Controlling electronic messages

• US 20060053279A1
• Filed: 09/06/2005
• Published: 03/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Customer Logic Company, LLC
• Original Assignee: Customer Logic Company, LLC
• Inventors: Coueignoux, Philippe J.M.
• Granted Patent: US 7,945,954 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/154
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0209 Architectural arrangements, e.g. perimeter networks or demilitarized zones
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0236 Filtering by address, protocol, port number or service, e.g. IP-address or URL
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263

Abstract

A receiver is shielded from undesirable electronic messages, sometimes referred to as “spam”, by requiring any sender who wants to send an electronic message to the receiver to first submit to a filter. The filter is specified by the receiver. The receiver-specified filter can be downloaded to the sender'"'"'s computer and executed on the sender'"'"'s computer. By execution, the filter elicits information from the sender and uses it without disclosing it to authorize, or not, the sending of electronic messages (such as email) from the sender to the receiver. Another embodiment according to the invention allows a sender to prevent undesirable receivers from viewing the sender-sent electronic messages by requiring any receiver who wants to view an electronic message from an authorized sender to first submit to a filter. One or more third parties can be involved. For example, senders can be recommended to and/or approved for receivers by one or more certifying third parties, and receivers can be recommended to and/or approved for senders by one or more certifying third parties.

Claims

1. A method of preventing certain senders from sending electronic messages to a receiver, comprising:

preparing a filter that allows transmission of electronic messages only from senders that are acceptable to the receiver, the filter being prepared by the receiver, the filter including a communication for potential senders and the filter further including a criterion for applying to a response to the communication that is provided by each of the potential senders to determine if any of the potential senders are acceptable to the receiver, at least one of the provided responses being undisclosed to anyone including the receiver except the particular providing potential sender;

making the filter available to the potential senders; and

receiving electronic messages only from the one or more potential senders that are acceptable to the receiver as determined by application of the criterion to the provided responses.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the provided responses are unknown to the receiver prior to the responses being provided by the potential senders.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the making step comprises making the filter directly available to the potential senders.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of making the filter directly available comprises sending the filter to the potential senders.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of making the filter directly available comprises sending the filter after a request is made to the potential senders.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the step of making the filter directly available comprises sending the filter to the potential senders upon request by the potential senders.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the receiver sends the filter to the potential senders.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the making step comprises making the filter indirectly available to the potential senders.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of making the filter indirectly available comprises providing the filter at a location other than the location of the receiver.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the preparing step comprises building the filter without the aid of a filter template.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the preparing step comprises using a filter template.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the communication comprises a question.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the communication comprises a statement.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the communication comprises a request.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the criterion includes Boolean logic.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the filter comprises an expiration date after which any attempt to apply the filter will fail.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein the filter includes a plurality of communications for the potential senders and a plurality of criteria, each of the communications being associated with one of the criteria.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the potential senders'"'"' responses is stored.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the responses are stored at a location other than the location of the receiver.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein at least one of the stored responses is used automatically when the filter is applied to the same potential sender in the future.

21. The method of claim 18 wherein at least one of the stored responses is used automatically when another filter is applied to the same potential sender in the future, the other filter including the same communication as the filter.

22. A method of using a receiver-defined filter to determine if an electronic message is acceptable to a receiver, comprising:

accessing a filter that allows transmission of electronic messages only from senders that are acceptable to the receiver, the filter having been defined by the receiver, the filter including a communication for potential senders and the filter further including a criterion for applying to a response to the communication that is provided by each of the potential senders to determine if any of the potential senders are acceptable to the receiver;

providing, by one of the potential senders that accesses the filter, at least one response to the communication, the at least one response being undisclosed to anyone including the receiver except the particular providing potential sender; and

sending at least one electronic message from the particular providing potential sender to the receiver if the application of the criterion to the at least one response indicates that the particular providing potential sender is acceptable to the receiver.

23. A system for generating and providing filters used to control the transmission of electronic messages, comprising:

a filter generator for use by a receiver to define a filter that allows transmission of electronic messages only from senders that are acceptable to the receiver, the filter including a communication for potential senders and the filter further including a criterion for applying to a response to the communication that is provided by each of the potential senders to determine if any of the potential senders are acceptable to the receiver, at least one of the provided responses being undisclosed to anyone including the receiver except the particular providing potential sender; and

a filter provider that provides the filter to at least one of the potential senders to allow the at least one of the potential senders to use the filter and provide at least one response to the communication, the at least one response being undisclosed to anyone including the receiver except the particular providing potential sender.

24. A system for preventing unwanted electronic messages from being sent, comprising:

(A) a sender computing device configured to

apply a filter to gather from at least one potential sender at least one response to a communication for potential senders,

keep undisclosed the at least one gathered response from anyone including the receiver except the at least one potential sender, and

apply a criterion included with the filter to the at least one gathered response to determine if the at least one potential sender is acceptable to the receiver; and

(B) a receiver computing device configured to

define at least some aspects of the filter, and

receive electronic messages only from the one or more potential senders that are acceptable to the receiver as determined by application of the filter and the criterion.