Patent Application
20110231770
The present invention relates generally to monitoring and regulating Internet use. The invention relates more particularly to systems and methods for providing a temporary mechanism for selective blocking of Internet content.
In accordance to some embodiments of the present technology, an exemplary method for selective blocking of Internet content includes several steps. A distraction list may be received from an Internet service via a user interface between an end user and the Internet service, wherein the distraction list includes one or more blocked Internet content identifiers associated with blocked Internet content. A focus-time interval and a starting time are also received. Further, the exemplary method may include monitoring Internet content requested by the end user to determine if the blocked Internet content is requested after the starting time and during the focus-time interval. The monitoring may be performed by the Internet service. In some embodiments, the Internet service may be coupled to an Internet service provider. When the blocked Internet content is requested after the starting time and during the focus-time interval, the end user is redirected to a block page, which may thereby reduce online distractions for the duration of the focus-time interval. The monitoring automatically ceases after the focus-time interval, without requiring the end user to manually disable the selective blocking of Internet content.
An exemplary system for a temporary mechanism for selective blocking of Internet content may include the Internet service and a user interface between an initiating end user and the Internet service that receives a distraction list comprising one or more blocked Internet content identifiers associated with blocked Internet content, a focus-time interval, and a starting time. The user interface may operate between an end user and an Internet service provider. The system may be set up to utilize a DNS (Domain Name System) server or a cloud based networking system.
The exemplary system for a temporary mechanism for selective blocking of Internet content may also include a processor for executing the instructions stored in memory to monitor Internet content requested by the end user to determine if the blocked Internet content is requested after the starting time and during the focus-time interval. Furthermore, the processor may execute instructions stored in memory to redirect the end user to a block page when the blocked Internet content is requested after the starting time and during the focus-time interval, wherein the monitoring automatically ceases after the focus-time interval.
Generally speaking, an administrator may create and enforce mediation polices for one or more end users that utilize computing devices coupled to an Internet service delivered to a location such as a home, residence or place of business or campus. The term “administrator” may include not only individuals, such as parents, but also any individual creating a mediation policies regarding the Internet service delivered to end users. It will be understood that an administrator may also be an end user, although end users who are not also administrators may not create or apply policies.
It will be further understood that because of the diversity of computing devices that may connect to the Internet service, the policy may be applied to the Internet service rather than requiring the policy to affect each computing device individually, such as a mediation application resident on each computing device. In various exemplary embodiments a policy may also reside as a stand alone application on one or more of the computing devices.
Exemplary user devices for use with the disclosed systems may have a user interface. In various embodiments, such as those deployed on personal mobile devices, the user interface may be, or may execute, an application, such as a mobile application (hereinafter referred to as an “app”). An app may be downloaded and installed on a user's mobile device. Users may define a mediation policy via a user device, such as through the user interface. Some embodiments of the present invention do not require software to be downloaded or installed locally to the user device and, correspondently, do not require the user to execute a de-install application to cease use of the system.
Various embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for a temporary mechanism for selective blocking of Internet content on a user account and/or from designated Internet access devices. An initiating user may wish to restrict his or her access to Internet content so that the initiating user may focus on using specific applications or Internet content, relating to the initiating user's work or school projects, for example. An exemplary system for a temporary mechanism for selective blocking of Internet content may include the Internet service and a user interface between any initiating end user and the Internet service that receives a distraction list comprising one or more blocked Internet content identifiers associated with blocked Internet content, a focus-time interval and a starting time. The user interface may operate between an end user and an Internet service provider. The exemplary system for a temporary mechanism for selective blocking of Internet content may also include a processor for executing the instructions stored in memory to monitor Internet content requested by the end user to determine if the blocked Internet content is requested after the starting time and during the focus-time interval. Furthermore, the processor may execute instructions stored in memory to redirect the end user to a block page when the blocked Internet content is requested after the starting time and during the focus-time interval, wherein the monitoring automatically ceases after the focus-time interval.
The user interface may be requested though a gateway available to the end user. Gateways include but are not limited to desktops, PCs, laptops, notebooks, game consoles (e.g., an X-box), music players, tablets, IPods, Smartphones, automobile computer systems, and Internet enabled TVs. A Smartphone may be generally defined as a phone with computing capability. A Smartphone may provide Internet access to an end user.
It will be noted that as used herein the term “Internet content” encompasses any website, web service or other content or service presented to a user on the Internet or through a user device. The term “web content” is used herein to refer to any Internet content generated or requested by or through a web browser. For purposes of this disclosure, the definition of “Internet service provider” will include any service or technology that provides a connection to the Internet. Examples of such technologies include, but are not limited to, traditional Internet service providers (ISPs), telecommunications companies, cable operators, mobile operators, network operators and any other provider of wired or wireless access to Internet services.
The distraction list may include a list of one or more blocked Internet content identifiers, and may be provided by various sources, such as the Internet service and/or the user devices (e.g., input by the initiating end user, or retrieved from a stored file on the user device), either alone or in any combination thereof. A blocked Internet content identifier is associated with blocked Internet content, and may identify the blocked Internet content. The blocked Internet content identifier may include a web site address, uniform resource locator or identifier, and/or a title or name of the blocked Internet content. The one or more blocked Internet content identifiers may be associated with specific web content, such as a website, or be associated with at least one predetermined category of Internet content selected by the initiating end user. Each predetermined category may be associated with a content theme, which may describe subject matter that the Internet content listed under the predetermined category shares in common. The at least one predetermined category may include an entertainment content theme, a public email content theme, a social networking content theme, a shopping content theme, a sports content theme, a news content theme, and a gaming content theme in various embodiments. The user interface may also allow an initiating end user to select which Internet content is to be blocked, as described in further detail below.
The predetermined category of Internet content may include a pre-populated list of Internet content identifiers associated with Internet content having the content theme associated with the predetermined category. In such embodiments, the method 100 may also include the optional step of pre-populating the distraction list with Internet content identifiers that are associated with the predetermined category. In an exemplary embodiment, the list. The list of Internet content identifiers requested by the end user may be compared against the distraction list. The comparison may be performed by the DNS server via a query to the Internet service.
When blocked Internet content is requested during the focus-time interval and after the starting time, at step 140, the end user is redirected to a block page, thereby denying access to the blocked Internet content. In some embodiments, the block page is transmitted to display on a user device of the first distraction list may be displayed on a user interface that is provided to the first end user.
At step 120 of the method 100, a focus-time interval and a starting time are received via the user interface. The focus-time interval may be the time for which access to the blocked Internet content may be denied to the end user, and the starting time may be a time provided by the end user for the focus-time interval to commence. The starting time may also be provided by receiving a start input from the user indicating that the focus-time interval should commence. The start input may be provided by the user by selecting or otherwise actuating a command on the user interface, such as a button or command from a menu. Both the focus-time interval and the starting time may be received from various sources, such as the Internet service, and/or the user device, either alone or in any combination thereof.
At step 130, Internet content requested by the end user during the focus-time interval and after the starting time is monitored to determine if blocked Internet content is requested. The monitoring in step 130 may be performed by the Internet service which may, in turn, utilize a DNS server (such as the DNS server 610 of
In an exemplary embodiment, the Internet content requested by the end user during the focus-time interval may be monitored to determine if the requested Internet content has the content theme of a predetermined category. The monitoring may be performed by searching the requested Internet content and/or metadata associated with the requested Internet content for predetermined keywords associated with the content theme. For example, monitoring for a predetermined category having a sports content theme may include searching the requested Internet content for predetermined keywords such as “basketball,” “baseball,” and “football.” In such embodiments, the end user may be redirected to the block page when Internet content having the content theme is requested during the focus-time interval.
In an exemplary embodiment, all Internet content that is requested after the starting time and during the focus-time interval may be blocked. Such an embodiment may be advantageous when an end user wishes to use the user device without accessing the internet, such as when the end user wishes to use productivity applications (e.g., word processing or spreadsheet applications).
Data characteristic of Internet use as evidenced by a history of requested content, etc., may be collected and used to generate or modify distraction lists by, for example, auto-populating distraction lists with Internet content identifiers determined to be associated with distracting Internet content.
It should be noted that an administrator may activate and deactivate any or all of the blocking function on demand. The administrator may also control each of the blocking schemes associated with multiple end users.
The user interface module 210 provides one or more user interfaces to the end user as a result of the application for selective blocking of Internet content. The user interface module 210 provides, for instance, a user interface between the end user and the Internet service, so that communications between the two are enabled. Exemplary user interfaces provided by the user interface module 210 are shown in
The Internet monitoring module 220 may perform a step of monitoring Internet content requested by the end user during the focus-time interval to determine if blocked Internet content is requested (such as the step 130 of the method 100 described earlier herein in relation to
The architecture 200 includes a network 250 which may comprise a DNS server. The network 250 may also include any type and number of databases, servers, end users, computing devices, and policy engines. The one or more Internet content being monitored is shown as Internet content 260. It will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that the system in
The one or more user entry fields 450 are fields by which an end user may enter information regarding the at least one additional Internet content identifier. The user may enter a company name associated with an additional Internet content identifier, a site name associated with an additional Internet content identifier, a category name associated with an additional Internet content identifier, or any combination thereof. Categorized Internet content may be preloaded or otherwise stored as part of the application for selective blocking of Internet content.
After receiving a user entry (e.g., in the one or more user entry fields 450), a potential Internet content address corresponding to the user entry may be determined, and a domain field 470 may be auto-populated with the potential Internet content address. The potential Internet content address may be the actual URL address of the Internet content that the end user wants to add to the blocked list or a URL of an Internet content associated with an Internet content category provided by the end user in the user entry field 450.
If the potential Internet content address does not match what the end user wishes to add to the blocked list, the user may be presented with alternative Internet content addresses. At least one alternative Internet content address may be determined (e.g., by the Internet service) based upon the user entry in the user entry field 450. When a domain selection input is received, where the domain selection input may be selection or actualization of a button, for example, a selectable list may be provided that includes at least one alternative Internet content address. The selectable list may be a drop-down menu, for example, located in the domain field 470. The end user may select Internet content from the drop-down menu, and a URL to the selected Internet content from the drop-down menu may appear in the domain field 470.
Another way to provide additional Internet content identifiers to the distraction list may be provided using the one or more predetermined categories 425. Each predetermined category 425 may be associated with a selectable category button 430 and a category title 440. The category title 440 may include the content theme associated with the predetermined category. By selecting or otherwise actuating the category button 430, the end user may add all pre-stored Internet content identifiers associated with the predetermined category to the blocked list. Allowing end users to provide additional Internet content identifiers to the blocked list using the predetermined categories 425 may be advantageous because time may be saved compared to embodiments where the end user must enter additional Internet content identifiers individually using the user entry field 450 and the domain field 470.
End users may repeat the process of populating the domain fields 470 with additional Internet content identifiers until all of their selections have been furnished to the user entry fields 450. The at least one additional Internet content identifier may then be added to the distraction list to form a modified distraction list when a completion input is received. The completion input indicates that the user wishes to add the at least one additional Internet content identifier to the distraction list. When the completion input is received, the modifications to the distraction list may be saved for future use by clicking on or otherwise actuating the OK button 460, for example. Once the OK button 460 has been selected, the configuration drawer of the user interface 400 appears to close.
To activate the functionality of the application for selective blocking of Internet content, an end user may select, click or otherwise actuate the On button of the On/Off button set 410. If an initiating end user inputs their distraction list settings but does not enable the notification policy application by selecting the On button, then an overlay may appear to the end user asking if the end user would like to enable the service prior to closing the configuration drawer. In some embodiments, the default setting for the application for selective blocking of Internet content is “On.” If the end user wishes to disable the functionality of the application, the end user may select the Off button of the On/Off button set 410.
The systems and methods described above may typically be resident in an Internet service, a DNS server, or a DNS network. The systems and methods described may also be implemented in plug-in utilities, gateway devices, cable modems, proxy servers, set top boxes, and network interface devices.
The dynamic enforcement engine 620 may generate its policy engine on instructions received from one or more policy modules 630. Each policy module 630 may be constructed to provide various types and levels of services to the DNS network 640. In various embodiments, a policy module 630 may be configured to handle queries directed to subjects including, but not limited to, malicious domain redirection, user access redirection, non-existent domain redirection, and data collection or analysis.
It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that the elements of DNS service 670 may be hosted either locally or remotely. In addition to residing in the DNS service 670, one or more of the DNS network 640, the dynamic enforcement engine 620, and the policy modules 630, and any combination thereof, may be resident on one or more user devices 650.
The system 700 utilizes a user interface 710. The user interface 710 may be implemented in many embodiments. One specific implementation of the user interface 710 is as a web page.
The user interface 710 may be requested by one or more user devices 650 operated by the users 660. The user interface 710 may be requested though a gateway user device 650 available to the users 660. Suitable user devices 650 include but are not limited to desktops, PCs, laptops, notebooks, gaming devices, IPods, IPhones, automobile computer systems, and Internet enabled TVs. The system 700 may also be requested and controlled through remote control user devices 650, such as a Smartphone. A Smartphone may be defined as a phone with computing capability. A Smartphone may provide the user 660 with Internet access.
The user interface 710 provides a mechanism for one or more authorized users 660 to establish content policy for the Internet service. The user interface 710 operates between the user devices 650 present in the system 700 and the DNS network 640. Instructions resident on the user interface 710 therefore operate on the Internet service, by controlling at least a portion of DNS resolutions via a dynamic policy engine 730, before the service reaches the displays of the user devices 650.
The user interface 710 provides the users 660 with access to one or more policy applications 720. The user interface 710 may provide access to a selection list to at least one authorized user 660. The authorized user 660 uses the selection list or some other menu mechanism to select those policy applications 720 that the user 660 chooses to apply to the system 700. The authorized user 660 may select any number of the available policy applications for use on the system 700 at any given time. In implementations utilizing Smartphones as the user device 650, the policy applications 720 are downloaded to the device 650. The device 650 then serves as the user interface 710 to communicate directly with the dynamic policy engine 730.
The policy applications 720 may prohibit access to specific sites. The policy applications 720 may also limit the time of day when users or selected users 660 may access certain sites. The policy applications 720 may also manage and analyze duration of access to various sites. It is important to note that the policy applications 720 do not simply provide blocking mechanisms by masking or enabling network controls, but rather mediate an Internet service received by the end user. As used herein, mediating the service may include any of blocking, constraining, enabling, redirecting, promoting, demoting, substituting, obscuring, limiting, interrupting, and restricting all or a portion of the Internet service. The policy applications 720 may provide notifications or alerts to one or more users 660 when sites are requested. The policy applications 720 may also provide notification of frequency and duration of access of designated sites. The policy applications 720 may also be used to observe, substitute, enable, redirect users, to reward behavior desired from the users by a system administrator, etc. The policy applications 720 may redirect users from a non-favored site to another site. The policy applications 720 may also collect and transmit data characteristic of Internet use. The data characteristic of Internet use may be used to generate or modify distraction lists by, for example, auto-populating distraction lists with Internet content identifiers determined to be associated with distracting Internet content.
Access policies supplied by the policy applications 720 may apply to all users 660 of the system 700, or the access policies may be specific to individual users or groups of users 660. The policy applications 720 may be discrete, single purpose applications.
The policy applications 720 provide the users 650 with a mechanism to take various actions relative to their Internet service feed. The policy applications 720 also allow the users 650 to establish a dynamic policy engine 730 that includes a user database. The policy engine 730 is used to enforce rules associated with each policy application associated with individual end users, not simply block various inappropriate sites from the Internet feed. Rather, the dynamic policy engine 730, controlled by the user interface 710 through user device(s) 650, is used to manage all aspects of the Internet experience for the users 660. In sum, the policy applications 720 may be used to configure the dynamic policy engine 730 to provide the users 660 with a mechanism to personalize the Internet experience. The policy applications 720 may be configured in combinations, and may each be separately configured.
The database in the policy engine 730 may be used to record and to notify users 660 of various data relative to Internet access. The data collected from and provided to the users 660 may include records of access of specific sites, time spent on specific sites, time of day of access, data specific to individual users, etc.
It should also be noted that following an initial setup through the user interface 710 of the policy engine 730, a direct access 740 enforcement loop may be established between the policy engine 730 and the user devices 650. Subsequent accessing of the DNS network 640 utilizing the direct access 740 decreases response time in the system 700, thereby further enhancing the Internet experience of the users 660. Configurations of policy applications 720 that are selected by one or more users 660 designated as system administrators may remain in the user database of the policy engine 730 until such time as it may be modified by the system administrators. The system administrators may define multiple policy configurations, with a combination of policy applications 720, applicable to one or more end users 660 of the system 700. Each policy application 720 may be separately configurable as well. Policy configurations may vary based upon designated times, conditional triggers, or specific requests from the users 660 with administrative authority.
As indicated above, two discrete data flow paths may be established for the system 700. A first data path establishes a set of enforcement policies for the system 700. The first data path flows from at least one user device 650 through the user interface 710, to the policy enforcement engine 730. A second data path 740 may be utilized following the establishment of a set of policies for the system 700. The second data path 740 flows directly between the user device(s) 650 and the policy engine 730. Multiple sets of enforcement policies may be established and saved within the system 700 and implemented selectively by the users 660.
The components shown in
Mass storage device 830, which may be implemented with a magnetic disk drive or an optical disk drive, is a non-volatile storage device for storing data and instructions for use by processor unit 810. Mass storage device 830 can store the system software for implementing embodiments of the present invention for purposes of loading that software into main memory 810.
Portable storage device 840 operates in conjunction with a portable non-volatile storage medium, such as a floppy disk, compact disk or Digital video disc, to input and output data and code to and from the computer system 800 of
Input devices 860 provide a portion of a user interface. Input devices 860 may include an alpha-numeric keypad, such as a keyboard, for inputting alpha-numeric and other information, or a pointing device, such as a mouse, a trackball, stylus, or cursor direction keys. Additionally, the system 800 as shown in
Display system 870 may include a liquid crystal display (LCD) or other suitable display device. Display system 870 receives textual and graphical information, and processes the information for output to the display device.
Peripherals 880 may include any type of computer support device to add additional functionality to the computer system. Peripheral device(s) 880 may include a modem or a router.
The components contained in the computer system 800 of
Some of the above-described functions may be composed of instructions that are stored on storage media (e.g., computer-readable medium). The instructions may be retrieved and executed by the processor. Some examples of storage media are memory devices, tapes, disks, and the like. The instructions are operational when executed by the processor to direct the processor to operate in accord with the invention. Those skilled in the art are familiar with instructions, processor(s), and storage media.
It is noteworthy that any hardware platform suitable for performing the processing described herein is suitable for use with the invention. The terms “computer-readable storage medium” and “computer-readable storage media” as used herein refer to any medium or media that participate in providing instructions to a CPU for execution. Such media can take many forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media and transmission media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as a fixed disk. Volatile media include dynamic memory, such as system RAM. Transmission media include coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, among others, including the wires that comprise one embodiment of a bus. Transmission media can also take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio frequency (RF) and infrared (IR) data communications. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, a hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM disk, digital video disk (DVD), any other optical medium, any other physical medium with patterns of marks or holes, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, an EEPROM, a FLASHEPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave, or any other medium from which a computer can read.
Various forms of computer-readable media may be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to a CPU for execution. A bus carries the data to system RAM, from which a CPU retrieves and executes the instructions. The instructions received by system RAM can optionally be stored on a fixed disk either before or after execution by a CPU.
The above description is illustrative and not restrictive. Many variations of the invention will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon review of this disclosure. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined not with reference to the above description, but instead should be determined with reference to the appended claims along with their full scope of equivalents. While the present invention has been described in connection with a series of embodiments, these descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular forms set forth herein. It will be further understood that the methods of the invention are not necessarily limited to the discrete steps or the order of the steps described. To the contrary, the present descriptions are intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims and otherwise appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art. For example, this description describes the technology in the context of an Internet service in conjunction with a DNS server. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that functionalities and method steps that are performed by a DNS server may be performed by an Internet service.
One skilled in the art will recognize that the Internet service may be configured to provide Internet access to one or more computing devices that are coupled to the Internet service, and that the computing devices may include one or more processors, buses, memory devices, display devices, input/output devices, and the like. Furthermore, those skilled in the art may appreciate that the Internet service may be coupled to one or more databases, repositories, servers, and the like, which may be utilized in order to implement any of the embodiments of the invention as described herein.
One skilled in the art will further appreciate that the term “Internet content” encompasses any content that may be accessed by an user device including but not limited to one or more of web sites, domains, web pages, web addresses, hyperlinks, URLs, any text, pictures, and/or media (such as video, audio, and any combination of audio and video) provided or displayed on a web page, and any combination thereof. Mediating the Internet service may include any of blocking, constraining, enabling, redirecting, promoting, demoting, substituting, obscuring, limiting, interrupting.
While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the system are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the system, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, while processes or steps are presented in a given order, alternative embodiments may perform routines having steps in a different order, and some processes or steps may be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified to provide alternative or subcombinations. Each of these processes or steps may be implemented in a variety of different ways. Also, while processes or steps are at times shown as being performed in series, these processes or steps may instead be performed in parallel, or may be performed at different times.
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that specific embodiments of the system have been described herein for purposes of illustration, but that various modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the system. Accordingly, the disclosure is not limited except as by the appended claims.
This nonprovisional patent application is a continuation-in-part application that claims the priority benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/727,001 filed on Mar. 18, 2010, titled “Internet Mediation,” and provisional U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 61/370,556, filed on Aug. 4, 2010, titled “Internet Mediation Applications,” which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61370556 | Aug 2010 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 12727001 | Mar 2010 | US |
| Child | 12897237 | US |
