U.S. patent application number 16/595996 was filed with the patent office on 2020-04-16 for system and method for an adaptive search engine using domain social networking data.
This patent application is currently assigned to Cybeye, Inc.. The applicant listed for this patent is Cybeye, Inc.. Invention is credited to Bing Liu.
Application Number | 20200120173 16/595996 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 48224480 |
Filed Date | 2020-04-16 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200120173 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Liu; Bing |
April 16, 2020 |
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AN ADAPTIVE SEARCH ENGINE USING DOMAIN SOCIAL
NETWORKING DATA
Abstract
An engine, system and method for a domain social network that
interconnects Internet users with at least domains owned by or of
interest to those Internet users, and that may obtain and/or
forward obtained dynamic data regarding those domains
automatically, such as by web service or email service. The dynamic
data may be used to filter and protect content and data of the
respective domains, to protect users by identifying low quality web
pages or malicious software or pages, to isolate or improve search
results regarding the domain, and/or to improve Internet-based
transaction flow, such as the creation of advertising.
Inventors: |
Liu; Bing; (Rolling Hills,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Cybeye, Inc. |
Torrance |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Cybeye, Inc.
Torrance
CA
|
Family ID: |
48224480 |
Appl. No.: |
16/595996 |
Filed: |
October 8, 2019 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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15859899 |
Jan 2, 2018 |
10440135 |
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16595996 |
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15705869 |
Sep 15, 2017 |
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15859899 |
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15277610 |
Sep 27, 2016 |
9813513 |
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15705869 |
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13661943 |
Oct 26, 2012 |
9462067 |
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15277610 |
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61551673 |
Oct 26, 2011 |
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61553657 |
Oct 31, 2011 |
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61553989 |
Nov 1, 2011 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 67/02 20130101;
H04L 51/32 20130101; H04L 51/22 20130101; H04L 67/22 20130101; H04L
63/14 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04L 29/08 20060101
H04L029/08; H04L 29/06 20060101 H04L029/06 |
Claims
1. A computer-implemented method for improving Internet-based
transaction flow in a domain social network, with at least one
computing device, the method comprising the steps of: creating the
domain social network by interconnecting a plurality of users with
a plurality of first and second domains; obtaining dynamic data
from a service; filtering the plurality of first and second domains
based on the dynamic data; providing social discovery data of the
filtered plurality of first and second domains in response to
receiving, from at least one of the plurality of users, a social
discovery data request; and displaying the provided social
discovery data on a display to the requesting one of the plurality
of users.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: generating, based on
the filtering, domain report data for each of the plurality of
first and second domains; and displaying the domain report data
along with the social discovery data to the at least one of the
plurality of users.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamic data identifies low
quality content.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamic data identifies
malicious content.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the service is a web service or
an e-mail service.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the social discovery data
comprises at least one of the following: domain valuation data,
adult attribute data, domain health data, domain ranking, domain
competitive analysis, and domain performance tracking data.
7. A computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer
readable medium, the product comprising instructions when executed
by a processor implement a method for improving domain search
results in a domain social network, the method comprising: creating
the domain social network by interconnecting a plurality of users
with a plurality of first and second domains; obtaining dynamic
data from a service; filtering the plurality of first and second
domains based on the dynamic data; providing social discovery data
of the filtered plurality of first and second domains in response
to receiving, from at least one of the plurality of users, a social
discovery data request; and displaying the provided social
discovery data on a display to the requesting one of the plurality
of users.
8. The product of claim 7, further comprising: generating, based on
the filtering, domain report data for each of the plurality of
first and second domains; and displaying the domain report data to
the user.
9. The product of claim 7, wherein the dynamic data identifies low
quality content.
10. The product of claim 7, wherein the dynamic data identifies
malicious content.
11. The product of claim 7, wherein the service is a web
service.
12. The product of claim 7, wherein the service is an e-mail
service.
13. The product of claim 7, wherein the social discovery data
comprises at least one of the following: domain valuation data,
adult attribute data, domain health data, domain ranking, domain
competitive analysis, and domain performance tracking data.
14. A system for improving domain search results in a domain social
network, the system comprising: a computer comprising a memory
communicatively coupled to at least one processor, the computer
configured to: create the domain social network by interconnecting
a plurality of users with a plurality of first and second domains;
obtain dynamic data from a service; filter the plurality of first
and second domains based on the dynamic data; provide social
discovery data of the filtered plurality of first and second
domains in response to the reception of, from at least one of the
plurality of users, a social discovery data request; and display
the provided social discovery data on a display to the requesting
one of the plurality of users.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein the computer is further
configured to: generate, based on the filtering, domain report data
for each of the plurality of first and second domains; and display
the domain report data to the user.
16. The system of claim 14, wherein the dynamic data identifies low
quality content.
17. The system of claim 14, wherein the dynamic data identifies
malicious content.
18. The system of claim 14, wherein the service is a web
service.
19. The system of claim 14, wherein the service is an e-mail
service.
20. The system of claim 14, wherein the social discovery data
comprises at least one of the following: domain valuation data,
adult attribute data, domain health data, domain ranking, domain
competitive analysis, and domain performance tracking data.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.
No. 15/859,899, filed Jan. 2, 2018, which is a continuation of U.S.
application Ser. No. 15/705,869, filed Sep. 15, 2017, now
abandoned, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.
15/277,610, filed Sep. 27, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,813,513, which
is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/661,943, filed
Oct. 26, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,462,067, which claims priority
to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/551,673, filed
Oct. 26, 2011, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.
61/553,657, filed Oct. 31, 2011, and U.S. Provisional Patent
Application Ser. No. 61/553,989, filed Nov. 1, 2011, the entireties
of which are incorporated by reference herein.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to data being tracked and
provided in relation to Internet browsing, and, more particularly,
to an engine, system and method of providing a domain social
network having business intelligence logic.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The term "Web 2.0" is commonly associated with web
applications that facilitate interactive information sharing,
interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the
World Wide Web (WWW, also referred to hereinafter as the Internet
or a network, further includes intranet, extranet, and the like).
Web 2.0 thus necessarily includes aspects of connecting non-virtual
identity to virtual identity on the WWW using a data feed comprised
of data relationships and business and data intelligence. As used
hereinthroughout, and unless otherwise noted, the term "identity"
is defined to include non-virtual and/or virtual aspects of a
person interacting on, with, or with others on, the WWW. using a
social network platform such as the Facebook platform may generate
activities, events, and the like, as indicated from the respective
Facebook account associated with each respective identity. Once
generated, the Facebook platform may automatically feed friends'
activities, events, and the like to third person friends of the
identity, such as when such activities or events are occurring or
have occurred.
[0004] However, Facebook connects persons to persons, or
persons/entities (such as businesses) to person/entities. Facebook
does not provide any interconnection for domains associated with
those persons or entities. Thus, in typical social environments
such as Facebook, persons/entities generate and receive the data.
That is, the Facebook platform feeds data to and from the friends
identified as being associated with each identity. Needless to say,
data generated in this way, and absent data monitoring regarding
domain names associated with the persons/entities on Facebook,
severely limits the usefulness of the data generated by such
typical social sites--particularly for advertising purposes, for
example.
[0005] Further, there are over 200 million domains as of 2010, and
over 1.8 billion web users. These users are running approximately
15 billion web searches a year, which leads each user to 2-3
unknown websites per day, on average. Such websites, if unknown to
the user and without any way for the user to have a trusted party
(such as a social network friend, or a trusted domain) that
indicates the acceptability of the unknown site, may pose a risk to
users, such as an increased likelihood of phishing or providing
malware.
[0006] Thus, there is a need for a "domain social network" that
interconnects data regarding identities (i.e., persons/entities) to
data regarding domains. More particularly, there is a need for an
engine, system and method to generate domain data using, and that
itself provides business intelligence logic, wherein data is
related, such as for sales, advertising or trustworthiness,
purposes, to an identity's activity.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention provides an engine, system and method
for a domain social network that interconnects Internet users with
at least domains owned by or of interest to those Internet users,
and that may obtain and/or forward obtained dynamic data regarding
those domains automatically, such as by web service or email
service. The dynamic data may be used to filter and protect content
and data of the respective domains, to protect users by identifying
low quality web pages or malicious software or pages, to isolate or
improve search results regarding the domain, and/or to improve
Internet-based transaction flow, such as the creation of
advertising.
[0008] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general
description and the following detailed description are exemplary
and explanatory, and are intended to provide further explanation of
the invention as discussed herein throughout.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further
understanding of the disclosed embodiments. In the drawings:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing system
for use in accordance with herein described systems and
methods;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an exemplary networked
computing environment for use in accordance with herein described
systems and methods;
[0012] FIG. 3 is an illustration of aspects of the present
invention;
[0013] FIG. 4 is an illustration of aspects of the present
invention;
[0014] FIG. 5 is an illustration of aspects of the present
invention; and
[0015] FIG. 6 is an illustration of aspects of the present
invention;
[0016] FIG. 7 is an illustration of an aspect of the present
invention;
[0017] FIG. 8 is an illustration of a capture aspect of the present
invention;
[0018] FIG. 9 is an illustration of an aspect of the present
invention;
[0019] FIG. 10 is an illustration of an aspect of the present
invention; and
[0020] FIG. 11 is an illustration of an aspect of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0021] A computer-implemented platform and methods of use are
disclosed that provide networked access to a plurality of types of
digital content, including but not limited to video, audio, and
document content, and that track and deliver the accessed content.
Described embodiments are intended to be exemplary and not
limiting. As such, it is contemplated that the herein described
systems and methods can be adapted to provide many types of users
with access and delivery of many types of domain data, and can be
extended to provide enhancements and/or additions to the exemplary
services described. The invention is intended to include all such
extensions. Reference will now be made in detail to various
exemplary and illustrative embodiments of the present
invention.
[0022] FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary computing system 100 that can be
used in accordance with herein described system and methods.
Computing system 100 is capable of executing software, such as an
operating system (OS) and a variety of computing applications 190.
The operation of exemplary computing system 100 is controlled
primarily by computer readable instructions, such as instructions
stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as hard disk
drive (HDD) 115, optical disk (not shown) such as a CD or DVD,
solid state drive (not shown) such as a USB "thumb drive," or the
like. Such instructions may be executed within central processing
unit (CPU) 110 to cause computing system 100 to perform operations.
In many known computer servers, workstations, personal computers,
and the like, CPU 110 is implemented in an integrated circuit
called a processor.
[0023] It is appreciated that, although exemplary computing system
100 is shown to comprise a single CPU 110, such description is
merely illustrative as computing system 100 may comprise a
plurality of CPUs 110. Additionally, computing system 100 may
exploit the resources of remote CPUs (not shown), for example,
through communications network 170 or some other data
communications means.
[0024] In operation, CPU 110 fetches, decodes, and executes
instructions from a computer readable storage medium such as HDD
115. Such instructions can be included in software such as an
operating system (OS), executable programs, and the like.
Information, such as computer instructions and other computer
readable data, is transferred between components of computing
system 100 via the system's main data-transfer path. The main
data-transfer path may use a system bus architecture 105, although
other computer architectures (not shown) can be used, such as
architectures using serializers and deserializers and crossbar
switches to communicate data between devices over serial
communication paths. System bus 105 can include data lines for
sending data, address lines for sending addresses, and control
lines for sending interrupts and for operating the system bus. Some
busses provide bus arbitration that regulates access to the bus by
extension cards, controllers, and CPU 110. Devices that attach to
the busses and arbitrate access to the bus are called bus masters.
Bus master support also allows multiprocessor configurations of the
busses to be created by the addition of bus master adapters
containing processors and support chips.
[0025] Memory devices coupled to system bus 105 can include random
access memory (RAM) 125 and read only memory (ROM) 130. Such
memories include circuitry that allows information to be stored and
retrieved. ROMs 130 generally contain stored data that cannot be
modified. Data stored in RAM 125 can be read or changed by CPU 110
or other hardware devices. Access to RAM 125 and/or ROM 130 may be
controlled by memory controller 120. Memory controller 120 may
provide an address translation function that translates virtual
addresses into physical addresses as instructions are executed.
Memory controller 120 may also provide a memory protection function
that isolates processes within the system and isolates system
processes from user processes. Thus, a program running in user mode
can normally access only memory mapped by its own process virtual
address space; it cannot access memory within another process'
virtual address space unless memory sharing between the processes
has been set up.
[0026] In addition, computing system 100 may contain peripheral
controller 135 responsible for communicating instructions using a
peripheral bus from CPU 110 to peripherals, such as printer 140,
keyboard 145, and mouse 150. An example of a peripheral bus is the
Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus.
[0027] Display 160, which is controlled by display controller 155,
can be used to display visual output generated by computing system
100. Such visual output may include text, graphics, animated
graphics, and/or video, for example. Display 160 may be implemented
with a CRT-based video display, an LCD-based flat-panel display,
gas plasma-based flat-panel display, touch-panel, or the like.
Display controller 155 includes electronic components required to
generate a video signal that is sent to display 160.
[0028] Further, computing system 100 may contain network adapter
165 which may be used to couple computing system 100 to an external
communication network 170, which may include or provide access to
the Internet, and hence which may provide or include tracking of
and access to the domain data discussed herein. Communications
network 170 may provide user access to computing system 100 with
means of communicating and transferring software and information
electronically. For example, users may communicate with computing
system 100 using communication means such as email, direct data
connection, virtual private network (VPN), Skype or other online
video conferencing services, or the like. Additionally,
communications network 170 may provide for distributed processing,
which involves several computers and the sharing of workloads or
cooperative efforts in performing a task. It is appreciated that
the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of
establishing communications links between computing system 100 and
remote users may be used.
[0029] It is appreciated that exemplary computing system 100 is
merely illustrative of a computing environment in which the herein
described systems and methods may operate and does not limit the
implementation of the herein described systems and methods in
computing environments having differing components and
configurations, as the inventive concepts described herein may be
implemented in various computing environments using various
components and configurations.
[0030] As shown in FIG. 2, computing system 100 can be deployed in
networked computing environment 200. In general, the above
description for computing system 100 applies to server, client, and
peer computers deployed in a networked environment, for example,
server 205, laptop computer 210, and desktop computer 230. FIG. 2
illustrates an exemplary illustrative networked computing
environment 200, with a server in communication with client
computing and/or communicating devices via a communications
network, in which the herein described apparatus and methods may be
employed.
[0031] As shown in FIG. 2, server 205 may be interconnected via a
communications network 240 (which may include any of, or any
combination of, a fixed-wire or wireless LAN, WAN, intranet,
extranet, peer-to-peer network, virtual private network, the
Internet, or other communications network such as POTS, ISDN, VoIP,
PSTN, etc.) with a number of client computing/communication devices
such as laptop computer 210, wireless mobile telephone 215, wired
telephone 220, personal digital assistant 225, user desktop
computer 230, and/or other communication enabled devices (not
shown). Server 205 can comprise dedicated servers operable to
process and communicate data such as digital content 250 to and
from client devices 210, 215, 220, 225, 230, etc. using any of a
number of known protocols, such as hypertext transfer protocol
(HTTP), file transfer protocol (FTP), simple object access protocol
(SOAP), wireless application protocol (WAP), or the like.
Additionally, networked computing environment 200 can utilize
various data security protocols such as secured socket layer (SSL),
pretty good privacy (PGP), virtual private network (VPN) security,
or the like. Each client device 210, 215, 220, 225, 230, etc. can
be equipped with an operating system operable to support one or
more computing and/or communication applications, such as a web
browser (not shown), email (not shown), or the like, to interact
with server 205.
[0032] As used herein, the term "domain social network" is defined
to include any connecting of a non-virtual, or virtual, identity
with an Internet domain, such as based on ownership of or interests
reflected on the domain on a network 240. More particularly, a
domain social network may automatically feed domain data regarding
the domains followed by each of the afore-discussed identities,
such as domain data regarding available social media activities or
events of likely interest to each of the identities based on the
followed domain(s), such as via web service or email service, to
the identities who follow those domains on a front end, and to the
domains that are followed on a back end. The domain information,
social media activities and performance events related to the
domain(s) followed by a particular identity may further generate
business intelligence as to the interests of that identity.
[0033] An Internet domain typically represents an identity, such as
of a business, as well as the branding and reputation of that
business. As such, a domain name constitutes a business asset. In
some cases, reliance or trust placed in the brand associated with
the domain name asset may be used maliciously, such as by hackers
or others who use that trust to spread spam or viruses on the
Internet.
[0034] Therefore, domain name owners need to protect and cultivate
the use of their respective brands. In part, this cultivation
necessitates that domain owners know the social media data and
website performance data regarding the owned domain(s), as well as
that of competitive domains or related domains. It is highly
desirable to know this social media data and website performance
data about domains of interest before making any judgment, or
entering into any engagement, such as for advertising. Gaining this
knowledge in advance regarding oneself, ones' competitors, and
Internet third parties prior to entering into web-based
engagements, is good Internet "citizenship," at least in that
learning about domains and domain-related data before that data is
used or shared with others helps stem the spread of bad web pages,
malicious software and viruses, spam, and the like, to users who
have placed their respective trust in particular domains.
[0035] Search engines and user-generated content platforms, such as
Facebook or Twitter, could use domain-related data, if available,
to value a domain, or an identity associated with a domain to
filter and protect its content, data and users, such as in avoiding
malicious or low quality content, and for advertiser's purposes.
However, prior to the advent of the present invention and its
domain social network, search engines and user-generated content
platforms did not have access to such data. Rather, if such data
was desired, one had to search for third party data tracking
entities, and open one's site to allow such entity to track,
piece-by-piece, the domain information desired. Thereafter, such
data would have to be manually searched in order to make use of it,
and this manual search would need to be repeated for each domain
owned or in which there was interest.
[0036] The present invention provides an engine, system and method
for a domain social network that interconnects Internet users with
at least domains owned or interested by those Internet users, and
that may obtain and/or forward the dynamic data automatically, such
as by web service or email service. The dynamic data may be used to
filter and protect content and data of the respective domains, to
protect users by identifying low quality web pages or malicious
software or pages, to isolate or improve search results regarding
the domain, and/or to improve Internet-based deal flow, such as
advertising.
[0037] In order to provide this engine, system and method, the
present invention may include a front end engine and a back end
engine, as illustrated in FIG. 3. Each of the backend engine and
the front end engine may be or include, as discussed hereinabove
with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2, at least one microprocessor, such as
within a server, and at least one access node to at least one
network, such as the Internet.
[0038] The backend engine, which may take the exemplary format
illustrated in FIG. 3, for example, may automatically crawl and
collect publicly available domain information, and may use that
data to calculate a domain valuation (such as using a formula
included in the aspects of the present invention) based on, for
example, website traffic, number of followers/favorites markers,
searchable page numbers and domain age.
[0039] The backend may also, for example, analyze a domain's "adult
attribute," such as based on the domain link outs, keywords and the
known adult attributes for certain domains. The backend may further
compile domain-competitor data. The accumulated domain information
may be generated, for example, as domain report data accessible to
users. The access to this domain report data may be exposed, for
example, by a browser bookmarklet, a browser add-on, or a domain
social network website (hereinafter collectively "bookmarklet")
that may provide a thin-client interface to reporting. Access may
further include a vendor feed, such as via an application
programming interface (API).
[0040] The domain social network bookmarklet may thus be,
graphically, a front-end feature that is an add-on to any web
browser. As such, it may be downloaded, or dragged and dropped or
added via a favorites bar without a software download. In short,
the bookmarklet may allow for "social bookmarking," that is,
sharing of bookmarks with others, and indicating to domain owners
whether a user has bookmarked the owned domain (such as for
marketing/sales purposes).
[0041] The bookmarklet may give the user peace of mind for an
unknown website (such as by giving linkouts, keywords, and website
physical location, for example), or may allow a user to follow a
known domain (such as by indicating the domain, giving an option to
follow, providing keywords, and providing competitors, for
example), at the user's direction and upon production by the
browser, for example. All such information may, of course, be
accumulated by the back end for production by the bookmarklet front
end.
[0042] Further, the providing of the bookmarklet may greatly
enhance page views, and thus my contribute to, and allow the
provider of the bookmarklet to obtain a share of, enhanced
advertising revenue. For example, if the user requests the
bookmarklet, such as by clicking "Track" on any given web page, the
user may be enabled to "Check" the site (to return or receive
information from), "Like" the site (which will bring friends to the
site), or "Share" the site (which will invite friends to the site),
based on the information provided in the bookmarklet. This
increased traffic to the site will provide increased ad revenue
correspondent thereto.
[0043] More particularly, and by way of non-limiting example, via
the bookmarklet any Internet user may access the domain information
from the backend engine, such as by viewing any web page providing
a "Check," as discussed herein throughout. The Internet user may,
by way of non-limiting example, indicate a "Like," a "Share," or a
"Follow" action, such as to save any web page, share any web page
to third party, and/or to follow the indicated domain in the domain
social network.
[0044] The Check process may also trigger the backend engine to
perform business intelligence social discovery and performance
discovery, as discussed herein throughout. An increase in the
number of users may thereby generate more discovery data and more
domain information, thus increasing the safety, knowledge, and
hence enjoyment of all Internet users, while additionally improving
web-based economic transactions, such as advertising. Yet more
particularly, the backend may generate social discovery data and
performance data based on a data request, such as, by way of
non-limiting example, by way of a "Discover."
[0045] A user may, such as via the front end, join the domain
social network, and such joinder may include definition of the
relationship with owned or interested domains. This may, by way of
non-limiting example, be termed a "Follow." Further, to increase
the convenience of a "Follow," a group name or tag may be assigned
to followed domains.
[0046] As more particularly illustrated in FIG. 4, the backend
system may generate domain information which may include valuation
data and adult attribute data, and provide such information to the
frontend. This information may be accessible by the user through
the use of, for example, the aforementioned browser add-on,
bookmarklet, website service, email service or phone service, such
as by allowing certain aspects of the domain information to be
presented to the user. A user may also become a member of the
domain social network so as to follow particular domains of
interest, for example.
[0047] Thus, in a manner similar to that discussed herein for
tracked sites, the front end bookmarklet may provide, either to a
surfing user or a domain owner, critical information regarding the
health of the domain. Users employing this feature may allow
registered users to follow any domain for its website information,
ranking, competitive analysis, and performance tracking, as well as
for social discoveries about its domains. Again, information
regarding these factors is accumulated by the backend of the
present invention, and provided to the front end.
[0048] As further illustrated in FIG. 4, the user may thereby be
presented with metrics relevant to the URL being visited or to be
potentially viewed. In addition to tagging the URL in accordance
with specific user preferences, the user may be provided
information regarding the title of the website, the amount of
traffic to the website in a given period of time, a summary
correspondent to the content of the website, related or competitive
websites to the one of interest, a listing of websites which a
referenced or "link out" from the site of interest, and the website
origination location, for example.
[0049] The backend system further has discovery capabilities, such
as for social discovery and performance discovery. Accumulated
domain information and discovery data may feed to domain social
network members automatically, such as by web service, email
service or phone service. Domain information data may further feed
to third parties by API.
[0050] The backend may collect each domain's identity information,
traffic information, link outs, link ins, following or favorites
marking, and adult attribute data, and may therefrom calculate
domain valuation based on traffic data, searchable page data and
domain age data. For example, domain age (based on year number) may
be a weighted factor in the valuation. Domain age of less than one
year may be weighted at less than 1.0, wherein a lower valuation
represents a lower popularity. For example, a domain age of less
than a certain period, such as three months, may be particularly
risky for Internet users. As such, a website having a lower
valuation that requests user information may pose a particular risk
to the user. If that web page provides a majority of its linkouts
to a targeted website, then the risk to the user that the page is a
phishing or scam page for the target website is even higher. When
such high risk web pages are detected, the alert data of that high
risk may be sent to the domain owner of the targeted website if it
joins domain social network. Likewise, individual users may be
informed of the high risk of the web page.
[0051] A user may login to the domain social network to check the
alert data at anytime, for example. Alternatively, the alert data
may be batch updated, such as daily. The user may check alert data
for a specific domain, or may group several domains together and
check alert data for that group. For example, a web message (such
as a Tweet.RTM.) may include a web page link to a domain having a
very new domain age, or an adult tag, or a low domain valuation,
this data indicated by the performance discovery, and/or indicated
by an alert, may preclude addition of this domain to search engine
results, such as to avoid mass spread of a potentially harmful web
page across Internet users.
[0052] This "performance discovery" may be executed from at least
one cloud computing platform, such as in multiple regions.
Periodically, such as once an hour, the backends from multiple
regions may read the most popular pages from a domain to calculate
its loading time and page size. The down time of specific web pages
may also be calculated. For example, in an embodiment of
performance discovery, web page size data may be read, and if it is
similar to a previous checkup, a quick loading time calculation may
indicate acceptable performance without reading the full web page
data. This may significantly reduce bandwidth usage but
nevertheless maintain reliable checkups. In another embodiment of
performance discovery, if a domain report has not been used by any
users for a period of time (thus indicating that the domain is not
popular), the loading time checkup may continuously use the
aforementioned quick loading time checkup, such as by reading only
the header data of the web page and calculating loading time or
down time.
[0053] A user who joins the domain social network of the present
invention may use an email address for identification and for
completing the validation process. User IDs may also be
incorporated from other social networks approved by the user and/or
associated with the identified email address, for example. As would
be known to those skilled in the art, third party social network
platforms already associated with the user, and in particular with
the user's email address, for example, may be queried and
associated with the user of the present invention.
[0054] Once associated with the present invention, a registered
user may follow any number of selected domain names. The user may
also receive reports providing information about the followed web
site(s), which may further include information about related
websites and the interactions between third party users and the
related websites. Similarly, a user may follow users within the
system and may be provided information about that and other users'
internet activity.
[0055] As illustrated in FIG. 4, for example, a user who is
following at least one additional user may be provided information
related to what web site(s) were visited, the duration of each
visit, the content accessed, the relation between the visited
websites (and to the bookmarked web sites of the following or
followed user), and/or the content available or bookmarked from the
internet. A user may refine such information by limiting the
presented information to various keywords matches, for example.
[0056] A user may also claim ownership of a domain through a
validation process administered through the present invention, and
may thereby gain access to a data or additional data related
thereto. For example, domain owners may provide trademark and/or
keyword data related to branding for inclusion with a user's alert
data. However, some alert data may only be provided to the domain
owner.
[0057] As described previously herein, a social bookmarklet or
browser add-on may allow a user to reach a marked web page from any
web browser in any web device (computer, tablet, smart phone, etc).
The present invention may, for example, cause a popup window to
display information having at least basic domain information
related to a current web page. The same window may also provide
information related to the Like, Share, and/or Follow features
discussed herein, and may trigger social discovery data from a
current web page, such as via the backend engine through to other
users. As such, the present invention may provide a portable
aspect, such as a widget, that may provide the data and inventive
elements for users as discussed herein. Further, a unification of
followed page data may be thereby provided.
[0058] As illustrated in FIG. 5, social discovery from a web page
may be facilitated through the filtering of web page content and/or
with the use of business intelligence logic to connect the web page
information to the related domain. For example, the social
discovery functionality of the present invention may allow a web
page to contain a web link whose display text has the domain name
and link to such domain, which may be provided to the user as
related to the user's metrics whether such metrics are inputted by
the user or calculated by the present invention based on the user's
interne activity.
[0059] Social discovery data for domains may be represented using
keywords indicating business intelligence rules. For example, a
user may follow a keyword instead of a domain name, and in such a
case the present invention may use domain information data to get
the most matched domain list for that keyword. By way of example,
the keyword "spyware" may be linked to one set of domains that have
the most high valuation with "spyware" in their respective domain
information data (i.e., in their respective domain name, title,
description, keywords, etc.). The social discovery data for such
keyword may then be converted to obtaining social discovery for the
indicated domain list.
[0060] In a further exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, a
user may compile a certain subset of Check gathered information to
determine whether a particular website meets the criteria the user
has set, such as, for example, the website's popularity or overall
access safety. Such information may include, for example, the
topics covered by the website, the name of the website, the ranking
provided by correlating third party usage, the number or ranking
with respect to followers or favorite markers, a latest news
posting, a social network posting related to the website, and/or
the time between visits to the website by the user or a third party
associated with the user, such as in the user's social network.
Having such information available to the user may allow the user to
make a determination as to the fitness and utility of the target
website. Such information may also allow a user to qualify the
usefulness of a website without ever having actually landed on or
been availed to the direct content of the particular website.
[0061] A user may also allow certain third party posts about
particular websites to be displayed in the user's access panel.
Such posts may provide a social network wherein the user may access
opinion and content offered by the poster about the website of
interest. Although such information may be included in the overall
ranking associated with the website of interest, third party posts
may include more detailed information and may allow the user to
make a more refined decision as to the quality of the web site.
[0062] For example, a commenting user may provide a link to the web
site being commented upon and may include a statement from original
authorship or copy and paste some prior created content--whether
directly from the web site being commented on or related content
from a third party source. In any event, the present invention may
also associate with the post information related to the web site,
such as, for example, the ranking of the web site and an indication
of when the post was created.
[0063] As further illustrated in FIG. 6, an alert may be based on
user grouped domains to present the latest down time data and
latest social discovery data. Similarly, an alert may send an email
once a day to a domain user for latest social discovery data based
on user followed domains and may send instant communications to a
domain user when detected down time based on used followed
domains.
[0064] Additionally, FIG. 7 is an illustration of the following of
a domain (symantec.com in this case), and the obtaining of social
discovery data and domain information related thereto. This
information may be shared, in accordance with the present
invention, such as by email, with other users who may read the
social discovery data and elect to also follow the domain. Thereby,
the present invention provides viral marketing of the domain.
Further, in this exemplary embodiment, the social discovery data
may reveal the discovery by the domain of a security flaw and data
leak by a third party website, and multiple media websites with a
link to the domain. Thus, the story may be cached by the backend
and linked to the domain.
[0065] In an embodiment of the present invention, the user of the
system may provide a search term which may return results from a
user associated social network or domain traffic list. The use of a
limited data set associated with the users may allow for a more
reliable and/or relevant return of search results. For example, by
calling domain social network data associated with the user, the
user initiated search may obtain the best matched domain result.
The data may, for example, be ordered by traffic ranking or by
social recommendations. Such social recommendations may be made by
linking to social networks associated with the user and may record
and/or review prior activity by the user and/or third party users
further associated with the user.
[0066] Searching in the present embodiment may be facilitated by
any known search engine, such as, for example Bing.RTM. and
Google.RTM., and may utilize any accessible domain listing as a
searching source to obtain matched web content links as correlated
to the entered search term. Further, the search functionality of
the present invention provides more than mere manual search, as
described herein, the search functionality includes the searching
of cached information monitored by a particular topic or search
term(s) for a determined period of time. Similarly, the search may
include web content available only from dedicated domains.
[0067] The present invention may further employ at least one web
crawler to return web content links, analyze the web content
associated with user's search term, and take at least one
screenshot for the matched web page. As illustrated in FIG. 8, a
time-marked screen shot may be taken of at least one page of
returned website and may be cached within a system accessible
database. The present invention may further highlight or otherwise
make known to a user which terms within the returned web page
provided the basis for the return of the page. In an embodiment of
the present invention and as illustrated in FIG. 8, the search
term(s) used by the user may be highlighted and the ranking of
returned results may be based off of, for example, the frequency of
such term(s) within the returned webpage.
[0068] Thus, the present invention may allow for deep searching
with screen capture which may allow a user to visually "tune up"
search results to adapt to the best search source. This process may
be automated and may allow for an optimization report to be
generated which may include, for example, at least one returned
result and the number of term(s) and/or term frequency identified.
Automated searching and/or optimization may be continuous and/or
set to a predetermined time frame such as, for example, hourly
and/or daily. Similarly, as would be appreciated by those skilled
in the art, the present invention may broaden the search scope of a
particular search term by allowing for near and like term(s) to be
included in the search results.
[0069] In an embodiment of the present invention, a GUI may be
provided to facilitate the automatic return of results and
presenting of results from a high value search source. As
illustrated in FIG. 9, a toolbar may be incorporated in to a web
browser to allow the user ready access to the functionality of the
present invention. In addition to allowing a user to enter a free
form search term(s), the present invention may also group searches
and/or results by category and provide access to such groups using
a single click button. For example, returned results may include at
least one travel related website. To increase searching
efficiencies, the present invention may group at least one returned
result with other third party resources, including domains
associated with user social network association, under a single
"travel" tab. Clicking on this tab may return immediate results,
such as those most recently returned, or may provide an additional
search interface which may further provide the user with the
opportunity to free form search or click on links representing
previously returned results related to travel, for example.
[0070] The present invention may, for example, as illustrated in
FIG. 10, provide a multi-tab browser GUI and may present at least
one report regarding a particular keyword(s) or domain name(s).
Such a site report, as described herein, may provide a website
valuation based on the website's traffic ranking, searchable pages
and domain name history. Similarly, a keyword report may be
provided showing the at least one keyword list associated with a
particular website and may allow comparisons to other websites
having the same or similar keyword(s).
[0071] By way of specific example, the present invention may
provide a link report which may provide information related to what
a particular web site link to, as well as what the web site links
in. An intelligence report may provide information related to what
web sites share the same IP address(es) and which web sites have
the same title and/or description, such as mirror sites, for
example. The present invention may also provide competitive reports
based on similarities between web sites, such as in relation to key
words and/or images used.
[0072] Further, a domain connection report may provide an
accounting of which web sites have the same third party provider
accounts, such as, for example, accounts with Google.RTM. and
GoDaddy.RTM., and/or which web sites have the same or similar title
and/or description data in home page.
[0073] The present invention may also allow for real-time reporting
which may allow a user to very quickly search or browse various
websites to identify at least one which may meet their needs. By
way of non-limiting example, when browsing to a particular web
page, the present invention may provide, through a bottom panel
window, for example, the web site title, description, keyword(s),
linked out web site address and related web sites. The present
invention may also allow the user to make social link to any given
web page through social media links to, for example, Facebook.RTM.
and Twitter.RTM., through a one click activation feature, for
example.
[0074] Thus, in an embodiment of the present invention, a desktop
program may be providing having at least the features described
herein above. Through the local program, a user may authenticate
and/or connect to a user controlled social network site, such as
Facebook.RTM. and Twitter.RTM., for example, and may further employ
at least a second set of privacy and/or protection rules to both
the local machine and the social network site. For example, through
a "connection lock," the user may change a Facebook.RTM. profile
and remove/restrict access to certain sites through or from
Facebook.RTM.. Further, the local program may allow for each social
website to be provided a dedicated and distinct set of rules which
may further be displayed in discrete windows. Similarly,
information related to the user and the social network site may be
displayed. Such information may include, for example, interaction
history, interconnections between a social network site and third
party sites, and authorized and/or blocked sites according to the
rules set by at least one user.
[0075] For example, the local program may allow a parent to view
the activity of a child on the child's Facebook.RTM. page and may
further allow the parent to control access to other sites navigable
through Facebook.RTM.. The parents may also view and restrict third
party cookies, embedded links and/or tracking programs which follow
and/or are availed of the child's page, for example. The present
invention may additionally group such third party websites and
tracking devices and provide characterizations such as "safe",
"unsafe", "naughty" and/or "nice," for example. As would be
apparent to one skilled in the art, the classification given to
grouped URLs may take any form and/or rating and may be based on
keyword(s) within the URL and/or on comparison to a known list of
URLs constructed to provide a predetermined listing of URLs of a
specific classification.
[0076] In an embodiment of the present invention, at lest one
keyword(s) may be entered to search web pages in the past, current
and future, automatically. Returned results may be viewed in a
calendar and/or timeline format or by discovery/search term defined
by the user. In any search, safe mode may be entered to block
unwanted content, such as, for example, adult content. The present
invention may also support proxy settings which may allow a user to
make private returned results, searching queries, and/or browsing.
As illustrated in FIG. 11, the present invention may further
provide a developer tool GUI to better facilitate the embodiments
described herein.
[0077] For example, the present invention may allow an entity to
monitor a website and/or traffic for privacy and content alerts.
Use of the present invention may be provided on a subscription
basis and may, for example, be subscribed to for $39 per month per
subscription. Alternatively, the present invention may be accessed
through an annual subscription, such as, for example, $99 per year.
As user may then have the ability to 1) track competitor social
data; 2) track locations of users; 3) track price history of
various products and/or services; and 4) enable convenient
protection of email and social network accounts.
[0078] Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the herein
described systems and methods are susceptible to various
modifications and alternative constructions. There is no intention
to limit the scope of the invention to the specific constructions
described herein. Rather, the herein described systems and methods
are intended to cover all modifications, alternative constructions,
and equivalents falling within the scope and spirit of the
invention and its equivalents.
* * * * *