E-mail system with user send authorization

• US 20040103162A1
• Filed: 11/19/2003
• Published: 05/27/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MEC Management, LLC (Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota)
• Original Assignee: Maesker Software Application LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Beckers, James Randall, Meister, Mark
• Granted Patent: US 7,792,907 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

A system that monitors for an initiation of the sending of an electronic message. The user is alerted or warned that the message is about to be sent. The alert includes a list of the addressees of the message. The list includes addressee aliases where available. The sender can then verify that the addressees are correct and change or delete those on the list, or erase the message. The system also provides such an alert when a computer initiates the sending of an unauthorized message and allows the user to delete the unauthorized message.

Claims

1. An e-mail method, comprising:

recognizing whether a complete electronic mail message having a valid recipient address is to be sent, after a send function has been initiated, from a sending side to a receiving side;

alerting a system user on the sending side as to the message being sent; and

allowing the user to authorize sending of the message.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the send function is activated by an unauthorized agent.

3. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the unauthorized agent comprises one of a virus, a trojan horse and an agent other than an owner of a mail client source of the message.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said recognizing recognizes a send operation initiated by the user.

5. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said recognizing recognizes a send operation initiated by an unauthorized agent comprising one of a virus, a trojan horse and an agent other than an owner of a mail client source of the message.

6. An e-mail method, comprising:

recognizing whether a complete electronic mail message having a valid recipient address is to be sent, after a send function has been initiated, from a sending side to a receiving side; and

stopping transmission of the message until authorized by the user.

7. An e-mail method, comprising:

recognizing whether a complete electronic mail message having a valid recipient address is to be sent, after a send function has been initiated, from a sending side to a receiving side; and

providing the user with an opportunity to consider canceling transmission of the message until authorized by the user.

8. A method as recited in claim 7, further comprising displaying the compete message to the user after the send function is initiated in an interface allowing the user to modify the message, cancel transmission of the message and authorize transmission of the message.

9. An apparatus, comprising:

an e-mail transmission system having a sending side and a receiving side; and

an e-mail system recognizing a complete e-mail message having a valid recipient address, is to be sent, after a send function has been initiated, by a user via the transmission system, alerting a user on the sending side as to the addressees of the message and allowing the user to authorize sending of the message.

10. A computer readable storage medium for controlling a computer including a computer program recognizing whether a complete electronic mail message having a valid recipient address, is to be sent, after a send function has been initiated, alerting a user as to the message being sent and allowing the user to authorize sending of the message.

11. An electronic message alert display, comprising:

text alerting a user on a sending side as to a complete electronic message having a valid recipient address, about to be sent;

after a send function has been initiated,

a list of addressees; and

an interface element allowing the user to authorize transmission of the message.