Patent ID: 7827157
Filing Date: 2010-11-02
Classification: G06F,G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method of increasing the awareness of users of the Internet to services and products provided through web sites that are respectively maintained by web site owners (WSOs), the method comprising: establishing a hosting web site having a hosting server on the Internet having a data processor for registering the web site owners (WSOs) that desire to employ said hosting web site in achieving said awareness as subscribers to a hosting service; storing a program of a browser add-on in said hosting web site, the program incorporating a set of customizable characteristics, wherein each WSO subscriber is enabled on said hosting web site to customize said browser add-on for defining specific look and functionalities of said browser add-on; registering the WSOs as subscribers to said hosting service; providing said data processor with a database for each WSO subscriber; storing customization data of said browser add-ons in databases of respective WSO subscribers; generating code to be integrated in a web site of a WSO, wherein said code comprises at least an unique identifier of the customization data stored at the hosting web site, in said database of a respective WSO subscriber of the respective subscribers; and whenever a user of the Internet activates said code in the WSO subscriber web site, downloading the browser add-on and the customized data related to said WSO subscriber from said data processor of said hosting web site to a personal computer (PC) of the Internet user and integrating said browser add-on in a web browser installed in said PC; defining a plurality of an N place holders for master toolbar, wherein N is an integer greater than 1 and each place holder of said place holders specifies a place holder name, a type, and a position, wherein said N place holders contribute to a definition of a master version of said toolbar; interacting with said WSO to provide N information items, each N information item pertaining to a different one of said place holders, wherein said N information items contribute to an instantiation of a specific version of said toolbar, based on said definition of said master version of said toolbar, and storing in said database said each N information item of said N information items, associated with said identifier; comparing a received toolbar version with recent toolbar version based a periodic update request; if the received toolbar version is not the same as the recent toolbar version, send information for updating toolbar functionality and increase a version number of the toolbar.