Declassifying of suspicious messages

• US 8,285,804 B2
• Filed: 04/12/2011
• Issued: 10/09/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Quest Software, Inc.
• Original Assignee: SonicWALL, Inc. (SonicWall Holdings Ltd.)
• Inventors: Wilson, Brian K., Ng, Kwok H., Uyeda, Damon K., Eikenberry, Scott D., Koblas, David A.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, PHUOC H
• Application Number:
  US13/085,421
• Publication Number:
  US 20110238765A1
• Time in Patent Office: 546 Days
• Field of Search: 709/202, 709/204, 709/206
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages

Abstract

Handling a message comprises: classifying an incoming message for a recipient, storing the classified message and providing a notification to the recipient, wherein the notification includes summary information about the classified message and an interface that allows the recipient to operate on the classified message.

Claims

1. A method for declassifying a suspicious message, the method comprising:

sending a notification regarding a suspicious message to a computing device;

receiving input from a user of the computing device to declassify the suspicious message;

executing instructions stored in memory, wherein execution of the instructions by a processor;

authenticates the user of the computing device,

identifies that the authenticated user is a delegate authorized to declassify the message for one or more addressees of the suspicious message, and

declassifying the suspicious message; and

delivering the declassified message to the one or more addressees in accordance with the declassification of the message.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a designation from the one or more other addressees, the designation indicating that the user is authorized to declassify the message.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the user is further authorized to view notifications sent to the one or more addressees.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising filtering the suspicious message from other messages, wherein filtering comprises:

identifying that the filtered message includes a plurality of addresses; and

determining whether the addresses actually exist.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the determination whether the addresses actually exists is based on responses to one or more queries to a directory.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising determining that at least one address does not actually exist and discarding the filtered message based on the non-existent address.

7. The method of claim 4,wherein the suspicious messages is identified as having existing addresses corresponding to the one or more addressees.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more addressee are members of a mailing list and wherein the user of the computing device is the authorized delegate of the mailing list.

9. An apparatus for declassifying a suspicious message, the apparatus comprising:

a network interface for sending a notification regarding a suspicious message to a computing device;

a user interface for receiving input from a user of the computing device to declassify the suspicious message; and

a processor for executing instructions stored in memory, wherein execution of the instructions by the processor;

authenticates the user of the computing device,

identifies that the authenticated user is a delegate authorized to declassify the message for one or more other addressees of the suspicious message, and

declassifies the suspicious message, wherein the declassified message is delivered to the one or more other addressees in accordance with the declassification of the message.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the network interface also receives a designation from the one or more other addressees, the designation indicating that the user is authorized to declassify the message.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the designation received by the network interface indicates that the user is further authorized to view notifications sent to the one or more addressees.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein further execution of instructions by the processor filters the suspicious message from other messages, wherein filtering comprises:

identifying that the filtered message includes a plurality of addresses; and

determining whether the addresses actually exist.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the determination whether the addresses actually exists is based on responses to one or more queries to a directory, the responses received by the network interface.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein further execution of instructions by the processor determines that at least one address does not actually exist and discards the filtered message based on the non-existent address.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein further execution of instructions by the processor identifies the suspicious messages as having existing addresses corresponding to the one or more addressees.

16. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the one or more addressee are members of a mailing list and wherein the user of the computing device is the authorized delegate of the mailing list.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having embodied thereon a program executable by a processor to perform a method for declassifying suspicious messages, the method comprising:

sending a notification regarding a suspicious message to a computing device;

receiving input from a user of the computing device to declassify the suspicious message;

authenticating the user of the computing device;

identifying that the authenticated user is a delegate authorized to declassify the message for one or more other addressees of the suspicious message;

declassifying the suspicious message; and

delivering the declassified message to the one or more other addressees in accordance with the declassification of the message.