METHOD OF AUTHENTICATING AND BRANDING EMAILS AND OTHER MESSAGES USING INFORMATION AVAILABLE IN A MESSAGE LIST
First Claim
1. A method, performed by a sending system, of enabling authentication of a message, comprising:
- adding a sending system contact indicator to a header field of a message, wherein data in said header field is slated to be presented in a message list to a receiving user, said sending system contact indicator including information which directly or indirectly allows for contacting said sending system;
sending said message;
receiving a request for authentication, said request including message identifying information;
matching said message identifying information to data corresponding to said sent message; and
providing a response to said request for authentication which reflects an outcome of said matching.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed are systems, methods, networks, and computer programs for messaging. In some cases a receiving system receives certain message data which was slated to be presented in a message list to a receiving user, including a sending system contact indicator. In some cases, the receiving system uses the sending system contact indicator in determining where to send a message authentication request in order to reach the system which presumably sent the message. In some cases, the request preferably includes sufficient message identifying information from the received message data for the system which receives the request to find a match among sent messages, provided that the system which received the request had in fact sent the message. In some cases, the system which received the request provides a response to the request which reflects the matching outcome.
20 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method, performed by a sending system, of enabling authentication of a message, comprising:
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adding a sending system contact indicator to a header field of a message, wherein data in said header field is slated to be presented in a message list to a receiving user, said sending system contact indicator including information which directly or indirectly allows for contacting said sending system; sending said message; receiving a request for authentication, said request including message identifying information; matching said message identifying information to data corresponding to said sent message; and providing a response to said request for authentication which reflects an outcome of said matching. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A message receiving system, comprising:
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an authentication handler operable to use a sending system contact indicator in determining where to send a message authentication request, in order to reach a system which is presumed to have added said indicator to a message header field whose data was slated for presentation in a message list to a receiving user and to have sent said message; said authentication handler further operable to send said authentication request to where determined, said request including message identifying information that had been included in at least one message header field whose data was slated for presentation in said message list; said authentication handler further operable to determine a result of said attempt to authenticate said message, based at least partly on a response received to said request; and said authentication handler further operable to report that said message is considered authentic, or further operable to report that said message is considered not authentic. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A message sending system, comprising:
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an authentication information incorporator operable to add a sending system contact indicator to a header field of a message, wherein data in said header field is slated to be presented in a message list to a receiving user, said sending system contact indicator including information which directly or indirectly allows for contacting said sending system; a communicator operable to send said message, and configured to receive a request for authentication including message identifying information; a matcher operable to match said message identifying information to data corresponding to said sent message; and wherein said communicator is further operable to provide a response to said request for authentication which reflects an outcome of said matching.
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23. A method of attempting to authenticate a message, comprising:
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using a sending system contact indicator in determining where to send a message authentication request, in order to reach a system which is presumed to have added said indicator to a message header field whose data was slated for presentation in a message list to a receiving user, and to have sent said message; sending said authentication request to where determined, said request including message identifying information that had been included in at least one message header field whose data was slated for presentation in said message list; determining a result of said attempt to authenticate said message, based at least partly on a response received to said request; and reporting that said message is considered authentic, or reporting that said message is considered not authentic.
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24. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for enabling authentication of a message, the computer program product comprising:
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computer readable program code for causing the computer to add a sending system contact indicator to a header field of a message, wherein data in said header field is slated to be presented in a message list to a receiving user, said sending system contact indicator including information which directly or indirectly allows for contacting said sending system; computer readable program code for causing the computer to send said message; computer readable program code for causing the computer to receive a request for authentication, said request including message identifying information; computer readable program code for causing the computer to match said message identifying information to data corresponding to said sent message; and computer readable program code for causing the computer to provide a response to said request for authentication which reflects an outcome of said matching.
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25. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for attempting to authenticate a message, the computer program product comprising:
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computer readable program code for causing the computer to use a sending system contact indicator in determining where to send a message authentication request, in order to reach a system which is presumed to have added said indicator to a message header field whose data was slated for presentation in a message list to a receiving user, and to have sent said message; computer readable program code for causing the computer to send said authentication request to where determined, said request including message identifying information that had been included in at least one message header field whose data was slated for presentation in said message list; computer readable program code for causing the computer to determine a result of said attempt to authenticate said message, based at least partly on a response received to said request; and computer readable program code for causing the computer to report that said message is considered authentic, or to report that said message is considered not authentic.
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Specification