Honoring user preferences in email systems

• US 8,195,753 B2
• Filed: 01/07/2009
• Issued: 06/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Vitaldevara, Krishna C., Gillum, Eliot C., Walter, Jason D., Bidgoli, Mehrdad
• Primary Examiner(s): MACILWINEN, JOHN MOORE JAIN
• Application Number:
  US12/350,022
• Publication Number:
  US 20100174788A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,245 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking

Abstract

In a distributed email system, user preferences respected more effectively by presenting messages marked for deletion to secondary messaging servers having access to user preferences. Messages marked for deletion by inbound servers are presented to secondary level servers having access to user white lists and the choice of whether to delete the suspect message is made by the secondary server.

Claims

1. A method for receiving email in an email system having an inbound server and at least one secondary server communicating via a secure network within the system, the method comprising:

receiving a message addressed to a user of the email system at the inbound server;

determining at the inbound server whether the message should not be delivered to a storage location for the user, at the secondary server, and if so, marking the message for deletion;

communicating with the secondary server via the secure network to determine whether the secondary server wishes to receive the message marked for deletion by the inbound server, the secondary server automatically determining to receive the message based on pre-defined preferences of the user; and

receiving at the inbound server an indication from the secondary server concerning whether the secondary server wishes to receive the message; and

accepting or rejecting the message at the inbound server based on the indication.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of marking the message comprises inserting a to-be-deleted flag in a MAIL FROM, RCPT TO, or header of a message.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of communicating includes communicating a portion of the message to the secondary server which includes the to-be-deleted marking.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the portion of the message includes one or more senders of the message and wherein the secondary server determine that the MAIL FROM field matches a user safe list.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of communicating includes communicating a portion of the message to the secondary server which includes a marked status and at least a FROM field of the message.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the step of determining includes comparing the MAIL FROM field to the user preferences, the user preferences comprising at least one of user defined acceptable subject lines, acceptable signatures, acceptable domains, acceptable email addresses, acceptable key words, or a spam filter aggressiveness setting.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the step of marking the message comprises having a to-be-deleted flag in the MAIL FROM command of SMTP interaction.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of receiving an indication includes receiving one of an SMTP accept message or an SMTP error message.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of receiving an indication includes receiving an indication to deliver the message when the secondary server determines that at least a portion of the message meets a user defined criterion for a message the user desires to receive.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of determining includes applying a spam rating for the message and if the spam rating exceeds a threshold, marking the message for deletion.

11. A method for storing email in an email system having a plurality of inbound message servers communicating with sending message servers to receive messages addressed to users of the email system, and communicating with a secondary server via a secure network routing messages addressed to users to storage, comprising:

receiving a request to connect to one of the plurality of inbound message servers to deliver a message for an addressee user of the email system;

filtering the message at the one of the plurality of inbound servers to determine whether to reject the message and if so, marking the message for deletion;

communicating information concerning the message including the marking for deletion to one of the secondary servers associated with a user storage location within the email system and via the secure network to determine whether the secondary server desires to receive the message marked for deletion, the secondary server making an automatic determination based on predefined preferences of the addressee user;

receiving an indication at the one of the plurality of inbound servers of acceptance from the secondary server for the message;

accepting the message at the inbound server; and

delivering the message from the inbound server to the one of the secondary servers.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the step of determining includes applying a spam rating for the message and if the spam rating exceeds a threshold, marking the message for deletion.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the step of communicating includes communicating a portion of the message to the secondary server which includes the marking.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the step of receiving an indication includes receiving an indication to deliver the message when the secondary server determines that at least a portion of the message meets a per user defined criterion for a message.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the step of receiving an indication includes receiving one of an SMTP accept message or an SMTP error message.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the step of marking the message comprises inserting a to-be-deleted flag in a MAIL FROM command of SMTP interaction.

17. A computer implemented method for honoring user safe lists in an enterprise email messaging system including at least one inbound server receiving messages addressed to users of the enterprise email messaging system and at least one secondary server storing messages for said users of the enterprise messaging system, the at least one secondary server communicating with the at least one inbound server via a secure network, the secondary server having access to a user'"'"'s predefined preferences, the method comprising:

receiving a message at the inbound server for an addressee of the enterprise email messaging system;

determining a spam rating for the message at the inbound server, and if the spam rating exceeds a threshold, marking the message for deletion;

communicating using SMTP protocol a marked status for deletion to the secondary server along with message information;

automatically determining, at the secondary server, whether to accept the message by comparing the message information to at least the user preferences, the predefined user preferences defined by the addressee of the message;

communicating an indication between the secondary server and the inbound server to transmit the message to the secondary server for storage for a user of the enterprise email messaging system.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the step of communicating includes sending one of an SMTP accept message or an SMTP error message.

19. The method of claim 17 further including the step of determining at the inbound server whether the message includes objectionable links, and if so, marking the message for deletion.

20. The method of claim 17 further including the step of delivering the message after receiving said indication.