Secure Proxy Service for Anonymizing Web Traffic
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Solution Overview
Problem
Web browsing often compromises user privacy as significant personal and financial data is transmitted over the Internet, which can be intercepted and misused by third parties, leading to potential offenses or illicit activities.
Innovation Solution
A secure intermediary system is implemented that acts between the user's browser and content providers, anonymizing interactions by removing identifying information and using a split browser architecture to execute certain processes locally and remotely, ensuring that user identity cannot be easily determined by third-party sites while allowing secure and anonymous commerce interactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If user data is transmitted over the Internet for web browsing and commerce, then web browsing and commerce activities can be performed, but user privacy and sensitive data are exposed to interception and misuse by third parties
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a proxy server that acts as an intermediary between the user's browser and the Internet. The proxy server receives HTTP requests from the user's browser, forwards them to target websites, receives responses, and returns them to the user. This intermediary architecture allows the proxy to inspect, filter, and anonymize traffic, removing identifying information from requests and responses while preventing third parties from directly accessing user data, thus resolving the contradiction between enabling web browsing and protecting user privacy
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and removes identifying information from HTTP requests and responses. The proxy server identifies and strips out sensitive data elements such as cookies, user agents, IP addresses, and other tracking information from web traffic. By taking out these harmful identifying elements while maintaining the core browsing functionality, the system enables web browsing without exposing user privacy to third-party interception
2Adaptability or versatility
If identifying information is transmitted to third party sites during web browsing, then personalized content and services can be provided, but user anonymity and security are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The proxy server serves as a mediator that enables personalized content delivery without compromising user anonymity. It maintains user profiles and preferences locally, then forwards requests to third-party sites with anonymized data. The proxy can provide personalized content by matching anonymized request patterns with stored user preferences, while the third-party sites never receive actual identifying information, thus maintaining both adaptability for personalization and reliability for anonymity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates anonymized copies of user browsing patterns and preferences. Instead of transmitting real user data, the proxy server generates synthetic or anonymized representations of user behavior that can be used for personalization purposes. These copies contain sufficient information for content adaptation but lack the identifying characteristics that would compromise user anonymity, resolving the contradiction between personalized service and user privacy
3Reliability
If a proxy server is implemented to anonymize web traffic, then user privacy is protected, but system complexity and processing overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The proxy server is designed with multi-functionality to handle various privacy protection tasks within a single unified architecture. It simultaneously performs HTTP request forwarding, response filtering, cookie management, user agent anonymization, IP address masking, and personalized content delivery. By consolidating multiple privacy protection functions into one universal proxy system rather than separate components, the patent reduces overall system complexity while maintaining comprehensive privacy protection
4Reliability
If identifying information is removed from web traffic, then user anonymity is maintained, but targeted advertising and user tracking capabilities are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The proxy server selectively extracts only the harmful identifying information needed for tracking while preserving benign browsing data. It removes specific elements like cookies, referral URLs, and user agents that enable tracking, while maintaining the core content and functionality of web pages. This selective extraction maintains user anonymity without completely eliminating all data that could be used for legitimate browsing purposes, thus resolving the contradiction between anonymity and information loss
Data Source
AI summary
A system is configured to receive a network resource request from a user device configured with a browsing application, wherein the request includes identification data associated with the user device. The system transmits, to a network resource provider, a request for the network resource, wherein the request transmitted to the network resource provider excludes identification data included in the request received from the user device. The system receives from the network resource provider a response, including a document comprising a field configured to receive payment information for an item purchase. The system receives from the browsing application an indication that an anonymous payment instrument, associated with a first entity different than the user, is to be used to purchase a first item at a first price. The system causes information regarding the anonymous payment instrument to be provided to the network resource provider.