Suppression of undesirable email messages by emulating vulnerable systems

• US 8,280,971 B2
• Filed: 06/27/2011
• Issued: 10/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Gozoom.com, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Gozoom.com, Inc.
• Inventors: Yu, Tonny
• Primary Examiner(s): BAROT, BHARAT
• Application Number:
  US13/170,093
• Publication Number:
  US 20110258274A1
• Time in Patent Office: 463 Days
• Field of Search: 709202-203, 709206-207, 709223-226, 709/229, 455/414.1
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking

Abstract

Provided herein are systems and methods for suppressing delivery of undesirable messages through vulnerable systems. In an embodiment, a system include an emulator emulates one or more vulnerable systems that can be used by spammers to relay, forward or otherwise send undesirable email messages to target systems. The system also includes one or more modules associated with the emulator and configured to automatically identifying, as being undesirable, email messages that are to be relayed, forwarded or otherwise sent to target systems via at least one of the one or more vulnerable systems emulated by the emulator.

Claims

1. A method for use in inhibiting or suppressing delivery of undesirable email messages through vulnerable systems comprising:

(a) using one or more computer systems to emulate one or more vulnerable systems that can be used by other systems to relay, forward or otherwise send undesirable email messages to target systems;

(b) intercepting, at the one or one or more computer systems used to emulate one or more vulnerable systems, email messages that other systems are attempting to relay, forward or otherwise send to target systems via at least one of the one or more emulated vulnerable systems;

(c) using the one or more computer systems to automatically identify, as being undesirable, email messages that are intercepted by the one or more computer systems used to emulate the one or more vulnerable systems; and

(d) using the one or more computer systems to analyze, archive, trap and/or flag at least some of the intercepted undesirable email messages.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein step (d) comprises preventing at least some of the intercepted undesirable email messages from ever being relayed, forwarded or otherwise sent to target systems.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein step (d) comprises preventing at least a majority of the intercepted undesirable email messages from ever being relayed, forwarded or otherwise sent to target systems.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

(e) relaying, forwarding or otherwise sending to target systems at least some of the intercepted undesirable email messages that are determined to be test messages sent by spammers, in order to make it appear to spammers that undesirable email messages are successfully being relayed, forwarded or otherwise sent to target systems.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein step (d) comprises flagging the intercepted undesirable email messages before the intercepted undesirable email messages are relayed, forwarded or otherwise sent to the target systems, to thereby enable the target systems to automatically recognize the flagged email messages as being undesirable, so that the target systems can automatically delete the flagged email messages, automatically put the flagged email messages in a deleted-items folder, or otherwise automatically handle the flagged email message in a predetermined manner.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the undesirable email messages comprise spam and/or spam tests.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more vulnerable systems being emulated by the one or more computer systems comprise one or more open relay and/or one or more open proxy.

8. A system for use in inhibiting or suppressing delivery of undesirable email messages through vulnerable systems comprising:

one or more computer systems that emulate one or more vulnerable systems that can be used by other systems to relay, forward or otherwise send undesirable email messages to target systems;

wherein the one or more computer systems, that emulate one or more vulnerable systems, is/are configured to

intercept email messages that other systems are attempting to relay, forward or otherwise send to target systems via the one or more emulated vulnerable systems,

automatically identify, as being undesirable, email messages that are intercepted by the one or more computer systems used to emulate the one or more vulnerable systems, and

analyze, archive, trap and/or flag at least some of the intercepted undesirable email messages.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the one or more computer systems, that emulate one or more vulnerable systems, is/are configured to prevent at least some of the intercepted undesirable email messages from ever being relayed, forwarded or otherwise sent to target systems.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more computer systems, that emulate one or more vulnerable systems, is/are configured to prevent at least a majority of the intercepted undesirable email messages from ever being relayed, forwarded or otherwise sent to target systems.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the one or more computer systems, that emulate one or more vulnerable systems, is/are configured to relay, forward or otherwise send to target systems at least some intercepted undesirable email messages that are determined to be test messages sent by spammers, in order to make it appear to spammers that undesirable email messages are successfully being relayed, forwarded or otherwise sent to target systems.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the one or more computer systems, that emulate one or more vulnerable systems, is/are configured to flag the intercepted undesirable email messages before the intercepted undesirable email messages are relayed, forwarded or otherwise sent to the target systems, to thereby enable the target systems to automatically recognize the flagged email messages as being undesirable, so that the target systems can automatically delete the flagged email messages, automatically put the flagged email messages in a deleted-items folder, or otherwise automatically handle the flagged email message in a predetermined manner.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the undesirable email messages comprise spam and/or spam tests.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the one or more vulnerable systems being emulated by the one or more computer systems comprise one or more open relay and/or one or more open proxy.

15. A non-transitory computer readable medium, including instructions stored thereon which when read and executed by one or more computers cause the one or more computers to perform the steps comprising:

emulating one or more vulnerable systems that can be used by other systems to relay, forward or otherwise send undesirable email messages to target systems;

intercepting email messages that other systems are attempting to relay, forward or otherwise send to target systems via the one or more emulated vulnerable systems;

automatically identifying, as being undesirable, email messages that are intercepted; and

analyzing, archiving, trapping and/or flagging at least some of the intercepted undesirable email messages.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions cause the one or more computers to prevent at least some of the intercepted undesirable email messages from ever being relayed, forwarded or otherwise sent to target systems using one or more of the emulated one or more vulnerable systems.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the the instructions cause the one or more computers to prevent at least a majority of the intercepted undesirable email messages from ever being relayed, forwarded or otherwise sent to target systems using one or more of the emulated one or more vulnerable systems.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, including further instructions stored thereon which when read and executed by one or more computers cause the one or more computers to also perform the step comprising:

relaying, forwarding or otherwise sending to target systems at least some of the intercepted undesirable email messages that are determined to be test messages sent by spammers, in order to make it appear to spammers that undesirable email messages are successfully being relayed, forwarded or otherwise sent to target systems.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions cause the one or more computers to flag the intercepted undesirable email messages before the intercepted undesirable email messages are relayed, forwarded or otherwise sent to the target systems, to thereby enable the target systems to automatically recognize the flagged email messages as being undesirable, so that the target systems can automatically delete the flagged email messages, automatically put the flagged email messages in a deleted-items folder, or otherwise automatically handle the flagged email message in a predetermined manner.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the undesirable email messages comprise spam and/or spam tests.

21. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more vulnerable systems being emulated comprise one or more open relay and/or one or more open proxy.