System and method for reducing unsolicited e-mails

• US 10,038,660 B2
• Filed: 10/11/2016
• Issued: 07/31/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Richard A. Kramer
• Original Assignee: Richard A. Kramer
• Inventors: Kramer, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Chea, Philip J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chen, Wuji
• Application Number:
  US15/290,239
• Publication Number:
  US 20170034093A1
• Time in Patent Office: 658 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/234 for tracking messages

Abstract

A method for reducing unsolicited e-mails includes receiving an e-mail message from a sender, storing the e-mail message within a holding unit, and sending a confirmation response request e-mail to the sender in response to the e-mail message from the sender. The confirmation response request e-mail may include a request for at least one confirmation code from the sender according to at least one calculation type/method specified in the confirmation response request e-mail. The method may also include receiving a confirmation e-mail from the sender in response to the confirmation response request e-mail, determining whether the confirmation e-mail includes a code correctly computed according the at least one confirmation code calculation type, and performing an action with respect to the e-mail message based upon the confirmation e-mail. The sender'"'"'s support of the method creates an explicit agreement regarding legal jurisdiction governing any disputes arising out of the e-mail.

Claims

1. An e-mail vouching system for reducing unsolicited e-mails comprising:

a message receiving unit configured to receive an at least one e-mail message from a sender to a recipient, each of the at least one e-mail messages including a header indicating that the sender supports the e-mail vouching system, wherein the sender'"'"'s support of the email vouching system creates an explicit agreement regarding a legal jurisdiction governing any dispute arising out of the e-mail, the governing legal jurisdiction being the legal jurisdiction of the recipient;

a storage device configured to store each of the at least one e-mail messages received by the message receiving unit;

a confirmation response request generator configured to generate and send a confirmation response request e-mail to the sender in response to each of the at least one e-mail messages from the sender, the confirmation response request e-mail including (1) a request for at least one confirmation code as calculated by one or more confirmation code calculation methods specified by the e-mail vouching system and contained within the confirmation response request e-mail, and (2) confirmation response request e-mail data; and

a message analyzer configured to analyze a confirmation e-mail received in the message receiving unit, the confirmation e-mail being sent from the sender in response to the confirmation response request e-mail, the message analyzer configured to analyze the confirmation e-mail to determine if the confirmation e-mail includes a correct confirmation code calculated according to the one or more confirmation code calculation methods specified within the confirmation response request e-mail and based, at least in part, on the confirmation response request e-mail data,

the e-mail vouching system configured to perform a first action with respect to the at least one e-mail message if the message analyzer determines that the confirmation e-mail includes the correctly computed code, the e-mail vouching system configured to perform a second action with respect to the at least one e-mail message if the message analyzer determines that the confirmation e-mail does not include the correctly computed code.

2. An e-mail vouching system according to claim 1, wherein the first action is pre-determined by at least one of the recipient, the recipient'"'"'s internet service provider, and the e-mail vouching system, and includes at least one selected from the group consisting of:

delivering the e-mail message to the recipient, transferring the e-mail message to a filtering software, adding a confirmation e-mail result to the header, and notifying the recipient that the e-mail message is stored within the storage device.

3. An e-mail vouching system according to claim 1, wherein the second action is pre-determined by at least one of the recipient, the recipient'"'"'s internet service provider, and the e-mail vouching system, and includes at least one selected from the group consisting of:

deleting the e-mail message, transferring the e-mail message to a filtering software, adding a confirmation e-mail result to the header, and notifying the recipient that the e-mail message is stored within the storage device.

4. An e-mail vouching system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one confirmation code calculation method includes at least one selected from the group consisting of a null code, an 8 bit cyclic redundancy check, a 32 bit cyclic redundancy check, an 8 bit exclusive or redundancy check, and a 16 bit exclusive or redundancy check.

5. An e-mail vouching system according to claim 1, wherein the confirmation e-mail includes the code within the header information.

6. An e-mail vouching system according to claim 5, wherein the confirmation e-mail header information also includes a message ID corresponding to the at least one e-mail message.

7. An e-mail vouching system according to claim 1, wherein the confirmation response request e-mail includes header information that indicates the e-mail vouching system is able to receive the confirmation e-mail.

8. An e-mail vouching system according to claim 1, wherein the confirmation response request e-mail further includes the legal jurisdiction within a header of the confirmation response request e-mail.

9. An e-mail vouching system according to claim 8, wherein the confirmation e-mail established the sender'"'"'s agreement to the legal jurisdiction.

10. An e-mail vouching system according claim 9, wherein the code correctly computed according to the one or more confirmation code calculation methods establishes the sender'"'"'s agreement to the legal jurisdiction.

11. An e-mail vouching system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one e-mail from a sender is sent from a sending computer.

12. An e-mail vouching system according to claim 11, wherein the sending computer is configured to perform an initial redundancy check on the e-mail message prior to sending the e-mail message to the recipient, and store a sender initial redundancy check result in a sender look-up table.

13. An e-mail vouching system according to claim 11, wherein the sending computer is configured to perform a sender final redundancy check in response to the confirmation response request e-mail, the sender final redundancy check creating a sender final redundancy check result corresponding to the at least one confirmation code calculation methods.

14. An e-mail vouching system according to claim 13, wherein the sending computer is further configured to perform the final redundancy check on at least part of the confirmation response request e-mail.

15. An e-mail vouching system according to claim 1, wherein the e-mail vouching system is configured to perform an e-mail vouching system final redundancy check prior to receiving the confirmation e-mail, the e-mail vouching system configured to store an e-mail vouching system final redundancy check result in an e-mail vouching system look-up table.

16. An e-mail vouching system according to claim 15, wherein the message analyzer is configured to compare the e-mail vouching system final redundancy check result within the e-mail vouching system look-up table with the code within the confirmation response.

17. An e-mail vouching system according to claim 1, wherein the confirmation response includes a cancel message if the sender would like the e-mail vouching system to cancel the e-mail message.

18. An e-mail vouching system according to claim 1, wherein the confirmation response includes a deny message if the sender wishes to deny that it originated the e-mail message.

19. An email vouching system according to claim 1, wherein the e-mail vouching system is configured to perform a third action if a confirmation e-mail from the sender is not received in response to the confirmation response request e-mail, the third action being at least one selected from the group consisting of:

deleting the e-mail message, transferring the e-mail message to a filtering software, adding a confirmation e-mail result to the header, and notifying the recipient that the e-mail message is stored within the storage device.