PERIMETER MESSAGE FILTERING WITH EXTRACTED USER-SPECIFIC PREFERENCES

• US 20070282953A1
• Filed: 05/31/2006
• Published: 12/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Jain, Chandresh K., Pearson, Malcolm E., Waddoups, Nathan F., Costea, Mihai, Tribble, Eric D.
• Granted Patent: US 8,028,026 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0227 Filtering policies mail message filtering H04L51/212
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

Propagating messaging preferences of one or more users from a recipient mailbox to a perimeter network administering e-mail content blocking and routing. A content filtering application located outside a trusted network receives messaging preferences information from within the trusted network regarding the mail recipients. This messaging preferences information may be utilized to allow certain pre-authorized messages from particular senders to bypass content filtering. Moreover, the messaging preferences information may be hashed to further protect the information on the perimeter network and to speed in review and comparison of the messaging preferences information. In addition, other types of user-specific information may be propagated to the perimeter network for use with other applications other than messaging.

Claims

1. A method for utilizing recipient-specific messaging preferences of messaging recipients residing in a trusted network to bypass content filtering of preferred incoming messages corresponding to each of the recipients as they are received in a perimeter network outside the trusted network, said method comprising:

extracting messaging preferences from a data store residing in the trusted network;

populating the extracted messaging preferences on a distributed directory service administered within the trusted network;

propagating the messaging preferences to a stand-alone directory service administered within the perimeter network;

providing the messaging preferences information to a content filter residing in the perimeter network; and

excluding preferred messages identified by the messaging preferences from content scanning by the content filter.

2. A method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising sending the preferred messages excluded from content scanning to the trusted network for delivery to respective mailbox servers servicing each respective recipient.

3. A method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising filtering non-preferred messages for appropriate content.

4. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said extracting messaging preferences comprises extracting at least one of sender addresses from a safe sender list, domain names from a safe domain list, and contact addresses from a contact list.

5. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said extracting messaging preferences comprises extracting electronic mail rules for sorting through received e-mail to identify potential junk e-mail, said electronic mail rules stored at the data store residing in the trusted network.

6. A method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising hashing the messaging preferences and hashing at least a portion of the sender information of any received message.

7. A method as set forth in claim 6 wherein said hashing the messaging preferences comprises hashing at least two portions of at least one of the messaging preferences.

8. A method as set forth in claim 6 wherein said propagating the messaging preferences comprises propagating hashed messaging preferences.

9. A method as set forth in claim 6 wherein said hashing occurs at mailbox servers servicing multiple respective recipients.

10. A method as set forth in claim 6 wherein said hashing occurs at individual recipient mailboxes.

11. A method as set forth in claim 6 wherein said excluding preferred messages identified by the messaging preferences comprises excluding messages whose sender hash matches a hash the preferred messaging preferences of the intended recipient.

12. A method as set forth in claim 6 further comprising sorting the hashes by value for faster searching of the hashes.

13. A method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising querying the data store for determining if messaging preferences stored in the data store are different than those populated on the distributed directory service.

14. A method as set forth in claim 13 further comprising repeating the extracting, populating, propagating, and providing when it is determined that the messaging preferences stored in the data store have changed.

15. A method as set forth in claim 14 wherein said querying is undertaken at regular intervals.

16. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said excluding preferred messages comprises excluding messages from senders identified in the messaging preferences.

17. A method for securely transferring user information from a trusted network for use in controlling an application outside the trusted network, said method comprising:

extracting information from users residing in the trusted network;

hashing the information extracted from the users;

populating the hashed information on a distributed directory service administered within the trusted network; and

propagating the hashed information outside the trusted network for use in controlling an application outside the trusted network.

18. A method as set forth in claim 17 wherein said propagating the hashed information comprises at least one of (i) propagating the hashed information to a stand-alone directory service administered within a perimeter network outside the trusted network and (ii) propagating the hashed information to a third party outside the trusted network, said third party adapted for utilizing the hashed information to control an application outside the trusted network.

19. A method for routing messages received by a server outside a trusted network, said received messages being addressed for delivery within the trusted network, said method comprising:

receiving messages addressed for delivery to recipients within the trusted network;

hashing at least a portion of each recipient address;

comparing the hash with an index of hash domains; and

routing said messages according to their hashed values.

20. A method as set forth in claim 19 wherein said hashing at least a portion of each recipient address comprises hashing the domain name of each recipient address.