Method and apparatus for classifying electronic messages
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for processing electronic messages (e-mails) is provided, the method comprising:
- receiving an electronic message, wherein the received electronic message includes a sender'"'"'s address;
comparing the sender'"'"'s address associated with the electronic message to sender addresses found on a blacklist that contains a plurality of sender addresses and signatures of previously sent spam;
executing instructions stored in memory, wherein the instructions are executed by a processor to;
receive user input that classifies the received electronic message when the sender'"'"'s address for the received electronic message is not found within the blacklist, andupdate the blacklist based on the received user input, wherein updating the blacklist comprises;
summarizing content of the received electronic message, wherein summarizing the content of the received electronic message includes identifying that the content includes at least one word that has a plurality of possible canonical equivalents, selecting one of the equivalents for the at least one word based on likely association with the spam, assigning a probability of occurrence to the at least one word in the received electronic message, and the probability of occurrence corresponding to a probability that the at least one word occurs in a language,generating one or more signatures for the received electronic message based on the summarized content, andassociating the generated signatures with the sender'"'"'s address, andprocess the received electronic message based on the blacklist and based on the selected equivalent most likely being associated with the spam.
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Abstract
Systems and methods for processing a message are provided. A message may be processed to generate a message summary by removing or replacing certain words, phrases, sentences, punctuation, and the like. Message signatures based upon the message summary may be generated and stored in a signature database, which may be used to identify and/or classify spam messages. Subsequently received messages may be classified by signature and processed based on classification.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for processing electronic messages (e-mails) is provided, the method comprising:
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receiving an electronic message, wherein the received electronic message includes a sender'"'"'s address; comparing the sender'"'"'s address associated with the electronic message to sender addresses found on a blacklist that contains a plurality of sender addresses and signatures of previously sent spam; executing instructions stored in memory, wherein the instructions are executed by a processor to; receive user input that classifies the received electronic message when the sender'"'"'s address for the received electronic message is not found within the blacklist, and update the blacklist based on the received user input, wherein updating the blacklist comprises; summarizing content of the received electronic message, wherein summarizing the content of the received electronic message includes identifying that the content includes at least one word that has a plurality of possible canonical equivalents, selecting one of the equivalents for the at least one word based on likely association with the spam, assigning a probability of occurrence to the at least one word in the received electronic message, and the probability of occurrence corresponding to a probability that the at least one word occurs in a language, generating one or more signatures for the received electronic message based on the summarized content, and associating the generated signatures with the sender'"'"'s address, and process the received electronic message based on the blacklist and based on the selected equivalent most likely being associated with the spam. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having embodied thereon a program executable by a processor for implementing a method for processing electronic messages (e-mails) is provided, the method comprising:
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receiving an electronic message, wherein the received electronic message includes a sender'"'"'s address; comparing the sender'"'"'s address associated with the electronic message to sender addresses found on a blacklist that contains a plurality of sender addresses and signatures of previously sent spam, receiving user input that classifies the received electronic message when the sender'"'"'s address for the received electronic message is not found within the blacklist, updating the blacklist based on the received user input, wherein updating the blacklist comprises; summarizing content of the received electronic message, wherein summarizing the content of the received electronic message includes identifying that the content includes at least one word that has a plurality of possible canonical equivalents, selecting one of the equivalents for the at least one word based on likely association with the spam, and assigning a probability of occurrence to at least one word in the received electronic message, and the probability of occurrence corresponding to a probability that the at least one word occurs in a language, generating one or more signatures for the received electronic message based on the summarized content, and associating the generated signatures with the sender'"'"'s address; and processing the received electronic message based on the blacklist and based on the selected equivalent most likely being associated with the spam. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An apparatus for processing electronic messages (e-mails) is provided, the apparatus comprising:
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a network interface that receives receiving an electronic message, wherein the received electronic message includes a sender'"'"'s address; a memory; and a processor that executes instructions stored in memory, wherein execution of the instructions by the processor; compares the sender'"'"'s address associated with the electronic message to sender addresses found on a blacklist that contains a plurality of sender addresses and signatures of previously sent spam, receives user input that classifies the received electronic message when the sender'"'"'s address for the received electronic message is not found within the blacklist, and updates the blacklist based on the received user input, wherein updating the blacklist comprises; summarizing content of the received electronic message, wherein summarizing the content of the received electronic message includes identifying that the content includes at least one word that has a plurality of possible canonical equivalents, selecting one of the equivalents for the at least one word based on likely association with the spam, assigning a probability of occurrence to at least one word in the received electronic message, and the probability of occurrence corresponding to a probability that the at least one word occurs in a language, generating one or more signatures for the received electronic message based on the summarized content, and associating the generated signatures with the sender'"'"'s address, and processes the received electronic message based on the blacklist and based on the selected equivalent most likely being associated with the spam.
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Specification