Patent ID: 7487540
Filing Date: 2009-02-03
Classification: G06F,Y10S

Abstract:
1. A content scanning system for electronic documents such as emails comprising: a) a link analyser configured to identify hyperlinks in content of electronic documents; b) a hyperlink replacer configured to modify the electronic documents by replacing hyperlinks to external objects identified by the link analyser by new hyperlinks to respective targets on a trusted server; c) a link database, the hyperlink replacer being configured to store in the link database data relating the replaced hyperlinks to the new hyperlinks; and d) an object server hosted on a server machine and configured, on receipt of a request to retrieve an external object from one of said targets on the trusted server when a new hyperlink to said one of said targets is selected, to use the data stored in the link database to determine the replaced hyperlink which was replaced by the new hyperlink, to retrieve the external object referenced by the thus determined, replaced hyperlink, and to cause a content scanner to scan the retrieved external object and to determine the acceptability of the retrieved external object according to predefined rules, the object server being configured, responsive to the replaced hyperlink being to an external object which is determined by the content scanner to be acceptable, to supply the retrieved external object in response to the request, and the object server being configured, responsive to the replaced hyperlink being to an external object which is determined by the content scanner to be unacceptable, to perform remedial action.