Peer to peer browser content caching

A method comprising:

• executing, via a first user computing device, a browser helper application, said executed browser helper application operating as part of a browser running on the first user computing device;
• communicating, over a network from the first user computing device, a request for content based on said execution of said browser helper application;
• receiving, at the browser helper application running on the first user computing device, a list of alternative user computing devices in response to said request, each alternative user computing device housing at least a portion of the content;
• parsing, via the browser helper application running on the first user computing device, said list, said parsing comprising analyzing attributes of each alternative user computing device and determining, based on said analysis, whether said attributes comply with specified rules for the first user computing device to receive content over the network;
• selecting from the list of alternative user computing devices, via the first user computing device, at least one second user computing device based on said parsing and analysis of the list;
• initiating, via the first user computing device, a peer to peer connection with the at least one second user computing device;
• requesting, via the first user computing device, at least a portion of the content from the at least one second user computing device;
• and
• displaying, via the first user computing device within said browser, the content to a user of the first user computing device upon receipt of at least a portion of the content from the at least one second user computing device.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium tangibly encoded with computer-executable instructions, that when executed by a first user computing device, perform a method comprising:

• executing, via the first user computing device, a browser helper application, said executed browser helper application operating as part of a browser running on the first user computing device;
• communicating, over a network from the first user computing device, a request for content based on said execution of said browser helper application;
• receiving, at the browser helper application running on the first user computing device, a list of alternative user computing devices in response to said request, each alternative user computing device housing at least a portion of the content;
• parsing, via the browser helper application running on the first user computing device, said list, said parsing comprising analyzing attributes of each alternative user computing device and determining, based on said analysis, whether said attributes comply with specified rules for the first user computing device to receive content over the network;
• selecting from the list of alternative user computing devices, via the first user computing device, at least one second user computing device based on said parsing and analysis of the list;
• initiating, via the first user computing device, a peer to peer connection with the at least one second user computing device;
• requesting, via the first user computing device, at least a portion of the content from the at least one second user computing device;
• and
• displaying, via the first user computing device within said browser, the content to a user of the first user computing device upon receipt of at least a portion of the content from the at least one second user computing device.

A computing device comprising:

• a processor;
• a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for tangibly storing thereon program logic for execution by the processor, the program logic comprising:
• logic executed by the processor for executing, via the computing device, a browser helper application, said executed browser helper application operating as part of a browser running on the computing device;
• logic executed by the processor for communicating, over a network from the computing device, a request for content based on said execution of said browser helper application;
• logic executed by the processor for receiving, at the browser helper application running on the computing device, a list of alternative user computing devices in response to said request, each alternative user computing device housing at least a portion of the content;
• logic executed by the processor for parsing, via the browser helper application running on the computing device, said list, said parsing comprising analyzing attributes of each alternative user computing device and determining, based on said analysis, whether said attributes comply with specified rules for the computing device to receive content over the network;
• logic executed by the processor for selecting from the list of alternative user computing devices, via the computing device, at least one second user computing device based on said parsing and analysis of the list;
• logic executed by the processor for initiating, via the computing device, a peer to peer connection with the at least one second user computing device;
• logic executed by the processor for requesting, via the computing device, at least a portion of the content from the at least one second user computing device;
• and
• logic executed by the processor for displaying, via the computing device within said browser, the content to a user of the computing device upon receipt of at least a portion of the content from the at least one second user computing device.