Method and system for filtering electronic messages
DCFirst Claim
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1. A method for filtering electronic messages, the method comprising:
- receiving an electronic message from a sender, the message including an address field containing a sender'"'"'s address;
comparing the sender'"'"'s address to a list of accepted senders;
sending a prompt back to the sender if the sender'"'"'s address is not contained in the list of accepted senders, wherein the prompt is designed to be answered by a person and not a machine.
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Abstract
The present invention provides a system and method for filtering unsolicited electronic commercial messages. A system and method according to the present invention for screening out unsolicited commercial messages comprises the steps of receiving a message from a sender, sending a challenge back to the sender, receiving a response to the challenge, and determining if the response is a proper response.
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Citations
37 Claims
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1. A method for filtering electronic messages, the method comprising:
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receiving an electronic message from a sender, the message including an address field containing a sender'"'"'s address;
comparing the sender'"'"'s address to a list of accepted senders;
sending a prompt back to the sender if the sender'"'"'s address is not contained in the list of accepted senders, wherein the prompt is designed to be answered by a person and not a machine. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A system for filtering electronic messages, the system comprising:
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means for receiving an electronic message from a sender;
means for determining that a return address of the sender is an accepted sender'"'"'s address;
means for sending a prompt back to the sender if the return address is not an accepted sender'"'"'s address, wherein the prompt is designed to be answered by a person and not a machine. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A computer readable medium containing program instructions for filtering electronic messages, the program instructions comprising:
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receiving an electronic message from a sender the message including an address field containing a sender'"'"'s address;
comparing the sender'"'"'s address to a list of accepted senders;
sending a prompt back to the sender if the sender'"'"'s address is not contained in the list of accepted senders, wherein the prompt is designed to be answered by a person and not a machine. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method for filtering electronic messages, the method comprising:
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receiving an electronic message from a sender, the message including a sender'"'"'s address field containing an address of the sender;
comparing the sender'"'"'s address to a list of accepted senders;
sending a challenge back to the sender if the sender'"'"'s address is not in the list of accepted senders, wherein the challenge is designed to be answered by a person and not a machine. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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Specification