Message challenge response

• US 9,313,158 B2
• Filed: 04/27/2015
• Issued: 04/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/16/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Quest Software, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Dell Software, Inc. (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Oliver, Jonathan J., Wilson, Brian K., Uyeda, Damon K., Eikenberry, Scott D., Koblas, David A., Nufire, Tim
• Primary Examiner(s): Hussain, Tauqir
• Application Number:
  US14/696,839
• Publication Number:
  US 20150229594A1
• Time in Patent Office: 351 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1441 Countermeasures against malicious traffic countermeasures against attacks on cryptographic mechanisms H04L9/002

Abstract

A system and method are disclosed for registering a email sender for the purpose of sending an email message to an email receiver including receiving a challenge message wherein the challenge message includes a machine answerable question; processing the challenge message to determine that it is a challenge message sent for the purpose of authorizing delivery of the email message; analyzing the question to determine a valid response to the challenge message; and sending the valid response that includes the answer wherein a nontrivial amount of resources are required to send the valid response.

Claims

1. A method of registering an electronic-mail (e-mail) sender for the purpose of sending e-mail messages to an e-mail recipient, the method comprising:

receiving an e-mail sent by the e-mail sender to the e-mail recipient;

executing instructions stored in memory, wherein execution of the instructions by a processor of an independent third-party auditor generates a challenge message in response to an e-mail message received by the e-mail recipient, wherein the challenge message does not invite a response to the challenge message from the e-mail sender;

sending the challenge message to the e-mail sender;

receiving a bounce error message associated with the challenge message within a predetermined period of time after the sending of the challenge message, wherein the bounce error message is evaluated by the independent third-party auditor; and

sending a report generated by the independent third-party auditor to the e-mail recipient, the report indicating receipt of the bounce error message during the predetermined period of time, wherein the e-mail recipient classifies e-mail messages from the e-mail sender based on the report.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the e-mail recipient also processes registration of the e-mail sender based on the report.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the e-mail recipient does not register the e-mail sender based on the report.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the report indicates that the e-mail sender is a spammer.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the e-mail recipient classifies e-mail messages from the e-mail sender as spam messages based on the report.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the report includes instructions to the e-mail recipient.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the challenge message is a reply to the e-mail sent by the e-mail sender to the e-mail recipient, the reply acknowledging receipt of the email.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein classifying e-mail messages from the e-mail sender includes deleting the e-mail messages from the e-mail sender.

9. A system of registering an electronic-mail (e-mail) sender for the purpose of sending e-mail messages to an e-mail recipient, the system comprising:

an independent third-party auditor server that executes instructions stored in memory, wherein execution of the instructions by a processor of the independent third-party auditor generates a challenge message in response to an e-mail message received by an e-mail recipient, the e-mail sent by an e-mail sender to the e-mail recipient, wherein the challenge message does not invite a response to the challenge message from the e-mail sender; and

a network interface coupled to the independent third-party auditor server that receives the e-mail sent by the e-mail sender to the e-mail recipient, wherein the network interface;

sends the challenge message to the e-mail sender;

receives a bounce error message associated with the challenge message within a predetermined period of time after the sending of the challenge message, wherein the bounce error message is evaluated by the independent third-party auditor server; and

sends a report generated by the independent third-party auditor server to the e-mail recipient, the report indicating receipt of the bounce error message during the predetermined period of time, wherein the e-mail recipient processes registration of the e-mail sender based on the report.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the e-mail recipient does not register the e-mail sender based on the report.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the e-mail recipient further classifies e-mail messages from the e-mail sender based on the report.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the e-mail recipient classifies e-mail messages from the e-mail sender as spam messages based on the report.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the report indicates that the e-mail sender is a spammer.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the report includes instructions to the e-mail recipient.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the challenge message is a reply to the e-mail sent by the e-mail sender to the e-mail recipient, the reply acknowledging receipt of the email.

16. The system of claim 9, wherein the bounce error message includes an e-mail non-delivery message.

17. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having embodied thereon a program, wherein the program is executable by a processor to perform a method of registering an electronic-mail (e-mail) sender for the purpose of sending e-mail messages to an e-mail recipient, the method comprising:

receiving an e-mail sent by the e-mail sender to the e-mail recipient;

executing instructions stored in memory, wherein execution of the instructions by a processor of an independent third-party auditor generates a challenge message in response to an e-mail message received by the e-mail recipient, wherein the challenge message does not invite a response to the challenge message from the e-mail sender;

sending the challenge message to the e-mail sender;

receiving a bounce error message associated with the challenge message within a predetermined period of time after the sending of the challenge message, wherein the bounce error message is evaluated by the independent third-party auditor; and

sending a report generated by the independent third-party auditor to the e-mail recipient, the report indicating receipt of the bounce error message during the predetermined period of time, wherein the e-mail recipient classifies e-mail messages from the e-mail sender based on the report.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the e-mail recipient does not register the e-mail sender based on the report.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the e-mail recipient further classifies e-mail messages from the e-mail sender based on the report.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the challenge message is a reply to the e-mail sent by the e-mail sender to the e-mail recipient, the reply acknowledging receipt of the email.