Patent ID: 7263607
Filing Date: 2007-08-28
Classification: G06Q,H04L

Abstract:
1. In an messaging server that is network connectable to one or more other messaging servers and a plurality of messaging clients, the messaging server including an information manager for collecting electronic message statistical data associated with electronic messages and storing the electronic message statistical data in an activity store, the messaging server also including a trust list indicating levels of trust between messaging entities, a method for categorizing an electronic message based on trust between a sending entity and a recipient entity, the method comprising: an act of accessing an electronic message, the electronic message including electronic message data that was sent from the sending entity to the recipient entity; an act of identifying a sending messaging address from the accessed electronic message, the sending messaging address corresponding to the sending entity; an act of calculating a reliability index for the sending messaging address based at least in part on trust list information in the trust list, the trust list information indicating a level of trust between the sending entity and the recipient entity and further based on the degree of separation between a recipient messaging address that corresponds to the recipient entity and the sending messaging address; and an act of categorizing the accessed electronic message based at least in part on the calculated reliability index.