sharing
programs, file transfer protocols, chat room access, peer to peer
chat access and electronic mail activity.
[0015] In another embodiment of the present invention, a method of
monitoring Internet use of a selected computer user includes the
steps of: a user voluntarily installing a monitoring program on the
computer, the program configured to monitor Internet access
activity of the user, the Internet access activity including at
least one Internet protocol from the group consisting of newsgroup
access, file sharing programs, file transfer protocols, chat room
activity, peer to peer chat activity and electronic mail activity;
monitoring the Internet access activity; and recording the Internet
access activity on a first database located within a remote
server.
[0016] In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a system
for reporting Internet access activity of a selected computer user
includes a remote server and a computer communicatively connected
to the remote server having a monitoring program installed thereon.
The monitoring program is configured to monitor Internet access
activity of the computer user and record the activity on the remote
server. The Internet access activity includes access to at least
one Internet protocol from the group consisting of hyper text
transfer protocol, network news transfer protocol, file sharing
programs, file transfer protocol, chat rooms, peer to peer chats,
and electronic mail. The remote server is further configured to
generate a report including a plurality of portions, and each
portion containing a list of the recorded Internet access activity
of one of the Internet protocols. The portions may further include
a computer link to connect to another of the plurality of
portions.
[0017] In still another embodiment of the present invention a
method of reporting Internet use of a selected computer user
includes the steps of: a user voluntarily installing an Internet
monitoring program on the computer, the program being configured to
monitor Internet access activity of the user; monitoring the
Internet access activity; generating a report of the Internet
access activity, the report including a plurality of portions; and
providing a link on one portion of the report to electronically
connect to at least one other portion of the report, wherein each
of the plurality of portions contain information on Internet access
of different Internet protocols.
[0018] Other features of the present invention will become more
apparent to persons having ordinary skill in the art to which the
present invention pertains from the following description and
claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0019] The foregoing features, as well as other features, will
become apparent with reference to the description and figures
below, in which like numerals represent like elements, and in
which:
[0020] FIG. 1 is a schematic of a monitoring system of the present
invention;
[0021] FIG. 2 is a schematic of a method of monitoring and
reporting of the present invention; and
[0022] FIG. 3 is a schematic of one embodiment of a monitoring
system of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0023] In general, the present invention can be realized as methods
or systems in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and
software of a computer system including a computer network system.
The present invention can be realized in a centralized fashion in
one computer system or in a distributed fashion where different
elements are spread across several computer systems. Any kind of
computer system, or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the
methods described herein, is suited. A typical combination of
hardware and software may include a general purpose computer system
with a computer program that, when being loaded and executed,
controls the computer system such that it carries out the systems
and methods described herein. The present invention may also be
voluntarily embedded in a computer program product (or any computer
useable medium having computer readable program code embodied
therein), which comprises all the features enabling the
implementation of the methods and systems described herein and
which when loaded in a computer system is able to carry out these
systems and methods.
[0024] Computer program or computer program product in the present
context means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of
a set of instructions intended to cause a system having an
information processing capability to perform a particular function
either directly or after either or both of the following: (a)
conversion to another language, code or notation, and (b)
reproduction in a different material or electronic form.
[0025] The present invention specifically relates to a voluntary
Internet monitoring system and method for monitoring and recording
Internet use of a particular computer user including web browsing
activity, file sharing program access, news group access, chat room
activity, file transfer programs access, e-mails sent and received,
and the like, and providing a report to a third party recipient.
This type of monitoring, when voluntarily initiated, may provide a
user a method to minimize temptations to engage in Internet access
activities considered objectionable to the user. If the user knows
a third party recipient will have access to a report of his
Internet access activity, thus eliminating the secrecy of the
activity, he may refrain from such activity.
[0026] The present invention also provides reporting features
superior to existing monitoring programs thus enhancing its
usefulness and effectiveness. The report generated in the present
invention is capable of reporting the Internet access activity of
the user and may also provide a link on one portion of the report
to allow the user to computer-link to and access information
related to different Internet protocol activities on different
portions of the report.
[0027] Turning to FIG. 1, a monitoring system 20 of the present
invention provides a system of monitoring the Internet access
activity of a computer user and includes a selected computer 22
onto which a monitoring program 24 may be installed. The user may
voluntarily elect to have the monitoring program 24 installed on
his computer to monitor his own Internet access activities. The
"user" as used in this application refers to the computer user to
be monitored who has voluntarily chosen to install the monitoring
program 24. The system allows selection of one or more third party
recipient who will receive reports, or have access to reports, of
the Internet access activity of the user.
[0028] The monitoring program 24 may be installed by downloading
the program directly from a remote server 26 through an Internet
connection or other suitable means, or may alternatively be
installed manually by way of a prerecorded media, such as a compact
disc (CD). Before installing the monitoring program 24, the user
may make certain pre-installation elections such as who will be the
recipient of information gathered with the monitoring program 24,
how often reports will be updated and made available to either the
user or a third party recipient, as well as other key parameters
that will be discussed in more detail below.
[0029] Once the monitoring program 24 has been installed on
computer 22, computer 22 is communicatively connected to server 26
through an electronic connection, such as telephone lines, cable,
fiber optics, electric power lines, or other suitable connection.
When the user attempts to connect to the Internet, the user will be
unable to gain access to the Internet without first establishing a
connection with remote server 26. During or after the initial
installation of monitoring program 24, the user may elect to have
an automatic connection to remote server 26 and thus, the Internet,
or may have a prompt display on the screen of computer 22
indicating that a password is required to enter the Internet. This
password would then connect computer 22 to remote server 26. Remote
server 26 may include any personal computer or other hardware
system available and known in the art. Server 26 may be a single
server or include a "server cluster" containing multiple
servers.
[0030] When monitoring program 24 is installed on computer 22,
during any given session of Internet access all Internet access
activity of the user will be recorded by the monitoring program 24
onto the remote server 26. These activities may include the
traditional web site protocols, such as hyper text transfer
protocol (http) (i.e., web browsing activities), in addition to
other protocols not presently able to be monitored by existing
monitoring programs. These other protocols may include protocols
used in file sharing programs (gnutella, fast track and other like
programs), news group access or network news transfer protocol
(nntp), chat room activity and peer to peer chats, file transfer
protocols (ftp), and protocols for reading e-mail such as post
office protocol 3 (pop3) and Internet message access protocol
(IMAP), and protocols for writing or sending emails such as simple
mail transfer protocol (smtp). As other new protocols are
developed, the system may be reconfigured to add monitoring and
reporting capabilities for those as well. These may be added as
program updates, new releases and the like. The Internet access
activity being monitored may be routed over the Internet, compiled
then stored in remote server 26 or in a database contained within
remote server 26.
[0031] In one embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIGS.
1 and 2, remote server 26 may include a first database 28 wherein
the compiled information is stored in a temporary file designated
for the particular user. Periodically, this information may be
routed through a processing program 27 and transferred to an
optional second database 30, which may also reside within remote
server 26. Although this embodiment describes the use of two
separate databases for storing the recorded activity, it is to be
understood, that the information may remain solely within a single
database and be processed and saved in that database.
Alternatively, the system may function without a designated
database and perform the storing and processing of the data within
remote server 26 as shown in FIG. 3.
[0032] The information processing performed by processing program
27 may include sorting the access activity of the user, assembling
a list of the Internet access activity, and assigning a score to
each activity listed. In one scenario, the score may be assigned as
a numeric indicator of the type of activity accessed. For instance,
for a particular type of objectionable Internet activity accessed a
high numeric score may be assigned such as a number between 15 and
20. Likewise, a non-objectionable Internet access activity may be
assigned a low number such as 0 or 1. An analysis program within
the processing program 27 may analyze the Internet access activity
and assign a score based on parameters such as key words and image
content. Alternatively, instead of the default scoring system, the
user or recipient may pre-select key words and/or other selected
parameters to use for scoring purposes. In this scenario, a program
will run for that particular user that assigns the score to the
Internet access activity listed in accordance with the desired
scoring for that user. For example, the user or recipient may
select words to be given a high numeric score (i.e., words
considered objectionable to that user or recipient), and words to
be given a low numeric score. A variety of other scoring parameters
may be included such as scoring based on the time of day (or night)
the user engaged in Internet access activity, or the size of the
file accessed by the user. Again, the score may be higher for
activities logged late at night as opposed to during the day. As an
alternative to the scenario described above, the numeric scoring
may be replaced with a relative scoring system. Under this type of
scoring method, for a particular activity a letter or other symbol
may be used that designates whether the activity is deemed
objectionable or not.
[0033] As shown in the schematic of FIG. 2, after the information
has been processed, it may be transferred to second database 30
where it is stored in a file assigned to each user. Within second
database 30, reports may be generated that sort and compile the
stored information by a variety of parameters. Again, in the
situation where only one database is utilized, the report may be
generated within that one database. Alternatively, in the situation
where no databases are utilized the report may be generated within
the remote server itself. A typical report may include the date and
time of access of each listed Internet access activity, the time
period the user was engaged in the particular Internet access
activity, the name of the Internet access activity (e.g., http
name, ftp name, pop3 name), the numeric or relative score assigned
to the activity, or any variety of other information that may be
desired. The report may also be sorted by a variety of parameters,
such as sorting by the score assigned to each Internet access
activity listed in the report. For instance, it may be desirable to
place the activities having the highest score values at the
beginning of the report so the third party recipient may
immediately review the more objectionable activities without
searching through the report. Another feature of the report may
include a comment section. The comment section may allow the user
to type in a comment after engaging in a particular Internet access
activity. For example, if the user conducted research for a school
report, and visited a web site considered objectionable to the
user, he may later access the report of that activity within remote
server 26 and type in a comment explaining the visit to that site.
The comment may then appear on the report to alert the third party
recipient of the reason for the activity listed on the report.
[0034] The report generated by the monitoring system 20 may also be
uniquely configured to contain a plurality of portions, with each
portion containing different information related to the monitored
Internet activity. For example, the report may include a first
portion having information related to web site access activity
(http activity). On this first portion, one or multiple links may
be provided to allow the third party recipient or user to link from
the first portion to another portion of the report. The other
portions of the report may include a portion containing information
on Internet access activity of the other Internet protocols being
monitored. These other protocols may include those used by file
sharing programs (gnutella, fast track), news groups (nntp), chat
room activity, peer to peer chat activity, file transfer protocols
(ftp), and e-mails read (such as pop3 or IMAP) and e-mails written
(smtp). Thus, the report may contain a portion corresponding to
each of the different protocols being monitored. Links may be
included on each of the different portions to connect and link to
the other portions. This configuration allows for efficient
reporting of the Internet access activity and allows for separate
reporting on the various protocols. Rather than having to search
through one large report containing all of the information, the
user or third party recipient may quickly and easily maneuver
through the various portions of the report.
[0035] To retrieve reported information, remote server 26 may be
accessed directly by the remote third party recipient through an
Internet connection. As shown in FIG. 2, a report may be
automatically sent to the third party recipient and/or user at
predetermined time intervals. Alternatively, an electronic message
(e.g., e-mail, facsimile) may be sent automatically to the third
party recipient and/or user with a reminder to access remote server
26 to check the report. Thus, the third party recipient and/or user
may receive reports and other information from remote server 26, or
may access remote server 26 to view or request reports and other
information. Another optional communication between remote server
26 and the third party recipient may include sending the recipient
a notice that the user has deleted that third party from the
recipient list. Since the system is designed for voluntary
monitoring, the user may elect at any time to delete, add, or
replace third party recipients.
[0036] While the invention has been described in conjunction with
specific embodiments, it is evident that many alternatives,
modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in
the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, the
present invention attempts to embrace all such alternatives,
modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope
of the appended claims.
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