Importance

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Abstract

Embodiments of the invention provide novel systems, software and methods for gathering information about online entities and for identifying, evaluating and scoring such entities. Merely by way of example, the trustworthiness of an online entity, such as a domain, can be evaluated based information known about other online entities (e.g., the owner of the domain, other domains) associated with that domain. In an aspect of the invention, for example, publicly-available data (and, in some cases, other data) can be obtained and correlated to reveal previously-unknown associations between various online entities, despite, in some cases, the attempts of those entities to obscure such associations. This can facilitate the evaluation of such entities. For instance, if a new domain is registered, there generally is little basis on which to evaluate the trustworthiness of that domain (other than facially-apparent characteristics, such as the domain name itself), since it has not yet begun operating. By ascertaining the domain's association with other online entities, however, information known about the reputation and/or behavior of those entities can be used to inform an evaluation of the domain.

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First Claim