Message challenge response

• US 8,732,256 B2
• Filed: 03/06/2013
• Issued: 05/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/16/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Quest Software, Inc.
• Original Assignee: SonicWALL, Inc. (SonicWall Holdings Ltd.)
• Inventors: Oliver, Jonathan J., Wilson, Brian K., Uyeda, Damon K., Eikenberry, Scott D., Koblas, David A., Nufire, Tim
• Primary Examiner(s): Hussain, Tauqir
• Application Number:
  US13/787,693
• Publication Number:
  US 20130191480A1
• Time in Patent Office: 440 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1441 Countermeasures against malicious traffic countermeasures against attacks on cryptographic mechanisms H04L9/002

Abstract

A system and method are disclosed for registering a email sender for the purpose of sending an email message to an email receiver including receiving a challenge message wherein the challenge message includes a machine answerable question; processing the challenge message to determine that it is a challenge message sent for the purpose of authorizing delivery of the email message; analyzing the question to determine a valid response to the challenge message; and sending the valid response that includes the answer wherein a nontrivial amount of resources are required to send the valid response.

Claims

1. A method of registering an electronic-mail (e-mail) sender for the purpose of sending e-mail messages to an e-mail recipient, the method comprising:

receiving a challenge answer sent from the e-mail sender to an independent third-party auditor, the challenge answer in response to a challenge message sent by the e-mail recipient;

executing instructions stored in memory, wherein execution of the instructions by a processor of the independent third-party auditor;

evaluates validity of the response, and

determines whether there is a pattern in challenge answers related to the e-mail sender that is indicative of spam; and

sending a report from the independent third-party auditor to the e-mail recipient regarding the validity of the response and whether there is a pattern in challenge answers related to the e-mail sender that is indicative of spam, wherein the e-mail recipient processes e-mail messages from the e-mail sender based on the report.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the independent third-party auditor receives a plurality of challenge answers from a plurality of sources.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the pattern is a common domain across the plurality of challenge answers.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the report from the independent third-party auditor indicates that the e-mail sender is a spammer.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the independent third-party auditor maintains a web server associated with the challenge and wherein the challenge comprises one or more links.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the report from the independent third-party auditor indicates that e-mails from the e-mail sender is not authorized for delivery.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein evaluation of the response by the independent third-party auditor evaluates the response includes checking a message ID associated with the challenge answer.

8. A system of registering an electronic-mail (e-mail) sender for the purpose of sending e-mail messages to an e-mail recipient, the system comprising:

an independent third-party auditor server for;

receiving a challenge answer sent from the e-mail sender in response to a challenge message,

executing instructions stored in memory, wherein execution of the instructions by a processor of the independent third-party auditor;

evaluates validity of the response, and

determines whether there is a pattern in challenge answers related to the e-mail sender that is indicative of spam; and

sending a report to the e-mail recipient regarding the validity of the response and whether there is a pattern in challenge answers related to the e-mail sender that is indicative of spam, wherein the e-mail recipient processes e-mail messages from the e-mail sender based on the report.

9. The system of claim 8, further comprising a mail receiver server for sending the challenge message to the e-mail sender, wherein the challenge answer is sent by the e-mail sender in response to the challenge message.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the independent third-party auditor receives a plurality of challenge answers from a plurality of sources.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the pattern is a common domain across the plurality of challenge answers.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the report from the independent third-party auditor indicates that the e-mail sender is a spammer.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the independent third-party auditor maintains a web server associated with the challenge and wherein the challenge comprises one or more links.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the report from the independent third-party auditor indicates that e-mails from the e-mail sender is not authorized for delivery.

15. The system of claim 8, wherein evaluation of the response by the independent third-party auditor evaluates the response includes checking a message ID associated with the challenge answer.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, having embodied thereon a program executable by a processor to perform a method of registering an electronic-mail (e-mail) sender for the purpose of sending e-mail messages to an e-mail recipient, the method comprising:

receiving a challenge answer sent from the e-mail sender to an independent third-party auditor, the challenge answer in response to a challenge message sent by the e-mail recipient;

evaluating validity of the response;

determining whether there is a pattern in challenge answers related to the e-mail sender that is indicative of spam; and

sending a report from the independent third-party auditor to the e-mail recipient regarding the validity of the response and whether there is a pattern in challenge answers related to the e-mail sender that is indicative of spam, wherein the e-mail recipient processes e-mail messages from the e-mail sender based on the report.