Method for removing unsolicited e-mail messages

• US 7,310,660 B1
• Filed: 11/03/2003
• Issued: 12/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Engage Technology
• Original Assignee: Engage Technology
• Inventors: White, Richard Paul, Huang, Alan, Lu, Haw-minn, Spivack, Ira Victor
• Primary Examiner(s): Donaghue, Larry D.
• Application Number:
  US10/700,752
• Time in Patent Office: 1,506 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 726/22
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1408 by monitoring network traffic monitoring network traffic per se H04L43/00

Abstract

A set of unsolicited e-mail messages is collected and “finger printed” by either sampling the unsolicited message and using portions of the samples to form the identifier or by hashing a portion of the message. These “finger prints” are used to construct an unsolicited message database. The client'"'"'s e-mail messages are processed in off-line manner by periodically fetching their messages; “finger printing” each message in a manner identical to the unsolicited messages; checking to see if the “finger print” is in the unsolicited message database; discarding any messages with a “finger print” in the unsolicited message database; and forwarding any message with a “finger print” not in the unsolicited message database to the “clean” POP server. The client'"'"'s e-mail messages can also be processed in a on-demand manner by intercepting their “clean” POP server request; fetching their mail from their “dirty” POP; “finger printing” each message in an manner identical to the unsolicited messages; checking to see if the “finger print” is in the unsolicited message database; forwarding any message with a “finger print” not in the unsolicited e-mail database to the “clean” POP server; and passing the intercepted POP request to the “clean” POP.

Claims

1. A method for removing unsolicited messages from a client'"'"'s email in a networked computer system in an off-line manner

where the networked computer system has a dirty POP email server to which the client'"'"'s email is sent,

where the networked computer system has a clean POP email server from which the client fetches their mail,

where the networked computer system has a client database with the client'"'"'s dirty POP server address, dirty POP login, and dirty POP password, clean POP login, and clean POP password are stored,

where the networked computer system has a unsolicited message database in which the unsolicited messages and the message identifier are stored, and

where the networked computer system has a computer system capable of executing the method

comprising the steps of:

a) picking up the client'"'"'s email messages from the dirty POP email server using the POP address, POP login, and POP password from the client database,

b) selecting a message

c) “

finger printing”

the message to form an identifier,

d) checking to see if the identifier is in the unsolicited message database,

e) deleting the message if the identifier is in the unsolicited message database,

f) sending the message to the clean POP email server if the identifier is not in the unsolicited message database, and

g) repeating steps b) through f) for all the client'"'"'s messages.

2. The method in claim 1 where the networked computer system further includes a deleted unsolicited message database which records the client'"'"'s clean POP login, the time, date, and the identifier of the deleted unsolicited message, and wherein the method further includes the step:

f1) logging the client'"'"'s clean POP login, the time, the date, and the identifier of the deleted message in the deleted unsolicited message log file if the identifier is in the unsolicited message database,

inserted between steps f) and g).

3. The method in claim 1 where the networked computer system further includes a previously examined message database and wherein the method further includes the step:

f2) storing the identifier and message file pointer in a previously examined database if the identifier is not in the unsolicited message database,

inserted between steps f) and g).

4. A method for removing unsolicited messages from a client'"'"'s email in a networked computer system in an on-demand manner

where the networked computer system has a dirty POP email server to which the client'"'"'s email is sent,

where the networked computer system has a clean POP email server from which the client fetches their mail,

where the networked computer system has a client database with the client'"'"'s dirty POP server address, dirty POP login, dirty POP password keyed to the client'"'"'s clean POP login,

where the networked computer system has a unsolicited message database in which the identifiers associated with a set of unsolicited messages has been stored, and

where the networked computer system has a computer system capable of executing the method

comprising the steps of:

a) intercepting the client'"'"'s POP email server request to the clean POP server,

b) extracting the client'"'"'s login from the clean POP server request,

c) looking up the client'"'"'s dirty POP address, dirty POP login, and dirty POP password using the client'"'"'s clean POP login and the client database,

d) fetching the clients email messages from the dirty POP server using the client'"'"'s POP login and POP password,

e) selecting a message,

f) “

finger printing”

the message to form an identifier,

g) checking to see if the identifier is in the unsolicited message database,

h) deleting the message if the identifier is in the unsolicited message database,

i) sending the message to the clean POP email server if the identifier is not in the unsolicited message database,

j) repeating steps e) through i) for all the client'"'"'s messages, and

k) sending the client'"'"'s intercepted POP server request to the clean POP email server.

5. The method in claim 4 where the networked computer system further includes a deleted unsolicited message database which records the client'"'"'s clean POP login, the time, date, and the identifier of the deleted unsolicited message, and wherein the method further includes the step:

h1) logging the client'"'"'s clean POP login, the time, the date, and the identifier of the deleted message in the deleted unsolicited message log file if the identifier is in the unsolicited message database,

inserted between steps h) and i).

6. A spam removal agent comprising:

a computer system comprises a finger printing means;

a client database comprising a plurality of dirty POP server addresses, a plurality of dirty POP logins, and a plurality of dirty POP passwords keyed to a clean POP login; and

an unsolicited message database;

wherein the computer system retrieves a message from a dirty POP server by retrieving the POP server address, the POP login and the POP password from the client database, applies the finger printing means to the message to generate an identifier, compares the identifier to the unsolicited message database, and deletes the unsolicited message from the dirty POP server if the identifier is found in the unsolicited message database.

7. A spam removal agent comprising:

a computer system comprises a finger printing means;

a client database comprising a plurality of dirty POP server addresses, a plurality of dirty POP logins, and a plurality of dirty POP passwords keyed to a clean POP login; and

an unsolicited message database;

wherein the computer system waits for a request from a clean POP server, upon receiving the request from the clean POP server, retrieves a dirty POP address, a dirty POP login and a POP password from the client database corresponding to a clean POP login containing in the request, applies the finger printing means to the message to generate an identifier, compares the identifier to the unsolicited message database, and deletes the unsolicited message from the dirty POP server if the identifier is found in the unsolicited message database or passes the message to the clean POP server if the identifier is not in the unsolicited message database.