Patent ID: 7403978

Claim:
A method of determining a geographic location of an Internet user who connects to the Internet through a proxy server, comprising: a. sending an applet and a unique applet parameter tag to the Internet user through the proxy server; b. receiving from the applet an IP address associated with the Internet user and the unique applet parameter tag; c. associating the unique applet parameter tag with the IP address for requests coming through the proxy server; d. obtaining a route through the Internet to a target host for the IP address, the route comprising a plurality of intermediate hosts; e. determining a geographic naming information for each of the plurality of intermediate hosts in the route; f. determining a geographic location for each of the plurality of intermediate hosts in the route by matching the plurality of intermediate hosts in the route to geographic locations through use of a database correlating geographic naming information to geographic locations; g. assigning a confidence level to the determined geographic location of each of the plurality of intermediate hosts in the route; h. determining the geographic location of the Internet user using the route, the geographic location of one or more of the plurality of intermediate hosts, and the confidence level assigned to one or more of the plurality of intermediate hosts in the route; i. assigning a confidence level to the determined geographic location of the Internet user using the confidence level assigned to at least one intermediate host from the plurality of intermediate hosts in the route; and j. storing in a database the geographic location of the Internet user, the confidence level assigned to each of the plurality of intermediate hosts, and the confidence level assigned to the determined geographic location of the Internet user.