Remote identification of blocked websites while maintaining user privacy
View Patent ↗Methods, apparati, and computer-readable media for regulating a user's access to a Web page. A method embodiment of the present invention comprises the steps of hashing ( 31 ) a URL associated with a Web page requested by the user; comparing ( 32 ) the hashed URL with a list ( 24 ) of pre-stored URL hashes; and granting ( 34 ) or denying ( 37 ) access to the requested Web page based upon results of the comparing step ( 32 ).
1. A computer-implemented method for using a computer to regulate a user's access to a Web page, said method comprising the steps of:
hashing a URL associated with a Web page requested by the user, wherein the hashing comprises separating the URL into a plurality of pieces and hashing each of the pieces separately to form a plurality of hashed URL pieces;
receiving a list of one or more categories responsive to the plurality of hashed URL pieces;
comparing categories in the received list with categories in a pre-stored list; and
regulating access to the requested Web page based upon results of the comparing step.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein:
the method operates in blacklist mode; and
when the categories in the received list do not match a category in the pre-stored list, access to the requested Web page is granted.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein:
the received list comprises a bit stream; and
the bit stream comprises a plurality of bits, each bit corresponding to a single category.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein:
the method operates in blacklist mode;
the pre-stored list comprises blocked categories; and
when a category in the received list matches a category in the pre-stored list, access to the requested Web page is denied.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein:
the method operates in blacklist mode;
the pre-stored list comprises blocked categories; and
when a category in the received list does not match a category in the pre-stored list, access to the requested Web page is granted.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein:
the method operates in whitelist mode;
the pre-stored list comprises allowed categories; and
when a category in the received list matches a category in the pre-stored list, access to the requested Web page is allowed.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein:
the method operates in whitelist mode;
the pre-stored list comprises allowed categories; and
when a category in the received list does not match a category in the pre-stored list, access to the requested Web page is denied.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein:
the method operates in whitelist mode; and
when a category in the received list does not match a category in the pre-stored list, access to the requested Web page is denied.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein the hashing step is performed by a hash function from the group of hash functions consisting of MD5, SHA, and CRC.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the hashing step further comprises identifying a plurality of categories specified by the URL, wherein:
the URL is separated into a plurality of pieces based at least in part on the plurality of categories, each of the URL pieces representing one category from the plurality.
11. At least one computer-readable medium storing executable computer program instructions for regulating a user's access to a Web page, said computer program instructions performing the steps of:
hashing a URL associated with a Web page requested by the user, wherein the hashing comprises separating the URL into a plurality of pieces and hashing each of the pieces separately to form a plurality of hashed URL pieces;
receiving a list of one or more categories responsive to the plurality of hashed URL pieces;
comparing categories in the received list with categories in a pre-stored list; and
regulating access to the requested Web page based upon results of the comparing step.
12. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein:
the instructions operate in blacklist mode; and
when the categories in the received list do not match a category in the pre-stored list, access to the requested Web page is granted.
13. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein:
the received list comprises a bit stream; and
the bit stream comprises a plurality of bits, each bit corresponding to a single category.
14. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein:
the instructions operate in blacklist mode;
the pre-stored list comprises blocked categories; and
when a category in the received list matches a category in the pre-stored list, access to the requested Web page is denied.
15. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein:
the instructions operate in blacklist mode;
the pre-stored list comprises blocked categories; and
when a category in the received list does not match a category in the pre-stored list, access to the requested Web page is granted.
16. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein:
the instructions operate in whitelist mode;
the pre-stored list comprises allowed categories; and
when a category in the received list matches a category in the pre-stored list, access to the requested Web page is allowed.
17. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein:
the instructions operate in whitelist mode;
the pre-stored list comprises allowed categories; and
when a category in the received list does not match a category in the pre-stored list, access to the requested Web page is denied.
18. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein:
the instructions operate in whitelist mode; and
when a category in the received list does not match a category in the pre-stored list, access to the requested Web page is denied.
19. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein the hashing step is performed by a hash function from the group of hash functions consisting of MD5, SHA, and CRC.
20. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the hashing step further comprises identifying a plurality of categories specified by the URL, wherein:
the URL is separated into a plurality of pieces based at least in part on the plurality of categories, each of the URL pieces representing one category from the plurality.
21. A computer-implemented method for using a computer to regulate a user's access to a Web page, comprising:
receiving from a client a plurality of hashed URL pieces, wherein the plurality of hashed URL pieces are derived by separating a URL associated with a Web page into a plurality of pieces and hashing each of the pieces separately;
comparing the plurality of hashes with a list of pre-stored URL hashes;
generating a list comprised of one or more categories based upon the comparison; and
providing the list to the client.
22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the plurality of hashed URL pieces are further derived by identifying a plurality of categories specified by the URL, each of the hashed URL pieces representing one category from the plurality.