System and method for private messaging

• US 20040148356A1
• Filed: 10/04/2003
• Published: 07/29/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Autouptodate LLC
• Original Assignee: Autouptodate LLC
• Inventors: Godavari, Ganesh Kumar, Mo, Richard, Bishop, James William Jr.
• Application Number:
  US10/701,355
• Publication Number:
  US 20040148356A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication

Abstract

An electronic message system that includes a messaging infrastructure to transport an electronic message, where the message includes a message header, a first messaging agent and a second messaging agent in communication with the messaging infrastructure, and a message server to route the message from the first messaging agent to the second messaging agent, where the network server is in communication with the messaging infrastructure, and where the message header is encrypted when being transported by the messaging infrastructure. Also, a method of transporting an electronic message, that includes sending the message from a sender to a message server, where the message server verifies the sender is a sending agent that is registered with the message server, decrypting a message header in the message to ascertain the recipients to receive the message, verifying the recipients are recipient agents that are registered with the message server, and sending the message.

Claims

1. An electronic message system comprising:

a messaging infrastructure to transport an electronic message, wherein the message includes a message header;

a first messaging agent and a second messaging agent in communication with the messaging infrastructure; and

a message server to route the message from the first messaging agent to the second messaging agent, wherein the network server is in communication with the messaging infrastructure, and wherein the message header is encrypted when being transported by the messaging infrastructure.

2. The electronic message system of claim 1, wherein the message server determines whether the first and second messaging agents are registered with the message server.

3. The electronic message system of claim 2, wherein the message is rejected by the message server if the first messaging agent is not registered with the message server.

4. The electronic message system of claim 2, wherein the messaging server determines the second messaging agent is not registered and sends an invitation to register to an address in the message header associated with the second messaging agent.

5. The electronic message system of claim 2, wherein the message is held at the message server until the second messaging agent is registered with the message server.

6. The electronic message system of claim 4, wherein the invitation to register includes a referral code to verify the address.

7. The electronic message system of claim 1, wherein the first messaging agent cannot send more than a predetermined number of messages in a predetermined period of time.

8. The electronic message system of claim 1, wherein the first messaging agent is charged a fee for sending the message.

9. The electronic message system of claim 1, wherein the first messaging agent restricts the decryption of the message by the second messaging agent.

10. The electronic message system of claim 9, wherein the first messaging agent sends an access restrictions message to the second messaging agent, wherein the access restrictions message comprises a predefined restriction on when the second messaging agent can decrypt the message.

11. The electronic message system of claim 10, wherein the access restrictions message is part of the message originally sent by the first messaging agent.

12. The electronic message system of claim 1, wherein the first messaging agent disables the decryption of the message by the second messaging agent.

13. The electronic message system of claim 12, wherein the first messaging agent disables the decryption by deleting a decryption key used by the second messaging agent to decrypt the message.

14. The electronic message system of claim 1, wherein the message comprises message content and the message content is separately encrypted from the message header.

15. The electronic message system of claim 14, wherein the message content is encrypted using a content key and the message header is encrypted using a message server key.

16. The electronic message system of claim 1, wherein the message is an email message.

17. The electronic message system of claim 1, wherein the first and second messaging agents are implemented on, independently, a personal computer, a cellular telephone, or a personal digital assistant.

18. The electronic message system of claim 1, wherein access to the first and second messaging agents requires a password.

19. A method of transporting an electronic message, comprising:

sending the message from a sender to a message server, wherein the message server verifies the sender is a sending agent that is registered with the message server;

decrypting a message header in the message to ascertain one or more recipients to receive the message;

verifying the one or more recipients are recipient agents that are registered with the message server; and

sending the message from the message server to the one or more recipient agents that are registered with the message server.

20. The method of claim 19, comprising:

encrypting the message header at the message server before the message is sent to the one or more recipient agents.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the message is rejected by the message server if the sender is not a registered sending agent.

22. The method of claim 19, comprising:

holding a copy of the message at the message server for the one or more recipients that are unregistered recipient agents.

23. The method of claim 22, comprising:

sending the copy of the message to the unregistered recipient agents after they have registered with the message server.

24. The method of claim 19, comprising:

sending an invitation to register to the one or more recipients not registered with the message server.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the invitation to register comprises an unencrypted message providing instructions for how to install an agent and establish an account with the message server.

26. The method of claim 24, comprising:

registering the one or more of recipients not registered to make them recipient agents registered with the message server.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the registering of the one or more recipients comprises:

providing requested information about the recipient to the message server;

installing the recipient agent at the recipient; and

exchanging cryptographic keys between the message server and the recipient agent installed at the recipient.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the cryptographic keys include a message server key used to encrypt and decrypt the message header.

29. The method of claim 19, comprising:

determining that one or more of the registered recipient agents refuse messages that include undesirable content;

examining the message for the undesirable content, wherein the message is not sent to the recipient agent if it contains the undesirable content; and

sending a delivery refusal message to the sender indicating that the undesirable content caused the message to be refused by the recipient agent.

30. A method of transporting an electronic message comprising:

sending a first server encrypted message from a sending agent to a message server, wherein the first server encrypted message comprises a message header and encrypted message content that has been encrypted using a content key, and wherein the first server encrypted message is encrypted using an sender message server key;

ascertaining a recipient agent from the message header that has been decrypted using the sender message server key, wherein the encrypted message content is not decrypted at the message server; and

sending a second server encrypted message to the recipient agent where the second server encrypted message is decrypted using a recipient message server key and the encrypted message content is decrypted using the content key.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the electronic message is encrypted with symmetric or asymmetric encryption techniques.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the message server lacks the content key used to decrypt the encrypted message content.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the message content key is sent from the sending agent to the recipient agent on a different path than the electronic message.

34. A method of controlling access to an electronic message comprising:

sending an access restriction message from a sending agent, wherein the access restriction message includes instructions to delete a content key used by a receiving agent to decrypt at least a portion of the electronic message; and

deleting the content key, wherein the receiving agent can no longer decrypt said at least portion of the electronic message.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the electronic message is first sent from the sending agent to a message server, and then sent from the message server to the receiving agent.

36. The method of claim 34, wherein the access restrictions message is sent from the sending agent to the recipient agent on a different path than the electronic message.

37. The method of claim 34, wherein the content key is stored on a computer upon which the receiving agent also operates.

38. The method of claim 34, wherein the electronic message is stored on a computer upon which the receiving agent also operates.

39. The method of claim 34, wherein the electronic message comprises a message header and a message content, and wherein the content key is used to decrypt the message content.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the sending agent encrypts the message content with the content key to form an encrypted message content.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the sending agent encrypts the message header and the encrypted message content with a message server key.

42. A method of restricting transport of an electronic message comprising:

sending the electronic message from a sending agent to a message server, wherein the electronic message is addressed to one or more recipient agents;

confirming by the message server that the sending agent and the one or more recipient agents are registered with the message server, wherein the electronic message is not sent to any of the one or more recipient agents if the sending agent is not registered; and

sending the electronic message from the message server to the one or more recipient agents that are registered with the message server.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein at least a portion of the electronic message is encrypted.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein the electronic message comprises a message header and a message content, and the message content is encrypted with a content key to form encrypted message content.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein the message header and encrypted message content is encrypted using a message server key.

46. The method of claim 42, wherein an invitation to register is sent by the message server to the recipient agents that are not registered.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein the invitation to register comprises an unencrypted message providing instructions for how to install an agent and establish an account with the message server.

48. The method of claim 42, wherein the sending agent cannot send more than a preset number of copies of the electronic message in a preset period of time.

49. The method of claim 42, wherein the sending agent is charged a fee for each copy of the electronic message that is sent.

50. A method of registering a recipient for an electronic message system, comprising:

sending an invitation to register from a message server to the recipient;

providing requested information about the recipient to the message server;

installing an agent at the recipient; and

exchanging cryptographic keys between the recipient agent and the message server.