System and method for provisioning an email account using mail exchange records

• US 8,078,681 B2
• Filed: 09/29/2005
• Issued: 12/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: TeamOn Systems Incorporated (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: Gardner, Darren L., Gorty, Suryanarayana Murthy, McCarthy, Steven J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hwang, Joon H
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEE IV, THOMAS E
• Application Number:
  US11/238,753
• Publication Number:
  US 20070073818A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,266 Days
• Field of Search: 709204-206, 709217-219, 709220-222, 709227-228
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

A system provisions an electronic mail (email) account of a user for allowing access to an electronic mailbox from a remote device to retrieve email. A communications module receives email address parameters of the user and transmits a domain name system (DNS) query to the Internet for returning mail exchange (MX) records corresponding to the email address parameters of the user. A configuration module processes any returned MX records as a starting point for determining configuration parameters for accessing the email account of the user to retrieve user email.

Claims

1. A system for provisioning an electronic mail (email) account of a user for allowing access to an electronic mailbox from a remote device to retrieve email, the system comprising:

a mobile office platform operative as an agent between the user and the electronic mailbox of the user hosted by an email service provider, and comprising

a database containing relevant configuration conventions including email expressions formed by symbols symbolically representing conventions used by email service providers for a set of configuration parameters; and

a processor and a memory and defining a communications module and a configuration module,

the communications module receives email address parameters of the user and transmits a domain name system (DNS) query to the Internet for returning, at a same time, mail exchange (MX) and address (A) records corresponding to the email address parameters entered by the user,

the configuration module, processes returned MX records to determine whether the email address parameters entered by the user are valid for accessing the email account of the user to retrieve email from the electronic mailbox of the user, and when the provisioning from processing returned MX records fails, processing returned A records to determine the email account parameters, and when the provisioning from processing returned A records fails, requesting corrected email address parameters from the user and generating sets of possible configuration parameters, by using heuristics of likelihood the configuration parameters would be valid for accessing the electronic mailbox, for provisioning and accessing the email account.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein said configuration module is operative for determining from the MX records a mail exchange server for an email domain name, wherein email is routed from said mail exchange server for the user email account.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein said communications module is operative for receiving a password from the user and attempting access to the user email account using determined configuration parameters.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein said configuration parameters comprise one of at least a mail host, port, log-in name or password.

5. A system according to claim 1, wherein the heuristics of likelihood are linked to the use of a convention store.

6. A system according to claim 1, and further comprising a mobile office platform on which said communications module and configuration module are operative and having a direct access proxy used for accessing an electronic mailbox.

7. A system according to claim 1, wherein said configuration module is operative for obtaining from the returned MX records a prioritized list of possible mail servers to which the email account is to be accessed and attempting access to the email account based on priority.

8. A method of provisioning an electronic mail (email) account of a user for allowing access to an electronic mailbox from a remote device to retrieve email, which comprises:

receiving email address parameters entered by the user;

transmitting a domain name system (DNS) query to the Internet and returning, at a same time, mail exchange (MX) and address (A) records corresponding to the email address parameters entered by the user;

retrieving from a database relevant configuration conventions including email expressions formed by symbols symbolically representing the conventions used by email service providers for a set of configuration parameters; and

using returned MX records to determine whether email address parameters entered by the user are valid for accessing the email account of the user to retrieve email from the electronic mailbox of the user, and when the provisioning from processing returned MX records fails, processing returned A records to determine the email account parameters, and when the provisioning from processing returned A records fails, requesting corrected email address parameters from the user and generating sets of possible configuration parameters, by using heuristics of likelihood the configuration parameters would be valid for accessing an electronic mailbox, for provisioning and accessing the email account.

9. A method according to claim 8, which further comprises determining from the MX records a mail exchange server for an email domain name, wherein email is routed from said mail exchange server for the user email account.

10. A method according to claim 8, which further comprises receiving a password from the user and attempting access to the user email account using determined configuration parameters and the received password.

11. A method according to claim 8, which further comprises determining one of at least a mail host, port, login name or password.

12. A method according to claim 8, wherein the heuristics of likelihood are linked to the use of a convention store.

13. A method according to claim 8, which further comprises determining configuration parameters and accessing an electronic mailbox through a mobile office platform having a direct access proxy.

14. A method according to claim 8, further comprising obtaining from the returned MX records a prioritized list of possible mail servers to which the email account to be accessed and attempting access to the email account based on priority.

15. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium having a computer-readable program code embedded therein, said computer-readable program code adapted to be executed to implement provisioning an electronic mail (email) account of a user for allowing access to an electronic mailbox from a remote device to retrieve email, comprising:

providing a system comprising a communications module and a configuration module;

receiving email address parameters entered by the user within the communications module;

transmitting a domain name system (DNS) query to the Internet and returning, at a same time, mail exchange (MX) and address (A) records corresponding to the email address parameters entered by the user;

retrieving from a database relevant configuration conventions including email expressions formed by symbols symbolically representing the conventions used by email service providers for a set of configuration parameters; and

at the configuration module using returned MX records to determine whether email address parameters entered by the user are valid for accessing the email account of the user to retrieve email from the electronic mailbox of the user, and when the provisioning fails, processing returned A records to determine the email account parameters, and when the provisioning from processing returned A records fails, requesting corrected email address parameters from the user and generating sets of possible configuration parameters for provisioning and accessing the email account of the user by using heuristics of likelihood the configuration parameters would be valid for accessing the electronic mailbox.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 15, wherein said computer-executable instructions are operative for determining from the MX records a mail exchange server for an email domain name, wherein email is routed from said mail exchange server for the user email account.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 15, wherein the heuristics of likelihood are linked to the use of a convention store.