Method of throttling unwanted network traffic on a server
First Claim
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1. A method of limiting unwanted network traffic comprising:
- assigning each of a plurality of network addresses to one of a plurality of categories of network addresses based on a level of trust;
allocating connection resources to each of the plurality of categories;
receiving a request for a connection from a sender;
associating the request with a particular category of the plurality of categories based on a network address associated with the request; and
providing a portion of connection resources allocated to the particular category of the plurality of categories to the connection,wherein connection resources allocated to a first category of the plurality of categories are insufficient to simultaneously support all connections from network addresses associated with the first category of the plurality of categories and causes an error message indicative of a temporary error to be sent to the sender in response to the request when insufficient connection resources are available to support the connection, connection resources allocated to a second category of the plurality of categories are sufficient to simultaneously support all connections from network addresses associated with the second category of the plurality of categories, connection resources allocated to a third category of the plurality of categories are sufficient to simultaneously support a predetermined number of connections from network addresses associated with the third category of the plurality of categories including an increase in a number of connections associated with the third category of the plurality of categories above a number of connections sufficient for the predetermined number of connections, and connection resources allocated to a fourth category of the plurality of categories are insufficient to support any connection associated with the fourth category of the plurality of categories.
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Abstract
The invention provides a method and device for limiting unwanted network traffic, including unwanted emails. The method proceeds by assigning at least one network address to a category of network addresses based on a level of trust of the network address. Connection resources are allocated to the category. When a connection is received from a network address to which the category has been assigned, a portion of the allocated resources in the category are provided to the network address.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of limiting unwanted network traffic comprising:
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assigning each of a plurality of network addresses to one of a plurality of categories of network addresses based on a level of trust; allocating connection resources to each of the plurality of categories; receiving a request for a connection from a sender; associating the request with a particular category of the plurality of categories based on a network address associated with the request; and providing a portion of connection resources allocated to the particular category of the plurality of categories to the connection, wherein connection resources allocated to a first category of the plurality of categories are insufficient to simultaneously support all connections from network addresses associated with the first category of the plurality of categories and causes an error message indicative of a temporary error to be sent to the sender in response to the request when insufficient connection resources are available to support the connection, connection resources allocated to a second category of the plurality of categories are sufficient to simultaneously support all connections from network addresses associated with the second category of the plurality of categories, connection resources allocated to a third category of the plurality of categories are sufficient to simultaneously support a predetermined number of connections from network addresses associated with the third category of the plurality of categories including an increase in a number of connections associated with the third category of the plurality of categories above a number of connections sufficient for the predetermined number of connections, and connection resources allocated to a fourth category of the plurality of categories are insufficient to support any connection associated with the fourth category of the plurality of categories. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A computer readable storage device storing computer program instructions for limiting unwanted network traffic, which, when executed on a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
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assigning each of a plurality of network addresses to one of a plurality of categories of network addresses based on a level of trust; allocating connection resources to each of the plurality of categories; receiving a request for a connection from a sender; associating the request with a particular category of the plurality of categories based on a network address associated with the request; and providing a portion of connection resources allocated to the particular category of the plurality of categories to the connection, wherein connection resources allocated to a first category of the plurality of categories are insufficient to simultaneously support all connections from network addresses associated with the first category of the plurality of categories and causes an error message indicative of a temporary error to be sent to the sender in response to the request when insufficient connection resources are available to support the connection, connection resources allocated to a second category of the plurality of categories are sufficient to simultaneously support all connections from network addresses associated with the second category of the plurality of categories, connection resources allocated to a third category of the plurality of categories are sufficient to simultaneously support a predetermined number of connections from network addresses associated with the third category of the plurality of categories including an increase in a number of connections associated with the third category of the plurality of categories above a number of connections sufficient for the predetermined number of connections, and connection resources allocated to a fourth category of the plurality of categories are insufficient to support any connection associated with the fourth category of the plurality of categories. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A server for limiting unwanted network traffic comprising:
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a processor; and a memory to store computer program instructions the computer program instructions when executed on the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising; assigning each of a plurality of network addresses to one of a plurality of categories of network addresses based on a level of trust; allocating connection resources to each of the plurality of categories; receiving a request for a connection from a sender; associating the request with a particular category of the plurality of categories based on a network address associated with the request; and providing a portion of connection resources allocated to the particular category of the plurality of categories to the connection, wherein connection resources allocated to a first category of the plurality of categories are insufficient to simultaneously support all connections from network addresses associated with the category of the plurality of categories and causes an error message indicative of a temporary error to be sent to the sender in response to the request when insufficient connection resources are available to support the connection, connection resources allocated to a second category of the plurality of categories are sufficient to simultaneously support all connections from network addresses associated with the second category of the plurality of categories, connection resources allocated to a third category of the plurality of categories are sufficient to simultaneously support a predetermined number of connections from network addresses associated with the third category of the plurality of categories including an increase in a number of connections associated with the third category of the plurality of categories above a number of connections sufficient for the predetermined number of connections, and connection resources allocated to a fourth category of the plurality of categories are insufficient to support any connection associated with the fourth category of the plurality of categories. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification