Methods and apparatus for delivery of packetized content (e.g., video, audio, data, etc.) over a content delivery network. In one embodiment, the content is packetized using an Internet Protocol (IP), and delivered by a service provider over both managed and unmanaged networks to subscribers of the provider, so as to provide delivery at any time, at any location, and via any designated user device. The delivered content may originate from the service provider, third-party content sources (e.g., networks or studios), the subscriber(s) themselves, or other sources including the Internet. Use of a common control and service functions within the network afford the ability to integrate or blend services together, thereby affording the service provider and subscriber new service and economic opportunities. Content delivery sessions may also be migrated from one device to another. A network-based user interface infrastructure, and gateway-based client-side architecture, are also disclosed.

Methods and apparatus for packetized content delivery over a content delivery network

A system and method are provided for identifying inappropriate content in websites on a network. Unrecognized uniform resource locators (URLs) or other web content are accessed by workstations and are identified as possibly having malicious content. The URLs or web content may be preprocessed within a gateway server module or some other software module to collect additional information related to the URLs. The URLs may be scanned for known attack signatures, and if any are found, they may be tagged as candidate URLs in need of further analysis by a classification module.

System and method of analyzing web content

A method and system of detecting a malicious and/or botnet-related domain name, comprising: reviewing a domain name used in Domain Name System (DNS) traffic in a network; searching for information about the domain name, the information related to: information about the domain name in a domain name white list and/or a domain name suspicious list; and information about the domain name using an Internet search engine, wherein the Internet search engine determines if there are no search results or search results with a link to at least one malware analysis site; and designating the domain name as malicious and/or botnet-related based on the information

Method and system for detecting malicious and/or botnet-related domain names

Methods and apparatus for delivering content to a user so as to optimize and enhance the “experience” of the content. In one embodiment, an optimization and monitoring entity (OME) is used which determines, evaluates, and provides notification and/or recommendation of alternative content delivery platforms which are available to a user. The OME receives requests for content forwarded from a content server containing information identifying requesting devices and/or subscriber accounts. The OME examines the capabilities of the registered devices, and identifies/recommends alternative devices based on e.g., video/audio quality, picture size, bandwidth availability, and/or any other additional capabilities of the client devices. A notification is then sent to the client devices indicating which of the user's devices may receive the content alternatively, or in addition to, the requesting device. The notifications may be interactive, allowing the user to select one or more of the devices for delivery.

Apparatus and methods for monitoring and optimizing delivery of content in a network

Recommendation engine apparatus and associated methods provide content compiled from various sources and selected to match user preferences. In one embodiment, the recommendation apparatus comprises a headend entity; in another, it is co-located on a user's CPE. In one embodiment, the recommendation engine creates content records from content metadata for comparison to a user profile. The user profile is pre-programmed; however has the ability to dynamically shift toward a user's preferences as the user takes actions regarding content. Client applications are utilized to compile and present content; feedback mechanisms are utilized to enable “learning” from user activities to generate more precise recommendations as well as to “unlearn” stale preferences. Recommended content is displayed in the form of a playlist, or as a continuous stream on a virtual channel, or presented in an electronic program guide. A business rules “engine” useful in implementing operational or business goals is also disclosed.

Recommendation engine apparatus and methods

Architecture for a scalable, pluggable multi-party, and distributed multimedia conferencing. A centralized policy and control conferencing component allows the seamless plug-in of different distributed media components (e.g., data, audio/video, messaging) to accommodate client participation in a conference session. The centralized conference control component includes the following: a conference notification service for accepting subscriptions to the conference state and notifying subscribers about changes to that state; a conference policy and roster control service for storing and manipulating conference policy and rosters; a security service for user authorization/authentication based on user identity information; a scheduling service for conference scheduling; an allocation service for allocating the most available media component(s) for a conference session; and, an MCU management service for conference policy and roster management of the distributed media components.

Distributable, scalable, pluggable conferencing architecture

A method and system for identifying whether an electronic communication is likely to be unwanted by the recipient is provided. A trust system relies on a trust provider, such as a sending domain, to indicate whether an electronic communication is likely to be unwanted. The sending domain may assign its trust level to the electronic communications based on various factors. Upon receiving the electronic communication and the trust level assigned by the sending domain, the receiving domain may determine whether to forward the electronic communication to the recipient based on the trust level. If a sending domain consistently provides trust levels that are accurate assessments of whether electronic communications are unwanted, then the receiving domain learns to trust the trust levels assigned by the sending domain. In contrast, if the assigned trust levels are not accurate, then the receiving domain learns not to trust the sending domain and may discard all message from the receiving domain without forwarding them to the recipients.

Method and system for processing a communication based on trust that the communication is not unwanted as assigned by a sending domain

A facility for providing an IM mixed mode operation by utilizing both page mode IM and session based IM jointly in the same IM conversation is provided. The facility initiates an IM conversation between an originating user registered at an originating device and a remote user registered at a plurality of devices initially in page mode. Subsequent to discovering the identity of a remote device used by the remote user to initially reply to the IM conversation, the facility converts the IM conversation from page mode IM to session based IM.

Orit Levin

Papers

Distributable, scalable, pluggable conferencing architecture

Method and system for processing a communication based on trust that the communication is not unwanted as assigned by a sending domain

Mixed massaging mode for multiple points of presence

Method and system for evaluating confidence in a sending domain to accurately assign a trust that a communication is not unwanted

Method and system for a sending domain to establish a trust that its senders communications are not unwanted