Method and system for identifying a visitor at a website server by requesting additional characteristic of a visitor computer from a visitor server
View Patent ↗A method and system can be used to identify visitors at a network site (e.g., a website) by using a combination of an address (e.g., IP address) and characteristic(s) of an individual visitor computer. Examples of the characteristic of the individual visitor computer can include the type of the computer, CPU identifier, OS, browser application and version, compatibility of the browser application with other browser applications, display size, screen resolution, locale information, installed plug-in software component(s), mimetypes supported, whether a programming language is enabled, accessory(ies) that can be activated by a browser application, or any other information that may be used in locating or generating a page. The method and system is more accurate than just using an IP address, and the information used for visitor identification will not usually be blocked if cookies are unavailable.
1. A method of identifying a visitor at a network site comprising:
receiving, at a website server, a network address of a visitor server computer and a first characteristic of a requesting visitor computer from the visitor server computer over a first network, wherein the visitor server computer is communicatively coupled to the requesting visitor computer over a second network and wherein the first characteristic of the requesting visitor computer is obtained, by the visitor server computer, from a header portion of a request for information sent from the requesting visitor computer to the visitor server computer over the second network;
determining, at the website server, if a second characteristic of the requesting visitor computer is needed from the visitor server computer;
requesting, by the website server, additional information regarding the second characteristic of the requesting visitor computer, wherein said requesting additional information comprises sending, by the website server, a request for the second characteristic of the requesting visitor computer to the visitor server computer over the first network;
receiving, at the website server, the additional information regarding the second characteristic of the requesting visitor computer from the visitor server computer over the first network, wherein the second characteristic is obtained, by the visitor server computer, from the header portion of the request sent from the requesting visitor computer to the visitor server computer over the second network; and
generating, at the website server, a first visitor identifier using the network address provided by the visitor server computer, the first characteristic of the requesting visitor computer and the second characteristic of the requesting visitor computer.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the first visitor identifier is performed using only the network address and information within a user-agent string of the request originating from the requesting visitor computer.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the user-agent string includes a browser identifier for a browser application on the requesting visitor computer and compatibility information regarding the browser application.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first characteristic of the requesting visitor computer comprises a type of computer, a CPU identifier, an OS, a browser application, a version of a browser application, compatibility information regarding the browser application, locale information, an accessory that can be activated by the browser application, a display size, a resolution setting, or whether a programming language is enabled.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the visitor server computer is communicatively coupled to a plurality of requesting visitor computers over the second network.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the first characteristic is sent from the requesting visitor computer to the visitor server computer before the website server generating the first visitor identifier.
7. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:
receiving from the visitor server computer a second characteristic of a second requesting visitor computer, wherein the second requesting visitor computer is different from the visitor server computer and the requesting visitor computer; and
generating a second visitor identifier using the network address of the visitor server computer and the second characteristic of the second requesting visitor computer.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the first characteristic is a first characteristic of a first browsing environment of the requesting visitor computer; and
the method further comprises:
receiving from the visitor server computer a second characteristic of a second browsing environment of the requesting visitor computer, wherein the first and second browsing environments use the same OS, browser application, and version of browser application; and
generating a second visitor identifier using the network address provided by the visitor server computer and the second characteristic of the second browsing environment of the requesting visitor computer.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the first visitor identifier is performed without the use of a cookie.
10. A data processing system readable storage medium storing computer-executable code for identifying a visitor at a network site, the code comprising:
an instruction for a website server to access a network address of a visitor server computer and a first characteristic of a requesting visitor computer from a visitor server computer over a first network, wherein the visitor server computer is communicatively coupled to the requesting visitor computer over a second network and wherein the first characteristic of the requesting visitor computer is obtained, by the visitor server computer, from a header portion of a request for information sent from the requesting visitor computer to the visitor server computer over the second network;
an instruction for the website server to determine if a second characteristic of the requesting visitor computer is needed from the visitor server computer;
an instruction for the website server to send a request for the second characteristic of the requesting visitor computer to the visitor server computer over the first network after receiving the network address provided by the visitor server computer and the first characteristic of the requesting visitor computer from the visitor server computer;
an instruction for the website server to access the second characteristic of the requesting visitor computer received from the visitor server computer, wherein the second characteristic was obtained, by the visitor server computer, from the header portion of the request sent from the requesting visitor computer to the visitor server computer over the second network; and
an instruction for the web server to generate a first visitor identifier using the network address provided by the visitor server computer, the first characteristic of the requesting visitor computer and the second characteristic of the requesting visitor computer.
11. The data processing system readable storage medium of claim 10 , wherein the code further comprises an instruction for the web server to generate the first visitor identifier using only the network address and information within a user-agent string of the request originating from the requesting visitor computer.
12. The data processing system readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the user-agent string includes a browser identifier for a browser application on the requesting visitor computer and compatibility information regarding the browser application.
13. The data processing system readable storage medium of claim 10 , wherein the first characteristic of the requesting visitor computer comprises a type of computer, a CPU identifier, an OS, a browser application, a version of a browser application, compatibility information regarding the browser application, locale information, an accessory that can be activated by the browser application, a display size, a resolution setting, or whether a programming language is enabled.
14. The data processing system readable storage medium of claim 10 , wherein the visitor server computer is communicatively coupled to a plurality of requesting visitor computers over the second network.
15. The data processing system readable storage medium of claim 14 , wherein the code further comprises:
an instruction for the web server to access a second characteristic of a second requesting visitor computer received from the visitor server computer, wherein the second requesting visitor computer is different from the visitor server computer and the requesting visitor computer; and
an instruction for the web server to generate a second visitor identifier using the network address of the visitor server computer and the second characteristic of the second requesting visitor computer.
16. The data processing system readable storage medium of claim 10 , wherein:
the first characteristic is a first characteristic of a first browsing environment of the requesting visitor computer; and
wherein the code further comprises:
an instruction for the web server to access a second characteristic of a second browsing environment of the requesting visitor computer from the visitor server computer, wherein the first and second browsing environments use the same OS, browser application, and version of browser application; and
an instruction for the web server to generate a second visitor identifier using the network address provided by the visitor server computer and the second characteristic of the second browsing environment of the requesting visitor computer.
17. The data processing system readable storage medium of claim 10 , wherein neither the first characteristic nor the second characteristic of the requesting visitor computer is a cookie and wherein the first visitor identifier is generated without the use of a cookie.
18. A system for identifying a visitor at a network site comprising:
a plurality of requesting visitor computers;
a network site computer; and
a visitor server computer bidirectionally coupled to the plurality of requesting visitor computers over a first network and to the network site computer over a second network, wherein:
the visitor server computer is configured to not provide an address of any of the requesting visitor computers to the network site computer; and
the network site computer is configured to:
receive a network address of the visitor server computer and a characteristic of at least one of the plurality of requesting visitor computers from the visitor server computer over the second network,
determining if one or more additional characteristics of the at least one of the plurality of requesting visitor computers is needed from the visitor server computer,
request the visitor server computer to send the one or more additional characteristics of the at least one of the plurality of requesting visitor computers over the second network,
receive, from the visitor server computer, the one or more additional characteristics of the at least one of the plurality of requesting visitor computers, wherein the characteristic and the one or more additional characteristics of the at least one of the plurality of requesting visitor computers are obtained, by the visitor server computer, from a header portion of a request sent from the at least one of the plurality of requesting visitor computers to the visitor server computer over the first network, and
generate a visitor identifier from the network address of the visitor server computer, the characteristic and the one or more additional characteristics of the at least one of the plurality of requesting visitor computers.
19. The system of claim 18 , wherein at least one of the plurality of requesting visitor computers is not configured to receive cookies.
20. The system of claim 18 , wherein the visitor server computer regulates communications across a firewall, wherein each of the plurality of requesting visitor computers operates behind the firewall, and wherein the network site computer and any of the plurality of requesting visitor computers communicate to each other via the visitor server computer.
21. The system of claim 18 , wherein the visitor server computer is configured to provide a characteristic of the at least one of the plurality of requesting visitor computers to the network site computer in response to receiving the request sent from the at least one of the plurality of requesting visitor computers to the visitor server computer.