Identification and filtration of digital communications

• US 7,406,506 B1
• Filed: 05/18/2007
• Issued: 07/29/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AOL LLC (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Sutton, Lorin R. Jr., Ben-Yoseph, Roy
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Philip B
• Application Number:
  US11/750,774
• Time in Patent Office: 438 Days
• Field of Search: 709203-207, 709223-224, 726/3, 726/13
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

An apparatus for classifying digital communications includes an interface module, an identification module, and a notification module. The interface module enables a recipient to perceive information relating to one or more digital communications received by the recipient. The identification module enables a first interface element capable of enabling the recipient to classify the digital communications among at least one category. The notification module notifies a network server of a classification received from the recipient using the first interface element.

Claims

1. A method to handle digital communications, the method comprising:

receiving a complaint communication from a receiving system, the complaint communication being generated in response to a first digital communication received by the receiving system;

accessing a first digital signature for at least a portion of the first digital communication in response to the complaint communication;

selecting a second digital signature from among multiple stored digital signatures;

comparing the first digital signature with the second digital signature;

determining that the first digital signature matches the second digital signature based on the comparison of the first digital signature with the second digital signature;

in response to determining that the first digital signature matches the second digital signature, incrementing a counter associated with the second digital signature; and

modifying the handling of digital communications that include at least a portion having a digital signature that matches the second digital signature based on the counter associated with the second digital signature.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the digital communications comprise at least one of digital files, instant messages, and e-mails.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein modifying the handling includes blocking one or more future digital communications that include at least a portion having a digital signature that matches the second digital signature.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein modifying the handling includes blocking all future digital communications that include at least a portion having a digital signature that matches the second digital signature.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein modifying the handling includes categorizing one or more future digital communications that include at least a portion having a digital signature that matches the second digital signature.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein modifying the handling includes categorizing the one or more future digital communications as suspect.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein modifying the handling includes holding one or more future digital communications that include at least a portion having a digital signature that matches the second digital signature for further review.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the portion of the first digital communication includes at least one of an e-mail body, an e-mail attachment, and an e-mail.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the portion of the first digital communication includes only a portion of an e-mail body.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the portion of the e-mail body is an advertisement.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the complaint communication indicates the portion of the first digital communication.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the complaint communication includes the portion of the first digital communication.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein accessing a first digital signature for at least a portion of the first digital communication in response to the complaint communication includes determining a first digital signature for at least a portion of the first digital communication in response to the complaint communication.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein modifying the handling of digital communications that include at least a portion having a digital signature that matches the second digital signature based on the counter associated with the second digital signature includes blocking digital communications that include at least a portion having a digital signature that matches the second digital signature conditioned on the counter associated with the second digital signature exceeding a threshold value.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the complaint communication includes a complaint portion and a cause portion.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the complaint portion includes additional information added by the receiving system and the cause portion includes the portion of the first digital communication.

17. The method of claim 15 further comprising segmenting the complaint communication into the complaint portion and the cause portion.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the complaint communication is an e-mail message.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the e-mail message includes an e-mail body containing text of a complaint report and an attachment including the portion of the first digital communication.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein the e-mail message includes an e-mail body that includes the portion of the first digital communication.

21. The method of claim 1 wherein the complaint communication is generated and sent by the receiving system in response to activation of a user actionable item.

22. An apparatus, including at least one computer-readable storage medium and at least one processor, for handling digital communications, the apparatus comprising:

a receiving module for receiving a complaint communication from a receiving system, the complaint communication being generated in response to a first digital communication received by the receiving system;

an accessing module for accessing a first digital signature for at least a portion of the first digital communication in response to the complaint communication;

a selection module for selecting a second digital signature from among multiple stored digital signatures;

a comparison module for comparing the first digital signature with the second digital signature;

a determining module for determining that the first digital signature matches the second digital signature based on the comparison of the first digital signature with the second digital signature;

a counter associated with the second digital signature configured to be incremented in response to determining that the first digital signature matches the second digital signature; and

a digital communication processing module configured to modify the handling of digital communications that include at least a portion having a digital signature that matches the second digital signature based on the counter associated with the second digital signature.

23. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein the digital communications comprise at least one of digital files, e-mails, and instant messages.

24. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein the processing module is configured to modify the handling by blocking one or more future digital communications that include at least a portion having a digital signature that matches the second digital signature.

25. The apparatus of claim 24 wherein the processing module is configured to modify the handling by blocking all future digital communications that include at least a portion having a digital signature that matches the second digital signature.

26. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein the processing module is configured to modify the handling by categorizing one or more future digital communications that include at least a portion having a digital signature that matches the second digital signature.

27. The apparatus of claim 26 wherein the processing module is configured to modify the handling by categorizing the one or more future digital communications as suspect.

28. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein the processing module is configured to modify the handling by holding one or more future digital communications that include at least a portion having a digital signature that matches the second digital signature for further review.

29. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein the accessing module is configured to determine a first digital signature for at least a portion of the first digital communication in response to the complaint communication.

30. A method to handle digital communications, the method comprising:

receiving a complaint communication from a receiving system, the complaint communication being generated in response to a first digital communication received by the receiving system;

accessing a first digital signature for at least a portion of the first digital communication in response to the complaint communication;

selecting a second digital signature from among multiple stored digital signatures;

comparing the first digital signature with the second digital signature;

determining whether the first digital signature matches the second digital signature based on the comparison of the first digital signature with the second digital signature;

in response to determining that the first digital signature matches the second digital signature, incrementing a counter associated with the second digital signature; and

modifying the handling of digital communications that include at least a portion having a digital signature that matches the second digital signature based on the counter associated with the second digital signature.

31. The method of claim 30 further comprising:

in response to determining that the first digital signature does not match the second digital signature, storing data, other than the counter associated with the second digital signature, based on the complaint message.

32. The method of claim 30 further comprising:

in response to determining that the first digital signature does not match the second digital signature;

determining whether the first digital signature matches any of the multiple stored digital signatures;

in response to determining that the first digital signature does not match any of the multiple stored digital signatures, storing at least one of the complaint communication and the first digital signature.

33. The method of claim 30 further comprising:

in response to determining that the first digital signature does not match the second digital signature, handling, without modification based on the complaint communication, digital communications that include at least a portion having a digital signature that matches the second digital signature.

34. A method of handling electronic messages, the method comprising:

receiving, from a complaining user, a complaint message, the complaint message being sent, by the complaining user, in response to a first electronic message sent by a first user;

in response to the complaint message, accessing a first electronic representation of at least a portion of content included in the first electronic message;

selecting a second electronic representation of content from among multiple stored electronic representations of content;

comparing the first electronic representation of content with the second electronic representation of content;

determining whether the first electronic representation of content corresponds to the second electronic representation of content based on the comparison of the first electronic representation of content with the second electronic representation of content;

conditioned on determining that the first electronic representation of content corresponds to the second electronic representation of content;

updating data associated with tracking complaint messages associated with the second electronic representation of content, and

handling electronic messages that include at least a portion of content having an electronic representation that corresponds to the second electronic representation of content based on the updated data associated with tracking complaint messages associated with the second electronic representation of content; and

conditioned on determining that the first electronic representation of content does not correspond to the second electronic representation of content, storing data, other than data associated with tracking complaint messages associated with the second electronic representation of content, based on the complaint message.

35. The method of claim 34 wherein:

accessing a first electronic representation of at least a portion of content included in the first electronic message includes accessing a first digital signature;

selecting a second electronic representation of content from among multiple stored electronic representations of content includes selecting a second digital signature;

comparing the first electronic representation of content with the second electronic representation of content includes comparing the first digital signature with the second digital signature; and

determining whether the first electronic representation of content corresponds to the second electronic representation of content based on the comparison of the first electronic representation of content with the second electronic representation of content includes determining whether the first digital signature corresponds to the second digital signature based on the comparison of the first digital signature with the second digital signature.

36. The method of claim 34 wherein:

updating data associated with tracking complaint messages associated with the second electronic representation of content includes incrementing a counter associated with the second electronic representation of content; and

handling electronic messages that include at least a portion of content having an electronic representation that corresponds to the second electronic representation of content based on the updated data associated with tracking complaint messages associated with the second electronic representation of content includes handling electronic messages that include at least a portion of content having an electronic representation that corresponds to the second electronic representation of content as suspect messages conditioned on the counter exceeding a threshold value.

37. The method of claim 34 wherein handling electronic messages that include at least a portion of content having an electronic representation that corresponds to the second electronic representation of content based on the updated data associated with tracking complaint messages associated with the second electronic representation of content includes blocking one or more future electronic messages that include at least a portion of content having an electronic representation that corresponds to the second electronic representation of content.

38. The method of claim 34 wherein handling electronic messages that include at least a portion of content having an electronic representation that corresponds to the second electronic representation of content based on the updated data associated with tracking complaint messages associated with the second electronic representation of content includes categorizing one or more future digital communications that include at least a portion of content having an electronic representation that corresponds to the second electronic representation of content.

39. The method of claim 34 wherein handling electronic messages that include at least a portion of content having an electronic representation that corresponds to the second electronic representation of content based on the updated data associated with tracking complaint messages associated with the second electronic representation of content includes holding one or more future digital communications that include at least a portion of content having an electronic representation that corresponds to the second electronic representation of content.

40. The method of claim 34 wherein storing data, other than data associated with tracking complaint messages associated with the second electronic representation of content, based on the complaint message includes storing at least one of the first electronic representation of content and the complaint communication.

41. At least one electronic device including one or more computer-readable storage mediums storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause operations comprising:

receiving, from a complaining user, a complaint message, the complaint message being sent, by the complaining user, in response to a first electronic message sent by a first user;

in response to the complaint message, accessing a first electronic representation of at least a portion of content included in the first electronic message;

selecting a second electronic representation of content from among multiple stored electronic representations of content;

comparing the first electronic representation of content with the second electronic representation of content;

determining whether the first electronic representation of content corresponds to the second electronic representation of content based on the comparison of the first electronic representation of content with the second electronic representation of content;

conditioned on determining that the first electronic representation of content corresponds to the second electronic representation of content;

updating data associated with tracking complaint messages associated with the second electronic representation of content, and

handling electronic messages that include at least a portion of content having an electronic representation that corresponds to the second electronic representation of content based on the updated data associated with tracking complaint messages associated with the second electronic representation of content; and

conditioned on determining that the first electronic representation of content does not correspond to the second electronic representation of content, storing data, other than data associated with tracking complaint messages associated with the second electronic representation of content, based on the complaint message.

42. A method of handling electronic messages, the method comprising:

receiving, from a first sending user, a first electronic message, the first electronic message being addressed to a first receiving user and the first electronic message including content having a first electronic representation;

sending the first electronic message to the first receiving user;

receiving, from the first receiving user, a complaint message, the complaint message being sent by the first receiving user to indicate that the first electronic message was unsolicited;

in response to receiving the complaint message, updating data associated with identifying electronic messages including content having the first electronic representation as being unsolicited;

receiving, from a second sending user, a second electronic message, the second electronic message being addressed to a second receiving user and the second electronic message including content having the first electronic representation; and

in response to receiving the second electronic message;

accessing the updated data associated with identifying electronic messages including content having the first electronic representation as being unsolicited;

determining whether to handle the second electronic message as an unsolicited message based on the updated data associated with identifying electronic messages including content having the first electronic representation as being unsolicited; and

handling the second electronic message based on determination results.