E-mail system with user send authorization

• US 7,792,907 B2
• Filed: 11/19/2003
• Issued: 09/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MEC Management, LLC (Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota)
• Original Assignee: Maesker Software Application LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Beckers, James Randall, Meister, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Lim; Krisna
• Application Number:
  US10/715,408
• Publication Number:
  US 20040103162A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,484 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/201, 709/203
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

A system that monitors for an initiation of the sending of an electronic message. The user is alerted or warned that the message is about to be sent. The alert includes a list of the addressees of the message. The list includes addressee aliases where available. The sender can then verify that the addressees are correct and change or delete those on the list, or erase the message. The system also provides such an alert when a computer initiates the sending of an unauthorized message and allows the user to delete the unauthorized message.

Claims

1. An e-mail method, comprising:

recognizing that an unauthorized electronic mail message is about to be sent from a computing device configured to send an electronic mail message; and

providing at the computing device an alert indicating that the unauthorized electronic mail message is about to be sent, the alert being provided by a user interface configured to receive as input an instruction for further processing of the unauthorized electronic mail message.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said recognizing that an unauthorized electronic mail message is about to be sent comprises detecting that a send function has been initiated by an unauthorized agent.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the unauthorized agent is a virus.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising stopping transmission of the unauthorized electronic mail message in response to the instruction input via the user interface.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising deleting the unauthorized electronic mail message, prior to transmission of the unauthorized electronic mail message, in response to the instruction input via the user interface.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising displaying the unauthorized electronic mail message, and wherein the user interface is configured to receive as input an instruction to modify the unauthorized electronic mail message, cancel transmission of the unauthorized electronic mail message, or authorize transmission of the unauthorized electronic mail message.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the unauthorized electronic mail is composed by a virus and has a valid recipient address.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said recognizing that an unauthorized electronic mail message is about to be sent includes detecting that a send operation has been initiated.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising modifying the addressee of the unauthorized electronic mail message in response to the instruction input via the user interface.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising modifying a text of the unauthorized electronic mail message in response to the instruction input via the user interface.

11. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising displaying at least a list of plural addressees of the unauthorized electronic mail message in the user interface, wherein the user interface is configured to receive as input an instruction to modify an addressee in the list of plural addressees.

12. An e-mail method, comprising:

recognizing that an unauthorized electronic mail message is about to be sent from a computing device configured to send an electronic mail message;

displaying at least information relating to an addressee of the unauthorized electronic mail message in a user interface configured to receive as input an instruction to stop transmission of the unauthorized electronic mail message; and

stopping transmission of the unauthorized electronic mail message in response to the instruction input via the user interface.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the unauthorized electronic mail is composed by a virus and has a valid recipient address.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein said recognizing that an unauthorized electronic mail message is about to be sent includes detecting that a send operation has been initiated.

15. An e-mail method, comprising:

recognizing that an unauthorized electronic mail message is about to be sent from a computing device configured to send an electronic mail message;

displaying at least information relating to an addressee of the unauthorized electronic mail message in a user interface configured to receive as input an instruction to delete the unauthorized electronic mail message; and

deleting the unauthorized electronic mail message, prior to transmission of the unauthorized electronic mail message, in response to the instruction input via the user interface.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the unauthorized electronic mail message is composed by a virus and has a valid recipient address.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein said recognizing that an unauthorized electronic mail message is about to be sent includes detecting that a send operation has been initiated.

18. An apparatus, comprising:

a computing device configured to;

send an e-mail message;

recognize that an unauthorized e-mail message is about to be sent from the computing device; and

control a send operation of the unauthorized e-mail message from the computing device responsive to recognizing that the unauthorized e-mail message is about to be sent from the computing device, said control including providing an alert, the alert being provided by a user interface configured to receive as input an instruction for further processing of the unauthorized e-mail message.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the unauthorized e-mail message is composed by a virus and has a valid recipient address.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the computing device is configured to detect that a send operation has been initiated and recognize that the unauthorized e-mail message is about to be sent.

21. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said computing device is configured to control the send operation by stopping transmission of the unauthorized e-mail message, in response to the instruction input via the user interface.

22. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said computing device is configured to control the send operation by deleting the unauthorized e-mail message, prior to transmission of the unauthorized e-mail message, in response to the instruction input via the user interface.

23. An article of manufacture including a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions, execution of which by a computing device causes the computing device to perform operations comprising:

recognizing that an unauthorized electronic mail message is about to be sent from the computing device; and

controlling a send operation of the unauthorized electronic mail message responsive to recognizing that the unauthorized electronic mail message is about to be sent from the computing device, said controlling a send operation including providing an alert, the alert being provided by a user interface configured to receive as input an instruction for further processing of the unauthorized electronic mail message.

24. The article of manufacture of claim 23, wherein the operations further comprise recognizing the unauthorized electronic mail message is composed by a virus and has a valid recipient address.

25. The article of manufacture of claim 23, wherein said recognizing that an unauthorized electronic mail message is about to be sent includes detecting that a send operation has been initiated.

26. The article of manufacture of claim 23, wherein said controlling a send operation of the unauthorized electronic mail message includes stopping transmission of the unauthorized electronic mail message in response to the instruction input via the user interface.

27. The article of manufacture of claim 23, wherein said controlling a send operation of the unauthorized electronic mail message includes deleting the unauthorized electronic mail message, prior to transmission of the unauthorized electronic mail message, in response to the instruction input via the user interface.

28. An electronic mail message alert display, comprising:

a text display configured to provide an alert indicating that an unauthorized electronic mail message is about to be sent from a computing device and to display at least information relating to an addressee of the unauthorized electronic mail message; and

a user interface configured to receive as input an instruction to stop transmission of the unauthorized electronic mail message.

29. The display of claim 28, wherein the text display indicates the unauthorized electronic mail message is composed by a virus and has a valid recipient address.

30. An e-mail method, comprising:

determining that an unauthorized electronic mail message composed by a virus is about to be sent from a computing device configured to send an electronic mail message; and

providing at the computing device an alert indicating that the unauthorized electronic mail message is about to be sent, the alert being provided by a user interface configured to receive as input an instruction for further processing of the unauthorized electronic mail message.

31. An e-mail method, comprising:

determining that an unauthorized electronic mail message about to be sent from a computing device configured to send an electronic mail message is being sent by an unauthorized agent; and

providing at the computing device an alert indicating that the unauthorized electronic mail message is about to be sent, the alert being provided by a user interface configured to receive as input an instruction for further processing of the unauthorized electronic mail message.

32. An e-mail method, comprising:

recognizing that an unauthorized electronic mail message composed by a process configured to compose an unauthorized electronic mail message is about to be sent from a computing device configured to send an electronic mail message; and

providing at the computing device an alert indicating that the unauthorized electronic mail message is about to be sent, the alert being provided by a user interface configured to receive as input an instruction for further processing of the unauthorized electronic mail message.

33. The method as recited in claim 32, wherein the process is a virus.

34. The method as recited in claim 32, wherein the process is an unauthorized agent.

35. The method of claim 32, wherein the unauthorized electronic mail message has a valid recipient address.

36. The method of claim 32, wherein said recognizing that an unauthorized electronic mail message is about to be sent includes detecting that a send operation has been initiated.

37. An e-mail method, comprising:

recognizing that an electronic mail message about to be sent from a computing device configured to send an electronic mail message is an unauthorized electronic mail message; and

providing at the computing device an alert indicating that the unauthorized electronic mail message is about to be sent, the alert being provided by a user interface configured to receive as input an instruction for further processing of the unauthorized electronic mail message.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein said recognizing that an unauthorized electronic mail message is about to be sent includes detecting that a send operation has been initiated.

39. An article of manufacture including a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions, execution of which by a computing device causes the computing device to perform operations comprising:

recognizing that an electronic mail message about to be sent from a computing device configured to send an electronic mail message is an unauthorized electronic mail message; and

providing at the computing device an alert indicating that the unauthorized electronic mail message is about to be sent, the alert being provided by a user interface configured to receive as input an instruction for further processing of the unauthorized electronic mail message.

40. The article of manufacture of claim 39, wherein said recognizing that an unauthorized electronic mail message is about to be sent includes detecting that a send operation has been initiated.

41. An e-mail system, comprising:

means for recognizing that an unauthorized electronic mail message is about to be sent from a computing device configured to send an electronic mail message; and

means for providing at the computing device an alert indicating that the unauthorized electronic mail message is about to be sent, the alert being provided by a user interface configured to receive as input an instruction for further processing of the unauthorized electronic mail message.

42. The system of claim 41, wherein said means for recognizing that an unauthorized electronic mail message is about to be sent includes means for detecting that a send operation has been initiated.

43. The system of claim 41, further comprising:

means for stopping transmission of the unauthorized electronic mail message in response to the instruction input via the user interface.

44. The system of claim 41, further comprising:

means for deleting the unauthorized electronic mail message, prior to transmission of the unauthorized electronic mail message, in response to the instruction input via the user interface.