Patent ID: 8108515

Claim:
A network device for detecting participation in an on-line service, comprising: a communication interface for providing communication with the on-line service and at least one other network device; a memory configured for storing processing instructions; and a processor in communication with the communication interface and the memory, wherein the processor performs actions based at least in part on the stored instructions, including: dynamically updating a communication information table on the network device, wherein the communication information table includes a plurality of communication characteristics for at least one client program including at least a plurality of parameters and related thresholds that correspond to the at least one client program; monitoring executable files to detect that a client program of the at least one client program in the communication information table is executing on the network device; determining that the detected client program is interacting with the on-line service over a network by utilizing the plurality of communication characteristics that correspond to the detected client program, such that the determination is based at least in part on a number of a plurality of messages exchanged between the detected client program and the on-line service exceeding a corresponding predefined threshold within a corresponding predefined time period, wherein the determining is performed by a game probe that is separate from the detected client program and the on-line service; and sending an invitation to participate in the on-line service as a short message service (SMS) message to the at least one other network device in response to determining that the detected client program is interacting with the on-line service.