Method and apparatus for determining whether an email message is spam

• US 20080028029A1
• Filed: 07/31/2006
• Published: 01/31/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Intuit, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intuit, Inc.
• Inventors: Hart, Matt E.
• Application Number:
  US11/497,211
• Publication Number:
  US 20080028029A1
• 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

Abstract

One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that determines whether an email message is spam. During operation the system receives a rule to determine whether an email message is spam. Note that rules are substantially more complex and powerful than email signatures. Furthermore, a rule can be shared among users. Specifically, the rule can be created by a first user to determine whether an email message sent to the first user is spam. Next, the system can receive an email message which is destined to a second user. The system can then use the rule to determine whether the email message is spam.

Claims

1. A method to determine whether an email message is spam, the method comprising:

receiving a rule to determine whether an email message is spam, wherein the rule is created by a first user to determine whether an email message sent to the first user is spam;

receiving a first email message which is destined to a second user who is different from the first user; and

determining whether the first email message is spam using the rule.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the rule is specified using a programming language, which can include:

Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications, which is an event-driven programming language;

Python, which is an interpreted programming language;

PHP, which is a reflective programming language;

or

C#, which is an object-oriented programming language.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the first email message is spam involves determining a geographical location associated with the IP (Internet Protocol) address of a link within the first email message.

4. The method of claim 1,

wherein the first email message is associated with a source IP (Internet Protocol) address and a destination IP address;

and

wherein determining whether the first email message is spam involves determining the IP addresses or domain names of systems along a route from the source IP address to the destination IP address.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the first email message is spam involves determining whether the domain name of a link within the first email message is in a list of domain names that are associated with spam emails.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the first email message is spam involves indexing a word within the first email message based on the word'"'"'s pronunciation.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving a request to apply the rule to email messages that are destined to the second user; and

receiving a rating for the rule which indicates the rule'"'"'s effectiveness.

8. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method to determine whether an email message is spam, the method comprising:

receiving a rule to determine whether an email message is spam, wherein the rule is created by a first user to determine whether an email message sent to the first user is spam;

receiving a first email message which is destined to a second user who is different from the first user; and

determining whether the first email message is spam using the rule.

9. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the rule is specified using a programming language, which can include:

Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications, which is an event-driven programming language;

Python, which is an interpreted programming language;

PHP, which is a reflective programming language;

or

C#, which is an object-oriented programming language.

10. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein determining whether the first email message is spam involves determining a geographical location associated with the IP (Internet Protocol) address of a link within the first email message.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8,

wherein the first email message is associated with a source IP (Internet Protocol) address and a destination IP address;

and

wherein determining whether the first email message is spam involves determining the IP addresses or domain names of systems along a route from the source IP address to the destination IP address.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein determining whether the first email message is spam involves determining whether the domain name of a link within the first email message is in a list of domain names that are associated with spam emails.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein determining whether the first email message is spam involves indexing a word within the first email message based on the word'"'"'s pronunciation.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving a request to apply the rule to email messages that are destined to the second user; and

receiving a rating for the rule which indicates the rule'"'"'s effectiveness.

15. An apparatus to determine whether an email message is spam, the apparatus comprising:

a rule-receiving mechanism configured to receive a rule to determine whether an email message is spam, wherein the rule is created by a first user to determine whether an email message sent to the first user is spam;

a message-receiving mechanism configured to receive a first email message which is destined to a second user who is different from the first user; and

a determining mechanism configured to determine whether the first email message is spam using the rule.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the rule is specified using a programming language, which can include:

Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications, which is an event-driven programming language;

Python, which is an interpreted programming language;

PHP, which is a reflective programming language;

or

C#, which is an object-oriented programming language.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the determining mechanism is configured to determine a geographical location associated with the IP (Internet Protocol) address of a link within the first email message.

18. The apparatus of claim 15,

wherein the first email message is associated with a source IP (Internet Protocol) address and a destination IP address;

and

wherein the determining mechanism is configured to determine the IP addresses or domain names of systems along a route from the source IP address to the destination IP address.

19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the determining mechanism is configured to determine whether the domain name of a link within the first email message is in a list of domain names that are associated with spam emails.

20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the determining mechanism is configured to index a word within the first email message based on the word'"'"'s pronunciation.

21. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the apparatus further comprises:

a request-receiving mechanism configured to receive a request to apply the rule to email messages that are destined to the second user; and

a rating-receiving mechanism configured to receive a rating for the rule which indicates the rule'"'"'s effectiveness.