Web Content Access Validation via Malware Detection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional web publishing architectures lack the ability to differentiate between human users and automated computer programs accessing web content, leading to uncertainties in advertising campaign metrics such as clicks, views, and impressions, as they cannot verify the presence of anti-virus or anti-malware protection on user devices.
Innovation Solution
A content access validation system that includes a validation submission system on user devices to detect and report the status of malicious software protection systems to a third-party server, which then provides validation information to web publishers, ensuring that content is viewed by real users rather than automated programs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If web publishers deliver content to computing devices over the Internet, then content distribution is achieved, but the ability to verify whether the content is viewed by real users or automated programs is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a validation submission system as an intermediary component on the user computing device that mediates between the web publisher and the content delivery process. This system detects the presence of malicious software protection systems and communicates this information back to the publisher, enabling verification of user authenticity without disrupting the content delivery flow
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the validation submission system continuously monitors the computing device for malicious software protection systems and reports this information back to the web publisher. This feedback loop enables the publisher to make informed decisions about content delivery based on the authenticity and safety status of the receiving device
2Productivity
If publishers implement advertising campaigns on a cost-per-click or cost-per-view basis, then revenue generation is improved, but the ability to determine whether clicks and views are legitimate is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by having the validation submission system detect and report the presence of malicious software protection systems before advertising content is delivered or interacted with. This advance detection allows publishers to pre-validate the computing device's legitimacy, ensuring that subsequent clicks or views are from genuine, protected users rather than automated programs
Solution Approach 2:
The validation submission system serves as an intermediary that provides authentication information between the user device and the publisher's advertising tracking system. This intermediary layer enables reliable verification of whether advertising interactions are legitimate by real users or fraudulent automated programs
Data Source
AI summary
To provide validation information to web publishers indicative of the presence of operational malicious software protection systems on user computing devices, an evaluation system resident on a web publisher server can cause web content, including validation request data, to be transmitted from the publisher server to a computing device. A submission system resident on the computing device can analyze the web content for the validation request data, and can cause the validation information to be transmitted from the computing device to the evaluation system based on the analysis. Upon receiving the validation information, the evaluation system can analyze it to determine the likelihood that content delivered to the computing device will be viewed by a real user (and not by automated computer programs).