Secure Transactional Communication

• US 20080263156A1
• Filed: 04/17/2007
• Published: 10/23/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Costea, Mihai, Mehta, Mayank, Dougherty, Jesse, Kay, Jeffrey B., Chandresh, Jain, Neto, Mayerber Carvalho
• Granted Patent: US 8,010,612 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases

Abstract

Systems for providing sign-up email addresses are disclosed herein. A user may set up a sign-up email address for receiving emails from a trusted, Internet-based enterprise. The user may set up a dedicated mailbox folder associated with the sign-up email address or enterprise. The email server may automatically direct emails coming from that enterprise into that folder. To “unsubscribe,” the user needs only to delete the folder or the sign-up address. Emails from the enterprise to the sign-up address may be highlighted in the user'"'"'s main inbox. Thus, the user may be assured that any such email is truly from the enterprise, and not a phishing expedition or spam. Such systems also provide the user with effective tools to recognize phish or spam emails that appear to be from the trusted enterprise and not to act on them.

Claims

1. A method for providing sign-up email addresses, the method comprising:

providing a user with an option to enter a sign-up email address into a user interface provided by an Internet enterprise, the user interface requesting an email address, the sign-up email address being different from a primary email address associated with the user;

providing to an email service an association between the sign-up email address and the primary email address;

providing to the email service an association between the sign-up email address and the enterprise; and

providing a user interface wherein an email directed from the enterprise to the sign-up email address is presented in a manner that distinguishes it from emails directed to the primary email address.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising detecting that a user has been requested to provide an email address into a web page provided by an Internet-based enterprise;

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the address is generated on behalf of the end user or the end user is enabled to customize the address.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising associating a friendly name with the sign-up address.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the user interface comprises providing a folder list that includes a dedicated folder that is associated with the sign-up email address.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the email directed from the enterprise to the sign-up email address is presented in the dedicated folder.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the email directed from the enterprise to the sign-up email address is annotated and presented in an mailbox associated with the primary email address.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing a list of previously-created sign-up addresses, along with a respective friendly name associated with each.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein providing the user with the option to enter a sign-up email address into the user interface comprises providing the user with an option to select one of the previously-created sign-up addresses from the list.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the user with the option to enter a sign-up email address into the user interface comprises providing the user with an option to create a new sign-up address and associate a friendly name with it.

11. A method for providing sign-up email addresses, the method comprising:

receiving an association between a sign-up email address and a primary email address associated with an end-user of an email service;

receiving an association between the sign-up email address and an Internet-based enterprise;

receiving an email directed to the sign-up address from the Internet-based enterprise; and

providing the email to an email client in a form that distinguishes it from emails directed to the primary email address.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein providing the email to the email client comprises providing the email to a dedicated folder associated with the sign-up address.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising partitioning a mailbox associated with the user to create the dedicated folder.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising annotating the email directed to the sign-up address from the Internet-based enterprise.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising authenticating the identity of the sender of the email, and not annotating the email if the sender is not authenticated.

16. A system for providing sign-up email addresses, the system comprising:

a first computing device executing computer-program instructions for providing an email service; and

a second computing device executing computer-program instructions for providing an email client and a browser;

wherein the browser detects that a user has been requested to provide an email address into a web page provided by an Internet-based enterprise, provides the user with an option to enter a sign-up email address into the user interface, the sign-up email address being different from a primary email address associated with the user, provides to the email service an association between the sign-up email address and the primary email address, and provides to the email service an association between the sign-up email address and the enterprise; and

wherein the email service receives the association between the sign-up email address and the primary email address, receives the association between the sign-up email address and the Internet-based enterprise, receives an email directed to the sign-up address from the Internet-based enterprise, and provides the email to the email client in a form that distinguishes it from emails directed to the primary email address.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the email client provides a user interface wherein the email directed from the enterprise to the sign-up email address is presented in a manner that distinguishes it from emails directed to the primary email address.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the email service annotates the email directed to the sign-up address from the Internet-based enterprise in a manner that distinguishes it from emails directed to the primary address, and the email client presents the email in an inbox associated with the primary address.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the email service provides the email to a dedicated folder in a mailbox associated with the user, and the email client presents the email in the dedicated folder.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the email service partitions the mailbox associated with the user to create the dedicated folder.