Method, apparatus and article of manufacture for accessing electronic messages

• US 6,434,602 B1
• Filed: 09/27/1999
• Issued: 08/13/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Netyou Computer Communication Corporation
• Original Assignee: Natyou Computer Communication Corporation
• Inventors: Hazan, Sergio Roberto, Campos, Ricardo Dias, Melo, Edgar Iria
• Primary Examiner(s): Dinh, Dung C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): EDELMAN, BRADLEY E
• Application Number:
  US09/406,343
• Time in Patent Office: 1,051 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/207, 709/217, 709/219, 709/227
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases

Abstract

There is provided herein novel methods, apparatuses, and article of manufactures for accessing electronic mail (“e-mail”) messages located on at least one e-mail server. For example, one exemplary embodiment of the present invention modifies an e-mail address with an e-mail syntax to connect to an e-mail server associated with said modified e-mail address thereby enabling access to e-mail messages associated with the e-mail server.

Claims

1. A method of processing an e-mail address to access, via a communications medium, e-mail resident on an e-mail server, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) maintaining a list of one or more e-mail syntaxes;

(b) acquiring a first e-mail address;

(c) determining whether said first e-mail address is a web mailer address;

(d) if said first e-mail address is a web mailer address then generating an automated message else

(i) accessing, via said communications medium, a first e-mail server associated with said first e-mail address to further access e-mail associated with said first e-mail server;

(ii) if access to said first e-mail server fails then iteratively repeating steps (1) to (3) below until access to a second e-mail server is established or each syntax in said list of e-mail syntaxes has been selected;

(1) selecting a syntax from said list of one or more e-mail syntaxes;

(2) modifying said first e-mail address using said selected syntax to create a second address; and

(3) accessing, via said communications medium, a second e-mail server associated with said second address to further access e-mail associated with said second e-mail server.

2. A method as in claim 1 wherein said communications medium is the Internet.

3. An apparatus for processing an e-mail address to access, via a communications medium, e-mail resident on an e-mail server, said apparatus comprising:

(a) an interface for communicating over said communications medium; and

(b) a processor configured to

(i) acquire a first e-mail address;

(ii) maintain a list of one or more e-mail syntaxes;

(iii) determine whether said first e-mail address is a web mailer address;

(iv) if said first e-mail address is a web mailer address then generate an automated message else

(v) access, via said communications medium, a first e-mail server associated with said first e-mail address to further access e-mail associated with said first e-mail server,

(vi) if access to said first e-mail server fails then iteratively repeating steps (1) to (3) below until access to a second e-mail server is established or each syntax in said list of e-mail syntaxes has been selected;

(1) select a syntax from said list of one or more e-nail syntaxes;

(2) modify said first e-mail address using said selected syntax to create a second address; and

(3) access, via said communications medium, a second e-mail server associated with said second address to further access e-mail associated with said second e-mail server.

4. An apparatus as in claim 3 wherein said communications medium is the Internet.

5. A computer readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing a method of processing an e-mail address to access, via a communications medium, e-mail resident on an e-mail server, said method comprising the steps of;

(a) maintaining a list of one or more e-mail syntaxes;

(b) acquiring a first e-mail address;

(c) determining whether said first e-mail address is a web mailer address;

(d) if said first e-mail address is a web mailer address then generating an automated message else

(i) accessing, via said communications medium, a first e-mail server associated with said first e-mail address to access e-mail associated with said first e-mail server;

(ii) if access to said first e-mail server fails then iteratively repeating steps (1) to (3) below until access to a second e-mail server is established or each syntax in said list of e-mail syntaxes has been selected;

(1) selecting a syntax from said list of one or more e-mail syntaxes;

(2) modifying said first e-mail address using said selected syntax to create a second address; and

(3) accessing, via said communications medium, a second e-mail server associated with said second address to access e-mail associated with said second e-mail server.

6. A computer-readable medium as in claim 5 wherein said communications medium is the Internet.