MITIGATING ADDRESS BOOK WEAKNESSES THAT PERMIT THE SENDING OF E-MAIL TO WRONG ADDRESSES

• US 20080250114A1
• Filed: 06/30/2008
• Published: 10/09/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LinkedIn Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: GOLDBERG, Itzhack, MIZRACHI, Boaz, DUBOVSKY, Oded
• Granted Patent: US 7,774,421 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]

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for mitigating address book weaknesses that permit sending of e-mail to wrong addresses includes determining prior to sending an e-mail message whether one of a plurality of recipients of an e-mail message should receive the e-mail message, the determining prior to sending the e-mail message including analyzing history information of a sender of the e-mail message to determine whether the one of the plurality of recipients is ordinarily connected with the plurality of recipients and whether the one of the plurality of recipients is ordinarily connected with a subject of the e-mail message, the analyzing history information including comparing the plurality of recipients to a database indicative of recipients that received e-mail from the sender, and, responsive to the history information, determining whether the one of the plurality of recipients is one of a new recipient and an ordinary recipient, and presenting the determining to the sender.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for mitigating address book weaknesses that permit sending of e-mail to wrong addresses, said method comprising:

determining prior to sending an e-mail message whether one of a plurality of recipients of an e-mail message should receive said e-mail message, said determining prior to sending said e-mail message comprising;

analyzing history information of a sender of said e-mail message to determine whether said one of said plurality of recipients is ordinarily connected with said plurality of recipients and whether said one of said plurality of recipients is ordinarily connected with a subject of said e-mail message, said analyzing history information comprising;

comparing said plurality of recipients to a database indicative of recipients that received e-mail from said sender; and

responsive to said history information, determining whether said one of said plurality of recipients is one of a new recipient and an ordinary recipient; and

presenting said determining to said sender,

wherein identities of said plurality of recipients and a time stamp of when said e-mail message was sent to said plurality of recipients are stored in said database,

wherein, according to said history information, a recipient having a time stamp older than a dynamically defined threshold time stamp is determined to be said new recipient,

wherein a plurality of characteristics of said e-mail message received by said plurality of recipients from said sender is stored in said database,

wherein, according to said history information, a recipient of an e-mail message having different characteristics than said plurality of characteristics stored in said database is determined to be said new recipient,

wherein an other of said plurality of recipients receives said e-mail message and determines whether said one of said plurality of recipients is one of said new recipient and said ordinary recipient, and

wherein said user has an ability to withdraw said e-mail message prior to a reading of said e-mail message by said first plurality of recipients.