Systems and methods for discerning and controlling communication traffic

Abstract

Communication traffic redirection systems and methods are disclosed that allow for redirection of communication traffic over the Internet based, at least in part, on the type of higher-level communication protocol intended to be used. The systems and methods permit redirection of only certain types of communication traffic of interest, for example HTTP traffic, while permitting other types of communication, for example SMTP traffic, to pass without redirection. The systems and method can employ a training and dynamic feedback procedure to ensure only traffic of interest is redirected. The systems and methods provide efficient redirection of specific types of traffic to redirect landing pages, and allow for efficient methods of generating revenue through advertising.

1 . A computer system for redirecting Internet communications, said system comprising:
 a processor that receives a communication from a computer at a point of origin for information on the Internet;   a processor that analyzes information received from a Domain Name System (DNS) server in response to the communication;   a processor that
 a) forwards to the computer at the point of origin an IP Address for the information requested if one or more of first pre-defined bit strings or character sets are not encountered, 
 b) forwards to the computer at the point of origin an IP Address for the information requested if one or more second pre-defined bit strings or character sets are encountered, 
 c) provides to the computer at the point of origin an IP Address for a redirect landing page if:
 one or more of the first pre-defined bit strings or character sets are encountered and one or more of the second pre-defined bit strings or character sets are not encountered; or 
 one or more of the second pre-defined bit strings or character sets are not encountered and one or more third pre-defined bit strings or character sets are encountered; 
 and 
 
   a processor that analyzes a request submitted from the computer at the point of origin to said redirect IP Address for one or more alternative bit strings or character sets,   wherein the alternative bit strings or character sets are indicative of a particular port number associated with the redirect IP Address request.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first three listed processors are the same processor. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a processor that builds a redirect landing page at the redirect IP Address.   
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , comprising two or more processors that build a redirect landing page. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising hardware on which a list of bit strings or character sets for which a redirect IP Address should not be supplied is maintained. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the list is a database maintained on a computing device that is the same as a computing devices containing one or more of the processors. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the list is updated one or more times after creation of the list, and wherein the list is updated based on monitoring of requests for: originating IP Address, requested hostname, size of a DNS query, frequency of a single hostname or domain name, port number, date, and/or time. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising hardware on which a list of bit strings or character sets for which a redirect IP Address should always be supplied is maintained. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the list is a database maintained on a computing device that is the same as a computing devices containing one or more of the processors. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the list is updated one or more times after creation of the list, and wherein the list is updated based on monitoring of requests for: originating IP Address, requested hostname, size of a DNS query, frequency of a single hostname or domain name, port number, date, and/or time. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the communication from the computer at the point of origin is a DNS query and the first pre-defined bit strings or character sets relate to an error message from the DNS. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the second pre-defined bit strings or character sets are indicative of a higher level protocol associated with the communication. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the higher-level Internet protocol is HTTP, HTTPS, SMTP, FTP, SSH, Telnet, or other protocol above IP, or two or more of these. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the processor that analyzes a request submitted from the computer at the point of origin to said redirect IP Address for one or more alternative bit strings or character sets permits the computer at the point of origin to connect to the landing page server at the IP Address provided only if the redirect request is associated with port 80.