US 7,502,797 B2Granted

Supervising monitoring and controlling activities performed on a client device

AssigneeAscentive LLC

InventorsAdam Schran, Michael J. Neil

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A client monitoring application operating on a client device records and monitors human activity performed thereon. The client monitoring application forwards recorded activity to supervisor server(s) over a network. The supervisor server(s) enable a human supervisor to review human activity performed on the client device, issue alerts to the human when a particular activity is performed on the client device, and/or instruct the client monitoring application to intercept and block certain activities or classes of activities from taking place on the client device at any time or at designated times, or limited to designated durations. Recording and monitoring human activity performed on the client device includes capturing screen shots of real-time human activity performed on the client device, enabling viewing a screen shots even if data associated with the screen shots are transmitted, received, or saved in an encrypted format, which is particularly useful in the realm of counter terrorism, and child protection.

Claims7

Dependent claims

In a client device, a method for monitoring, controlling, and supervising activities performed on a client device, the method comprising:

monitoring user-activity performed on the client device, including viewed, sent, created, or received on the client device;
determining whether the content includes at least one of sex drugs, violence, infidelity, hate language, and a predefined word by selecting notification activity from a menu;
instructing the client device to intercept and block the user-activity from occurring on the client device, automatically and in real-time, if the content is determined to include at least one of sex, drugs, violence, infidelity, hate language, and predetermined word;
determining whether the user-activity attempted on the client device matches a particular rule, wherein the rule defines at least one of the following:
(i) a class of user activity performed on the client device, (ii) a time when the user activity is performed on the client device, and (iii) a duration of time a particular user activity is performed on the client device;
instructing the client device to interpret and block initiation of the user activity from occurring on the client device, automatically and in real-time, if the user activity attempted to be performed on the client device matches the rule;
capturing screen shots of real-time user activity performed on the computer, including those screen shots for which user-supplied content is transmitted or received in a encrypted or unencrypted format;
and
transmitting the captured screen shots.

6 more elements

One or more computer-readable media having computer-readable instructions for monitoring , controlling, and supervising activities performed on a client device which, when executed by one or more processors cause the client device to:

monitor a user activity attempted on a client device;
determine if the monitored user activity attempted on the client device matches a particular user activity defined by a rule, the rule defining at least one of the following user activities:
game playing, e-mailing, e-mailing to a particular address, e-mailing from a free mail site, instant messaging, instant messaging to a particular person, surfing the web, surfing particular web sites, using particular key stokes, using particular language, viewing a particular topic, viewing sexual content, using sexually explicit language, using infidelity related content, viewing hate group content, using hate related language, using violent language, viewing a terrorist organization website, using language that may be associated with a terrorist organization, using a particular chat colloquialism, attempting to perform an activity on the client device for a duration of time longer than a predetermined maximum duration, of time, attempting to visit a category of web sites on the client device, and attempting to perform the particular user activity on the client device during a certain time;
and
determining whether the content includes at least one of sex, drugs, violence, infidelity, hate language, and a predefined word by selecting notification activity from a menu;
intercepting and blocking the particular user activity from occurring on the client device, if it is determined that the monitored user activity attempted on the client device matches the particular user activity defined by the rule;
record screen shots of the user activity performed on the client device, including those screen shots for which user-supplied content is transmitted or received in a nencrypted or unencrypted format;
and
transmit the screen shots.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 10/966,017Filed 15 Oct 2004 · us provisional application
Priority: 15 Oct 2003
Published: US 2005/0086255 A121 Apr 2005
Granted: 10 Mar 2009
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification10 codes

G06F 11/3495
Performance evaluation by tracing or monitoring: for systems
G06F 11/34
Monitoring: recording or statistical evaluation of computer activity, e.g. of down time, of input/output operation ; Recording or statistical…
G06F 11/3476
Performance evaluation by tracing or monitoring: data logging
H04L 67/535
Network services: tracking the activity of the user