Patent Publication Number: US-2023134995-A1

Title: Identifying network addresses contacted by applications without platform domain name resolution

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/667,521, entitled “Identifying Network Addresses Contacted By Applications Without Platform Domain Name Resolution”, filed on Feb. 8, 2022, which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/195,667, entitled “Identifying Network Addresses Contacted by Applications Without Platform Domain Name Resolution,” filed on Jun. 1, 2021, the disclosure of each which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present description relates generally to identifying network addresses contacted by applications, including identifying network addresses contacted by applications without using platform (e.g., local) domain name resolution service. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Applications on a user&#39;s electronic device may contact one or more different network endpoints, e.g., servers. Some of the network endpoints may be contacted for the purpose of performing the intended use of the application, e.g., contacting a content server to obtain content to present to the user. However, other of the network endpoints may be contacted for purposes outside of the intended use of the application, e.g., activity tracking servers that may facilitate tracking the activity of the user. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Certain features of the subject technology are set forth in the appended claims. However, for purpose of explanation, several embodiments of the subject technology are set forth in the following figures. 
         FIG.  1    illustrates an example network environment for identifying network addresses contacted by applications without platform domain name resolution in accordance with one or more implementations. 
         FIG.  2    illustrates an example device that may implement a system for identifying network addresses contacted by applications without platform domain name resolution in accordance with one or more implementations. 
         FIG.  3    illustrates an example architecture that may be implemented by an electronic device for identifying network addresses contacted by applications without platform domain name resolution in accordance with one or more implementations. 
         FIG.  4    illustrates a flow diagram of an example process of identifying network addresses contacted by applications without platform domain name resolution in accordance with one or more implementations. 
         FIG.  5    illustrates an example electronic system with which aspects of the subject technology may be implemented in accordance with one or more implementations. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The detailed description set forth below is intended as a description of various configurations of the subject technology and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the subject technology can be practiced. The appended drawings are incorporated herein and constitute a part of the detailed description. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the subject technology. However, the subject technology is not limited to the specific details set forth herein and can be practiced using one or more other implementations. In one or more implementations, structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the subject technology. 
     Applications executing on user devices may contact and/or communicate with multiple different network endpoints, e.g., servers, for multiple different reasons. For example, an application may contact one or more servers to obtain content to provide to a user, or an application may contact one or more servers to facilitate tracking the activity of the user. A user may implicitly expect (and/or be aware) that an application will contact one or more servers to obtain content; however, a user may not expect (and/or be aware) that an application will contact one or more servers to facilitate tracking the activity of the user. 
     An operating system executing on the user&#39;s device may provide a platform domain name resolution service (e.g., as a system and/or operating system-level process) that may resolve domain names (and/or hostnames) on behalf of applications executing on the user&#39;s device. For example, an application executing on the user&#39;s device may use the platform domain name resolution service to resolve domain names (e.g., to obtain the corresponding network addresses) for network endpoints that the application intends to contact and/or communicate with. The operating system may then correlate the resolved domain names to domain names of known activity tracking network endpoints and/or servers, and can, for example, inform the user when an application is contacting activity tracking servers. 
     However, if an application does not utilize the platform domain name resolution service provided by the operating system, the operating system may not have visibility into the domain names being contacted by the application (e.g., the operating system may only have visibility into the network addresses contacted by the application). In this instance, the application may contact and/or communicate with one or more network addresses without the operating system (and consequently the user) having any visibility into the domain names of the network endpoints and/or servers being contacted and/or communicated with by the application. 
     In the subject system, a system level and/or operating system level process on the user&#39;s device may correlate the network addresses that were obtained by an application from the platform domain name resolution service with all of the network addresses that were contacted by the application. If the system level process determines that an application contacted one or more network addresses that the application did not obtain from the platform domain name resolution service, the system level process may perform one or more actions, such as notifying the user that the application has contacted one or more network addresses for which the corresponding domain name is unknown (and consequently for which the intent for contacting is unknown). In one or more implementations, an application may be able to declare that a particular contacted network address (e.g., for which the application did not utilize the platform domain name resolution service) corresponds to an activity tracking network endpoint and/or server, in which case the particular network address may be excluded from being characterized as an unknown network address. 
     In this manner, the subject system allows an operating system on the user&#39;s device to not only determine when an application has contacted one or more network addresses corresponding to one or more known activity tracking network endpoints and/or servers but also when an application has contacted one or more network addresses corresponding to one or more network endpoints for which the domain names (and consequently the reason for contacting) are not known. 
       FIG.  1    illustrates an example network environment  100  for identifying network addresses contacted by applications without platform domain name resolution in accordance with one or more implementations. Not all of the depicted components may be used in all implementations, however, and one or more implementations may include additional or different components than those shown in the figure. Variations in the arrangement and type of the components may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims as set forth herein. Additional components, different components, or fewer components may be provided. 
     The network environment  100  includes electronic devices  102 ,  103 , and  104 , a network  106  and a server  108 . The network  106  may communicatively (directly or indirectly) couple, for example, any two or more of the electronic devices  102 - 104  and/or the server  108 . In one or more implementations, the network  106  may be an interconnected network of devices that may include, and/or may be communicatively coupled to, the Internet. For explanatory purposes, the network environment  100  is illustrated in  FIG.  1    as including electronic devices  102 - 104  and a single server  108 ; however, the network environment  100  may include any number of electronic devices and any number of servers. 
     The server  108  may be, and/or may include all or part of, the electronic system discussed below with respect to  FIG.  5   . The server  108  may include one or more server devices and/or server instances, such as a cloud of servers. In one or more implementations, the server  108  may represent multiple different servers and/or network endpoints, that may be associated with multiple different service providers and/or entities, and that may be contacted by one or more applications executing on one or more of the electronic devices  102 - 104 . For example, the server  108  may represent one or more activity tracking servers, application servers, domain name resolution service servers, content servers, and the like. 
     In one or more implementations, a user of an electronic device  102  may have an expectation that an application executing on the electronic device  102  may contact one or more particular servers in conjunction with the expected operation of the application, such as content servers, application servers and the like. However, the user may not have an expectation (or knowledge) that an application executing on the electronic device  102  may contact one or more other particular servers outside of the expected operation of the application, such as activity tracking servers. For explanatory purposes, a single server  108  is shown and discussed herein with respect to various operations. However, these and other operations discussed herein may be performed by one or more servers, and each different operation may be performed by the same or different servers. 
     One or more of the electronic devices  102 - 104  may be, for example, a portable computing device such as a laptop computer, a smartphone, a smart speaker, a peripheral device (e.g., a digital camera, headphones), a tablet device, a wearable device such as a smartwatch, a band, and the like, or any other appropriate device that includes, for example, one or more wireless interfaces, such as WLAN (e.g., Wi-Fi) radios, cellular radios, Bluetooth radios, Zigbee radios, near field communication (NFC) radios, and/or other wireless radios. In  FIG.  1   , by way of example, the electronic devices  102  and  104  are each depicted as a smartphone and the electronic device  103  is depicted as a laptop computer. Each of the electronic devices  102 - 104  may be, and/or may include all or part of, the device discussed below with respect to  FIG.  2   , and/or the electronic system discussed below with respect to  FIG.  5   . 
     In one or more implementations, one or more of the electronic devices  102 - 104  may be registered to, and/or associated with, a user account of a user, such as a user account with (and/or managed by) the server  108  (and/or another server) and/or an entity associated therewith. In one or more implementations, two or more of the electronic devices  102 - 104  may be registered to and/or associated with the same user account and/or different user accounts. 
     In the subject system, when applications executing on the electronic device  102  prepare to initiate a network connection with a server  108 , the applications may utilize a platform domain name resolution (DNS) service (e.g., a system-level process executing on the electronic device  102 ) to resolve a hostname corresponding to the server  108 , and to obtain the corresponding network address. The platform DNS service may then provide an indication of each network address that it resolved (and an indication of the application that requested the resolution) to a network address reconciliation service, which may also be a system level process executing on the electronic device  102 . 
     The network address reconciliation service may also receive, from a kernel process or other system-level process executing on the electronic device  102 , an indication of each network address that was contacted by each of the applications (e.g., each network address for which each of the applications initiated a network connection), along with an indication of the application that initiated the network connection. From the network addresses received from the platform DNS service, and the network addresses received from the kernel process, the network address reconciliation service may determine whether a given application contacted a network address for which the corresponding domain name was not resolved by the platform DNS service and may responsively perform one or more actions (such as notifying the user of the electronic device  102  that the application contacted such a network address). 
     In one or more implementations, when an application initiates a network connection to a network address for which the application did not resolve the corresponding domain name with the platform DNS service, the application may declare, using an application programming interface (API), e.g., to the kernel process, that the network address corresponds to an activity tracker network endpoint and/or server. In this instance, the kernel process may indicate to the network address reconciliation service that the network address corresponds to an activity tracker network endpoint and the network address reconciliation service may log the activity tracker network endpoint as having been contacted by the application. 
     An example architecture for identifying network addresses contacted by an application without utilizing platform domain name resolution is discussed further below with respect to  FIG.  3   , and an example process for identifying network addresses contacted by an application without utilizing platform domain name resolution is discussed further below with respect to  FIG.  4   . 
       FIG.  2    illustrates an example electronic device  102  that may implement a system for identifying network addresses contacted by applications without platform domain name resolution in accordance with one or more implementations. For example, the electronic device  102  of  FIG.  2    can correspond to any of the electronic devices  102 - 104 , or to the server  108  of  FIG.  1   . Not all of the depicted components may be used in all implementations, however, and one or more implementations may include additional or different components than those shown in the figure. Variations in the arrangement and type of the components may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims as set forth herein. Additional components, different components, or fewer components may be provided. 
     The electronic device  102  may include a processor  202 , a memory  204 , and a communication interface  206 . The processor  202  may include suitable logic, circuitry, and/or code that enable processing data and/or controlling operations of the electronic device  102 . In this regard, the processor  202  may be enabled to provide control signals to various other components of the electronic device  102 . The processor  202  may also control transfers of data between various portions of the electronic device  102 . Additionally, the processor  202  may enable implementation of an operating system or otherwise execute code to manage operations of the electronic device  102 . 
     The memory  204  may include suitable logic, circuitry, and/or code that enable storage of various types of information such as received data, generated data, code, and/or configuration information. The memory  204  may include, for example, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash, and/or magnetic storage. In one or more implementations, the memory  204  may store one or more network addresses that were contacted by one or more applications executing on the electronic device  102  without having requested a resolution of the corresponding domain name from a platform domain name resolution service. The one or more network addresses may be stored in the memory  204  in association with the corresponding application identifier and/or a user identifier of the user account that was active on the electronic device  102  when the network addresses were contacted. 
     The communication interface  206  may include suitable logic, circuitry, and/or code that enables wired or wireless communication, such as between any of the other electronic devices  103 - 104  and/or the server  108  over the network  106 . The communication interface  206  may include, for example, one or more of a Bluetooth communication interface, a cellular communication interface (e.g., 3G, 4G, LTE, 5G, etc.), an NFC interface, a Zigbee communication interface, a WLAN communication interface (e.g., Wi-Fi, WLAN/BT combination, WiMAX, LiFi, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, etc.), a USB communication interface, an Ethernet communication interface, a millimeter wave (e.g., 60 GHz) communication interface, or generally any communication interface. 
     In one or more implementations, one or more of the processor  202 , the memory  204 , the communication interface  206 , and/or one or more portions thereof, may be implemented in software (e.g., subroutines and code), may be implemented in hardware (e.g., an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), a controller, a state machine, gated logic, discrete hardware components, or any other suitable devices) and/or a combination of both. 
       FIG.  3    illustrates an example architecture  300  that may be implemented by an electronic device  102  for identifying network addresses contacted by applications without platform domain name resolution in accordance with one or more implementations. For example, the electronic device  102  of  FIG.  2    can correspond to any of the electronic devices  102 - 104 , or to the server  108  of  FIG.  1   . Not all of the depicted components may be used in all implementations, however, and one or more implementations may include additional or different components than those shown in the figure. Variations in the arrangement and type of the components may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims as set forth herein. Additional components, different components, or fewer components may be provided. 
     The architecture  300  may include a platform DNS service (and/or module)  302 , one or more application processes  304 , a network address reconciliation service (and/or module)  306 , and one or more kernel processes  308 . For explanatory purposes, the one or more application processes  304  may generally be referred to herein as a single application process  304 ; however, it will be understood that the application process  304  may represent any number of application processes corresponding to any number of different applications. Each of the platform DNS service  302 , the one or more application processes  304 , the network address reconciliation service  306 , and the one or more kernel processes  308  may represent one or more processes executing on the electronic device  102 , e.g., executing on the processor  202  of the electronic device  102 . 
     When preparing to initiate a network connection to a server, an application process  304  may request resolution of a domain name corresponding to the server from the platform DNS service  302 . For example, the application process  304  may transmit a domain name resolution request to the platform DNS service  302  that includes the domain name, and may receive, from the platform DNS service  302  and responsive to the request, a corresponding network address. The application process  304  may then open, via the kernel process  308 , a network connection to the network addresses. 
     Thus, the platform DNS service  302  may receive domain name resolution requests from the application processes  304  and may respond with the network addresses corresponding to the domain names. In one or more implementations, the platform DNS service  302  may query a local database and/or one or more remote databases (e.g., at the server  108 ) to resolve any given domain name. The platform DNS service  302  may then provide, to the network address reconciliation service  306 , an indication of the network addresses that were provided to the application processes  304  responsive to requests therefor, as well as an indication of the particular application process that requested resolution of each of the network addresses. 
     Similarly, the kernel process  308  may provide an indication of each network address for which an application process  304  opened a network connection, along with an indication of the application process  304  that opened the network connection, to the network address reconciliation service  306 . For example, each time an application process  304  opens a network connection to a network address, such as through an API call, the call may pass through and/or notify the kernel process  308 , and the kernel process  308  may store an indication of the network address and an identifier of the application process  304  opening the network connection. 
     In one or more implementations, when making an API call to open a network connection, the application process  304  may specify that the network connection corresponds to an activity tracker network endpoint and/or server. For example, the application process  304  may set a flag and/or parameter in the API call to specify that the network connection corresponds to an activity tracker network endpoint and/or server. In this instance, the kernel process  308  may provide an indication, to the network address reconciliation service  306 , that the network address corresponds to an activity tracking network endpoint contacted by the application process  304 . 
       FIG.  4    illustrates a flow diagram of an example process  400  of identifying network addresses contacted by applications without platform domain name resolution in accordance with one or more implementations. For explanatory purposes, the process  400  is primarily described herein with reference to the electronic device  102  of  FIG.  1    and the architecture  300  of  FIG.  3   . However, the process  400  is not limited to the electronic device  102  of  FIG.  1    or the architecture  300  of  FIG.  3   , and one or more blocks (or operations) of the process  400  may be performed by one or more other components of the server  108  and by other suitable devices (e.g., any of the electronic devices  102 - 104 ). Further for explanatory purposes, the blocks of the process  400  are described herein as occurring in serial, or linearly. However, multiple blocks of the process  400  may occur in parallel. In addition, the blocks of the process  400  need not be performed in the order shown and/or one or more blocks of the process  400  need not be performed and/or can be replaced by other operations. 
     The process  400  may be initiated when a first system process executing on the electronic device  102  (e.g., the network address reconciliation service  306 ), receives at least one first network address that corresponds to at least one domain name that was resolved by a second system process executing on the electronic device (e.g., the platform DNS service  302 ), the resolving having been responsive to a resolution request therefor by an application process executing on the electronic device, such as the application process  304  ( 402 ). 
     For example, the platform DNS service  302  may periodically and/or aperiodically (and/or synchronously and/or asynchronously) transmit, to the network address reconciliation service  306 , a list of network addresses for which the platform DNS service  302  resolved the corresponding domain names, along with an indication of each application process that requested resolution of each corresponding domain name. In one or more implementations, the platform DNS service  302  may transmit an indication of the network address and an indication of the corresponding application process each time the platform DNS service  302  resolves a domain name. In one or more implementations, the platform DNS service  302  may also provide an indication (e.g., identifier) of the active user account (e.g., logged in user account and/or registered user account) on the electronic device  102  when the request was made to the network address reconciliation service  306 , e.g., in conjunction with the indication of the network address and the application process. 
     The first system process (e.g., the network address reconciliation service  306 ) may also receive, from a third system process (e.g., the kernel process  308 ), at least one second network address for which a network connection was opened by the application process  304  executing on the electronic device ( 404 ). For example, the kernel process  308  may provide an indication of each network address opened by each of the application processes  304  along with an indication (e.g., identifier) of the application process, and/or an indication (e.g., identifier) of the active user account on the electronic device  102 . The kernel process  308  may provide a list of network addresses and corresponding application and/or user account identifiers periodically and/or aperiodically (and/or synchronously and/or asynchronously). 
     In one or more implementations, the kernel process  308  may provide the network addresses and/or identifiers responsive to a triggering event, such as a status change in one or more network connections opened by a given application process (e.g., the network connections being opened and/or closed), a change in state in the application process (e.g., the application and/or application process moves to the background and/or closes), and/or generally any other triggering event. In one or more implementations the second network addresses may be received by the network address reconciliation service  306  synchronously and/or asynchronously from receiving the first network addresses. 
     In one or more implementations, for any network addresses for which an application process indicated that the network address corresponds to an activity tracking network endpoint and/or server, such as at the time that the application process opened the corresponding network connection, the kernel process  308  may provide an indication of the same to the network address reconciliation service  306 . In one or more implementations, the network address reconciliation service  306  may store the first and second network addresses (along with the corresponding application and/or user identifiers) in persistent memory, such as the memory  204 . 
     The first system process (e.g., the network address reconciliation service  306 ) may then determine, based on the at least one first and second network addresses, whether a given application process  304  opened at least one network connection for at least one network address for which the application process  304  did not provide, to the second system process (e.g., the platform DNS resolution service  302 ), a resolution request for a corresponding domain name. For example, the network address reconciliation service  306  may periodically and/or aperiodically reconcile the set of resolved network addresses received from the platform DNS service  302  with the set of all network addresses received from the kernel process  308  (e.g., on a per application process basis for the currently logged in user), to determine whether any applications opened a network connection to a network address for which the application did not request, from the platform DNS service  302 , a resolution of a corresponding domain name. 
     In one or more implementations, the network address reconciliation service  306  may perform the reconciling on a periodic and/or aperiodic basis for each given application process (and/or on a per user basis), such as responsive to one or more triggering events, such as a status change in one or more network connections opened by a given application process (e.g., the network connections being opened and/or closed), a change in state in the application process (e.g., the corresponding application and/or application process moves to the background and/or closes), and/or generally any other triggering event. 
     Responsive to determining that a given application process  304  opened the at least one network connection for at least one network address for which the application process  304  did not provide, to the second system process (e.g., the platform DNS resolution service  302 ), a resolution request for a corresponding domain name, the first system process (e.g., the network address reconciliation service  306 ) may perform an action, such as, for example, providing, an indication of the at least one network address in conjunction with an indication of the application process ( 408 ). 
     In one or more implementations, the network address reconciliation service  306  may store the at least one network address in persistent memory in association with the application identifier and/or user identifier, such as for subsequent retrieval and/or display to a user. In one or more implementations, the network address reconciliation service  306  may display, and/or may provide to another process for display, the network address and an indication of the corresponding application and/or user identifier to a user. In one or more implementations, the network address reconciliation service  306  may display, and/or may provide to another process for display, to the user a number (e.g., a count) of the network addresses that were contacted by each application without requesting, to the platform DNS resolution service  302 , a resolution of a corresponding domain name and/or without providing an indication that the network address corresponds to an activity tracker network endpoint and/or server. 
     For example, the network address reconciliation service  306  may maintain a database and/or data structure (e.g., in the memory  204 ) that stores each such network address and the associated application and/or user identifier. In one or more implementations, the information stored by the network address reconciliation service  306  may have an expiration time, such as, for example, 7 days, after which the information may be deleted, and/or the information may be deleted responsive to a user request. In one or more implementations, the network address reconciliation service  306  may also store one or more timestamps in association with the network addresses and/or application identifiers, such as timestamps that correspond to an opening and/or closing of the corresponding network connections. 
     As described above, one aspect of the present technology is the gathering and use of data available from various sources. The present disclosure contemplates that in some instances, this gathered data may include personal information data that uniquely identifies or can be used to contact or locate a specific person. Such personal information data can include demographic data, location-based data, telephone numbers, email addresses, social media identifiers and/or twitter ID&#39;s, home addresses, data or records relating to a user&#39;s health or level of fitness (e.g., vital signs measurements, medication information, exercise information), date of birth, or any other identifying or personal information. 
     The present disclosure recognizes that the use of such personal information data, in the present technology, can be used to the benefit of users. Uses for personal information data that benefit the user are also contemplated by the present disclosure. For instance, health and fitness data may be used to provide insights into a user&#39;s general wellness, or may be used as positive feedback to individuals using technology to pursue wellness goals. 
     The present disclosure contemplates that the entities responsible for the collection, analysis, disclosure, transfer, storage, or other use of such personal information data will comply with well-established privacy policies and/or privacy practices. In particular, such entities should implement and consistently use privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining personal information data private and secure. Such policies should be easily accessible by users, and should be updated as the collection and/or use of data changes. Personal information from users should be collected for legitimate and reasonable uses of the entity and not shared or sold outside of those legitimate uses. Further, such collection/sharing should occur after receiving the informed consent of the users. Additionally, such entities should consider taking any needed steps for safeguarding and securing access to such personal information data and ensuring that others with access to the personal information data adhere to their privacy policies and procedures. Further, such entities can subject themselves to evaluation by third parties to certify their adherence to widely accepted privacy policies and practices. In addition, policies and practices should be adapted for the particular types of personal information data being collected and/or accessed and adapted to applicable laws and standards, including jurisdiction-specific considerations. For instance, in the US, collection of or access to certain health data may be governed by federal and/or state laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA); whereas health data in other countries may be subject to other regulations and policies and should be handled accordingly. Hence, different privacy practices should be maintained for different personal data types in each country. 
     Despite the foregoing, the present disclosure also contemplates embodiments in which users selectively block the use of, or access to, personal information data. That is, the present disclosure contemplates that hardware and/or software elements can be provided to prevent or block access to such personal information data. For example, the present technology can be configured to allow users to select to “opt in” or “opt out” of participation in the collection of personal information data during registration for services or anytime thereafter. In addition to providing “opt in” and “opt out” options, the present disclosure contemplates providing notifications relating to the access or use of personal information. For instance, a user may be notified upon downloading an app that their personal information data will be accessed and then reminded again just before personal information data is accessed by the app. 
     Moreover, it is the intent of the present disclosure that personal information data should be managed and handled in a way to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use. Risk can be minimized by limiting the collection of data and deleting data once it is no longer needed. In addition, and when applicable, including in certain health related applications, data de-identification can be used to protect a user&#39;s privacy. De-identification may be facilitated, when appropriate, by removing specific identifiers (e.g., date of birth, etc.), controlling the amount or specificity of data stored (e.g., collecting location data a city level rather than at an address level), controlling how data is stored (e.g., aggregating data across users), and/or other methods. 
     Therefore, although the present disclosure broadly covers use of personal information data to implement one or more various disclosed embodiments, the present disclosure also contemplates that the various embodiments can also be implemented without the need for accessing such personal information data. That is, the various embodiments of the present technology are not rendered inoperable due to the lack of all or a portion of such personal information data. For example, content can be selected and delivered to users by inferring preferences based on non-personal information data or a bare minimum amount of personal information, such as the content being requested by the device associated with a user, other non-personal information, or publicly available information. 
       FIG.  5    illustrates an electronic system  500  with which one or more implementations of the subject technology may be implemented. The electronic system  500  can be, and/or can be a part of, one or more of the electronic devices  102 - 104 , and/or one or the server  108  shown in  FIG.  1   . The electronic system  500  may include various types of computer readable media and interfaces for various other types of computer readable media. The electronic system  500  includes a bus  508 , one or more processing unit(s)  512 , a system memory  504  (and/or buffer), a ROM  510 , a permanent storage device  502 , an input device interface  514 , an output device interface  506 , and one or more network interfaces  516 , or subsets and variations thereof. 
     The bus  508  collectively represents all system, peripheral, and chipset buses that communicatively connect the numerous internal devices of the electronic system  500 . In one or more implementations, the bus  508  communicatively connects the one or more processing unit(s)  512  with the ROM  510 , the system memory  504 , and the permanent storage device  502 . From these various memory units, the one or more processing unit(s)  512  retrieves instructions to execute and data to process in order to execute the processes of the subject disclosure. The one or more processing unit(s)  512  can be a single processor or a multi-core processor in different implementations. 
     The ROM  510  stores static data and instructions that are needed by the one or more processing unit(s)  512  and other modules of the electronic system  500 . The permanent storage device  502 , on the other hand, may be a read-and-write memory device. The permanent storage device  502  may be a non-volatile memory unit that stores instructions and data even when the electronic system  500  is off. In one or more implementations, a mass-storage device (such as a magnetic or optical disk and its corresponding disk drive) may be used as the permanent storage device  502 . 
     In one or more implementations, a removable storage device (such as a floppy disk, flash drive, and its corresponding disk drive) may be used as the permanent storage device  502 . Like the permanent storage device  502 , the system memory  504  may be a read-and-write memory device. However, unlike the permanent storage device  502 , the system memory  504  may be a volatile read-and-write memory, such as random access memory. The system memory  504  may store any of the instructions and data that one or more processing unit(s)  512  may need at runtime. In one or more implementations, the processes of the subject disclosure are stored in the system memory  504 , the permanent storage device  502 , and/or the ROM  510 . From these various memory units, the one or more processing unit(s)  512  retrieves instructions to execute and data to process in order to execute the processes of one or more implementations. 
     The bus  508  also connects to the input and output device interfaces  514  and  506 . The input device interface  514  enables a user to communicate information and select commands to the electronic system  500 . Input devices that may be used with the input device interface  514  may include, for example, alphanumeric keyboards and pointing devices (also called “cursor control devices”). The output device interface  506  may enable, for example, the display of images generated by electronic system  500 . Output devices that may be used with the output device interface  506  may include, for example, printers and display devices, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, a flexible display, a flat panel display, a solid state display, a projector, or any other device for outputting information. One or more implementations may include devices that function as both input and output devices, such as a touchscreen. In these implementations, feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, such as visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from the user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input. 
     Finally, as shown in  FIG.  5   , the bus  508  also couples the electronic system  500  to one or more networks and/or to one or more network nodes, such as the server  108  shown in  FIG.  1   , through the one or more network interface(s)  516 . In this manner, the electronic system  500  can be a part of a network of computers (such as a LAN), a wide area network (“WAN”), or an Intranet, or a network of networks, such as the Internet. Any or all components of the electronic system  500  can be used in conjunction with the subject disclosure. 
     Implementations within the scope of the present disclosure can be partially or entirely realized using a tangible computer-readable storage medium (or multiple tangible computer-readable storage media of one or more types) encoding one or more instructions. The tangible computer-readable storage medium also can be non-transitory in nature. 
     The computer-readable storage medium can be any storage medium that can be read, written, or otherwise accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computing device, including any processing electronics and/or processing circuitry capable of executing instructions. For example, without limitation, the computer-readable medium can include any volatile semiconductor memory, such as RAM, DRAM, SRAM, T-RAM, Z-RAM, and TTRAM. The computer-readable medium also can include any non-volatile semiconductor memory, such as ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, NVRAM, flash, nvSRAM, FeRAM, FeTRAM, MRAM, PRAM, CBRAM, SONOS, RRAM, NRAM, racetrack memory, FJG, and Millipede memory. 
     Further, the computer-readable storage medium can include any non-semiconductor memory, such as optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, magnetic tape, other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium capable of storing one or more instructions. In one or more implementations, the tangible computer-readable storage medium can be directly coupled to a computing device, while in other implementations, the tangible computer-readable storage medium can be indirectly coupled to a computing device, e.g., via one or more wired connections, one or more wireless connections, or any combination thereof. 
     Instructions can be directly executable or can be used to develop executable instructions. For example, instructions can be realized as executable or non-executable machine code or as instructions in a high-level language that can be compiled to produce executable or non-executable machine code. Further, instructions also can be realized as or can include data. Computer-executable instructions also can be organized in any format, including routines, subroutines, programs, data structures, objects, modules, applications, applets, functions, etc. As recognized by those of skill in the art, details including, but not limited to, the number, structure, sequence, and organization of instructions can vary significantly without varying the underlying logic, function, processing, and output. 
     While the above discussion primarily refers to microprocessor or multi-core processors that execute software, one or more implementations are performed by one or more integrated circuits, such as ASICs or FPGAs. In one or more implementations, such integrated circuits execute instructions that are stored on the circuit itself. 
     Those of skill in the art would appreciate that the various illustrative blocks, modules, elements, components, methods, and algorithms described herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative blocks, modules, elements, components, methods, and algorithms have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application. Various components and blocks may be arranged differently (e.g., arranged in a different order, or partitioned in a different way) all without departing from the scope of the subject technology. 
     It is understood that any specific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes disclosed is an illustration of example approaches. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes may be rearranged, or that all illustrated blocks be performed. Any of the blocks may be performed simultaneously. In one or more implementations, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system components in the implementations described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all implementations, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products. 
     As used in this specification and any claims of this application, the terms “base station”, “receiver”, “computer”, “server”, “processor”, and “memory” all refer to electronic or other technological devices. These terms exclude people or groups of people. For the purposes of the specification, the terms “display” or “displaying” means displaying on an electronic device. 
     As used herein, the phrase “at least one of” preceding a series of items, with the term “and” or “or” to separate any of the items, modifies the list as a whole, rather than each member of the list (i.e., each item). The phrase “at least one of” does not require selection of at least one of each item listed; rather, the phrase allows a meaning that includes at least one of any one of the items, and/or at least one of any combination of the items, and/or at least one of each of the items. By way of example, the phrases “at least one of A, B, and C” or “at least one of A, B, or C” each refer to only A, only B, or only C; any combination of A, B, and C; and/or at least one of each of A, B, and C. 
     The predicate words “configured to”, “operable to”, and “programmed to” do not imply any particular tangible or intangible modification of a subject, but, rather, are intended to be used interchangeably. In one or more implementations, a processor configured to monitor and control an operation or a component may also mean the processor being programmed to monitor and control the operation or the processor being operable to monitor and control the operation. Likewise, a processor configured to execute code can be construed as a processor programmed to execute code or operable to execute code. 
     Phrases such as an aspect, the aspect, another aspect, some aspects, one or more aspects, an implementation, the implementation, another implementation, some implementations, one or more implementations, an embodiment, the embodiment, another embodiment, some implementations, one or more implementations, a configuration, the configuration, another configuration, some configurations, one or more configurations, the subject technology, the disclosure, the present disclosure, other variations thereof and alike are for convenience and do not imply that a disclosure relating to such phrase(s) is essential to the subject technology or that such disclosure applies to all configurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating to such phrase(s) may apply to all configurations, or one or more configurations. A disclosure relating to such phrase(s) may provide one or more examples. A phrase such as an aspect or some aspects may refer to one or more aspects and vice versa, and this applies similarly to other foregoing phrases. 
     The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration”. Any embodiment described herein as “exemplary” or as an “example” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “include”, “have”, or the like is used in the description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprise” as “comprise” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim. 
     All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112(f), unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for” or, in the case of a method claim, the element is recited using the phrase “step for”. 
     The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language claims, wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “one or more”. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. Pronouns in the masculine (e.g., his) include the feminine and neuter gender (e.g., her and its) and vice versa. Headings and subheadings, if any, are used for convenience only and do not limit the subject disclosure.