System and method for filtering network messages
First Claim
1. A method for filtering network messages in a computer system including a server and at least one email client, the method comprising the steps of:
- generating one or more lists of unacceptable identities within a database accessible by a server, wherein each of the one or more lists is user-specific to a particular user of the at least one email client;
polling the at least one email client with the server to automatically obtain one or more updated lists of unacceptable identities, the updated lists stored at the at least one email client;
merging the one or more updated lists into the one or more lists of unacceptable identities stored within the database;
determining an identity associated with a network message received by the server;
determining an intended recipient of the network message;
selecting a user-specific list of unacceptable identities that corresponds to the intended recipient;
comparing, at the server, the identity with the user-specific list of unacceptable identities; and
deleting the network message from the server if the identity matches an identity on the user-specific list of unacceptable identities.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for filtering network messages, e.g., electronic mail, are provided. A user-specific blocked list or identified junk sender list is published at a server of a computing network, so when a new e-mail arrives, the server can automatically apply filtering rules based on the user-specific junk sender list and delete the appropriate messages. The method includes the steps of generating a list of unacceptable identities at a server; determining an identity associated with a network message received by the server; comparing the identity with the list of unacceptable identities; and deleting the network message from the server if the identity matches an identity on the list of unacceptable identities.
55 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method for filtering network messages in a computer system including a server and at least one email client, the method comprising the steps of:
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generating one or more lists of unacceptable identities within a database accessible by a server, wherein each of the one or more lists is user-specific to a particular user of the at least one email client; polling the at least one email client with the server to automatically obtain one or more updated lists of unacceptable identities, the updated lists stored at the at least one email client; merging the one or more updated lists into the one or more lists of unacceptable identities stored within the database; determining an identity associated with a network message received by the server; determining an intended recipient of the network message; selecting a user-specific list of unacceptable identities that corresponds to the intended recipient; comparing, at the server, the identity with the user-specific list of unacceptable identities; and deleting the network message from the server if the identity matches an identity on the user-specific list of unacceptable identities. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16)
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13. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for filtering network messages, the method steps comprising:
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generating one or more lists of unacceptable identities at least one server, wherein each of the one or more lists is user-specific to a particular user of at least one email client; polling the at least one email client with the server to automatically obtain one or more updated lists of unacceptable identities, the updated lists stored at the at least one email client; merging the one or more updated lists into the one or more lists of unacceptable identities stored within a database; determining an identity associated with a network message received by the at least one server; determining an intended recipient of the network message; selecting a user-specific list of unacceptable identities that corresponds to the intended recipient; comparing, at the at least one server, the identity with the user-specific list of unacceptable identities; and deleting the network message at the at least one server if the identity matches an identity on the user-specific list of unacceptable identities.
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14. A computer system for filtering network messages including at least one server device, and at least one email client, the server device having stored thereon a program, the program comprising:
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code for generating one or more lists of unacceptable identities at the at least one server, wherein each of the one or more lists is user-specific to a particular user of the at least one email client; code for polling the at least one email client with the server to automatically obtain one or more updated lists of unacceptable identities, the updated lists stored at the at least one email client; code for merging the one or more updated lists into the one or more lists of unacceptable identities stored within a database; code for determining an identity associated with a network message; code for determining an intended recipient of the network message; code for selecting a user-specific list of unacceptable identities that corresponds to the intended recipient; code for comparing, at the at least one server the identity with the user-specific list of unacceptable identities; and code for deleting the network message at the at least one server if the identity matches an identity on the user-specific list of unacceptable identities.
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15. A server device for filtering network messages in a computer system, the server device having stored thereon a program comprising:
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code for generating one or more lists of unacceptable identities; code for polling at least one email client with the server to automatically obtain one or more updated lists of unacceptable identities, the updated lists stored at the at least one email client; code for merging the one or more updated lists into the one or more lists of unacceptable identities stored within a database; code for determining an identity associated with a network message; code for determining an intended recipient of the network message; code for selecting a user-specific list of unacceptable identities that corresponds to the intended recipient; code for comparing the identity with the user-specific list of unacceptable identities; and code for deleting the network message if the identity matches an identity on the user-specific list of unacceptable identities.
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Specification