Message handling with selective user participation

• US 20040236839A1
• Filed: 04/21/2004
• Published: 11/25/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Quest Software, Inc.
• Original Assignee: MailFrontier Incorporated (SonicWall Holdings Ltd.)
• Inventors: Wilson, Brian K., Eikenberry, Scott D., Koblas, David A., Uyeda, Damon K., Ng, Kwok H.
• Granted Patent: US 7,546,348 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/207
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages

Abstract

Handling a message comprises: classifying an incoming message for a recipient, storing the classified message and providing a notification to the recipient, wherein the notification includes summary information about the classified message and an interface that allows the recipient to operate on the classified message.

Claims

1. A method of handling a message, comprising:

classifying an incoming message for a recipient;

storing the classified message; and

providing a notification to the recipient;

wherein the notification includes summary information about the classified message and an interface that allows the recipient to operate on the classified message.

2. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, wherein the classified message is classified as potentially junk.

3. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, wherein the interface includes a link to the stored classified message.

4. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, wherein the interface allows the recipient to retrieve the classified message.

5. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, wherein the interface allows the recipient to change the classification of the classified message.

6. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, wherein the interface allows the recipient to permanently delete the message.

7. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, wherein the interface allows the recipient to view detail of the classified message.

8. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, wherein the interface allows the recipient to view detail of the classified message as a web page on a server.

9. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, wherein the notification is a first notification, and further comprising providing a second notification to the recipient after a specified interval, wherein the second notification includes information about a later message that is classified after the first notification has been provided to the recipient.

10. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, wherein the notification includes a reason for classifying the message.

11. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, wherein the notification is generated based on a template.

12. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, wherein the notification is generated based on a template that includes a variable.

13. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, wherein the notification is generated based on a template that includes a variable for user name.

14. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, wherein the notification is generated based on a template that includes a variable for message count.

15. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, wherein the notification is generated based on a template that includes a variable for number of quarantine days.

16. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, wherein the notification is generated based on a template that includes a variable for a storage location.

17. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, wherein the notification is generated based on a template that includes a variable for the classified message.

18. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, wherein the notification provides a configuration option to the recipient.

19. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, wherein the notification provides a configuration option to the recipient, and the configuration option allows the recipient to configure a notification interval.

20. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, wherein the notification provides a configuration option to the recipient, and the configuration option allows the recipient to configure a sender address of the notification.

21. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, wherein the notification provides a configuration option to the recipient, and the configuration option allows the recipient to select a delegate for notification processing.

22. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, further comprising verifying the recipient.

23. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, further comprising verifying the recipient;

wherein the notification is provided to the recipient if the recipient is verified.

24. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, further comprising verifying the recipient by collaborating with a message server.

25. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, further comprising verifying the recipient by collaborating with a lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP) server.

26. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, wherein the incoming message is designated to a mailing list to which the recipient subscribes.

27. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, wherein the incoming message is designated to a mailing list to which the recipient subscribes;

the method further comprising detecting a request from the recipient and operating on the classified message according to the request for the recipient only.

28. A method of message handling as recited in claim 1, wherein the notification is the result of coalescing a first notification for a first mailing list and a second notification.

29. A message handling system comprising:

a processor configured to;

classify incoming messages for a recipient;

store a classified message; and

provide a notification to the recipient;

wherein the notification includes summary information about the classified message and an interface that allows the recipient to operate on the classified message; and

a memory coupled to the processor, configured to provide the processor with instructions.

30. A computer program product for message handling, the computer program product being embodied in a computer readable medium and comprising computer instructions for:

classifying incoming messages for a recipient;

storing a classified message; and

providing a notification to the recipient;

wherein the notification includes summary information about the classified message and an interface that allows the recipient to operate on the classified message.