Internet provider subscriber communications system

Abstract

A system, method, and computer readable medium for communicating at least one real-time specially-composed bulletin message to at least one subscriber of a provider of Internet services, comprising a first device, and a second device communicably coupled to the first device, wherein the first device: accesses only subscriber upstream traffic to a destination web site requested by the subscriber, wherein the first device inter-connects between the at least one subscriber and the destination web site, identifies the at least one subscriber's identification based on the accessed subscriber upstream traffic automatically provided by the subscriber, and provides the unique subscriber identification to the second device located at the provider of Internet services providing data services and management control to the first device, wherein the second device determines the subscriber associated with the unique subscriber identification.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 receiving, by a redirecting device from a consolidating and management device located at a provider of Internet services, policy information related to data services and management control provided by the consolidating and management device;   examining, by the redirecting device, subscriber upstream traffic to determine whether to send a redirection to the bulletin message to a subscriber, wherein the examining occurs without modifying the subscriber upstream traffic; and   based on the policy information, sending to the subscriber by the redirecting device, the redirection to the bulletin message.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein if the bulletin message for the subscriber is not desired when no policy is in force for the subscriber, allowing, by the redirecting device, a direct connection from the subscriber to a destination web site to proceed normally, and sending, by the destination web site, downstream web traffic to the subscriber without forwarding the downstream web traffic through or by the redirecting device. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the bulletin message is at least one of:
 an area within a window on the subscriber PC's browser;   a prompt provided on the subscriber PC;   originates from a different destination site; and   selectively sent to a pre-selected subscriber group.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the subscriber is at least one of:
 a customer identification comprising at least one of an account number, a modem MAC address, serial number or a fixed identifier; and   identified to belong to a defined group of subscribers.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the examining step further includes at least one of:
 working through Web browsers irrespective of the World Wide Web destination sought by the subscriber;   working with multiple types of content;   performed by a hardware device connected at various points, in plurality, in a provider infrastructure;   provided by a software system installed on a computer system connected at various points, singly or in plurality, in a provider infrastructure;   includes an ability to acquire knowledge of the policy information and the identifier when a Web or other request is detected with only an identifying IP address;   minimizing overhead of acquiring subscriber parameters through caching of subscriber information for a determined portion of time;   performed in connection with the consolidating and management device for permitting a group of redirecting devices to be viewed as a single system.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further including at least one of:
 returning the subscriber to the original World Wide Web destination after the   bulletin message has been transmitted; and   providing optional fail-safe operation of each device such that failure does not disrupt other normal browsing and Internet activity of the subscriber but results only in an interruption of bulletin message delivery.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further including at least one of:
 defining a policy for controlling selective transmission of bulletin messages to the subscriber;   defining a policy that includes a Web URL or other page information;   defining a policy that includes timing and frequency of delivery; and   defining a policy for activating the redirecting device to deliver a message in response to a selected subscriber activity.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the activity comprises at least one of:
 a defined destination,   an amount of activity by the subscriber, and   a request carrying a signature of virus contamination.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising identifying, by the redirecting device, the at least one subscriber's unique identification based on the subscriber upstream traffic automatically provided by the subscriber, wherein the identifying step uses an enforced delivery of a Web page to be used in a distribution and subscription of new subscribers without prior knowledge of serial numbers associated with the new subscriber's interface equipment and without requiring the subscribers to utilize special software. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising at least one of:
 using the enforced delivery of a Web page to reduce a volume of telephone support requests by an enforced pre-announcement of known, future system outages due to scheduled maintenance; and   using the identifier for detection of “signature” forms of Internet packets that indicate a presence of undesirable content.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the undesirable content is a virus. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , further including at least one of:
 transmitting a message identifying the undesirable content to a provider; and   transmitting a bulletin message identifying the undesirable content to the subscriber.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further including logging the message identifying the undesirable content. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the transmitting includes enforcing a delivery of other subscriber-beneficial information currently displayed on a manually provider information Web site. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , further including logging a successful transmission of bulletin messages to each subscriber and interactive responses that have been requested within the policy. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , further including detecting and logging a number of simultaneously requested Web connections, based on the transmission of the bulletin messages. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , further including flagging subscribers utilizing more than one simultaneous device per subscription. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , further including transmitting explanations to be issued, in an enforced manner, to subscribers, after a service interruption, in such a manner as to alleviate customer dissatisfaction by illuminating and explaining a problem and future efforts to be taken to eliminate said problem. 
     
     
         19 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions when executed cause a processor to perform:
 sending, by a consolidating and management device located at a provider of Internet services, policy information related to data services and management control provided by the consolidating and management device to a subscriber; and   examining the subscriber upstream traffic to determine whether to send a redirection to the bulletin message to the subscriber, wherein the examining occurs without modifying the subscriber upstream traffic.   
     
     
         20 . A system, comprising:
 a first device; and   a second device communicably coupled to the first device;   the second device, located at a provider of Internet services, sends, to the first device, policy information related to data services and management control provided by the second device; and   the first device examines subscriber upstream traffic to determine whether to send a redirection to the bulletin message to the at least one subscriber, wherein the first device examines without the subscriber upstream traffic being modified.