User interface for email inbox to call attention differently to different classes of email

• US 9,137,048 B2
• Filed: 03/13/2006
• Issued: 09/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Iconix Incorporated (Matthews Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Iconix Incorporated (Matthews Group LLC)
• Inventors: Tokuda, Lance Aiji, Zager, Robert Philip, Shen, Jia, Picazo, Jose Jesus Jr., Talbot, Bryan Allen
• Primary Examiner(s): HENDERSON, ESTHER BENOIT
• Application Number:
  US11/374,696
• Publication Number:
  US 20060200530A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,473 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/206, 726/22, 713/170
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• 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

A user interface for email users which calls attention to one or more categories of emails in different ways. In some species, at least three categories are used: branded senders with Trumarks; white list buddies; and fraudulent emails which are either not from the domain they purport to be from or in which the content was tampered. The preferred embodiment authenticates emails from branded senders and displays them with the sender'"'"'s Truemark. Branded sender emails have their Truemarks displayed in the sender column of a list view in the preferred embodiment. In a preferred embodiment, white list senders have either an icon or other graphic or photo they choose displayed to the left or right of the sender column with their name in the sender column. In a preferred embodiment, fraudulent emails have a fraud icon displayed to the left or right of the sender column with a warning in the sender column. Antiphishing processing is also disclosed.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method residing in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executed by a computer for performing the method, including:

detecting attempts by an embedded service within a browser to communicate with an external messaging service;

inspecting events before or as the events are returned from the external messaging service and before the events are processed by the embedded service within the browser, the events are published by the browser;

augmenting the events with additional functionality to enhance the embedded service within the browser, the additional functionality monitors emails being received and sent from the embedded service, and wherein the embedded service is an email client and the external messaging service is a web mail server and the additional functionality is not otherwise provided by or available from the external messaging service, the added functionality detects the browser contacting the external messaging service and intercepts data sent between the external messaging service and the embedded service, and wherein the added functionality is automatically launched for execution whenever the browser launches for execution; and

customizing, by the additional functionality, presentation of the emails within the browser by calling attention to the emails within the browser for;

presenting a branding visual indication for some of the senders of the emails, presenting a whitelist visual indication for the some of the senders, presenting a fraudulent visual indication for some of the senders, and providing additional visual and audio effects for each of the visual indications when that visual indication is brought into focus within the browser.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein augmenting further includes filtering messages returned from the external messaging service in response to the events before the messages are presented by the embedded service within the browser.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein augmenting further includes adding buttons or menus within the browser to selectively access different aspects of the additional functionality.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein augmenting further includes:

authenticating the senders or domains associated with messages that are returned from the external messaging service in response to the events; and

adding visual or audible information to be presented with the messages in order to communicate results associated with the authentication, as the messages are processed by the embedded service within the browser.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein augmenting further includes removing selective messages that are returned from the external messaging service in response to the events before remaining messages are presented by the embedded service within the browser.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein augmenting further includes:

categorizing messages that are returned from the external messaging service in response to the events; and

adding visual or audible information to be presented with the messages in order to communicate particular assigned categories, as the messages are processed by the embedded service within the browser.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein augmenting further includes routing the messages in response to the particular assigned categories to one or more locations as the messages are processed by the embedded service within the browser.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions residing therein, the instructions when accessed by a computer performs a method, including:

detecting, by the computer, communications between a browser service processing within a browser and an external messaging service;

inspecting, by the computer, information and events passed with those communications;

adding, by the computer, features to the browser that appear to be associated with the external messaging service or that appear to be associated with the browser service in response to the inspected information or the events, the browser service is an email client and the external messaging service is a web mail server, the events are published by the browser, and the features monitor emails being received by the email client and sent by the email client and the features are not otherwise provided by or available from the external messaging service, the features detect the browser contacting the web mail server and intercepts data sent between the web mail server and the email client, and wherein the features are launched for execution whenever the browser is launched for execution; and

customizing, by the features, presentation of the emails within the browser by calling attention to the emails within the browser for;

presenting a branding visual indication for some of the senders of the emails, presenting a whitelist visual indication for the some of the senders, presenting a fraudulent visual indication for some of the senders, and providing additional visual and audio effects for each of the visual indications when that visual indication is brought into focus within the browser.

9. The medium of claim 8 further including instructions for selectively altering, by the computer, display graphics associated with the inspected information, which is presented by the browser service within the browser.

10. The medium of claim 8 further including instructions for issuing, by the computer, instructions to the external messaging service that appear to the external message service to have originated from the browser service in response to the inspected information or the events.

11. The medium of claim 8 further including instructions for removing, by the computer, selective portions of the information before it is capable of being presented by the browser service within the browser.

12. The medium of claim 8 further including instructions for calling attention, by the computer, to selective portions of the information within the browser before or after being processed by the browser service within the browser.

13. The medium of claim 8, wherein adding further includes presenting a number of the features as selectable items within the browser that appear to be accessible through the browser service.

14. The medium of claim 8, wherein adding further includes visually presenting graphics with selective portions of the information within the browser to communicate results of authentication or results associated with content classification with respect to the selective portions of the information before or after the browser service processes the selective portions of the information.

15. A computer-implemented system, including:

a computer configured with a browser plug-in service implemented in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and to execute on the computer, the browser plug-in service is to interpose its processing between a browser-client messaging service and an external messaging service within a browser, and the browser plug-in service is to intercept messages and events communicated from the external messaging service to the browser-client messaging service and is to augment content and presentation of the content within the browser in response to processing the messages and the events, and the browser-client messaging service is an email client and the external messaging service is a web mail server, the events are published by the browser, the browser-client messaging service monitors emails being received by the email client and being sent by the email client and the augmentation of the content and the presentation is not otherwise provided by or available from the external messaging service, the added functionality detects the browser contacting the external messaging service and intercepts data sent between the external messaging service and the browser-client messaging service, and wherein the added functionality is launched for execution whenever the browser is launched for execution, and wherein the added functionality is to customize presentation of the emails within the browser by calling attention to the emails within the browser to;

present a branding visual indication for some of the senders of the emails, present a whitelist visual indication for the some of the senders, present a fraudulent visual indication for some of the senders, and provide additional visual and audio effects for each of the visual indications when that visual indication is brought into focus within the browser.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the browser plug-in service is to further communicate instructions to the external messaging service as if it were the browser-client messaging service in response to processing the messages and the events.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the browser plug-in service is to further present an interface within the browser that appears to be associated with the browser-client messaging service, wherein actions taken with the interface are to drive the augmentation of the content and the presentation of the content within the browser.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the browser plug-in service is to further

augment the content by performing at least one of categorizing the messages, removing selective messages, routing selective messages, authenticating selective messages with respect to the senders or domains, and adding distinctive graphical information to selective messages.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the browser plug-in service is to further present the content by performing at least one of graphically calling attention to selective messages with a distinctive presentation within the browser and visually associating a selectable button with selective messages, which when activated is to access a feature of the browser plug-in service.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the browser plug-in service is to further present an interface within the browser to receive instructions that configure and modify the augmentation and presentation processing of the browser plug-in service.