Method and apparatus for processing e-mail
First Claim
1. For use in an e-mail communication system of the type in which e-mail is sent from a sender to an addressee, an e-mail processor for virtually eliminating unwanted e-mail comprising:
- means for storing one or more data groups, each group consisting of from none to a plurality of data strings defining an e-mail user'"'"'s acceptance criteria and transmission criteria for e-mail processed by the system;
means for comparing data strings extracted from at least one of the “
From;
”
, “
To;
”
, “
Subject;
” and
“
Message;
”
fields of an e-mail with stored group data strings in the storage means to determine if the e-mail meets the criteria defined by the stored group data strings; and
means for accepting incoming e-mail for communication to the addressee of the e-mail if any of the acceptance criteria defined by the group data strings are met, and for blocking the incoming e-mail from being communicated to the addressee if none of the acceptance criteria are met.
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Accused Products
Abstract
This invention relates to a method and system for allowing electronic mail (“e-mail”) users to control the acceptance and transmission of electronically mailed messages over a communications network such as the Internet by permitting the intended recipient (and/or at system administrator) to define what is authorized (i.e., acceptable). An e-mail processor constructed in accordance with the invention substantially eliminates communication of unauthorized e-mail to an intended recipient by permitting a definition of the characteristics of authorized e-mail. E-mail failing to include one or more such characteristic is rejected. Accordingly, the process includes means for reading selected data strings of e-mail, means for comparing the stored and read data strings to identify a match, and means for rejecting the e-mail if no match is found. The characteristics may, for example, be the sender'"'"'s e-mail address, the sender'"'"'s domain name, certain words or phrases in the “Subject” field of the e-mail, etc.
169 Citations
28 Claims
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1. For use in an e-mail communication system of the type in which e-mail is sent from a sender to an addressee, an e-mail processor for virtually eliminating unwanted e-mail comprising:
-
means for storing one or more data groups, each group consisting of from none to a plurality of data strings defining an e-mail user'"'"'s acceptance criteria and transmission criteria for e-mail processed by the system;
means for comparing data strings extracted from at least one of the “
From;
”
, “
To;
”
, “
Subject;
” and
“
Message;
”
fields of an e-mail with stored group data strings in the storage means to determine if the e-mail meets the criteria defined by the stored group data strings; and
means for accepting incoming e-mail for communication to the addressee of the e-mail if any of the acceptance criteria defined by the group data strings are met, and for blocking the incoming e-mail from being communicated to the addressee if none of the acceptance criteria are met. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. For use in an e-mail communication system, an e-mail processor for substantially eliminating the communication to an intended recipient of unwanted e-mail comprising:
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means for storing data strings indicative of e-mail authorized for communication to the intended recipient;
means for reading selected data strings of e-mail;
means for comparing the stored and read data strings to identify a match; and
means for rejecting the e-mail if no match is found. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification