Filtering electronic messages while permitting delivery of solicited electronics messages

• US 7,620,691 B1
• Filed: 01/09/2007
• Issued: 11/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/2003
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AOL LLC (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Goldman, Phillip Y., Landsman, Richard A., Heiner, Jeffrey N., Migliore, Michael R., Logue, Jay
• Primary Examiner(s): England; David E
• Application Number:
  US11/651,974
• Time in Patent Office: 1,043 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/37 E-mail addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/604 Address structures or formats
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/234 for tracking messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/30 Managing network names, e.g. use of aliases or nicknames name-to-address mapping H04L61/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/35 involving non-standard use of addresses for implementing network functionalities, e.g. coding subscription information within the address or functional addressing, i.e. assigning an address to a function
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

Systems and methods for delivering solicited electronic messages to a client. Senders of electronic messages become authorized senders and electronic messages from the authorized senders are delivered to the intended recipients. Electronic messages from unauthorized senders are not delivered. A sender becomes authorized when a user includes a tracker in the user address that is associated with a particular sender. Electronic messages that include the tracker are only delivered if the sender is the same sender that is associated with the tracker provided by the user. Senders are also authorized by detecting when the user provides a user address to a sender. Users are given the opportunity to opt-in to receiving electronic messages from senders that have registered with the electronic messaging service that provides electronic message services to the users. Authorizing senders in this manner permits the delivery of solicited messages while rejecting unsolicited messages.

Claims

1. In a system that provides an electronic messaging service to one or more clients, a method for managing electronic messages, the method comprising:

detecting a website accessed by a user through a browser application executing on a client computer of the user;

monitoring the browser application to detect when the user enters an email address of the user;

receiving input from the user through the browser application defining a particular sequence of alphanumeric characters that is inserted into the email address of the user;

inserting the particular sequence of alphanumeric characters directly into the email address of the user as a tracker incorporated into the email address of the user;

at an electronic message server, associating the tracker with a domain name of the website accessed by the user as a particular sender that is authorized to send messages to the user;

storing the tracker and the domain name of the website at the electronic message server prior to receiving any electronic messages that contain the stored tracker;

receiving at the electronic message server a first electronic message from a first sender addressed to the user, the first electronic message including a first user address that includes a first tracker;

at the electronic message server, comparing the first tracker with the stored tracker and performing at least one pre-determined action on the first electronic message that includes the first tracker in the first user address based on the comparison; and

displaying the first tracker on a user interface of the client computer of the user so that the user can detect whether the first tracker contains the same particular sequence of alphanumeric characters previously input by the user, the particular sequence of alphanumeric characters serving as a mnemonic device so that the user can recognize the particular sequence of alphanumeric characters as being associated with the particular sender.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein performing at least one pre-determined action on the first electronic message that includes the first tracker in the first user address further comprises delivering the first electronic message to the user if the first tracker in the first electronic message matches the stored tracker.

3. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein performing at least one pre-determined action on the first electronic message that includes the first tracker in the first user address further comprises one or more of:

storing the first electronic message in a temporary folder if the first tracker in the first electronic message does not match the stored tracker;

deleting the first electronic message if the first tracker in the first electronic message does not match the stored tracker;

setting an unauthorized attribute of the first sender if the first tracker in the first electronic message does not match the stored tracker;

or

notifying the user that the first sender used an invalid tracker if the first tracker in the first electronic message does not match the stored tracker.

4. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the stored tracker is stored in a list.

5. A method as defined in claim 4, wherein the list is stored at the electronic messaging server.

6. A method as defined in claim 4, wherein the list is stored at the client computer of the user.

7. A method as defined in claim 4, wherein the list stores one or more of an authorized sender attribute, an unauthorized sender attribute, an unconfirmed sender attribute, a cHallenge/response attribute, or a combination thereof.

8. In a system that provides an electronic messaging service to one or more clients, wherein unsolicited electronic messages are filtered out by the electronic messaging service, a method for delivering solicited messages to a client, the method comprising:

when a user composes an outgoing electronic message at a client, receiving input from the user specifying an alphanumeric string;

inserting the specified alphanumeric string as a first tracker directly into an email address of the user to form a variant email address of the user;

identifying an electronic address of a recipient of the outgoing electronic message as a particular sender that is authorized to send messages to the user;

storing the first tracker and associating the first tracker with the particular sender prior to receiving from a second sender an incoming electronic message addressed to the variant email address;

receiving from the second sender the incoming electronic message addressed to the variant email address, wherein the incoming electronic message includes a second tracker in the variant email address;

delivering the incoming electronic message to an inbox of the user only if the second tracker in the variant email address of the incoming electronic message matches the stored first tracker and only if the second sender matches the particular sender; and

displaying the second tracker on a user interface of the client of the user so that the user can detect whether the second tracker contains the same alphanumeric string previously input by the user, the alphanumeric string serving as a mnemonic device so that the user can recognize the alphanumeric string as being associated with the particular sender.

9. The method as defined in claim 8, wherein the user specifies the client address including the tracker within the electronic message.

10. A method as defined in claim 8, wherein storing the first tracker and associating the first tracker with the particular sender prior to receiving from a second sender an incoming electronic message further comprises storing the first tracker as an attribute of a sender address of the particular sender.

11. A method as defined in claim 10, further comprising setting an authorized sender attribute of the sender address.

12. A method as defined in claim 10, further comprising setting an authorized sender attribute for a domain of the sender address.

13. A method as defined in claim 10, wherein delivering the incoming electronic message to an inbox of the user only if the second tracker in the variant email address of the incoming electronic message matches the stored first tracker and only if the second sender matches the particular sender further comprises:

ensuring that an incoming sender address in the incoming electronic message matches the sender address associated with the stored first tracker,

wherein the incoming electronic message is filtered out if the incoming sender address in the incoming electronic message does not match the sender address associated with the stored tracker.

14. A method as defined in claim 8, further comprising ensuring that the first tracker is unique for that client.