JP7850022B2 - Terminal devices, information processing systems, methods, and computer programs - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to terminal devices, information processing systems, methods, and computer programs.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rapid increase in remote work. For example, employees working remotely participate in online meetings from their home devices or access company computers via remote desktop. In this context, companies and other organizations have a need to understand the activities of their remote work members, such as their participation in online meetings.

Several vendors providing online meeting applications have published application programming interfaces (APIs) for referencing or extending the functionality of online meetings. By utilizing these APIs, it is possible to retrieve and record information such as when an online meeting was held and who participated.

Patent Document 1 proposes a technology for creating meeting minutes that can be played back chronologically by recording participants' activities in a client-server type online meeting system. This online meeting system can automatically record the time each participant joins and leaves an online meeting.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2009-188809

The online conferencing system proposed in Patent Document 1 has the disadvantages of requiring a dedicated server machine, resulting in high system construction costs and low versatility. Furthermore, if other types of applications are used for online conferencing, the functions of the system in Patent Document 1 will not work.

The choice of application for online meetings depends on the user (e.g., the meeting organizer or participant), and it's common for a single user to use multiple online meeting applications. Adding functionality to record each user's activity using publicly available APIs for all potentially used applications is impractical from a cost and effort standpoint. Furthermore, some applications do not have publicly available APIs. While directly monitoring the content of transmitted data to understand user activity is a possibility, considering the diversity of data formats and communication methods, this approach is also disadvantageous in terms of versatility and cost.

In light of these circumstances, this disclosure aims to provide a general-purpose, application-independent mechanism for understanding user activity in remote work environments.

From one perspective, a terminal device is provided comprising: a communication unit that communicates over a network; and a monitoring unit that monitors the use of a port for communication between the communication unit and an external device, and records historical information regarding user activity associated with the communication on a recording medium based on the open time when the port is opened and the close time when the port is closed. The monitoring unit determines the open time or close time of the port based on the state of the port associated with the packet when the destination of the packet communicated by the communication unit is included in a predefined destination list. Corresponding information processing systems, methods, and computer programs are also provided.

The technology disclosed herein provides a general-purpose mechanism, independent of specific applications, that allows for the monitoring of user activity during remote work.

A schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system according to the first embodiment. An explanatory diagram showing an example of the structure of an address list. An explanatory diagram showing an example of port monitoring results. An explanatory diagram showing an example of the structure of activity history information. A flowchart showing an example of the flow of communication monitoring processing performed by a client terminal in the first embodiment. A schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system according to the second embodiment. A sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of information recording processing performed in the second embodiment.

The embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention as defined in the claims, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the invention. Two or more features from the multiple features described in the embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. Furthermore, identical or similar configurations will be given the same reference numeral, and redundant descriptions will be omitted.

<1. First Embodiment>
<1-1. System Configuration>
First, an overview of the information processing system configuration will be described. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the information processing system 1 according to the first embodiment. Referring to Figure 1, the information processing system 1 includes a plurality of application servers 20a, 20b, 20c and a plurality of client terminals 100a, 100b, 100c. The network 10 connects the application servers 20a, 20b, 20c and the client terminals 100a, 100b, 100c to each other. The network 10 may be any combination of a public network (e.g., the Internet) and a private network (e.g., a home network). The network 10 may consist of a plurality of network segments, and each network segment may be a wired network or a wireless network.

Application server 20a is a server device that provides a first type of online meeting service. For example, a client terminal 100a can host an online meeting itself or remotely access an online meeting hosted by another client terminal with the support of application server 20a. Application server 20b is a server device that provides a second type of online meeting service, different from the first type. The first and second types of online meeting services may be services provided by different vendors, for example. Application server 20c is a server device that provides online services other than online meetings (e.g., online games).

Client terminals 100a, 100b, and 100c are terminal devices used by different users. Each of the client terminals 100a, 100b, and 100c may be any type of information processing device, such as a personal computer (PC), smartphone, or mobile phone.

In the following explanation, when there is no need to distinguish between client terminals 100a, 100b, and 100c, the letters at the end of their names will be removed, and they will be collectively referred to as client terminal 100. Similarly, application servers 20a, 20b, and 20c will be collectively referred to as application server 20.

Figure 1 shows an example where the information processing system 1 includes three application servers 20, but the information processing system 1 may include any number of application servers 20. Similarly, Figure 1 shows an example where the information processing system 1 includes three client terminals 100, but the information processing system 1 may include any number of client terminals 100. A single client terminal 100 may be shared by multiple users. In that case, by logging into the client terminal 100 (for example, using a user ID and password, or other authentication information), it becomes possible to identify which user is using the client terminal 100.

<1-2. Client Terminal Configuration>
As shown in Figure 1 in relation to the client terminal 100a, the client terminal 100 includes a network interface (I/F) 101, memory 102, input/output (I/O) device 103, storage device 104, and processor 110.

The network interface 101 is a communication unit for the client terminal 100 to communicate with other devices via the network 10. The network interface 101 may include either a wireless communication interface or a wired communication interface, or both. In this embodiment, the network interface 101 identifies hosts involved in communication by their IP (Internet Protocol) addresses at the network layer, and identifies applications involved in communication by their port numbers at the transport layer. The IP address of the network interface 101 is either pre-configured or dynamically configured when the client terminal 100 connects to the network 10. The port number used by the network interface 101 for communication is specified for each application running on the processor 110, which will be described later.

Memory 102 may be any combination of volatile memory (e.g., RAM (Random Access Memory)) and non-volatile memory (e.g., ROM (Read-Only Memory)). RAM provides temporary storage for calculations performed by the processor 110. ROM pre-stores computer programs executed by the processor 110 (e.g., boot programs, BIOS, OS, and multiple application programs). Some of these computer programs may be stored in the storage device 104 described later.

The I/O device 103 includes an input device for inputting information to the client terminal 100 and an output device for outputting information from the client terminal 100. The input device includes, for example, one or more of the following: a touch sensor, a keyboard, a pointing device, a button, a switch, and a microphone. The output device includes, for example, one or more of the following: a display, a speaker, a light, and a vibrator. The I/O device 103 may also include a voice processing module for recognizing input voice and synthesizing output voice. The I/O device 103 functions as a user interface for the client terminal 100 to interact with the user.

The storage device 104 is a storage device capable of storing large amounts of data. The storage device 104 may include, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive). In this embodiment, the storage device 104 stores, for example, a destination list, port monitoring results, and user activity history information (hereinafter referred to as activity history information), which will be described later.

The processor 110 implements all the functions of the client terminal 100 by executing computer programs stored in the memory 102. The processor 110 may include any processing circuit, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, or a microcontroller. The client terminal 100 may have a variety of functions typical of a user terminal. However, for the sake of simplicity, only functions related to user activities involving communication with external devices will be described here. Referring to Figure 1, the functions implemented by the processor 110 include multiple applications 120a, 120b, ..., and a monitoring unit 130.

Application 120a is a first type of online meeting application. For example, application 120a is launched as a result of a user calling application 120a from the operating system's application menu via I/O device 103. When the user specifies a pre-issued URL (Uniform Resource Locator) for a particular online meeting, application 120a opens the port associated with application 120a and accesses the corresponding application server 20a. This allows the user to participate in the online meeting (after undergoing authentication procedures if necessary). While the port associated with application 120a is open on client terminal 100, an external device (e.g., application server 20a or another client terminal) can distribute video, audio, and other data of the online meeting to application 120a on client terminal 100. Communication between application 120a and the external device may be performed using any TCP/IP-based communication protocol, such as HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) or WebSockets. Application 120a closes the open port when the user leaves the online meeting.

Application 120b is a second type of online meeting application, distinct from the first type. That is, on the client terminal 100, two or more types of online meeting applications can operate by the processor 110 executing the corresponding application program stored in memory 102. Similar to application 120a, application 120b opens the port associated with application 120b and accesses the corresponding application server 20b when a user joins an online meeting. Furthermore, application 120b closes the port associated with application 120b when the user leaves the online meeting.

Applications 120a and 120b may each operate as a web application in a web browser, or they may provide their own application screens. The program code for operating as a web application may be dynamically downloaded from the corresponding application server 20, rather than being pre-stored in memory 102.

The client terminal 100 may have further applications that involve communication with external devices. For example, the client terminal 100 may have a game application that communicates with the application server 20c using a specific port and enables the user to participate in an online game. The port for communication with the application server 20c is also opened when the user joins the online game and closed when the user leaves the online game.

The monitoring unit 130 is a functional module introduced to manage user activity performed on the client terminal 100. The monitoring unit 130 is implemented as a software module, for example, by the processor 110 executing a corresponding computer program (e.g., a client program) stored in memory 102.

The monitoring unit 130 monitors the use of ports for communication between the client terminal 100 and external devices, and records the open time when each port is opened and the close time when each port is closed. Here, the ports are typically TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) ports or UDP (User Datagram Protocol) ports.

In this embodiment, the communications monitored by the monitoring unit 130 may be remote access to destinations included in a predefined destination list. Figure 2 shows an example of the configuration of a destination list 121 that defines destinations to be monitored. The destination list 121 includes at least one destination entry, each consisting of a "destination URL" and a "service name". The "destination URL" represents the URL of the application server 20 to be accessed, which may be written in the header of the request packet for remote access. The "service name" represents the name of the online service identified by the "destination URL". The first destination entry in the destination list 121 in Figure 2 indicates that access to an online meeting service named "Online MTG" is made with the URL "https://onlinemeeting.com" as the destination. The second destination entry indicates that access to an online meeting service named "Web MTG" is made with the URL "https://webmeeting.net" as the destination. Thus, in this embodiment, the destination list 121 can define destinations associated with two or more online conferencing applications (and destinations for other online services). Note that in the actual request packet, the destination URL may include additional parts such as a path name, query string, and destination port number after the hostname.

The recipient list 121 may be stored in any format, such as a configuration file or a database table, by the storage device 104. The monitoring unit 130 may add, edit, or delete entries in the recipient list 121 according to settings received via the network interface 101 (for example, from other users with administrator privileges).

The monitoring unit 130 determines the open time of the port associated with a packet communicated via the network interface 101, based on the port's state, if the destination of the packet is included in the destination list 121. Similarly, the monitoring unit 130 determines the close time of a port based on the state of the monitored port. For example, if a packet specifying a destination URL included in the destination list 121 is detected, and the port associated with that packet changes from a closed state to an open state, the monitoring unit 130 records the port's open time as a monitoring result. Also, if a packet specifying the same destination URL is detected, and the port associated with that packet changes from an open state to a closed state, the monitoring unit 130 records the port's close time as a monitoring result. For example, when a user joins and leaves an online meeting, notifications of these actions are sent from the online meeting application to the application server. By capturing these notification packets and determining the corresponding port state changes, the timing of the start and end of user activity, such as a user's attendance at an online meeting, can be determined.

Figure 3 shows an example of the port monitoring results by the monitoring unit 130. The port monitoring results 123 shown in Figure 3 include four entries, each indicating a change in the state of a port on the client terminal 100. The first entry indicates that at 10:00 on April 1, 2022, a port identified by port number "1234" was opened for activity by a user named "UserA". This port is for an online service identified by the destination URL "https://onlinemeeting.com". The second entry indicates that at 10:30 on April 1, 2022, a port identified by port number "3456" was closed. The third entry indicates that at 11:10 on April 1, 2022, a port identified by port number "3456" was opened for activity by a user named "UserA". This port is for an online service identified by the destination URL "https://webmeeting.net". The fourth entry indicates that port number "3456" was closed at 11:50 AM on April 1, 2022.

The monitoring unit 130 determines that user activity involving communication has ended when each monitored port is closed, and generates activity history information based on the open and close times of the port. For example, the activity history information may include a combination of the start and end times of the user activity, where the start time corresponds to the open time of the relevant port and the end time corresponds to the close time of the relevant port. By recording these start and end times of user activity, it becomes possible to objectively understand the specific progress of remote work, such as when each user performed communication-related activities and for how long. Additionally or alternatively, the activity history information may include the duration of the user activity; for example, this duration corresponds to the difference between the open and close times of the relevant port. By recording this duration of user activity, it becomes possible to objectively understand the actual workload of each user, such as how long they performed communication-related activities.

Figure 4 shows an example of the configuration of activity history information generated by the monitoring unit 130. The activity history information 125 shown in Figure 4 includes five data items: "start time," "duration," "user," "service name," and "terminal." "Start time" indicates the date and time when each user activity began. "Duration" indicates the duration of each user activity (for example, the duration the user attended an online meeting). "User" indicates the name of the user who performed each user activity. "Service name" indicates the name of the online service used in each user activity. "Terminal" indicates the name or identifier of the client terminal 100 on which each user activity took place. Note that the name or identifier of each client terminal 100 can be pre-stored in the storage device 104.

The monitoring unit 130 determines, for example, from the time difference between the first and second entries in the port monitoring result 123 shown in Figure 3, that the port identified by port number "1234" was open for a period of 30 minutes starting at 10:00 on April 1, 2022. The user for these entries is "UserA". Furthermore, the destination URL for these entries, "https://onlinemeeting.com", is associated with the service name "Online MTG" in the destination list 121. The first record in the activity history information 125 in Figure 4 shows the history information generated by the monitoring unit 130 for this user activity. Similarly, the monitoring unit 130 determines, from the time difference between the third and fourth entries in the port monitoring result 123 shown in Figure 3, that the port identified by port number "3456" was open for a period of 40 minutes starting at 11:10 on April 1, 2022. The user for these entries is also "UserA". Furthermore, the destination URL for these entries, "https://webmeeting.net," is associated with the service name "WebMTG" in the destination list 121. The second record in the activity history information 125 in Figure 4 shows the history information generated by the monitoring unit 130 for this user activity. The monitoring unit 130 records this activity history information on a recording medium. For example, the activity history information may be recorded in a predetermined storage area of memory 102 or storage device 104, or it may be output to an external database (for example, a database where activity history information collected from multiple client terminals 100 is stored) and recorded there.

Note that the data configurations shown in Figures 2 to 4 are merely examples. Each of the destination list 121, port monitoring results 123, and activity history information 125 may have additional data items, or may not have some of the illustrated data items. For example, the destination list 121 may additionally include a data item indicating the port number associated with each destination URL (or each online service). Furthermore, the destination of communication by the client terminal 100 may be identified by an IP address instead of a URL.

<1-3. Processing Flow>
Figure 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of communication monitoring processing performed by the client terminal 100 in this embodiment. The illustrated communication monitoring processing can be continuously repeated while the client terminal 100 is operating. In the following description, processing steps will be abbreviated as S (step).

First, in S101, the monitoring unit 130 monitors packets communicated between the network interface 101 and an external device. If the monitoring unit 130 detects a communication packet, the process proceeds to S103. In S103, the monitoring unit 130 determines whether the destination URL specified in the header of the detected communication packet is included in the predefined destination list 121. If the specified destination URL is not included in the destination list 121, the detected communication packet is not subject to monitoring, and the process returns to S101. If the specified destination URL is included in the destination list 121, the process proceeds to S105.

In S105 and S107, the monitoring unit 130 determines a change in the state of the port associated with the online service identified by the destination URL of the detected communication packet. For example, if the port changes from a closed state to an open state (S105-YES), the process proceeds to S109, and the monitoring unit 130 records the open time of the port as a port monitoring result. If the port changes from an open state to a closed state (S105-NO, S107-YES), the process proceeds to S111, and the monitoring unit 130 records the closed time of the port as a port monitoring result. If the port that was open remains open (S105-NO, S107-NO), the process returns to S101.

The monitoring unit 130 records the port's closing time in S111, and then in S113 calculates the duration of user activity equal to the difference between the port's opening and closing times. Then, in S115, the monitoring unit 130 records the activity history information, including the calculated duration, onto the recording medium.

<1-4. Summary of the First Embodiment>
According to the first embodiment described above, the use of ports for communication with external devices is monitored in the terminal device, and historical information regarding user activity involving the above communication is generated and recorded on a recording medium based on the open time when the port is opened and the close time when the port is closed. Therefore, even if multiple types of applications may be used for user activity in the terminal device, the status of user activity can be understood from the historical information recorded by a general mechanism that is not dependent on a specific application. In other words, organizations such as companies that want to manage the activities of members working remotely can collect historical information on members' activities without forcing them to use a single dedicated system. This is beneficial not only in that it reduces the cost and effort of implementing management functions, but also in that it allows for the flexible use of a variety of convenient applications, thereby contributing to improved efficiency of remote work.

Furthermore, according to the first embodiment, the port's open and close times are determined based on the port status associated with the packet, provided that the destination of the packet being communicated is included in a predefined destination list. That is, since the port status only needs to be determined when a communication packet destined for a predefined destination is detected, port usage monitoring can be achieved with minimal processing within the terminal device.

Furthermore, according to the first embodiment, the user activity includes the user's attendance at an online meeting, and the destination list defines at least one destination associated with an online meeting application. For example, a terminal device may be capable of running two or more online meeting applications, each of which opens a unique port when a user joins an online meeting and closes that unique port when the user leaves the online meeting. By capturing the open and close times of these ports using a common mechanism, a general-purpose activity tracking function independent of a specific online meeting application is realized. Since the destination list can define destinations associated with two or more online meeting applications, users or administrators can easily expand the scope of activity tracking simply by adding candidate destinations to the destination list.

<2. Second Embodiment>
<2-1. System Configuration>
In the first embodiment, an example was mainly described in which a client terminal 100 performs a series of processes from port monitoring to recording activity history information. However, in order to conserve the computing resources of the client terminal, some of these processes may be performed by other devices that communicate with the client terminal. In the second embodiment described below, an example is described in which a server device generates the activity history information.

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the information processing system 2 according to the second embodiment. Referring to Figure 6, the information processing system 2 includes a plurality of application servers 20 (20a, 20b, 20c), a plurality of client terminals 200 (200a, 200b, 200c), and a management server 300.

Client terminals 200a, 200b, and 200c are terminal devices used by different users. Each client terminal 200 may be any type of information processing device, such as a PC, smartphone, or mobile phone. The management server 300 is an information processing device connected to each client terminal 200 via the network 10. The management server 300 centrally manages historical information regarding user activity involving communication performed on each client terminal 200.

<2-2. Client Terminal Configuration>
As shown in Figure 6 in relation to the client terminal 200a, the client terminal 200 includes a network interface 101, memory 102, I/O device 103, storage device 104, and processor 210.

The processor 210 implements all the functions of the client terminal 200 by executing computer programs stored in the memory 102. The processor 210 may include any processing circuit, such as a CPU, microprocessor, or microcontroller. The client terminal 200 may have a variety of functions typical of a user terminal. However, for the sake of simplicity, only functions related to user activities involving communication with external devices will be described here. Referring to Figure 6, the functions implemented by the processor 210 include multiple applications 120a, 120b, ..., and a monitoring unit 230.

The monitoring unit 230 is a functional module introduced to manage user activity performed on the client terminal 200. The monitoring unit 230 is implemented as a software module, for example, by the processor 210 executing a corresponding computer program stored in memory 102.

The monitoring unit 230 monitors the use of ports for communication between the client terminal 200 and external devices, and records the open time when each port is opened and the close time when each port is closed. In this embodiment, the communication monitored by the monitoring unit 230 may be remote access to destinations included in the predefined destination list 121, as explained using Figure 2.

The monitoring unit 230 determines the open time of the port associated with a packet communicated via the network interface 101, based on the port's status, if the destination of the packet is included in the destination list 121. Similarly, the monitoring unit 230 determines the close time of the monitored port based on its status. The monitoring unit 230 then generates the port monitoring results, as explained using Figure 3. The monitoring unit 230 periodically (for example, once every few hours or once a day) or in response to a request from the management server 300, sends the port monitoring results to the management server 300.

<2-3. Configuration of the Management Server>
As shown in Figure 6, the management server 300 includes a network interface 301, memory 302, I/O device 303, storage device 304, and processor 310.

The network interface 301 is a communication unit for the management server 300 to communicate with other devices via the network 10. The network interface 301 may include either or both a wireless communication interface and a wired communication interface. The memory 302 may be any combination of volatile memory and non-volatile memory. The RAM provides a temporary storage area for calculations performed by the processor 310. The ROM pre-stores computer programs to be executed by the processor 310. Some of these computer programs may be stored in the storage device 304, which will be described later. The I/O device 303 includes an input device for inputting information to the management server 300 and an output device for outputting information from the management server 300. For example, a user with administrator privileges (also called an administrator user) can give various instructions to the management server 300 via the I/O device 303. The storage device 304 is a storage device capable of storing large amounts of data. The storage device 304 may include, for example, an HDD or an SSD. In this embodiment, the storage device 304 stores, for example, the same destination list 121 as stored in each client terminal 200, port monitoring results received from each client terminal 200, and activity history information for each user.

The processor 310 may include any processing circuit, such as a CPU, microprocessor, or microcontroller. Referring to Figure 6, the functions implemented by the processor 310 include an information recording unit 340. The information recording unit 340 is a functional module introduced for the user activity management function of the management server 300. The information recording unit 340 is implemented as a software module, for example, by the processor 310 executing a corresponding computer program (e.g., a server program) stored in the memory 302.

The information recording unit 340 receives the port monitoring results generated at each client terminal 200 via the network interface 301 and stores the received port monitoring results in the storage device 304. The information recording unit 340 may also periodically receive port monitoring results from each client terminal 200. Additionally or alternatively, when the I/O device 303 receives instructions from an administrator user, the information recording unit 340 may send a request to a designated client terminal 200 for the provision of port monitoring results and receive the port monitoring results provided by that client terminal 200 in response to the request.

The information recording unit 340 analyzes the port monitoring results provided by each client terminal 200 and generates history information regarding user activity performed at each client terminal 200. Specifically, the information recording unit 340 determines that user activity began at the open time when each monitored port was opened and ended at the close time when the port was closed. Based on these port open and close times, the information recording unit 340 generates activity history information as explained using Figure 4. The information recording unit 340 records the generated activity history information on a recording medium. For example, the activity history information may be recorded in a predetermined storage area of the memory 302 or storage device 304, or it may be output to an external database and recorded there.

<2-4. Processing Flow>
Figure 7 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of information recording processing performed in this embodiment. The illustrated information recording processing involves the management server 300, the application server 20a, and client terminals 200a and 200b. Here, as an example for explanation, the user of client terminal 200a will attend an online meeting hosted by the user of client terminal 200b.

Prior to the online meeting, in S201, the information recording unit 340 of the management server 300 configures the client terminal 200a to monitor the use of the port for communication with an external device. At this time, the information recording unit 340 may also notify the client terminal 200a of the destination entries that should be included in the destination list 121. Note that the port monitoring configuration may be performed locally on the client terminal 200a, in which case S201 can be omitted. The client terminal 200b may also be configured to monitor port usage, but for the sake of simplicity, only the monitoring on the client terminal 200a will be described here.

As the scheduled time for the online meeting approaches, the user on client terminal 200b logs in to client terminal 200b and launches application 120a. Then, in S203, application 120a on client terminal 200b initiates communication for the online meeting by sending a request packet to application server 20a. The request packet sent to application server 20a has, for example, a URL specific to the online meeting service provided by application server 20a as its destination. Application 120a on client terminal 200b then, for example, sets up the online meeting and waits for other users to join.

The user of client terminal 200a logs in to client terminal 200a and launches application 120a. Then, in S205, application 120a on client terminal 200a initiates communication for the online meeting by sending a request packet to application server 20a. The request packet sent to application server 20a also has a URL specific to the online meeting service provided by application server 20a as its destination.

In S207, the application 120a on the client terminal 200a opens the port associated with application 120a. This allows application 120a to receive data distributed from the application server 20a or client terminal 200b via the network interface 101. The monitoring unit 230 on the client terminal 200a detects that the port associated with application 120a has been opened and obtains the open time. The monitoring unit 230 records the obtained open time in the port monitoring results, associating it with the port number, the username of the logged-in user, and the destination URL.

Subsequently, in S210, with the support of the application server 20a, video, audio, and other data of the online meeting are transmitted and received between client terminal 200a and client terminal 200b.

In S221, in response to the I/O device 103 detecting a user's exit operation, the application 120a on the client terminal 200a sends a packet to the application server 20a to notify it that the user has exited. This packet also has a URL specific to the online meeting service provided by the application server 20a as its destination. Next, in S223, the application 120a closes the port that was opened when joining the online meeting. The monitoring unit 230 on the client terminal 200a detects that the port has been closed and obtains the close time. The monitoring unit 230 records the obtained close time in the port monitoring results, associating it with the port number, the username of the logged-in user, and the destination URL.

In S225, the monitoring unit 230 of the client terminal 200a transmits the port monitoring results updated in S207 and S223 to the management server 300. The information recording unit 340 of the management server 300 receives the port monitoring results transmitted from the client terminal 200a. Next, in S227, the information recording unit 340 generates history information regarding user activity performed on the client terminal 200a based on the port monitoring results received from the client terminal 200a. For example, the information recording unit 340 may calculate the duration of user activity equal to the difference between the open time and close time described in the port monitoring results, and generate activity history information including the calculated duration. Next, in S229, the information recording unit 340 records the generated activity history information on the recording medium.

In S231, the application 120a on the client terminal 200b sends a packet to the application server 20a to notify it of the end of the online meeting, for example, in response to the user's action to end the online meeting.

This example describes a scenario where the management server 300 generates and records activity history information as part of a series of processes from port monitoring to recording activity history information. However, the division of functions between the client terminals 200 and the management server 300 is not limited to this example. For example, each client terminal 200 may generate activity history information and send it to the management server 300, and the management server 300 may record the activity history information received from multiple client terminals 200. Alternatively, each client terminal 200 may generate statistical information (e.g., total daily activity time) from the activity history information and send it to the management server 300, and the management server 300 may record the statistical information received from multiple client terminals 200.

<2-5. Summary of the second embodiment>
According to the second embodiment described above, the terminal device monitors the use of ports for communication with external devices, and records the open time when a port is opened and the close time when a port is closed. In addition, the information processing device that communicates with the terminal device generates history information regarding user activity associated with the above communication in the terminal device and records it on a recording medium. Therefore, even if the user uses a terminal device that does not necessarily have high computing performance, it is possible to understand the status of user activity from the history information generated and recorded by the information processing device acting as a server.

<3. Other Embodiments>
The disclosures herein include at least the following terminal devices, information processing systems, methods, and computer programs.
(Item 1)
A communication unit that communicates via a network,
A monitoring unit monitors the use of a port for communication between the communication unit and an external device, and records historical information regarding user activity involving the communication on a recording medium based on the open time when the port is opened and the close time when the port is closed.
Equipped with,
The monitoring unit determines the open time or closed time of the port based on the state of the port associated with the packet if the destination of the packet communicated by the communication unit is included in a predefined destination list.
Terminal device.
(Item 2)
The aforementioned user activity includes the user's attendance at an online meeting.
In the aforementioned address list, at least one address associated with an online meeting application is defined.
The terminal device described in item 1.
(Item 3)
The aforementioned terminal device is capable of running two or more types of online meeting applications.
Each of the two or more online meeting applications mentioned above is:
When the aforementioned user joins an online meeting, the port associated with the online meeting application is opened.
When the user leaves the online meeting, the port associated with the online meeting application is closed.
The terminal device described in item 2.
(Item 4)
The terminal device described in item 3, wherein the recipient list is capable of defining recipients associated with each of the two or more online meeting applications.
(Item 5)
The terminal device according to any one of items 1 to 4, wherein the history information includes the start time and end time of the user activity corresponding to the open time and the close time, respectively.
(Item 6)
The terminal device according to any one of items 1 to 5, wherein the history information includes the duration of the user activity corresponding to the difference between the open time and the close time.
(Item 7)
An information processing system including at least one terminal device and an information processing device,
The aforementioned terminal device is capable of communicating via a network,
The aforementioned information processing device is
A communication unit that communicates with the aforementioned terminal device,
A recording unit receives from the terminal device via the communication unit the monitoring results regarding the use of a port for communication between the terminal device and an external device, the monitoring results indicating the open time when the port was opened and the closed time when the port was closed, and records historical information regarding user activity involving the communication in the terminal device on a recording medium based on the received monitoring results.
Equipped with,
The terminal device determines the open time or closed time of the port based on the state of the port associated with the packet if the destination of the packet to be communicated with the external device is included in a predefined destination list.
Information processing system.
(Item 8)
A method for monitoring communications performed by a terminal device equipped with a communication unit that communicates over a network,
When the destination of a packet communicated between the communication unit and an external device is included in a predefined destination list, the state of the port associated with the packet is determined.
Based on the determined state of the port, the open time when the port was opened and the close time when the port was closed are obtained,
Based on the open time and close time of the port obtained, historical information relating to user activity involving the communication is recorded on a recording medium.
A method that includes this.
(Item 9)
A processor in a terminal device equipped with a communication unit that communicates over a network,
When the destination of a packet communicated between the communication unit and an external device is included in a predefined destination list, the state of the port associated with the packet is determined.
Based on the determined state of the port, the open time when the port was opened and the close time when the port was closed are obtained,
Based on the open time and close time of the port obtained, historical information relating to user activity involving the communication is recorded on a recording medium.
A computer program that performs the following action.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the invention's essence.

1: Information Processing System, 10: Network, 20a, 20b, 20c: Application Server (Information Processing Device), 100a, 100b, 100c: Client Terminal (Terminal Device), 101: Network I/F (Communication Unit), 103: I/O Device (User Interface), 120a, 120b: Application, 121: Destination List, 123: Port Monitoring Results, 125: Activity History Information, 130: Monitoring Unit, 200a, 200b, 200c: Client Terminal (Terminal Device), 230: Monitoring Unit, 300: Management Server (Information Processing Device), 301: Network I/F (Communication Unit), 340: Information Recording Unit

Claims (9)

A communication unit that communicates via a network,
A monitoring unit monitors the use of a port for communication between the communication unit and an external device, and records historical information regarding user activity involving the communication on a recording medium based on the open time when the port is opened and the close time when the port is closed.
Equipped with,
The monitoring unit determines the open time or closed time of the port based on the state of the port associated with the packet if the destination of the packet communicated by the communication unit is included in a predefined destination list.
Terminal device. The aforementioned user activity includes the user's attendance at an online meeting.
In the aforementioned address list, at least one address associated with an online meeting application is defined.
The terminal device according to claim 1. The aforementioned terminal device is capable of running two or more types of online meeting applications.
Each of the two or more online meeting applications mentioned above is:
When the aforementioned user joins an online meeting, the port associated with the online meeting application is opened.
When the user leaves the online meeting, the port associated with the online meeting application is closed.
The terminal device according to claim 2. The terminal device according to claim 3, wherein the recipient list can define recipients associated with each of the two or more online meeting applications. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the history information includes the start and end times of the user activity corresponding to the open time and the close time, respectively. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the history information includes the duration of the user activity corresponding to the difference between the open time and the close time. An information processing system including at least one terminal device and an information processing device,
The aforementioned terminal device is capable of communicating via a network,
The aforementioned information processing device is
A communication unit that communicates with the aforementioned terminal device,
A recording unit receives from the terminal device via the communication unit the monitoring results regarding the use of a port for communication between the terminal device and an external device, the monitoring results indicating the open time when the port was opened and the closed time when the port was closed, and records historical information regarding user activity involving the communication in the terminal device on a recording medium based on the received monitoring results.
Equipped with,
The terminal device determines the open time or closed time of the port based on the state of the port associated with the packet if the destination of the packet to be communicated with the external device is included in a predefined destination list.
Information processing system. A method for monitoring communications performed by a terminal device equipped with a communication unit that communicates over a network,
When the destination of a packet communicated between the communication unit and an external device is included in a predefined destination list, the state of the port associated with the packet is determined.
Based on the determined state of the port, the open time when the port was opened and the close time when the port was closed are obtained,
Based on the open time and close time of the port obtained, historical information relating to user activity involving the communication is recorded on a recording medium.
A method that includes this. A processor in a terminal device equipped with a communication unit that communicates over a network,
When the destination of a packet communicated between the communication unit and an external device is included in a predefined destination list, the state of the port associated with the packet is determined.
Based on the determined state of the port, the open time when the port was opened and the close time when the port was closed are obtained,
Based on the open time and close time of the port obtained, historical information relating to user activity involving the communication is recorded on a recording medium.
A computer program that performs the following action.