Safety protocols for messaging service-enabled cloud services

• US 9,338,112 B2
• Filed: 07/12/2012
• Issued: 05/10/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: John, Aby, Abrams, Luke, Burkhardt, Ryan, Vitaldevara, Krishna
• Primary Examiner(s): Paliwal, Yogesh
• Application Number:
  US13/548,193
• Publication Number:
  US 20140020108A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,398 Days
• Field of Search: 726/26, 726/22
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes

Abstract

In one embodiment, a cloud service interface 112 or a device interface 124 may filter messages in a message synchronization between a message service account and a cloud service account. A cloud service interface 112 or a device interface 124 may associate a message service account 114 on a user messaging device 110 with a cloud service account 122. The cloud service interface 112 or a device interface 124 may execute a message synchronization between the cloud service account 122 and the message service account 114. The cloud service interface 112 or a device interface 124 may apply a message filter to the message synchronization.

Claims

1. A machine-implemented method, comprising:

associating a device-specific message service account on a user messaging device with a cloud service account;

receiving, with the user messaging device, a device message in the device-specific message service account;

applying a message filter to the device message to determine whether the device message has sensitive data;

blocking the device message from being transferred to the cloud service account to prevent the sensitive data in the device message being uploaded to the cloud service account limiting the sensitive data to the user messaging device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a device message as having a sensitive origin.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a quarantine code in the device message indicating the device message has sensitive data to be blocked from upload.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying quarantine content in the device message not to be transferred to the cloud service account.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a quarantine designation from a user.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

applying the message filter to a cloud message to be transferred from the cloud service account to the device-specific message service account for transmission from a user messaging device to a target messaging device; and

blocking the cloud message from being transferred from the cloud service account to the device-specific message service account.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

tracking an outbound message rate for the user messaging device for a spike in messaging.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

designating the cloud service account as a compromised account when the outbound message rate exceeds a spam threshold.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending a spam warning to a recipient list describing recipients from the user messaging device since the spike in messaging.

10. A tangible computer-readable medium having a set of instructions detailing a method stored thereon that when executed by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to perform the method, the method comprising:

associating a cloud service account with a device-specific message service account on a user messaging device;

applying a message filter to a cloud message to be transferred from the cloud service account to the device-specific message service account for transmission from a user messaging device to a target messaging device;

tracking an outbound message rate for the user messaging device for a spike in messaging;

designating the cloud service account as a compromised account if when the outbound message rate exceeds a spam threshold; and

generating a spam warning to be sent to a recent recipient list describing recipients from the user messaging device since the spike in messaging.

11. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises:

checking a reputation signifier of the cloud service account.

12. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises:

applying a two-factor authentication to the cloud message.

13. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises:

enforcing a message quota on the cloud message.

14. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises:

identifying spam content in the cloud message.

15. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises:

disabling a hyperlink in the cloud message.

16. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises:

blocking the cloud message from being sent to an unlisted target.

17. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, with the user messaging device, a device message in the device-specific message service account;

applying a message filter to the device message to determine whether the device message has sensitive data.

18. A user messaging device, comprising:

a communication interface that receives a device message in a device-specific message service account and sends a cloud message from a cloud service account from the device-specific message service account over a telephone network;

a processor that associates the device-specific message service account with the cloud service account and applies a message filter to the device message to determine whether the device message has sensitive data and the cloud message to be transferred from the cloud service account to the device-specific message service account for transmission to a target messaging device; and

a data interface that blocks transferring the device message to a cloud server for the cloud service account when the message filter determines that the device message has the sensitive data limiting the sensitive data to the user messaging device and blocks transmitting the cloud message when determined to be spam.

19. The user messaging device of claim 18, wherein the device-specific message service account is at least one of a short message service account and a multimedia messaging service account.

20. The user messaging device of claim 18, further comprising:

a counter that tracks an outbound message rate.