Patent ID: 8484073

Claim:
A method in a computing system having a processor for distributing Internet advertisements to users, each associated with a unique identifier, the method comprising: receiving unique identifiers from at least one of a plurality of advertisers, each unique identifier corresponding to a user, wherein none of the received unique identifiers is received from the user to whom the user identifier corresponds; storing each of the received unique identifiers in a database in association with the advertiser that provided the unique identifier; with a processor, in response to a user visiting a publisher website, automatically performing the following acts: determining the user's unique identifier; determining whether the unique identifier is in the database; in response to determining that the unique identifier is in the database, automatically performing the following acts: triggering a web browsing device associated with the user to open a new browser window; determining which of the plurality of advertisers provided the unique identifier; selecting an advertisement associated with an advertiser that provided the unique identifier; and displaying the selected advertisement in the new browser window.