IP Library Granted Patent US 11,005,843
Granted Patent B1
US 11,005,843 · App. 16/668,920 · Granted May 11, 2021

System and means for detecting automated programs used to generate social media input

Inventors: Yalin Evren Sagduyu (Gaithersburg, MD); Ziad El-Jamous (Rockville, MD); Min Ding (Poolesville, MD); Vikram Manikonda (Bethesda, MD); Yi Shi (Germantown, MD)
Assignee: Intelligent Automation, Inc.
H04L63/0876G06Q50/01H04L9/3247H04L51/046H04L67/306
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,005,843
App. No.
16/668,920
Granted
May 11, 2021
Kind
B1
Abstract

A means and system is designed to distinguish human users from bots (automated programs to generate posts or interactions) in social media (including microblogging services and social networking services) by assigning a likelihood score to each user for being a human or a bot. The bot score assigned to each user is computed from statistical, temporal and text features that are detected in user's social media interactions (relative indicators specific to a given social media data set) and user's historical profile information.

Claims (47)

1. A computer implemented system of computing scores for features based on the pattern of historical social media usage and profile information, comprising:

a computer having a processor and data storage capabilities including a non-transitory medium having computer executable instructions stored thereon, the computer receiving social media data;

software means to obtain social media data sets with features representing historical user profile with a time of running loot detection;

software means to assign a score to each feature;

software means to compute a user account age;

software means to assign the feature score inversely proportional to the user account age;

software means to compute a number of times the username or user profile includes any bot-characteristic word; and

software means to assign the feature score directly proportional to a non-decreasing function of the number of times the username or user profile includes any bot-characteristic word.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the assignment of scores to features of a user includes:

software means to compute a life post rate as the number of posts by the user normalized by a window size starting from the time of user account creation; and

software means to assign the feature score directly proportional to the life post rate.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the assignment of scores to features of a user includes:

software means to compute an asymmetry of followers and friends counts, as a followers/friends ratio; and

software means to assign the feature score directly proportional to the followers/friends ratio.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the assignment of scores to features of a user includes:

software means to compute a length of username; and

software means to assign the feature score directly proportional to the length of username.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the assignment of scores to features of a user includes:

software means to compute a count of numbers in a username normalized by the maximum count of characters allowed in the username; and

software means to assign the feature score directly proportional to the count of numbers in the username.

6. A computer implemented system of computing scores for features based on the pattern of historical social media usage and profile information, comprising:

a computer receiving social media data;

software means to obtain social media data sets with features representing historical user profile until a time of running bot detection;

software means to assign a score to each feature; software means to compute a return of indicator function when the user uses API or auto-piloted programs for social-media posts; and

software means to assign the feature score directly proportional to the return of indicator function when user uses API or auto-piloted programs for social-media posts.

7. A computer implemented system of computing scores for features based on the pattern of historical social media usage and profile information, comprising:

a computer having a processor and data storage capabilities including a non-transitory medium having computer executable instructions stored thereon; the computer receiving social media data;

software means to obtain social media data sets with features representing historical user profile until a time of running bot detection;

software means to assign a score to each feature;

software means to compute a change in locations of the user;

software means to assign the feature score inversely proportional to the change in locations of the user;

software means to compute a number of times the social media posts of a user include are a bot-characteristic word; and

software rears to assign the feature score directly proportional to a non-decreasing function of the number of times the social media posts of a user include any bot-characteristic word.

8. A computer implemented system of detecting hots in a social media data set, comprising:

a computer having a processor and data storage capabilities including a non-transitory medium having computer executable instructions stored thereon, the computer receiving social media data;

software means to compute scores for features of each user in the social media data set based on social media posts and interactions and assigning a score to each feature;

software means to compute scores for features of each user in the social media data set based on the historical pattern of social media use and profile information, and assigning a score to each feature;

software means to aggregate the scores for different bot features of each user;

software means to assign the hot score to each user in the social media data set as the likelihood that a user is a hot or a human;

software means to map each user's social media interactions to bot features, and assign scores to features as relative indicators of bot behavior specific to a given social media data set;

software means to map each user's historical pattern of social media use and profile information to bot features as absolute indicators of bot behavior over the account lifetime;

software means to compute the score of a feature separately per user; and

software means to compute the score of a feature by normalizing it relative to other users' social media interactions, historical patterns and profiles.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein assignment of bot scores to users includes:

software means to check verified users and users in white and black lists;

software means to combine weighted sum of scores of features to the bot score assigned to each user; and

software means to train a classifier to classify each user to a bot or human with the confidence of classifier assigned as the bot score to each user.

Assignments (11)
MERGER Recorded May 8, 2025
From: BLUEHALO LABS, LLC
To: BLUEHALO LABS, LLC
Reel/Frame 071062/0926 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded May 5, 2025
From: BLUEHALO LABS, LLC
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS THE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 071024/0565 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded May 3, 2025
From: APOGEM CAPITAL LLC, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: BLUEHALO LABS, LLC
Reel/Frame 071015/0443 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded May 2, 2025
From: APOGEM CAPITAL LLC, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: BLUEHALO, LLC; BLUEHALO LABS, LLC
Reel/Frame 071013/0901 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded May 2, 2025
From: APOGEM CAPITAL LLC, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: BLUEHALO LABS, LLC
Reel/Frame 071007/0802 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jan 14, 2025
From: BLUEHALO LABS, LLC
To: APOGEM CAPITAL LLC, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 069859/0024 →
MERGER Recorded Jan 19, 2024
From: INTELLIGENT AUTOMATION, LLC
To: BLUEHALO LABS, LLC
Reel/Frame 066184/0913 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Feb 13, 2023
From: BLUEHALO, LLC; INTELLIGENT AUTOMATION, LLC
To: APOGEM CAPITAL LLC, AS THE COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 062679/0834 →
ASSIGNMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded May 6, 2022
From: MADISON CAPITAL FUNDING LLC
To: APOGEM CAPITAL LLC, AS SUCCESSOR AGENT
Reel/Frame 059907/0641 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Mar 22, 2022
From: INTELLIGENT AUTOMATION, INC.
To: INTELLIGENT AUTOMATION, LLC
Reel/Frame 059335/0764 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 14, 2019
From: SAGDUYU, YALIN EVREN; MANIKONDA, VIKRAM; EL-JAMOUS, ZIAD; DING, MIN; SHI, YI
To: INTELLIGENT AUTOMATION, INC.
Reel/Frame 051011/0276 →
Cited By (2)
US 12,306,881 US 12,541,560