Method and system for image verification to prevent messaging abuse

• US 7,856,477 B2
• Filed: 04/02/2004
• Issued: 12/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Zhu, Jing, Fenkel, Len, Yoshimoto, Steven Kenichi, Libbey, Miles
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Dustin
• Application Number:
  US10/817,126
• Publication Number:
  US 20040199597A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,454 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 709/206, 709/225, 709/207, 709/224, 713/201, 713/176, 713/153, 455/466, 455/456.4, 705/50, 726/14
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/566 Dynamic detection, i.e. detection performed at run-time, e.g. emulation, suspicious activities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking

Abstract

The invention is directed to a system and method for determining if a “spam” message is originating from a messaging account by challenging a particular client'"'"'s outbound email usage with a test that requires verification of content that is easily understood by a human being, not an automated computer program such as those used by “spammers.” If a limit on the number of recipients for outbound messages has been exceeded, a test is presented the next time a client attempts to send a message. The client must successfully answer the test within a relatively short period of time or else the ability to send messages will be disabled. Once disabled, the client can reinstate the ability to send messages by contacting a representative of the message system out of band, e.g., a telephone call to confirm legitimate outbound email use.

Claims

1. A method for managing outbound message usage, comprising:

determining a count of each recipient for each outbound message associated with a client;

if the count of each recipient is at least equal to a limit over at least one period of time, providing a visual challenge to the client; and

if the provided visual challenge is unresolved, disabling the client'"'"'s outbound message usage until the visual challenge is resolved, wherein the client'"'"'s outbound message usage includes a message composed by the client before the providing of the visual challenge to the client, and wherein disabling the client'"'"'s outbound message usage occurs prior to sending the composed message for the client over a network from a messaging system employed to originate each outbound message associated with the client, and wherein disabling the client'"'"'s outbound message usage further includes disabling an operable ability of the client to initially send any composed message to the messaging system for sending to any recipient.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising if at least one outbound message associated with the client is indicative of spam for at least one recipient, providing the visual challenge to the client.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the visual challenge further comprises an auditory challenge, and wherein until at least one of the visual challenge and the auditory challenge is resolved, disabling the client'"'"'s outbound message usage.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the visual challenge includes at least one Captcha test.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the visual challenge further comprises an auditory challenge, and wherein the auditory challenge includes at least one sound clip that is filtered to distort the playing of the sound clip for the auditory challenge.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining another count for each attempt to resolve the visual challenge; and

if the other count for each attempt is at least equal to another limit, disabling the client'"'"'s outbound message usage.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising if the provided visual challenge is unresolved over a predetermined period of time, disabling the client'"'"'s outbound message usage.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising if the visual challenge is resolved, resetting the count for each recipient of each outbound message associated with the client.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein a type of the message includes at least one type of email, blog, message board, Short Message Service (SMS), Multi-Media Message Service (MMS), and instant messaging (IM).

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising if the client'"'"'s outbound message usage is disabled, providing instructions for an out of band communication by the client for re-enabling the client'"'"'s outbound message usage.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising employing a recipient count statement to determine the count for each recipient for each outbound message associated with the client, wherein the recipient count statement determines at least one of a current hour recipient count, a current daily recipient count, and a total recipient count.

12. A client for enabling management of outbound message usage, comprising:

a memory for storing instructions; and

a processor for enabling the processing of instructions to perform actions, including;

enabling a determination of a count of each recipient for each outbound message associated with the client;

if the count of each recipient is at least equal to a limit over at least one period of time, enabling a visual challenge to be provided to the client; and

if the provided visual challenge is unresolved, enabling a disablement of the client'"'"'s outbound message usage until the visual challenge is resolved, wherein the client'"'"'s disabled outbound message usage includes disabling the client'"'"'s operable ability to initially send any message composed by the client to an outbound message server before the visual challenge is enabled to be provided to the client, and wherein enabling the disablement of the client'"'"'s outbound message usage occurs without employing an ability of the outbound message server to send any composed message for the client over a network from the outbound message server employed by the client to originate each outbound message associated with the client.

13. The client of claim 12, wherein the actions further comprise if at least one outbound message associated with the client is indicative of spam for at least one recipient, enabling the visual challenge to be provided to the client.

14. The client of claim 12, wherein the visual challenge further comprises an auditory challenge, and wherein until at least one of the visual challenge and the auditory challenge is resolved, disabling the client'"'"'s outbound message usage.

15. The client of claim 12, wherein the actions further comprise:

enabling a determination of another count for each attempt to resolve the visual challenge; and

if the other count for each attempt is at least equal to another limit, enabling a disablement of the client'"'"'s outbound message usage.

16. The client of claim 12, wherein the actions further comprise if the provided visual challenge is unresolved over a predetermined period of time, enabling a disablement of the client'"'"'s outbound message usage.

17. The client of claim 12, wherein the actions further comprise if the visual challenge is resolved, enabling a resetting of the count for each recipient of each outbound message associated with the client.

18. The client of claim 12, wherein a type of the message includes at least one type of email, blog, message board, Short Message Service (SMS), Multi-Media Message Service (MMS), and instant messaging (IM).

19. The client of claim 12, wherein the actions further comprise if the client'"'"'s outbound message usage is disabled, providing instructions for an out of band communication by the client for re-enabling the client'"'"'s outbound message usage.

20. The client of claim 12, wherein the actions further comprise enabling a recipient count statement to determine the count for each recipient for each outbound message associated with the client, wherein the recipient count statement determines at least one of a current hour recipient count, a current daily recipient count, and a total recipient count.

21. A server for enabling management of outbound message usage, comprising:

a memory for storing instructions; and

a processor for enabling the processing of instructions to perform actions, including;

enabling a determination of a count of each recipient for each outbound message associated with a client;

if the count of each recipient is at least equal to a limit over at least one period of time, enabling a visual challenge to be provided to the client; and

if the provided visual challenge is unresolved, enabling a disablement of the client'"'"'s outbound message usage until the visual challenge is resolved, wherein the client'"'"'s outbound message usage includes sending any outbound message for the client from the server over a network connecting the server to each recipient, and wherein enabling the disablement of the client'"'"'s outbound message usage disables an operable ability by the client to initially send any outbound message from the client to the server, and sending, from the server, a message associated with enabling the visual challenge to be provided to the client.

22. The server of claim 21, wherein the actions further comprise if at least one outbound message associated with the client is indicative of spam for at least one recipient, enabling the visual challenge to be provided to the client.

23. The server of claim 21, wherein the visual challenge further comprises an auditory challenge, and wherein until at least one of the visual challenge and the auditory challenge is resolved, disabling the client'"'"'s outbound message usage.

24. The server of claim 21, wherein the actions further comprise:

enabling a determination of another count for each attempt to resolve the visual challenge; and

if the other count for each attempt is at least equal to another limit, enabling a disablement of the client'"'"'s outbound message usage.

25. The server of claim 21, wherein the actions further comprise if the provided visual challenge is unresolved over a predetermined period of time, enabling a disablement of the client'"'"'s outbound message usage.

26. The server of claim 21, wherein the actions further comprise if the visual challenge is resolved, enabling a resetting of the count for each recipient of each outbound message associated with the client.

27. The server of claim 21, wherein a type .of the message includes at least one type of email, blog, message board, Short Message Service (SMS), Multi-Media Message Service (MMS), and instant messaging (IM).

28. The server of claim 21, wherein the actions further comprise if the client'"'"'s outbound message usage is disabled, providing instructions for an out of band communication by the client for re-enabling the client'"'"'s outbound message usage.

29. The server of claim 21, wherein the actions further comprise enabling a recipient count statement to determine the count for each recipient for each outbound message associated with the client, wherein the recipient count statement determines at least one of a current hour recipient count, a current daily recipient count, and a total recipient count.

30. A computer readable storage medium encoded with instructions executable by a computer to cause the computer to perform actions for the management of outbound message usage, the actions comprising:

enabling a determination of a count of each recipient for each outbound message associated with a client;

if the count of each recipient is at least equal to a limit over at least one period of time, enabling a visual challenge to be provided to the client; and

if the provided visual challenge is unresolved, enabling a disablement of the client'"'"'s outbound message usage until the visual challenge is resolved, wherein the outbound message usage comprises originating any outbound message associated with the client from the computer over a network coupled to the computer, and wherein enabling the disablement of the client'"'"'s outbound message usage disables an operable ability by the client to initially send any outbound message from the client to another client, and prevents the sending of any outbound message associated with the recipient count that enabled the providing of the visual challenge.