Patent ID: 6868498
Filing Date: 2005-03-15
Classification: G06Q,H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for eliminating unauthorized email on a network comprising the steps of: (a) establishing a connection on a network between an email-receiving server and an email-sending server, wherein said email-receiving server and email-sending server utilize a common email-sending system protocol to send email on the network; (b) making accessible to the email-receiving server for each subscribing user an authorized senders list (ASL list) of email addresses of senders authorized to send email to the user, (c) receiving at the email-receiving server, under the common email-sending system protocol a message from the email-sending server requesting to send email which is addressed to a user deemed to receive email through the email-receiving server and which is addressed from a given sender address; (d) causing the email-receiving server to check whether the user the intended email is addressed to is a user which receives email through the email-receiving server, and, if so, then causing the email-receiving server to check whether the sender address of the intended email is on the user's ASL list; and (e) if the sender address of the intended email is recognized as being on the user's ASL list, causing the email-receiving server under the common email-sending system protocol to send a reply message to the email-sending server that the sending of the email to the email-receiving server will be accepted, otherwise if the sender address of the intended email is not recognized as being on the user's ASL list, causing the email-receiving server to send an error message, under the common email-sending system protocol, to the email-sending server so as to prohibit the email-sending server from sending the intended email to the email-receiving server, whereby the sender is unable to send the unwanted email to the user and is deterred from sending further email to the user's address indicated to be in error by the email-receiving server.