Granted Patent B2

US 8,949,358 · App. 13/660,959 · Granted Feb 3, 2015

Abstract

Claims (90)

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

obtaining, by a computing device, an electronic identifier for a target entity;

determining, from the electronic identifier, an entity identifier for the target entity, wherein the entity identifier indicates a name associated with the target entity;

determining, from the electronic identifier, a domain with which the target entity is associated;

obtaining one or more Internet web pages associated with the target entity based on the entity identifier and the domain, which comprises:

determining whether the domain matches a blacklisted domain; and

responsive to determining that the domain does not match a blacklisted domain:

obtaining one or more Internet web pages associated with the domain; and

selecting a web page from the domain that includes the entity identifier; and

generating a profile for the target entity based on the obtained Internet web pages.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the one or more Internet web pages involves:

performing a search for a plurality of Internet web pages that include the electronic identifier;

selecting, from a subset of the Internet web pages, a web page associated with a domain from a predetermined list of target domains.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electronic identifier includes an email address;

wherein determining the name identifier involves parsing the local part of the email address to identify a person's name; and

wherein determining the domain involves parsing the domain part of the email address to identify a name of an organization.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein obtaining the one or more Internet web pages involves:

generating a search query based on the person's name and the organization's name;

performing a search for a plurality of Internet web pages that satisfy the search query; and

selecting, from a subset of the Internet web pages, a web page associated with a domain from a predetermined list of target domains.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein parsing the local part of the email address involves one or more of:

selecting a substring before a period to obtain a first name;

selecting a substring after a period to obtain a last name;

removing a trailing character to obtain a first name; and

removing a leading character to obtain a last name.

6. The method of claim 3 , wherein generating the profile involves:

determining a plurality of features for the target entity using information from the obtained Web pages;

generating a score for one or more behavior characteristics based on the identified features; and

updating a profile for the target entity based on the scores for the behavior characteristics.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

presenting, to a user, a user interface that includes time-related profile information from the target entity's profile, wherein the user interface allows the user to view changes in the target entity's behavior characteristics over time.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method, the method comprising:

obtaining an electronic identifier for a target entity;

determining, from the electronic identifier, an entity identifier for the target entity, wherein the entity identifier indicates a name associated with the target entity;

determining, from the electronic identifier, a domain with which the target entity is associated;

obtaining one or more Internet web pages associated with the target entity based on the entity identifier and the domain, which comprises:

determining whether the domain matches a blacklisted domain; and

responsive to determining that the domain does not match a blacklisted domain:

obtaining one or more Internet web pages associated with the domain; and

selecting a web page from the domain that includes the entity identifier; and

generating a profile for the target entity based on the obtained Internet web pages.

9. The storage medium of claim 8 , wherein obtaining the one or more Internet web pages involves:

performing a search for a plurality of Internet web pages that include the electronic identifier;

selecting, from a subset of the Internet web pages, a web page associated with a domain from a predetermined list of target domains.

10. The storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the electronic identifier includes an email address;

wherein determining the name identifier involves parsing the local part of the email address to identify a person's name; and

wherein determining the domain involves parsing the domain part of the email address to identify a name of an organization.

11. The storage medium of claim 10 , wherein obtaining the one or more Internet web pages involves:

generating a search query based on the person's name and the organization's name;

performing a search for a plurality of Internet web pages that satisfy the search query; and

selecting, from a subset of the Internet web pages, a web page associated with a domain from a predetermined list of target domains.

12. The storage medium of claim 10 , wherein parsing the local part of the email address involves one or more of:

selecting a substring before a period to obtain a first name;

selecting a substring after a period to obtain a last name;

removing a trailing character to obtain a first name; and

removing a leading character to obtain a last name.

13. The storage medium of claim 10 , wherein generating the profile involves:

determining a plurality of features for the target entity using information from the obtained Web pages;

generating a score for one or more behavior characteristics based on the identified features; and

updating a profile for the target entity based on the scores for the behavior characteristics.

14. An apparatus, comprising:

an input module to obtain an electronic identifier for a target entity;

an identifier-parsing module to determine, from the electronic identifier, one or more of:

an entity identifier for the target entity, wherein the entity identifier indicates a name associated with the target entity; and

a domain with which the target entity is associated;

a content-searching module to obtain one or more Internet web pages associated with the target entity based on the entity identifier and the domain, further configured to:

determine whether the domain matches a blacklisted domain; and

responsive to determining that the domain does not match a blacklisted domain:

obtain one or more Internet web pages associated with the domain; and

select a web page from the domain that includes the entity identifier; and

a profile-generating module to generate a profile for the target entity based on the obtained Internet web pages.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein while obtaining the one or more Internet web pages, the content-searching module is further configured to:

perform a search for a plurality of Internet web pages that include the electronic identifier;

select, from a subset of the Internet web pages, a web page associated with a domain from a predetermined list of target domains.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the electronic identifier includes an email address;

wherein while determining the name identifier, the identifier-parsing module is further configured to parse the local part of the email address to identify a person's name; and

wherein while determining the domain, the identifier-parsing module is further configured to parse the domain part of the email address to identify a name of an organization.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein while obtaining the one or more Internet web pages, the content-searching module is further configured to:

generate a search query based on the person's name and the organization's name;

perform a search for a plurality of Internet web pages that satisfy the search query; and

select, from a subset of the Internet web pages, a web page associated with a domain from a predetermined list of target domains.

18. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein parsing the local part of the email address involves one or more of:

selecting a substring before a period to obtain a first name;

selecting a substring after a period to obtain a last name;

removing a trailing character to obtain a first name; and

removing a leading character to obtain a last name.

19. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein while generating the profile, the profile-generating module is further configured to:

determine a plurality of features for the target entity using information from the obtained Web pages;

generate a score for one or more behavior characteristics based on the identified features; and

update a profile for the target entity based on the scores for the behavior characteristics.

Assignments (9)