Filtering email messages corresponding to undesirable domains

• US 7,844,678 B2
• Filed: 06/25/2008
• Issued: 11/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Malik, Dale W.
• Primary Examiner(s): VU, VIET DUY
• Application Number:
  US12/146,155
• Publication Number:
  US 20080256210A1
• Time in Patent Office: 888 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/217, 709/219, 709/223, 709/224, 709/225
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking

Abstract

An email message is filtered to determine whether or not it is an undesired email message (e.g., “spam,” “junk mail,” etc.) that originates from an undesirable domain, such as, for example, a domain designated as originating from an undesirable geographic location. In some embodiments, upon determining that the email message originates from an undesirable domain, the email message is deleted (e.g., permanently removed, moved to a designated folder, marked for followup, etc.). In other embodiments, upon determining that the email message originates from an undesirable domain, the email message is further filtered to determine whether or not the email message includes attributes that indicate that the email message should not be discarded.

Claims

1. A communication system comprising:

a receiver configured to receive an email message, the email message originating from an originating domain, the email message comprising a header, the header including an originating Internet protocol (IP) address, the originating IP address being indicative of the originating domain;

a first database having a non-U.S. IP address, the non-U.S. IP address being indicative of an origin from a domain originating from an undesired geographic region;

a first filter configured to extract the originating IP address from the received email message; and

compare logic configured to compare the extracted originating IP address with the non-U.S. IP address in the first database to determine whether the originating IP address corresponds to a domain from an undesired geographic location.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

delete logic configured to delete the email message in response to determining that the originating IP address corresponds to a domain from an undesired geographic location.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

means for deleting the email message in response to determining that the originating IP address corresponds to a domain from an undesired geographic location.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a second database having a list of desired email attributes.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the list of desired email attributes in the second database comprises an attribute selected from the group consisting of:

a desired IP address;

a sender email address;

an email subject line; and

a content type.

6. The system of claim 4, further comprising:

a second filter configured to extract email attributes from the received email message;

compare logic configured to compare the extracted attributes with the list of desired email attributes to determine whether any of the extracted attributes coincides with any of the desired email attributes in the second database; and

delete logic configured to delete the email message in response to determining that the originating IP address corresponds to a domain from an undesired geographic location and that none of the extracted attributes coincides with any of the desired email attributes in the second database.

7. A communication method comprising:

receiving an email message, the email message originating from an originating Internet protocol (IP) address;

extracting the originating IP address from the email message;

extracting email attributes from the received email message;

comparing the extracted attributes with a predefined list of desired email attributes to determine whether any of the extracted email attributes coincides with any of the desired email attributes;

comparing the originating IP address to a list of non-U.S. IP addresses; and

identifying the received email message as originating from an undesired geographic location, in response to determining that the originating IP address is included in the list of non-U.S. IP addresses.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the extracting the originating IP address from the email message comprises:

extracting the originating IP address from a header of the email message.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the extracting the originating IP address from the email message comprises:

extracting an IP address from a body of the email message.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

deleting the email message in response to determining that the extracted IP address is included in the list of non-U.S. IP addresses.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the deleting the email message comprises the step of permanently removing the email message.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the deleting the email message comprises storing the email message in a designated folder.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the deleting the email message comprises marking the email message for follow-up.

14. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

deleting the email message in response to determining that the originating IP address is included in the list of non-U.S. IP addresses and that none of the extracted attributes coincides with any of the desired email attributes.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising:

computer-readable code adapted to instruct a programmable device to receive an email message, the email message originating from an originating Internet protocol (IP) address;

computer-readable code adapted to instruct a programmable device to extract the originating IP address from the email message;

computer-readable code adapted to instruct a programmable device to extract email attributes from the received email message;

computer-readable code adapted to instruct a programmable device to compare the extracted attributes with a predefined list of desired email attributes to determine whether any of the extracted email attributes coincides with any of the desired email attributes; and

computer-readable code adapted to instruct a programmable device to compare the originating IP address to a list of non-U.S. IP addresses to determine whether the extracted email address corresponds to a domain from an undesired geographic location.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, further comprising:

computer-readable code adapted to instruct a programmable device to delete the email message in response to determining that the originating IP address is included in the list of non-U.S. IP addresses and that none of the extracted attributes coincides with any of the desired email attributes.