Patent ID: 7970848
Filing Date: 2011-06-28
Classification: G06Q,H04L

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: identifying, by a linking object insertion routine, an electronic message to be tracked based on the electronic message having been classified as virus-infected by a virus scanning routine associated with a commercial anti-virus service or the electronic message having been classified as spare by a spare scanning routine associated with a commercial anti-spam service; facilitating, by the linking object insertion routine, user submission of information regarding the electronic message to be tracked to the commercial anti-spam service or the commercial anti-virus service by embedding a linking object within the electronic message to be tracked, wherein the information submitted regarding the electronic message to be tracked comprises an indication to the commercial anti-spam service that the electronic message has been correctly or falsely identified as spam, the linking object having encoded therein a destination address of an email submission server of the commercial anti-spare service or the commercial anti-virus service, wherein the user' s privacy is preserved with respect to content of the electronic message to be tracked by limiting the information submitted responsive to activation of the linking object by the user to signatures of the electronic message and other information associated with the electronic message that are reasonably required for spare or virus analysis; and wherein the linking object insertion routine, the virus scanning routine and the spare scanning routine are implemented in one or more processors and one or more computer-readable storage media of one or more computer systems, the one or more computer-readable storage media having instructions tangibly embodied therein representing the linking object insertion routine, the virus scanning routine and the spare scanning routine that are executable by the one or more processors.