Selecting a proxy device based on communication property
A method for fetching a content from a web server to a client device is disclosed, using tunnel devices serving as intermediate devices. The tunnel device is selected based on an attribute, such as IP Geolocation. A tunnel bank server stores a list of available tunnels that may be used, associated with values of various attribute types. The tunnel devices initiate communication with the tunnel bank server, and stays connected to it, for allowing a communication session initiated by the tunnel bank server. Upon receiving a request from a client to a content and for specific attribute types and values, a tunnel is selected by the tunnel bank server, and is used as a tunnel for retrieving the required content from the web server, using standard protocol such as SOCKS, WebSocket or HTTP Proxy. The client only communicates with a super proxy server that manages the content fetching scheme.
1. A method for obtaining a content that comprises a web-page or a part thereof, by a client device from a web server, the content identified by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), the client device communicating with a first server, a second server, and a group of mobile devices that are each addressable in the Internet using a respective Internet Protocol (IP) address, the method comprising:
storing, by the second server, a database that associates a respective value of a communication property to each of the mobile devices in the group;
establishing, by the second server, a respective connection over the Internet, with each one of the mobile devices in the group using the respective IP address of the mobile devices;
receiving, by the first server from the client device over the Internet, a request message for the content;
sending, by the first server to the second server over the Internet, a first message that comprises a request to identify a mobile device from the group, in response to the receiving of the request message;
receiving, by the second server from the first server over the Internet, the first message;
selecting, according to a criterion, by the second server, a mobile device from the group, based on the respective value of the selected mobile device;
sending, by the second server to the first server over the Internet, an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the selected mobile device, in response to the selecting;
receiving, by the first server from the second server over the Internet, the sent IP address of the selected mobile device;
sending, by the first server to the selected mobile device over the Internet, using the received IP address, the URL;
receiving, by the first server from the selected mobile device over the Internet, the content, in response to the sending of the URL;
sending, by a first server to the client device over the Internet, the received content;
measuring, an updated value of the communication property of the selected mobile device; and
storing, in the database, the updated value associated with the selected mobile device,
wherein the communication property is based on, or comprises, Bit Error Rate (BER), Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), Packet Loss Ratio (PLR), Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) errors, or any combination thereof.
2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the measuring comprises measuring of a delay or time interval from the sending of the URL to the selected mobile device until the receiving of the content from the selected mobile device.
3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the communication property comprises, or consists of, Bandwidth (BW) or Round-Trip delay Time (RTT).
4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the measuring comprises measuring of communication errors in the communication with the selected mobile device.
5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the estimating or measuring comprises measuring according to, or based on, IETF RFC 2544 or ITU-T Y 1564 standard.
6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the content includes, consists of, or comprises, a part or whole of, text data, audio data, voice data, multimedia data, video data, an image, music data, or a computer program.
7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the group of mobile devices comprises, is part of, or is integrated with, at least one of a notebook-computer, a laptop computer, a media player, a Digital Still Camera (DSC), a Digital video Camera (DVC or digital camcorder), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a digital camera, or a video recorder.
8. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising storing, operating, or using, by at least one of the mobile devices in the group, an operating system.
9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the storing in the database comprises:
sending, to the second server over the Internet, the updated value;
receiving, by the second server, the sent updated value; and
storing in the database, by the second server, the updated value associated with the selected mobile device, in response to the receiving of the updated value.
10. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the sending of the updated value to the second server is performed by the first server.
11. The method according to claim 1 , for operating a first mobile device that is connected to the Internet and addressable in the Internet using a first IP address, the method further comprising:
sending, by the first mobile device to the second server over the Internet, a status message;
receiving, by the second server from the first mobile device over the Internet, the status message; and
adding, by the second server, the first mobile device to the group of mobile devices by adding and storing, in the second server, the first IP address to the database, so that the first mobile device can be selected as part of the selecting by the second server.
12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the status message comprises a respective value relating the communication property of the first mobile device.
13. The method according to claim 11 , further comprising storing, in the second server, the received value, and associating the stored value with the first IP address.
14. The method according to claim 11 , further comprising establishing a connection between the second server and the first mobile device, wherein the second server initiates communication with the first mobile device using the established connection.
15. The method according to claim 14 , wherein the established connection is a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connection using ‘Active OPEN’, ‘Passive OPEN’, or TCP keepalive mechanism.
16. The method according to claim 14 , wherein the established connection uses, or is based on, Virtual Private Network (VPN).
17. The method according to claim 1 , for use with a first IP address stored in the client device.
18. The method according to claim 17 , wherein the request message comprises the first IP address.
19. The method according to claim 18 , wherein the selecting comprises selecting a mobile device from the group that is addressed by the first IP address.
20. The method according to claim 1 , wherein a first mobile device from the group is configured to be in an idle state or in a non-idle state based on an idling condition, the method further comprising by the first mobile device:
responsive to being in the non-idle state, determining, whether the idling condition is met;
responsive to the determining that the idling condition is met, shifting to the idle state;
responsive to being in the idle state, determining whether the idling condition is met; and
responsive to the determining that the idling condition is not met, shifting to the non-idle state.
21. The method according to claim 20 , wherein each one of the mobile devices in the group is configured to be in a respective idle state or in a respective non-idle state based on a respective idling condition, the method further comprising by each of the mobile devices in the group device:
responsive to being in the respective non-idle state, determining, whether the respective idling condition is met;
responsive to the determining that the respective idling condition is met, shifting to the respective idle state;
responsive to being in the respective idle state, determining whether the respective idling condition is met; and
responsive to the determining that the respective idling condition is not met, shifting to the respective non-idle state.
22. The method according to claim 20 , further comprising receiving, by the second server from the first mobile device, a message responsive to the first mobile device idle or non-idle state, wherein the selecting comprises selecting the first mobile device in response to the first mobile device state being in the idle state.
23. The method according to claim 20 , for use with an additional idling condition, wherein the determining comprises determining whether both the idling condition and the additional idling condition are met.
24. The method according to claim 20 , further comprising:
sending, by the first mobile device to the second server, a first status message in response to shifting to the idle state;
sending, by the first mobile device to the first server, a second status message in response to shifting to the non-idle state;
receiving, by the second server from the first mobile device, the second status message; and
removing, the first mobile device from the group in response to received second status message.
25. The method according to claim 24 , further comprising:
receiving, by the second server from the first mobile device, the first status message; and
adding, the first mobile device to the group in response to received first status message.
26. The method according to claim 20 , further comprising operating, by the first mobile device, an operating system or a program process or thread, wherein the idling condition is determined to be met based on, or according to, activating or executing the process or thread by the operating system or the program.
27. The method according to claim 26 , wherein the process or thread comprises a low-priority or background task, an idle process, or a screensaver.
28. The method according to claim 26 , wherein the process or thread comprises using an entire screen for displaying.
29. The method according to claim 20 , further comprising monitoring or metering, by the first mobile device, a resource utilization, wherein the idling condition is determined to be met based on, or according to, the monitored or metered resource utilization being under a threshold.
30. The method according to claim 29 , wherein the resource utilization comprises the utilization of a processor in the first mobile device.
31. The method according to claim 20 , wherein the first mobile device comprises an input device for obtaining an input from a human user or operator, the method further comprising sensing, by the first mobile device using the input device, the input, and wherein the idling condition is determined to be met based on, or according to, not receiving an input from the input device for a pre-set time interval.
32. The method according to claim 31 , wherein the input device comprises a pointing device, a keyboard, a touchscreen, or a microphone.
33. The method according to claim 20 , wherein the first mobile device comprises a motion sensor for sensing motion, acceleration, vibration, or location change of the selected first mobile device, the method further comprising sensing, by the first mobile device using the motion sensor, the respective first mobile device motion, acceleration, vibration, or location change, and wherein the idling condition is determined to be met based on, or according to, respectively sensing the motion, the vibration, the acceleration, or the location change being under a threshold.
34. The method according to claim 33 , wherein the motion sensor comprises an accelerometer, gyroscope, vibration sensor, or a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver.
35. The method according to claim 20 , wherein the first mobile device comprises a network interface or a network transceiver for communication over a network, the method further comprising metering, by the first mobile device, an amount of data transmitted to, or received from, the network during a time interval, and wherein the idling condition is determined to be met based on, or according to, the metered amount of data being under a threshold level.
36. The method according to claim 20 , wherein the first mobile device comprises a battery, the method further comprising metering or sensing, by the first mobile device, a battery charging level, and wherein the idling condition is determined to be met based on, or according to, the metered or sensed charge level being over a threshold level.
37. The method according to claim 36 , wherein the metering or sensing uses a Battery Management System (BMS).
38. The method according to claim 36 , wherein the threshold level is above 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90% of a battery defined full charge capacity.
39. The method according to claim 1 , further employing a Network Address Translator (NAT) traversal scheme.
40. The method according to claim 39 , wherein the NAT traversal scheme is according to, based on, or uses, Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Request for Comments (RFC) 2663, IETF RFC 3715, IETF RFC 3947, IETF RFC 5128, IETF RFC 5245, IETF RFC 5389, or IETF RFC 7350.
41. The method according to claim 39 , wherein the NAT traversal scheme is according to, based on, or uses, Traversal Using Relays around NAT (TURN), Socket Secure (SOCKS), NAT ‘hole punching’, Session Traversal Utilities for NAT (STUN), Interactive Connectivity Establishment, (ICE), UPnP Internet Gateway Device Protocol (IGDP), or Application-Level Gateway (ALG).
42. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the communication over the Internet by the first or second server, is based on, uses, or is compatible with, Transmission Control Protocol over Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) protocol or connection.
43. The method according to claim 42 , wherein the communication over the Internet by the first or second server, is based on, uses, or is compatible with, HTTP or HTTPS protocol or connection, wherein the first or second server serves as an HTTP or HTTPS server and the selected mobile device serves as an HTTP or HTTPS client.
44. The method according to claim 42 , wherein the communication over the Internet by the selected mobile device, by the first server, or by the second server, is based on, uses, or is compatible with, Socket Secure (SOCKS) protocol or connection, wherein the first or second server serves as a SOCKS server and the mobile device serves as a SOCKS client.
45. The method according to claim 44 , wherein the SOCKS protocol or connection is according to, based on, or is compatible with, SOCKS4, SOCKS4a, or SOCKS5.
46. The method according to claim 44 , wherein the SOCKS protocol or connection is according to, based on, or is compatible with, IETF RFC 1928, IETF RFC 1929, IETF RFC 1961, or IETF RFC 3089.
47. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the selecting comprises randomly selecting of the selected mobile device from the group.
48. The method according to claim 47 , wherein the selecting comprises using one or more random numbers generated by a random number generator.
49. The method according to claim 48 , wherein the random number generator is hardware based.
50. The method according to claim 49 , wherein the random number generator is using thermal noise, shot noise, nuclear decaying radiation, photoelectric effect, or quantum phenomena.
51. The method according to claim 48 , wherein the random number generator is software based.
52. The method according to claim 51 , wherein the random number generator is based on, or comprises, executing an algorithm for generating pseudo-random numbers.
53. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising periodically sending, by each of the mobile devices in the group, a respective message that comprises a state of the respective mobile device, or is in response to the state of the respective mobile device.
54. The method according to claim 53 , wherein the periodically sent message comprises, or is based on, an ‘heartbeat’ message, and wherein a time period between multiple messages sent is at least 10 milliseconds, 20 milliseconds, 30 milliseconds, 50 milliseconds, 100 milliseconds, 1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 50 seconds, 100 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, minutes 5, or 10 minutes.
55. The method according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the mobile devices in the group is housed in a single enclosure that is a hand-held enclosure or a portable enclosure.
56. The method according to claim 55 , wherein each one of the mobile devices in the group is housed in a respective single enclosure that is a respective hand-held enclosure or a respective portable enclosure.
57. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the group of mobile devices comprises, is part of, or is integrated with, a smartphone.
58. The method according to claim 57 , wherein the smartphone comprises, or is based on, an Apple iPhone 6 or a Samsung Galaxy S6.
59. The method according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the mobile devices in the group connects to the Internet via a wireless network.
60. The method according to claim 59 , wherein each one of the mobile devices in the group connects to the Internet via a respective wireless network.
61. The method according to claim 59 , wherein the wireless network comprises, or consists of, a Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN).
62. The method according to claim 61 , wherein the WWAN is a wireless broadband network.
63. The method according to claim 61 , wherein the wireless network comprises, or consists of, a WiMAX network, and the WiMAX network is according to, compatible with, or based on, IEEE 802.16-2009.
64. The method according to claim 59 , wherein the wireless network comprises, or consists of, a cellular telephone network.
65. The method according to claim 64 , wherein the cellular telephone network is a Third Generation (3G) network that uses a protocol selected from the group consisting of UMTS W-CDMA, UMTS HSPA, UMTS TDD, CDMA2000 1×RTT, CDMA2000 EV-DO, and GSM EDGE-Evolution, or wherein the cellular telephone network uses a protocol selected from the group consisting of a Fourth Generation (4G) network that uses HSPA+, Mobile WiMAX, LTE, LTE-Advanced, MBWA, or is based on IEEE 802.20-2008.
66. The method according to claim 59 , wherein the wireless network comprises, or consists of, a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN).
67. The method according to claim 66 , wherein the WPAN is according to, compatible with, or based on, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) or IEEE 802.15.1-2005 standards, or wherein the WPAN is a wireless control network that is according to, or based on, IEEE 802.15.4-2003 standards.
68. The method according to claim 59 , wherein the wireless network comprises, or consists of, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN).
69. The method according to claim 68 , wherein the WLAN is compatible with, or is based on, a standard selected from the group consisting of IEEE 802.11-2012, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n, and IEEE 802.11 ac.