System and method for circumventing spam filters

• US 7,698,370 B1
• Filed: 02/07/2005
• Issued: 04/13/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property II LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property II LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hall, Robert J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Harrell; Robert B
• Application Number:
  US11/051,158
• Time in Patent Office: 1,891 Days
• Field of Search: 709206-207, 709245-246, 707 6- 7
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• 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 system and method for circumventing schemes that use duplication detection to detect and block unsolicited e-mail (spam.) An address on a list is assigned to one of m sublists, where m is an integer that is greater than one. A set of m different messages are created. A different message from the set of m different messages is sent to the addresses on each sublist. In this way, spam countermeasures based upon duplicate detection schemes are foiled.

Claims

1. Apparatus comprising a processor and a memory, said memory storing filter countermeasure instructions executable by said processor, said memory further storing an address list that includes a set of electronic mail addresses of prospective recipients of messages, said instructions causing said processor to

divide said address list into a plurality of sublists in such a way that individual ones of said addresses deemed to be similar are assigned to different ones of said sublists, said memory further storing said plurality of sublists,

assign individual ones of said sublists to respective different versions of the messages, and

send to addresses in each sublist a one of said respective different versions of the messages assigned to that sublist.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein first and second of said addresses are deemed to be similar if said first and second of said addresses meet at least one predetermined similarity criterion.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said similarity criterion is that said first and second addresses have a string of characters in common that meets a predetermined metric.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said metric is that said string of characters comprises at least a predetermined percentage of the characters of at least said first address.

5. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein each of said addresses is of the form X@Y, wherein X and Y comprise respective character strings, and wherein said similarity criterion is that X is the same in said first and second addresses.

6. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein each of said addresses is of the form X@Y, wherein X and Y comprise respective character strings, and wherein said similarity criterion is that Y is the same in said first and second addresses.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each of said addresses is of the form X@Y, wherein X and Y comprise respective character strings.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein first and second of said addresses are deemed to be similar if said first and second of said addresses meet a criterion indicating that they are likely to point to a same electronic mailbox.

9. Apparatus comprising a processor and a memory, said memory storing filter countermeasure instructions executable by said processor, said memory further storing an address list that includes a set of electronic mail addresses of prospective recipients of messages, said instructions causing said processor to

divide said address list into a plurality of sublists, each of said sublists comprising addresses from said set of electronic mail addresses, and individual addresses of said set of electronic mail addresses being put in different sublists if said individual addresses of said set of electronic mail addresses are determined to be similar to one another based on at least one predetermined similarity criterion, said memory further storing said plurality of sublists, and

send different versions of a message to the addresses in respective ones of said sublists.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein each of said addresses is of the form X@Y, wherein X and Y comprise respective character strings.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said similarity criterion is that X is the same in first and second of said addresses.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said similarity criterion is that Y is the same in first and second of said addresses.

13. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said similarity criterion is that first and second addresses have a string of characters in common that meets a predetermined metric.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said metric is that said string of characters comprises at least a predetermined percentage of the characters of at least said first address.

15. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said similarity criterion is that first and second of said addresses are likely to point to a same electronic mailbox.

16. Apparatus comprising a processor and a memory, said memory storing filter countermeasure instructions executable by said processor, said memory further storing an address list that includes a set of electronic mail addresses of prospective recipients of messages, said instructions causing said processor to

divide said address list into a plurality of sublists, each of said sublists comprising addresses from said set of electronic mail addresses, and individual addresses of said set of electronic mail addresses being put in different sublists randomly, said memory further storing said plurality of sublists, and

send different versions of a message to the addresses in respective ones of said sublists.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein each of said addresses is of the form X@Y, wherein X and Y comprise respective character strings.