Mail server coordination activities using message metadata

• US 20080141346A1
• Filed: 12/11/2006
• Published: 06/12/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Zhang, Hao, Pearson, Malcolm Erik, Tribble, Eric D., Kay, Jeffrey B., Freeman, Trevor W.
• Granted Patent: US 8,640,201 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/4
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/101 Access control lists [ACL]

Abstract

In a distributed electronic messaging system authorized information comprising metadata concerning a message is passed along from one mail server to another mail server. A receiving computer determines if the sending computer has the necessary authorizations to pass along the metadata. If so, the authorized information is passed along with the message body, enabling repetitious actions to be eliminated. If the sending computer is not authorized to pass along the metadata, the metadata is stripped off the message, changed or annotated.

Claims

1. A system for coordinating mail server activities by sending metadata along with a message comprising:

a software module for coordinating mail server activities within a messaging system of an enterprise, the software module resident on a first computing device in the messaging system wherein the software module determines an identity of a second computing device, and determines a set of privileges associated with the identity of the second computing device such that a privilege of the set of privileges determines whether the second computing device is authorized to send or receive metadata associated with a message to be sent to or received from the first computing device, wherein the metadata is used by the first computing device to coordinate activities performed by the first computing device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first computing device and the second computing device belong to a single mail messaging system.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the first computing device belongs to a first mail messaging system and the second computing device belongs to a second mail messaging system external to the first mail messaging system.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first computing device is a mail transfer agent or a mailbox.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the first computing device is an edge server or an internal hub.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein in response to determining that the set of privileges associated with the identity of the second computing device fails to authorize the second computing device to send metadata with the message, a header firewall strips off the metadata, changes the metadata or annotates the metadata of the message.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the first computing device replaces the stripped off metadata with new metadata generated by the first computing device.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the metadata is stored in a header associated with the message.

9. A method for coordinating activities in a mail messaging system comprising:

receiving a message from a first computing device;

verifying an identity associated with the first computing device;

determining based on the identity of the first computing device, whether or not the first computing device is authorized to send metadata associated with the message.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein in response to determining that the first computing device is not authorized to send the metadata, stripping the metadata from the message, changing the metadata or annotating the metadata before sending the message and the metadata to a second computing device.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the second computing device determines whether the first computing device is authorized or not authorized to send the metadata based on a privilege of a set of privileges associated with the identity, wherein the privilege determines whether metadata associated with the message is authorized to be sent to a second computing device.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein in response to determining that the privilege authorizes the first computing device to send the metadata with the message to a second computing device, the message and the metadata are sent to the second computing device.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the privilege fails to authorize the first computing device to send the metadata with the message to a second computing device and in response thereto, the second computing device sends the message without the metadata to a third computing device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the second computing device generates new metadata to replace the metadata originally associated with the message and sends the new metadata to the third computing device.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the metadata is stored in a header associated with the message.

16. A computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-readable instructions for executing in a computer environment, the computer-readable instructions comprising instructions that when executed cause the computing environment to:

receive a message from a first computing device;

determine an identity associated with the first computing device;

determine a set of privileges associated with the identity of the first computing device, wherein a privilege of the set of privileges determines whether metadata associated with the message is stripped from the message or is not stripped from the message before the message is send on to a second computing device.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, comprising further instructions that when executed cause the computing environment to:

in response to determining that the privilege authorizes the first computing device to send the metadata with the message to a second computing device, leaving a header in which is stored the authorized metadata on the message that is sent to the second computing device.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, comprising further instructions that when executed cause the computing environment to:

in response to determining that the privilege fails to authorize the first computing device to send the metadata with the message to a second computing device, stripping off a header in which is stored the unauthorized metadata from the message before sending the message to the second computing device.

in response to determining that the privilege authorizes the first computing device to send the metadata with the message to a second computing device, leaving a header in which is stored the authorized metadata on the message that is sent to the second computing device.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, comprising further instructions that when executed cause the computing environment to:

in response to determining that the privilege fails to authorize the first computing device to receive the metadata with the message from a second computing device, stripping off a header in which is stored the unauthorized metadata from the message before sending the message to the first computing device.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, comprising further instructions that when executed cause the computing environment to:

in response to determining that the privilege fails to authorize the first computing device to receive the metadata with the message from a second computing device, replacing or annotating a header in which is stored the unauthorized metadata from the message before sending the message to the first computing device.