METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ELECTRONIC MAIL FILTERING
First Claim
1. A message processing apparatus for processing messages on a communication path between a client unit and a server unit, the message processing apparatus comprising:
- a message receiving unit arranged to receive an incoming message from a client unit and to determine a client identity with respect to the client unit;
a reputation score allocation unit arranged to allocate a reputation score to the incoming message with respect to the determined client identity;
a message queuing unit arranged to store the incoming message in an ordered message queue according to the reputation score allocated to the incoming message;
a message analysis unit arranged to extract a message from the message queue and analyze the extracted message; and
a message forwarding unit arranged to forward the extracted message along the communication path to a server unit.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A message processing apparatus (200) is provided in an electronic messaging system. The message processing apparatus (200) holds an ordered queue (232) of the electronic messages (101) and adds a new incoming message (101) to the queue (232) according to a reputation score (201) allocated to each incoming message. Messages having a highest reputation score (201) are extracted from a top of the queue (232) for detailed analysis according to one or more filtering mechanisms. A message forwarding unit (250) forwards wanted messages to a server unit (300) for onward transmission to a recipient terminal (20). Messages from a trusted client identity (105) who is most likely to send wanted messages are allocated a high reputation score (201) and take priority through the queue (232). Messages from a non-trusted client identity (105) are allocated a lower reputation score (201) and remain in the queue (232) until all messages with a higher reputation score (201) have been extracted.
122 Citations
46 Claims
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1. A message processing apparatus for processing messages on a communication path between a client unit and a server unit, the message processing apparatus comprising:
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a message receiving unit arranged to receive an incoming message from a client unit and to determine a client identity with respect to the client unit; a reputation score allocation unit arranged to allocate a reputation score to the incoming message with respect to the determined client identity; a message queuing unit arranged to store the incoming message in an ordered message queue according to the reputation score allocated to the incoming message; a message analysis unit arranged to extract a message from the message queue and analyze the extracted message; and a message forwarding unit arranged to forward the extracted message along the communication path to a server unit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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11. (canceled)
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13. (canceled)
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14. (canceled)
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17. (canceled)
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20. (canceled)
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22. (canceled)
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23. (canceled)
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26. (canceled)
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34. A message processing apparatus for processing messages from a plurality of client units, comprising:
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a message receiving unit arranged to receive a plurality of incoming messages each from a respective client unit and to determine a client identity with respect to each of the client units; a reputation score allocation unit arranged to allocate a reputation score to each of the plurality of incoming messages according to the respective client identity; a message queuing unit arranged to store the plurality of incoming messages in an ordered message queue, wherein the messages in the message queue are ordered according to the reputation score allocated to each of the incoming messages; and a message analysis unit arranged to extract the messages in turn from the ordered message queue and analyze each of the extracted messages, wherein the message analysis unit in turn extracts the message having a highest of the allocated reputation scores. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36)
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37. An electronic messaging system, comprising:
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a plurality of client units arranged to send electronic messages wherein each of the client units is associated with a predetermined client identity in the system; a plurality of server units arranged to receive the electronic messages sent by the plurality of client units; at least one message processing apparatus arranged to intercept the electronic messages with store-and-forward type interception between the plurality of client units and at least one of the plurality of server units, wherein the message processing apparatus comprises; a message receiving unit arranged to receive one of the electronic messages from a particular client unit amongst the plurality of client units and to determine the client identity with respect to the particular client unit; a reputation score allocation unit arranged to allocate a reputation score to the electronic message with respect to the client identity; a message queuing unit arranged to store the electronic message in an ordered message queue containing a plurality of the electronic messages according to the reputation score allocated to each of the electronic messages; a message analysis unit arranged to extract the electronic message from the message queue and to analyze the electronic message with respect to one or more message filtering functions; and a message forwarding unit arranged to forward the electronic message to the at least one of the plurality of server units. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39)
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40. A method of processing electronic messages between a client unit and a server unit in an electronic messaging system, comprising:
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receiving an electronic message from a client unit; determining a client identity with respect to the client unit; allocating a reputation score to the electronic message with respect to the determined client identity; storing the electronic message in an ordered message queue according to the reputation score allocated to the electronic message; extracting the electronic message from the message queue; analyzing the electronic message with respect to one or more message filtering functions; and selectively forwarding the electronic message to the server unit according to a result of the one or more filtering functions.
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41. A computer-readable storage medium having recorded thereon instructions executable by a computer to perform the steps of:
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receiving an electronic message from a client unit; determining a client identity with respect to the client unit; allocating a reputation score to the electronic message with respect to the determined client identity; storing the electronic message in an ordered message queue according to the reputation score allocated to the electronic message; extracting the electronic message from the message queue; analyzing the electronic message with respect to one or more message filtering functions; and selectively forwarding the electronic message according to a result of the one or more filtering functions.
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42. (canceled)
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43. (canceled)
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44. (canceled)
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45. (canceled)
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46. A system for processing electronic messages between a client unit and a server unit in an electronic messaging system, comprising:
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a memory configured to store an ordered message queue; at least one processor configured to; receive an electronic message from a client unit; determine a client identity with respect to the client unit; allocate a reputation score to the electronic message with respect to the determined client identity; store the electronic message in the ordered message queue according to the reputation score allocated to the electronic message; extract the electronic message from the message queue; analyze the electronic message with respect to one or more message filtering functions; and selectively forward the electronic message to the server unit according to a result of the one or more filtering functions.
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Specification