System and computer-readable storage medium for configuring access to an electronic mailbox by using heuristics of likelihood

• US 7,739,343 B2
• Filed: 04/14/2008
• Issued: 06/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Roy, Shaibal, Gardner, Darren L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Duong; Oanh
• Application Number:
  US12/102,083
• Publication Number:
  US 20080195667A1
• Time in Patent Office: 792 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/206, 709/217, 709/219, 709/224, 709/227, 709/245
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/2871 Implementation details of single intermediate entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A system and method for configuring access to an electronic mailbox based on limited configuration parameters received from a user. A database stores configuration conventions for a mail domain. A mailbox interface module receives configuration information from a user that is limited in the configuration parameters required for accessing the electronic mailbox. The module retrieves configuration conventions for the mail domain from the database and generates sets of potentially valid configuration parameters based on the retrieved configuration conventions and user supplied configuration information for accessing the mailbox.

Claims

1. A system for configuring access to an electronic mailbox comprising:

a user system having an email client;

a database that is arranged to store configuration conventions related to configuration parameters used for accessing an electronic mailbox, wherein the configuration conventions are sets of email expressions that symbolically represent a set of configuration parameters used by email providers for accessing the mailbox of a user; and

a mailbox interface module that is in communication with the database and user system and which is operative as an agent between the user system and the electronic mailbox of the user, wherein the mailbox interface module is configured to;

receive limited configuration information from the user, wherein the limited configuration information does not provide all of necessary configuration parameters required for accessing the electronic mailbox;

infer a mailbox domain from the limited configuration information and retrieve configuration conventions for the mailbox domain from the database that represent potentially valid configuration parameters for the mailbox domain that will allow access to the electronic mailbox;

generate sets of potentially valid configuration parameters based on the limited configuration information and the retrieved configuration conventions to attempt to access the electronic mailbox with the sets of potentially valid configuration parameters; and

wherein the mailbox interface module generates a subset of the sets of the potentially valid configuration parameters by using heuristics of likelihood that the set of configuration parameters is valid for accessing the electronic mailbox for a mail domain when initial attempts to access were unsuccessful.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the mailbox interface module is operative for attempting access to the electronic mailbox and generating new sets of potentially valid configuration parameters if attempts for accessing the electronic mailbox of the user from the sets of the potentially valid configuration parameters were unsuccessful.

3. A system according to claim 1, and further comprising a web service on which the mailbox interface module is operative.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein said limited configuration information received from the user comprises an email address and password.

5. A system according to claim 1, and further comprising a mobile device on which the user inputs the limited configuration information.

6. A system according to claim 1, wherein the heuristics of likelihood comprise tracking statistics stored within the database about a number of attempts and percentage of successes using a given configuration convention for the mail domain.

7. A system according to claim 6, wherein the mailbox interface module is operative to generate a subset of the potentially valid configuration parameters by using additional user supplied configuration information to narrow a number of configuration conventions from which the subset of the potentially valid configuration parameters is to be generated.

8. A system according to claim 7, wherein the additional user supplied configuration information comprises a standard protocol used for accessing the electronic mailbox.

9. A system according to claim 8, wherein said standard protocol comprises one of at least the Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) or the Post Office Protocol (POP).

10. A system according to claim 1, wherein the configuration conventions comprise expressions formed by symbols that represent individual configuration parameters.

11. A computer-readable storage medium for configuring access by an email client at a user system by one or more processors for performing a method of configuring access to an electronic mailbox, the method comprising:

receiving configuration information at a user system from a user, wherein the configuration information does not provide all of necessary configuration parameters required for accessing the electronic mailbox of the user;

inferring a mailbox domain from the configuration information;

accessing configuration conventions for the mailbox domain from a database wherein the configuration conventions are sets of email expressions that symbolically represent a set of configuration parameters used by email providers for accessing the mailbox of the user;

generating sets of potentially valid configuration parameters that will allow access to the electronic mailbox, based on the retrieved configuration conventions and the received configuration information and to attempt to access the electronic mailbox with the sets of potentially valid configuration parameters; and

generating a subset of the sets of the potentially valid configuration parameters by using heuristics of likelihood that the set of configuration parameters is valid for accessing the electronic mailbox for a mail domain when initial attempts to access were unsuccessful.

12. A computer-readable medium according to claim 11, wherein the configuration conventions comprise expressions formed by symbols representing individual configuration parameters.