Client Agent Geolocation Accuracy via Supplemental Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing geolocation methods, such as IP geolocation, are inadequate for accurately determining the geographic location of Internet users, as they can be obscured by proxies, firewalls, or remote desktop applications, leading to unreliable compliance assessments for online services like gaming, which require precise location validation for regulatory and fraud prevention purposes.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing a client agent and decision logic module that collects supplemental information from the user's machine, combining IP geolocation with user settings, registration data, and HTTP headers to generate a reliability assessment of geographic compliance, incorporating detectors to identify proxy usage and dial-around situations, ensuring accurate location determination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If IP geolocation is used to determine user location, then the system is simple to implement, but the location accuracy deteriorates due to proxies, firewalls, and remote desktop applications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple geolocation methods (IP geolocation, browser geolocation, and client agent geolocation) into a single comprehensive system. The client agent collects supplemental information from multiple sources including machine settings, network measurements, and communication settings, then merges this with IP-based geolocation data to produce a more accurate overall location assessment that overcomes the limitations of any single method.
Solution Approach 2:
The client agent serves as an intermediary component installed on the user's machine that collects supplemental geolocation information locally and transmits it to the server. This intermediary bridges the gap between the user's actual location and the server's ability to determine it, providing direct access to machine settings and network measurements that are not available through standard IP geolocation alone.
2Measurement precision
If multiple data sources are collected to improve location accuracy, then location accuracy improves, but the system complexity increases due to additional collectors and processing
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the geolocation determination process into distinct functional components: an IP collector that gathers IP-based location data, a browser collector that extracts geolocation information from browser settings and headers, and a client agent that collects supplemental information from machine settings and network measurements. Each collector operates independently and contributes specific data to the overall geolocation assessment, making the complex system manageable through modular design.
3Reliability
If geolocation information is collected from multiple sources, then fraud detection capability improves, but the time and resources required for processing increase
Solution Approach 1:
The client agent collects supplemental geolocation information in advance during normal system operation, storing machine settings, network measurements, and communication settings before they are needed for fraud detection. This preliminary collection means that when a geolocation assessment is required for fraud detection, the data is already available locally, reducing processing time and avoiding the need for time-consuming real-time data gathering.
Data Source
AI summary
A system includes an interface to receive network geolocation information associated with a first party to a network session between the first entity and a second entity, coupled via a network. The network geolocation information is determined utilizing a network address of the first entity. The system further includes a decision logic module to obtain supplemental information concerning the first entity by harvesting the supplemental information locally at the first entity. The decision logic module is further to generate an assessment regarding compliance with a geolocation policy defined in connection with access to the second entity, the assessment being generated utilizing the network geolocation information and the supplemental information.