Method for managing email messages

• US 7,454,467 B2
• Filed: 05/22/2003
• Issued: 11/18/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Ratliff, Emily Jane, Girouard, Janice Marie
• Primary Examiner(s): Blair; Douglas B
• Application Number:
  US10/443,677
• Publication Number:
  US 20040258044A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,007 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for managing email messages. Outgoing packets are monitored. The outgoing packets are parsed for outgoing email messages. An identification of recipients in packets for outgoing email messages is made. A list of email addresses is updated with email addresses for the identified recipients, wherein the list of email addresses is used to accept incoming email messages. The outgoing packets also are parsed to identify Web traffic containing a user email address. A domain name of the destination is identified for Web traffic containing the user email address. The list of email messages is updated with this domain name. Incoming email messages are screened to see if the domain name is present in the email address of the sender in determining whether to accepted the email messages.

Claims

1. A method in a data processing system for managing email messages, the method comprising:

monitoring outgoing packets initiated by a user of the data processing system;

parsing the outgoing packets for outgoing email messages and non-email Web traffic;

identifying recipients in packets for the outgoing email messages to form identified recipients;

determining whether a user e-mail address of the user is present in the non-email Web traffic;

responsive to the user email address being present in the non-email Web traffic, identifying a domain name of a destination for the non-email Web traffic in which the user email address is present; and

updating a list of email addresses with email addresses for the identified recipients and the domain name of the destination, wherein the list of email addresses is used to categorically accept incoming email messages from the identified recipients and the domain name.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein a given incoming email message is categorically accepted if the domain name is present in an email address of the given incoming email message.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

monitoring incoming packets;

parsing the incoming packets for email messages; and

discarding incoming packets for email messages in which a sender address or domain name is absent from the list of email addresses.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is implemented in a firewall.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the data processing system is at an internet service provider.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is implemented in one of a client email application or a web browser.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the outgoing packets are parsed to identify whether selected destination ports are present (i) to determine whether the outgoing packets are for the outgoing email messages and (ii) to determine whether the outgoing packets are for the non-email Web traffic.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the list of email addresses is updated using user entered email addresses.

9. A method in a data processing system for managing email messages, the method comprising:

parsing packets for outgoing email messages and non-email Web traffic initiated by a user of the data processing system;

identifying recipients in the packets for the outgoing email messages to form identified recipients;

determining whether a user email address is present in the non-email Web traffic;

responsive to the user email address of the user being present in the non-email Web traffic, identifying a domain name of a destination for the non-email Web traffic in which the user email address is present;

updating a list of email addresses with email addresses for the identified recipients and the domain name of the destination;

accepting incoming email messages if the sender of an email message is a previously identified recipient in the list of email addresses; and

accepting an incoming email message if the incoming email message is from a previously identified domain name in the list of email addresses.

10. A method in a data processing system for managing email messages, the method comprising:

monitoring outgoing packets initiated by a user of the data processing system;

parsing outgoing packets for non-email Web traffic;

determining whether a user email address of the user is present in the non-email Web traffic;

responsive to the user email address being present in the non-email Web traffic, identifying a domain name of a destination for the non-email Web traffic in which the user email address is present; and

updating the list of addresses to include the domain name of the destination, wherein the list of addresses is used to categorically accept incoming email messages from the domain name.

11. A method in a data processing system for managing email messages, the method comprising:

monitoring outgoing packets initiated by a user of the data processing system;

parsing the outgoing packets for outgoing email messages and non-email Web traffic;

identifying recipients in packets for the outgoing email messages to form identified recipients; and

determining whether a user email address of the user is present in the non-email Web traffic;

responsive to the user email address being present in the non-email Web traffic, identifying a domain name of a destination for the non-email Web traffic in which the user email address is present;

updating a list of email addresses with email addresses for the identified recipients and the domain name of the destination, wherein the list of email addresses is used to categorically accept incoming email messages from the incoming recipients and the domain name.