Method and apparatus for automatically checking e-mail addresses in outgoing e-mail communications
First Claim
1. A method of automatically checking for an incorrect e-mail address in an outgoing e-mail communication, comprising the steps of:
- (a) storing a list of domain names in a memory;
(b) checking if a domain name of the e-mail address provided in the e-mail communication is included in the list of domain names in the memory; and
(c) generating a prompt for a user to confirm an e-mail address if the domain name is not included in the list of domain names.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a system and method for detecting incorrect e-mail addresses in outgoing e-mail communications. In a first embodiment, a domain name database creates a table of domain names by automatically storing the domain names of e-mail addresses from which incoming e-mails are received. When a user creates an outgoing e-mail communication, the system checks the domain names provided by the user with those domain names stored in the table. If the user-provided domain name does not match any of the domain names in the table, or closely resembles a domain name in the table, the user is prompted to confirm the provided e-mail address. In a second embodiment, e-mail addresses are extracted from incoming e-mail communications and stored in a memory in a client computer e-mail communications system. The system checks the memory for the presence of the e-mail addresses provided in outgoing e-mail communications, and generates a prompt when an e-mail address is not present in the memory.
230 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A method of automatically checking for an incorrect e-mail address in an outgoing e-mail communication, comprising the steps of:
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(a) storing a list of domain names in a memory;
(b) checking if a domain name of the e-mail address provided in the e-mail communication is included in the list of domain names in the memory; and
(c) generating a prompt for a user to confirm an e-mail address if the domain name is not included in the list of domain names. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of automatically checking for misspelled e-mail addresses in outgoing e-mail communications prior to transmission by an e-mail communications server, comprising the steps of:
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(a) extracting domain names in senders'"'"' e-mail addresses from e-mail communications incoming to the email communications server;
(b) storing extracted domain names in a domain name database;
(c) receiving outgoing e-mail communications from client computers connected to the e-mail communications server through a local network;
(d) searching the domain name database for domain names spelled similarly to the domain names in e-mail addresses provided in the outgoing e-mail communications; and
(e) generating an error prompt upon detecting that a domain name in an e-mail address provided in an outgoing e-mail communication is misspelled. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20)
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18. An e-mail server for automatically checking for misspelled e-mail addresses in outgoing e-mail communications prior to transmission by an e-mail communications server, comprising:
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(a) an interceptor for extracting domain names from e-mail addresses provided in incoming and outgoing e-mail communications;
(b) a domain name database for storing domain names extracted from senders'"'"' e-mail addresses in incoming e-mail communications; and
(c) a checker for searching the domain name database for domain names spelled similarly to the domain names in e-mail addresses provided in the outgoing e-mail communications, wherein the e-mail server detects misspelled domain names in e-mail addresses in outgoing e-mail communications.
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21. A method of automatically checking for an incorrect e-mail address in an outgoing e-mail communication, comprising the steps of:
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(a) storing a list of e-mail addresses in a memory;
(b) checking if an e-mail address in the e-mail communication is included in the list of e-mail addresses in the memory; and
(c) generating a prompt for a user to confirm an e-mail address if the domain name is not included in the list of e-mail addresses. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28)
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26. An e-mail communications system stored in a client computer for automatically checking for incorrect e-mail addresses provided in outgoing e-mail communications from the client computer prior to transmission to an e-mail server, comprising:
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(a) an address extractor for extracting senders'"'"' e-mail addresses from incoming e-mail communications;
(b) a memory for storing e-mail addresses extracted from senders'"'"' e-mail addresses in incoming e-mail communications; and
(c) a checker for searching the memory for e-mail addresses that are provided in outgoing e-mail communications, wherein the checker generates a prompt upon detecting that an e-mail address in an outgoing e-mail communication is not present in the memory.
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Specification