Abstract: A system and method for providing advertising on the Internet in which the advertiser can target particular users, and while maintaining a high degree of privacy. The system and method provides Internet advertising that is tailored to the user without creating a profile of the user, and can provide context sensitive promotion based on text contained in an Internet browser to maximize the amount of application intelligence on the client end. The system incorporates a server that maintains a database of promotional heuristics, behavior graphics, sponsorship authentication data, and usage statistics, and specialized applets. The system uses a servlet, which facilitates communication between specific applets and the server, and a web server, which provides the applets to the client browser. The system and method provide a simple and quick way for an advertiser to change the audience that is exposed to their advertisement.