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

• US 20060200530A1
• Filed: 03/13/2006
• Published: 09/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Iconix Incorporated (Matthews Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Iconix Incorporated (Matthews Group LLC)
• Inventors: Zager, Robert Philip, Tokuda, Lance Aiji, Shen, Jia, Picazo, Jose Jesus Jr., Talbot, Bryan Allen
• Granted Patent: US 9,137,048 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• 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 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; and

augmenting the events with additional functionality to enhance the embedded service 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 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 machine-accessible medium having instructions residing therein, the instructions when accessed by a machine perform a method, including:

detecting communications between a browser service processing within a browser and an external messaging service;

inspecting information and events passed with those communications; and

adding 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.

9. The medium of claim 8 further including instructions for selectively altering 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 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 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 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 system, including:

a browser plug-in service, wherein 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 wherein 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.

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 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.