System using email message to transmit a command to remotely control a computer resource

• US 7,325,035 B1
• Filed: 01/24/2001
• Issued: 01/29/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Access Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Palmsource Incorporated (Access Company Limited)
• Inventors: Arnold, Greg
• Primary Examiner(s): Luu; Le Hien
• Application Number:
  US09/769,834
• Time in Patent Office: 2,561 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/219, 379/88.14, 713/152
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

A Trojan horse method and apparatus to permit email access to secure enterprise resources within an enterprise'"'"'s firewall. An email message is used to permit a user to gain access to computer resources such as databases maintained within a secure enterprise'"'"'s firewall. An email message generated from a palmtop computer or any other computer capable of sending and receiving email messages is used to pass through the firewall as a conventional email message would. The email message is received at a designated computer that recognizes reserved command words as a part of the email message, preferably as a part of the subject line thereof. Upon recognizing the reserved command word, the email message is parsed to determine key components of a command that can be executed on a desired enterprise computer resource. An appropriate command (e.g., an SQL query) is then created for execution on the enterprise computer resource (e.g., a database). A response or acknowledgement is then returned to the sender as an email message.

Claims

1. A method of using an email message to control a computer resource, comprising:

receiving an email message from a sender that originates at a portable computer;

recognizing a reserved command word within the email message;

determining whether a plurality of separate parts of the email message include a respective plurality of identifiable portions of a command to be carried out on an available computer resource based on the reserved command word wherein the reserved command word comprises a part of a subject portion of the email message; and

assembling a command for execution on the computer resource using the plurality of identifiable portions of the command in the plurality of separate parts of the email message.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a result from the available computer resource; and

sending a reply email message communicating the result to the sender.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the computer resource comprises a computer database, the command comprises a database query and wherein the result comprises the result of the database query.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the resource comprises a computer database and the command comprises a database query.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining comprises parsing the email message into parts defining the computer resource and the command.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the email from the sender originating at the portable computer is a palmtop computer.

7. The method according to claim 1, carried out on a programmed processor protected by a firewall.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the programmed processor comprises a server providing an intralan resource within the firewall.

9. The method according to claim 1, carried out by executing a set of machine readable instructions stored on an electronic storage medium.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of separate parts of the email message are separate lines of the email message.

11. A method of using an email message to control a computer resource, comprising:

receiving an email message from a sender, the email message originating at a palmtop computer;

recognizing a reserved word within a subject portion of the email message wherein the reserved command word comprises a part of a subject portion of the email message;

interpreting the email message as a command based on the reserved word to be carried out on an available computer resource comprising a computer database;

determining whether a plurality of separate parts of the email message include a respective plurality of identifiable portions that define the computer resource and the command;

assembling the plurality of identifiable portions in the plurality of separate parts of the email message as a database query for execution on the computer database;

receiving a result from the available computer database; and

sending a reply email message communicating the result to the sender.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the plurality of separate parts of the email message are separate lines of the email message.

13. A system that uses an email message to control a computer resource from a remote location, comprising:

a first programmed processor having an email program that receives an email message from a sender;

a program operating on the first programmed processor that;

recognizes a reserved command word within the email message wherein the reserved command word comprises a part of a subject portion of the email message;

determines whether a plurality of separate parts of the email message include a respective plurality of identifiable portions of a command to be carried out on an available computer resource based on the reserved command word; and

assembles a command for execution on the available computer resource using the plurality of identifiable portions of the command in the plurality of separate parts of the email message.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the program further:

receives a result from the available computer resource; and

sends a reply email message communicating the result to the sender.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the computer resource comprises a computer database, the command comprises a database query and wherein the result comprises the result of the database query.

16. The apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a palmtop computer wherein the email from the sender originates at the palmtop computer.

17. The apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a second programmed processor wherein the email from the sender originates at the second programmed processor.

18. The apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a firewall protecting the first programmed processor.

19. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the first programmed processor comprises a server providing an intralan resource within the firewall.

20. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the computer resource comprises a computer database and the command comprises a database query.

21. The system according to claim 13, wherein the plurality of separate parts of the email message are separate lines of the email message.