Methods and systems for scanning and monitoring content on a network
View Patent ↗The invention addressed methods and systems of scanning and monitoring network locations and resources such as websites and webpages. The method scans the webpages for content and compliance with predefined standards, and reports the results in a non-technical format. The method can also scan and monitor any website on the Internet, categorize its content, and validate its compliance with application, presentation or content standards, or any combination of the above.
1. A method comprising:
scanning a network device using identity information to identify a server running on the network device, the network device being associated with an entity;
retrieving content from the server;
dividing the content into constituent elements;
analyzing the constituent elements to determine if at least one of a keyword or a phrase associated with standards compliance is present in the content;
determining a first fingerprint of the content;
determining a second fingerprint of the network device based on the first fingerprint of the content;
generating a report including at least one of a result of the analyzing or the second fingerprint of the network device;
identifying that a first one of the constituent elements as a link to second content on a second server; and determining multiple internet protocol addresses by querying a domain name server with a domain name associated with the entity; and
determining that the link is a broken link because the second content is not available at the second server, the report including information about the broken link, wherein the identity information includes multiple internet protocol addresses.
2. A method as defined in claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the keyword or the phrase associated with the standards compliance identifies forbidden content.
3. A method as defined in claim 1 , further comprising archiving the content.
4. A method as defined in claim 1 , further comprising comparing the content to archived content to determine if the content has changed since the archived content was archived.
5. A method as defined in claim 1 , wherein the identity information is a domain name.
6. A method as defined in claim 1 , further comprising searching a plurality of network devices for a keyword associated with the entity to identify the network device.
7. A method as defined in claim 1 , wherein scanning the network device using the identity information to identify the server comprises performing a port scan of the network device.
8. A method as defined in claim 1 , further comprising determining that the content has a filename extension associated with a media type that is different than the media type of file, the report including information about the media type of the content.
9. A method as defined in claim 1 , further comprising detecting whether the network device is compromised as a result of at least one of hardware malfunction, software error, virus, or network intrusion.
10. A method as defined in 1 , further comprising determining at least one of a title of the content, redirect information associated with the server, certificate information associated with the server, whether the server includes a certificate, and vendor information associated with the server.
11. A method as defined in claim 1 , wherein the fingerprint includes a checksum of the content.
12. A tangible computer readable medium that is not a signal, the computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause a machine to at least:
scan a network device using identity information to identify a server running on the network device, the network device being associated with an entity;
retrieve content from the server;
divide the content into constituent elements;
analyze the constituent elements to determine if at least one of a keyword or a phrase associated with standards compliance is present in the content;
determine a first fingerprint of the content;
determine a second fingerprint of the network device based on the first fingerprint of the content;
identify that a first one of the constituent elements as a link to second content on a second server;
determine multiple internet protocol addresses by querying a domain name server with a domain name associated with the entity; and
determine that the link is a broken link because the second content is not available at the second server, the report including information about the broken link, wherein the identity information includes the multiple internet protocol addresses.
13. A tangible computer readable medium as defined in claim 12 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the machine to generate a report including at least one of a result of the analyzing or the second fingerprint of the network device.
14. A tangible computer readable medium as defined in claim 13 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to determine that the content has a filename extension associated with a media type that is different than the media type of file, the report including information about the media type of the content.
15. A tangible computer readable medium as defined in claim 12 , wherein the at least one of the keyword or the phrase associated with the standards compliance identifies forbidden content.
16. A tangible computer readable medium as defined in claim 12 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the machine to archive the content.
17. A tangible computer readable medium as defined in claim 12 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to compare the content to archived content to determine if the content has changed since the archived content was archived.
18. A tangible computer readable medium as defined in claim 12 , wherein the identity information is a domain name.
19. A tangible computer readable medium as defined in claim 12 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to determine the identity information for the network device associated with the entity by searching a plurality of network devices for a keyword associated with the entity to identify the network device.
20. A tangible computer readable medium as defined in claim 12 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to scan the network device using the identity information to identify the server comprises performing a port scan of the network device.
21. A tangible computer readable medium as defined in claim 12 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to detect whether the network device is compromised as a result of at least one of hardware malfunction, software error, virus, or network intrusion.
22. A tangible computer readable medium as defined in 12 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to determine at least one of a title of the content, redirect information associated with the server, certificate information associated with the server, whether the server includes a certificate, and vendor information associated with the server.
23. A tangible computer readable medium as defined in claim 12 , wherein the fingerprint includes a checksum of the content.
24. An apparatus comprising:
a memory storing machine readable instructions; and
a processor to execute the instructions to:
scan a network device using identity information to identify a server running on the network device, the network device being associated with an entity;
retrieve content from the server;
divide the content into constituent elements;
analyze the constituent elements to determine if at least one of a keyword or a phrase associated with standards compliance is present in the content;
determine a first fingerprint of the content;
determine a second fingerprint of the network device based on the first fingerprint of the content;
generate a report including at least one of a result of the analyzing or the second fingerprint of the network device;
identify that a first one of the constituent elements as a link to second content on a second server;
determine multiple internet protocol addresses by querying a domain name server with a domain name associated with the entity; and
determine that the link is a broken link because the second content is not available at the second server, the report including information about the broken link, wherein the identity information includes the multiple internet protocol addresses.