Client Device Profile Generation for Network Profiling Mitigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for web analytics and profiling tools can exploit user identity and system information, leading to potential security risks and unauthorized access, as they collect and store system data that can be used maliciously.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that generates multiple profiles on a client device, where only one request includes system information, to confuse profiling applications and reduce the likelihood of identifying client device weaknesses, using techniques like IPv4 or IPv6 local host addressing to intercept and manage requests and responses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If web analytics and profiling tools collect system information for analysis and reporting, then web usage understanding and optimization are improved, but user identity exploitation and security risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates multiple copies of client device profiles with different system information characteristics. Instead of transmitting the actual system profile, the system generates redundant profile copies that mimic the real device's network behavior and characteristics, making it difficult for profiling tools to identify and exploit the true device identity while still enabling web analytics functionality.
2Productivity
If profiling tools collect and store system data for behavioral tracking, then marketing personalization is improved, but user privacy and security are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer (the profile generation application) that sits between the client device and profiling tools. This intermediary creates and manages multiple profile copies, allowing behavioral tracking and marketing personalization to occur on the profile copies rather than on the actual device identity, thus enabling marketing effectiveness while protecting user privacy.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If multiple profile copies are generated for each request, then profiling mitigation is improved, but network traffic and processing overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the profile copying mechanism selective and context-dependent. Rather than creating multiple profiles for all requests uniformly, the system can adjust the number and characteristics of profile copies based on the specific request context, risk assessment, and network conditions, thereby reducing unnecessary network traffic while maintaining profiling mitigation effectiveness where needed.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, a computer readable medium, and a client device are disclosed, which create multiple profiles to mitigate profiling of the client device on a network. The method includes generating a request on the client device, the request including a uniform resource locator (URL) indicating a source hosting content; forwarding the request to a profile generation application on the client device, the profile generation application configured to generate a plurality of requests for the request, and wherein only one request of the plurality of requests has system information pertaining to the client device; and sending the plurality of requests to the network to retrieve the content hosted on the source.