Method, system, and computer program product for alerting an email user prior to the subsequent distribution of a received blind carbon-copied email message

• US 20050132066A1
• Filed: 12/10/2003
• Published: 06/16/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Heilmann, Keith W.
• Granted Patent: US 7,457,842 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/228
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

Under the present invention, a method, system, and program product for alerting an email user prior to any subsequent distribution of a received blind carbon-copied (BCC) email message is provided. The method includes: determining if the user attempts to further distribute the received BCC email message; and alerting the user that the user is attempting to further distribute the received BCC email message.

Claims

1. A method for alerting a user prior to any subsequent distribution of a received blind carbon-copied (BCC) email message, comprising:

determining if the user attempts to further distribute the received BCC email message; and

alerting the user that the user is attempting to further distribute the received BCC email message.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an email message; and

determining if the received email message is a received BCC email message.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein determining if the received email message is a received BCC email message comprises:

examining header information corresponding to the received email message.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising, if it is determined that the received email message is a received BCC email message:

flagging the received email message as a received BCC email message.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

determining if the user is attempting to further distribute the received email message;

examining a BCC status of the received email message; and

if the BCC status indicates that the received email message is a received BCC email message, alerting the user that the user is attempting to further distribute the received BCC email message.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein further distributing the received BCC email message is selected from the group consisting of:

forward, reply, reply-to-all, copy, print, and save.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein alerting the user that the user is attempting to further distribute the received BCC email message further comprises:

providing a display mechanism containing information informing the user that the user is about to distribute the received BCC email message.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the display mechanism comprises a pop-up window.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the information informing the user that the user is about to distribute the received BCC email message is selected from the group consisting of:

a message, instruction, comment, question, and action option.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein alerting the user that the user is attempting to further distribute the received BCC email message further comprises:

providing the user with a selection mechanism for explicitly approving or canceling the further distribution of the received BCC email message.

11. A system for alerting a user prior to any subsequent distribution of a received blind carbon-copied (BCC) email message, comprising:

a BCC distribution detection system for determining if the user attempts to further distribute the received BCC email message; and

a user alert system for alerting the user that the user is attempting to further distribute the received BCC email message.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

a BCC message detection system for determining if a received email message is a received BCC email message.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein further distributing the received BCC email message is selected from the group consisting of:

forward, reply, reply-to-all, copy, print, and save.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the user alert system is configured to provide a display mechanism containing information informing the user that the user is about to distribute the received BCC email message.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the display mechanism comprises a pop-up window.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the information informing the user that the user is about to distribute the received BCC email message is selected from the group consisting of:

a message, instruction, comment, question, and action option.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the alert system is configured to provide the user with a selection mechanism for explicitly approving or canceling the further distribution of the received BCC email message.

18. A program product stored on a recordable medium for alerting a user prior to any subsequent distribution of a received blind carbon-copied (BCC) email message, which when executed comprises:

program code for determining if the user attempts to further distribute the received BCC email message; and

program code for alerting the user that the user is attempting to further distribute the received BCC email message.

19. The program product of claim 18, further comprising:

program code for receiving an email message; and

program code for determining if the received email message is a received BCC email message.

20. The program product of claim 19, wherein the program code for determining if the received email message is a received BCC email message comprises:

program code for examining header information corresponding to the received email message.

21. The program product of claim 19, further comprising:

program code for flagging the received email message as a received BCC email message, if it is determined that the received email message is a received BCC email message.

22. The program product of claim 21, further comprising:

program code for determining if the user is attempting to further distribute the received email message;

program code for examining a BCC status of the received email message; and

program code for alerting the user that the user is attempting to further distribute the received BCC email message, if the BCC status indicates that the received email message is a received BCC email message.

23. The program product of claim 18, wherein further distributing the received BCC email message is selected from the group consisting of:

forward, reply, reply-to-all, copy, print, and save.

24. The program product of claim 18, wherein the program code for alerting the user that the user is attempting to further distribute the received BCC email message further comprises:

program code for providing a display mechanism containing information informing the user that the user is about to distribute the received BCC email message.

25. The program product of claim 24, wherein the display mechanism comprises a pop-up window.

26. The program product of claim 24, wherein the information informing the user that the user is about to distribute the received BCC email message is selected from the group consisting of:

a message, instruction, comment, question, and action option.

27. The program product of claim 18, wherein the program code for alerting the user that the user is attempting to further distribute the received BCC email message further comprises:

program code for providing the user with a selection mechanism for explicitly approving or canceling the further distribution of the received BCC email message.