MAIL SERVER AND METHOD FOR SENDING E-MAILS TO THEIR RECIPIENTS

• US 20100287372A1
• Filed: 11/13/2007
• Published: 11/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Thyni, Tomas, Kölhi, Johan, Welin, Annikki, Olsson, Ulf
• Application Number:
  US12/742,305
• Publication Number:
  US 20100287372A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/168
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/063 Content adaptation, e.g. replacement of unsuitable content

Abstract

The present invention relates to a mail server for a network. The mail server has a sender part arranged to receive outgoing e-mails from users of the network and to send the received e-mails to their recipients. The sending part is arranged to copy at least some of the contents in the received e-mail to a storage. The sending part provides an amended e-mail based on the received e-mail, said amended e-mail comprising at least one pointer substituting the contents copied to the storage, said pointer pointing at said contents in said storage.

Claims

1. A mail server for a network comprising:

a sender part to

receive outgoing e-mails from users of the network,

send the received e-mails to their recipients,

copy at least some of the contents in the received e-mail to a storage, and

provide an amended e-mail based on the received e-mail, said amended e-mail comprising at least one pointer substituting the contents copied to the storage, said pointer pointing at said contents in said storage.

2. The mail server according to claim 1, wherein the pointer is a web server address.

3. The mail server according to claim 2, wherein communication with said web server address is encrypted with hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS).

4. The mail server according claim 1, wherein the sender part signs the amended e-mail.

5. The mail server according to claim 4, wherein the sender part signs the amended e-mail with a key associated with the mail server.

6. The mail server according to claim 1, wherein the contents copied to the storage comprises one or a plurality of attachments.

7. The mail server according to claim 1, wherein the sender part copies the received outgoing e-mail at least some of the contents of the received outgoing e-mail to the storage.

8. The mail server according to claim 1, wherein the mail server verifies the identity of the sending user based on a signature associated to the received e-mail.

9. The mail server according to claim 1, wherein the mail server encrypts the copied contents to the storage.

10. The mail server according to claim 9, wherein the mail server encrypts the copied contents with a key associated to the recipient.

11. The mail server according to claim 1, further comprising:

a receiver part to receive incoming e-mails and to forward the incoming e-mails to their recipients present in the network served by the mail server.

12. The mail server according to claim 11, wherein the receiving part amends the pointer in the received e-mail so as to point at the destination of the pointer via a proxy server associated with the mail server.

13. The mail server according to claim 11, wherein the receiving part verifies the mail server from which an incoming e-mail originates and to, if the originating server is verified, amend the pointer in the received e-mail so as to point at the destination of the pointer via a proxy server associated with the mail server.

14. A network comprising:

a plurality of clients;

a storage; and

a mail server, coupled to the plurality of clients and the storage, and wherein the mail server comprises

a sender part to

receive outgoing e-mails from the clients and to send the received e-mails to their recipients,

copy at least some of the contents in the received e-mail to said storage, and

provide an amended e-mail based on the received e-mail, said amended e-mail comprising at least one pointer substituting the contents copied to the storage, said pointer pointing at said contents in said storage.

15. A network comprising:

a plurality of clients; and

a mail server, coupled to the plurality of clients, wherein the mail server comprises

a receiving part to

receive incoming e-mails, and

send the received e-mails to their recipients within the network,

a proxy server to amend a pointer in the received e-mail so that the pointer points at the destination of the pointer via the proxy server.

16. The network according to claim 15, wherein the pointer is encrypted with HTTPS and in that the proxy server is a channel endpoint for HTTPS.

17. The network according to claim 15, wherein the mail server verifies a mail server from which the received e-mail originates based on a signature included in the received e-mail.

18. A method for sending e-mails from users of a network to their recipients, comprising

copying at least some of the contents in the e-mail to a storage;

and

providing an amended e-mail comprising at least one pointer substituting the contents copied to the storage, said pointer pointing at said contents in said storage.

19. The method according to claim 18, further comprising:

providing the pointer in the form of a web server address; and

communicating with said web server address based on HTTPS.

20. The method according to claim 18, further comprising:

signing the amended e-mail.

21. The method according to according to claim 20, wherein the amended e-mail is signed with a key associated to the mail server.

22. The method according to claim 18, wherein one or a plurality of attachments of the e-mail is copied to the storage.

23. The method according claim 18, wherein the e-mail with at least some of its contents is copied to the storage.

24. The method according to claim 18, further comprising:

verifying the identity of the sending user based on a signature associated to the received e-mail.

25. The method according to claim 18, wherein the copied contents are encrypted to the storage.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein the copied contents are encrypted with a key associated to the recipient.

27-28. -28. (canceled)