System and method for confirming that the origin of an electronic mail message is valid
First Claim
1. A method for confirming the origin of an electronic mail message, comprising:
- receiving said electronic mail message at an electronic mail checking server;
obtaining from said electronic message, responsive to said electronic mail message and an indication that said electronic mail message is confirmable, an origin confirmation field, a sender identifier identifying a sending system from which said electronic mail message was originated, and a source domain;
generating an origin confirmation request message including said origin confirmation field and said sender identifier;
transmitting said origin confirmation request message to a domain confirmation server associated with said source domain; and
in the event that, within a predetermined time period after said transmitting of said origin confirmation request message, no origin confirmation message indicating that said received electronic mail message corresponding to said confirmation field was transmitted by said sending system, generating an error indication.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for preventing e-mail spoofing, in which a receiving e-mail checking server system sends a message to a confirmation server associated with a network domain of the sending system of a received e-mail message, to determine if the sender transmitted the message. The e-mail checking server sends a confirmation request e-mail, including a transmission time or unique message “key” associated with the received e-mail, to the sending domain'"'"'s confirmation server. When a confirmation request is received at the confirmation server, it replies with an indication whether the message was sent at the time indicated in the confirmation request, and/or whether the message key matches that of a previously transmitted message. The confirmation server checks whether the message was in fact sent based on stored values corresponding to the send time and/or message key stored for the confirmation request message. A message may further include indication that its origin can be confirmed. A receiver may maintain indications of domains capable of confirming sent e-mail messages, and determine a problem has occurred if no confirmations are received from a domain having that capability. An e-mail sender may mark domains from which it expects to receive e-mail confirmation requests, and determine a problem has occurred if e-mail messages sent to such domains fail to send confirmation requests.
59 Citations
39 Claims
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1. A method for confirming the origin of an electronic mail message, comprising:
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receiving said electronic mail message at an electronic mail checking server;
obtaining from said electronic message, responsive to said electronic mail message and an indication that said electronic mail message is confirmable, an origin confirmation field, a sender identifier identifying a sending system from which said electronic mail message was originated, and a source domain;
generating an origin confirmation request message including said origin confirmation field and said sender identifier;
transmitting said origin confirmation request message to a domain confirmation server associated with said source domain; and
in the event that, within a predetermined time period after said transmitting of said origin confirmation request message, no origin confirmation message indicating that said received electronic mail message corresponding to said confirmation field was transmitted by said sending system, generating an error indication. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A system for confirming the origin of an electronic mail message, said system comprising a computer readable medium, said computer readable medium having program code stored thereon, said program code comprising:
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program code for receiving said electronic mail message at an electronic mail checking server;
program code for obtaining from said electronic message, responsive to said electronic mail message and an indication that said electronic mail message is confirmable, an origin confirmation field, a sender identifier identifying a sending system from which said electronic mail message was originated, and a source domain;
program code for generating an origin confirmation request message including said origin confirmation field and said sender identifier;
program code for transmitting said origin confirmation request message to a domain confirmation server associated with said source domain; and
program code for, in the event that, within a predetermined time period after said transmitting of said origin confirmation request message, no origin confirmation message indicating that said received electronic mail message corresponding to said confirmation field was transmitted by said sending system, generating an error indication. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A system for confirming the origin of an electronic mail message, comprising:
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means for receiving said electronic mail message at an electronic mail checking server;
means for obtaining from said electronic message, responsive to said electronic mail message and an indication that said electronic mail message is confirmable, an origin confirmation field, a sender identifier identifying a sending system from which said electronic mail message was originated, and a source domain;
means for generating an origin confirmation request message including said origin confirmation field and said sender identifier;
means for transmitting said origin confirmation request message to a domain confirmation server associated with said source domain; and
means for, in the event that, within a predetermined time period after said transmitting of said origin confirmation request message, no origin confirmation message indicating that said received electronic mail message corresponding to said confirmation field was transmitted by said sending system, generating an error indication.
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Specification