Patent ID: 7664821
Filing Date: 2010-02-16
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method of analyzing messages, the method being implemented in a computer system having a processor and a memory, the method comprising: extracting, by the processor, from each of a plurality of messages, metadata identifying at least one sender and at least one recipient of that message; generating from the metadata, by the processor, a list of senders of messages and a list of recipients of messages, wherein each sender is identified as the sender of at least one of the plurality of messages and each recipient is identified as the recipient of at least one of the plurality of messages; receiving, by the processor, information selecting one of the senders from the list of senders as a source and one of the recipients from the list of recipients as a target; determining, by the processor, using the metadata of the messages in the plurality of messages, one or more communication chains from the source to the target, wherein at least one of the communication chains is an indirect chain that includes at least one sender or recipient identified as an intermediary between the source and the target, wherein the determining includes: storing, by the processor, a representation of the one or more communication chains in the memory.