Abstract:
A system for selectively providing an out of office autoreply message in response to an incoming message is provided. The system avoids providing potentially sensitive or useful information to unauthorized senders of unsolicited messages, commonly known as spam. Accordingly, dramatic increases in such messages that can be experienced after a sender of such messages has confirmed the validity of a target address through the receipt of a reply message, can be avoided. In addition, security concerns associated with providing unknown senders of messages with information indicating that a user is out of the office are also avoided.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a messaging application or unified messaging application with selective autoreply. In particular, the present invention selectively provides an automated response to an incoming communication depending on characteristics associated with that communication. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Various communication devices and channels are now available that allow communications or messages to be presented to users. For example, telephones associated with voice mailboxes allow voice messages to be left, and facsimile machines allow printed material to be presented to users. In addition, email provides a convenient method for presenting text messages, or even graphics and multimedia messages, to users. 
     In an attempt to reach as many potential consumers as possible, advertisers have taken advantage of these various devices and channels to present their messages to users. Unsolicited commercial messages, or spam, have become an increasing problem. For example, computer users are frequently faced with the reception of undesirable spam email. Spam generation engines, which indiscriminately send out huge volumes of messages to valid and invalid addresses, are becoming increasingly effective at getting through to the end user. 
     The problem of spam engines is complicated if the user has their “Out of Office” (OOF) autoreply on. If a user enables their OOF autoreply, an automatic response is sent to all spam messages, thereby confirming that the user&#39;s email address is valid. Once such a response is issued and therefore validated, the user&#39;s email address becomes much more valuable to advertisers. Furthermore, the autoreply may teach the spam generation engine to hone in on similar addresses to that of the user. The volume of spam that both the individual user and their email server will receive will increase if an address is known to be valid. The OOF autoreply response can empower spam generation engines to share the user&#39;s address with other spam generation engines, perpetuating the problem. 
     Because the user&#39;s signature block is frequently attached to the OOF autoreply or autoresponse, the sender of the spam may also be provided with additional information about the user, such as physical address and telephone number information. In addition to information about the particular user, the OOF autoreply may also provide the sender of the spam with information related to colleagues. For example if the OOF autoreply lists contacts that might be able to assist the user in their absence, the spam sender will receive that information. 
     The use of OOF autoreply also presents security issues. In particular, the OOF autoreply can tell one or more spam engines that the user&#39;s PC is unattended for a period of time and that the user may also be away from home. This can become a serious corporate and/or personal security breach if the sender of the spam is also involved in the theft of goods, services or intellectual capital. Some companies have banned the use of OOF autoreplies to help solve this problem. However, this solution of course makes OOF autoreplies unavailable to legitimate senders. 
     In order to limit spam, filters are available to direct spam to a special mailbox. Although such filters can assist a user in sorting legitimate messages from spam, they do not alter the behavior of the OOF autoreply. 
     With respect to voice or facsimile messages, voice greetings notifying the caller that the user is away from the office or otherwise unavailable are commonly used. Also, facsimile machines typically provide confirmation to a sending device that transmission of a facsimile message can begin and/or has been completed successfully. Both of these systems provide a means for senders of spam to verify the validity of a voice or facsimile telephone number, and can also provide additional information that may be undesirable to provide senders of spam. Although call blocking functionality may be available for handling unwanted calls, such tools do not alter the behavior of OOF autoreply or confirmation functions. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to solving these and other problems and disadvantages of the prior art. In particular, embodiments of the present invention permit the provision of OOF autoreply with respect to legitimate senders of messages, while suppressing OOF autoreply with respect to spam or potential spam messages. More particularly, messages that are identified as legitimate are provided with the autoreply. Messages that are identified as spam may be ignored or deleted, and an OOF autoreply is not provided with respect to such messages. Messages that are identified as potential spam may be placed in a quarantine file, and an OOF autoreply is not provided with respect to such messages. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention permit the behavior of an OOF autoreply function to be controlled. As used herein, spam refers to any unwanted message, regardless of the form of that message. Accordingly, examples of spam include commercial email messages, voice mail messages or facsimile transmissions. 
     In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, when an OOF autoreply function is enabled, a sending address or other information associated with an incoming communication is analyzed to determine whether that information corresponds to an entry in an authorized sender list available to and/or associated with the user (i.e. the target of the incoming message). If the incoming message is determined to be associated with an authorized sender, the message is received normally, and an OOF autoreply is provided. 
     In accordance with further embodiments of the present invention, an incoming message may also be analyzed to determine whether it is associated with a list of identified spam senders. The determination as to whether the incoming message is associated with a list of identified spam senders may be made after a determination that the message is not associated with an authorized sender. If the incoming message is determined to be associated with an identified spam sender, the OOF autoreply is suppressed, and the message may be ignored or deleted. 
     In accordance with still further embodiments of the present invention, incoming message may be filtered to determine whether it is a spam message. The determination as to whether a spam filter identifies a message as spam may be made after a determination that the message is not associated with an authorized sender. The determination as to whether a spam filter identifies a message as spam may also be made after or before a determination as to whether the incoming message is associated with a list of identified spam senders is made. If the incoming message is determined to comprise a spam message, the OOF autoreply is suppressed, and the message may be ignored or deleted. 
     Embodiments of the present invention may also provide for the quarantining of messages that are not identified as spam by comparison to a list of identified spam senders or by the operation of a spam filter. With respect to such messages, the operation of the OOF autoreply is suppressed, and the message is quarantined for later consideration by the user. As part of the control of the system, the user may adjust the contents of an authorized sender list, the contents of an unauthorized sender list, and/or the rules governing operation of the spam filter based on the user&#39;s analysis of a quarantined message. 
     Additional features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following description, particularly when taken together with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram depicting components of a system that allows for the selective application of an OOF autoreply in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a communication endpoint or communication server that allows for the selective application of an OOF autoreply in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 3  is a flow chart depicting the operation of a system that allows for the selective application of an OOF autoreply in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , components of a system  100  that allows for the selective application of an out of office (OOF) autoreply or autoresponse function in accordance with embodiments of the present invention are illustrated. In general, the system  100  includes a target communication endpoint  104  interconnected to an initiator communication endpoint  108  by a communication network  112 . The system  100  may also include a communication server  116 . 
     An example of a target communication device  104  includes telephony devices, such as telephones, wireless telephones, soft telephones, video telephones, and facsimile (fax) machines. Additional examples of a target communication endpoint  104  include personal digital assistants (PDAs) having communication capabilities, and general purpose computing devices. Furthermore, as can be appreciated by one of skill in the art from the description provided herein, a target communication endpoint  104  can be part of a device providing a number of functions, for example an integrated PDA and cellular telephone. In general, the target communication endpoint  104  can access or is associated with a target address  114 . The target address  114  may be of various forms, including an email address, voice telephone number, facsimile telephone number, instant messaging address, text messaging address, or any other address at which a message may be left for a user. Similarly, the initiator communication device  108  may be associated with an initiator address  115 . The association between a communication endpoint  104 ,  108  and an associated address  114 ,  115  may be fixed, for example, in the case of a facsimile machine interconnected to a dedicated land line. Alternatively or in addition, the association between a communication endpoint  104 ,  108  and an associated address  114 ,  115  may be temporary, for example where a user accesses their e-mail account from a personal computer or PDA. 
     An initiator communication endpoint  108  may comprise the same types of communication devices as a target communication endpoint  104 . In addition, an initiator communication endpoint  108  may comprise a spam generation application or server, an automatic dialer for voice or facsimile messages, or other automated or semi-automated device for sending commercial or other messages to communication endpoints in bulk and/or relatively indiscriminately. 
     The communication network  112  may comprise one or more networks of one or more types. For example, communications network  112  may comprise a packet data network, such as the Internet, intranet, VPN or a combination of one or more intranets and the Internet. As additional examples, the communication network  112  may comprise a switched circuit network, such as the public switched telephone network (PSTN), private switched network, or wireless voice and/or data networks, such as cellular telephone networks or networks supporting wireless PDAs. In addition, the communications network  112 , may combine several of these network types into one larger communication path. 
     If provided, the communication server  116  is generally interconnected to the communication network  112 . The communication server  116  may function to monitor communications and/or to store messages addressed to a particular target communication address  114  or groups of target communication addresses  114 . Accordingly, examples of a communication server  116  include e-mail servers, voice messaging servers, or unified messaging servers. In addition, the communication server  116  may be local or remote with respect to a target communication endpoint  104 . For example, a user of a target communication endpoint  104  may be able to access messages directed to that user (i.e. associated with a target communication address  114  of the user) by connecting to the communication server  116  over a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN). 
     With reference now to  FIG. 2 , components of a target communication endpoint  104  or of a communication server  116  in accordance with embodiments of the present invention are depicted. The components may include a processor  204  capable of executing program instructions. Accordingly, the processor  204  may include any general purpose programmable processor or controller for executing application programming. Alternatively, the processor  204  may comprise a specially configured application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The processor  204  generally functions to run programming code implementing various other functions performed by the target communication endpoint  104  or communication server  116 . As will be described in greater detail elsewhere herein, such functions may include e-mail messaging, telephony, facsimile, instant messaging or other communication functions in the case of a target communication endpoint  104 . As further examples, such functions may include the processing, delivery, and storage of one or more e-mail, voice mail, facsimile or instant messaging messages in connection with a communication server  116 . 
     A target communication endpoint  104  or a communication server  116  may additionally include memory  208  for use in connection with the execution of programming by the processor  204 , and for the temporary or long term storage of data or program instructions. For example, the memory  208  may be used in connection with the operation of a messaging application that provides an OOF autoreply selectively. The memory  208  may comprise solid state memory resident, removable or remote in nature, such as DRAM and SDRAM. Where the processor  204  comprises a controller, the memory  208  may be integral to the processor  204 . 
     In addition, various user input devices  212  and user output devices  216  may be provided. Examples of input devices  212  include a microphone, keyboard, numeric keypad, scanner and pointing device combined with a screen or other position encoder. Examples of user output devices  216  include a speaker, alphanumeric display, ringer, printer port, IrDA port, and printer. 
     A communication device  104  or a communication server  116  may also include data storage  220  for the storage of application programming and/or data. For example, operating system software  224  may be stored in the data storage  220 . Examples of applications that may be stored in data storage  220  include messaging application software  228 , messaging directories  232  and/or spam filter applications  236 . As can be appreciated by one of skill in the art, a messaging application  228  may comprise program instructions for implementing a voice, text, fax or other mailbox. As a further example, the messaging application  228  may comprise a unified messaging application. In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, the messaging application  228  may additionally provide or be associated with communication functions, and therefore may include an e-mail program or application, telephony application, facsimile application, instant messaging application, or other communication application. In addition, the messaging application  228  allows an OOF autoreply to be selectively provided in response to an incoming message when the OOF autoreply function is selected by the user. The OOF autoreply may be in the form of an automated text message, for example in response to a received e-mail or instant message, a voice greeting, or a confirmation that facsimile functions are available. Other forms of OOF autoreply are also possible. As will be described in greater detail elsewhere herein, whether or not an OOF autoreply is provided is, according to embodiments of the present invention, determined based in part on information associated with the incoming message. The messaging application  228  may additionally include an unauthorized sender list that allows a user to identify particular sending addresses as sources of spam. The messaging directories  232  may comprise address lists or books that are accessible by the messaging application  228 . Examples of messaging directories  232  include personal address books, corporate directories, and automatically generated contact lists. The spam filter  236  is optionally included, and may comprise an algorithm for analyzing information associated with an incoming message to determine whether that message comprises spam. As can be appreciated by one of skill in the art from the description provided herein, the various applications stored in the data storage  220  of a target communication device may differ from those stored in a communication server  220 . For example, the messaging application  228  on a communication endpoint  104  may provide communications functions, such as allowing an email message to be composed and sent, while a messaging application  228  or a communication server  116  may provide mailboxes for stored messages. 
     A target communication endpoint  104  or communication server  116  may also include one or more network interfaces  240 . For example, a target communication endpoint  104  or a communication server  116  may include a communication network interface  240  comprising a packet data network interface, such as a wired or wireless Ethernet interface, for example where the target communication endpoint  104  or communication server  116  comprises a general purpose computer. Additional examples of a communication network interface  240  include a telephony network interface, such as a CDMA, TDM, GSM, PSM, satellite, ultrawide band, satellite telephony, IrDA or other wireless or wire line interfaces. The target communication endpoint  104  or communication server  116  may additionally include a communication bus  244  to allow communications between the various components of the device. 
     With reference now to  FIG. 3 , aspects of the operation of a communication system  100  providing a selective OOF autoreply function are illustrated. Initially, a user sets the OOF autoreply on (step  300 ). In general, the OOF autoreply function is selected in connection with a particular target address  114 . For example, the user may choose to enable the OOF autoreply function with respect to the user&#39;s e-mail account. 
     Furthermore, setting the OOF autoreply may include entering the content of the autoreply message that will be delivered in response to authorized messages received at the target address  114 . Setting up the OOF autoreply may be accomplished using a communication endpoint  104  running or capable of accessing the messaging application  228  providing the OOF autoreply functionality with respect to the target address  114 . 
     At step  304 , an item or incoming message is received by the messaging application  228  associated with the target address  114 . Continuing the example of an e-mail communication channel, the messaging application  228  may comprise a unified messaging application. After receiving the incoming item or message, origination or address information associated with that received message is compared to trusted source information (step  308 ). In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, trusted sources may comprise addresses included in the user&#39;s messaging directories  232 . In accordance with still other embodiments of the present invention, trusted sources may comprise only those addresses included in the user&#39;s messaging directories  232  that have been selected or marked as trusted, either manually or automatically. As still another example, trusted sources may include addresses included in a company internal directory, or addresses from which the user has accepted communications in the past. 
     At step  312 , a determination is made as to whether the received message is associated with a trusted source. If the received message is found to be associated with a trusted source, an OOF autoreply message is provided (step  316 ). As can be appreciated, the OOF autoreply message is sent to the initiating address  115 . 
     If the received message is not associated with a trusted source, a determination is next made as to whether that message is associated with a source or initiator address  115  that has been tagged or identified as a source of spam (step  320 ). For example, the messaging application  228  may determine whether the initiator address  115  is included in a spam list or unauthorized sender list created by the user associated with the target address  114 . In addition to addresses that have been manually identified as being associated with unauthorized senders, any external address (e.g. an address external to the user&#39;s corporate intranet or LAN) may be treated as being associated with an unauthorized sender. If the initiator address  115  of the received message is not included in the spam list for the target address  114 , spam filters may be applied to the received message (step  324 ). A determination may then be made as to whether the received item is identified by the spam filter as a spam message (step  328 ). If the received item is identified as spam at either step  320  or step  328 , the received message is deleted or ignored, and no OOF autoreply is provided (step  332 ). 
     If the received item is not identified as spam, the received message may be quarantined, and no OOF autoreply is provided (step  336 ). Accordingly, for messages that cannot be identified as authorized or unauthorized, and are therefore indeterminate, the content of the incoming message may be preserved or stored, for example, in the data storage  220  of a target communication device  104  or a communications server  116 , for a later review by the user. That is, the incoming message may be quarantined. Placing a message in quarantine may comprise placing it in a specially marked file or folder. Furthermore, because no OOF autoreply message is provided to the initiator address  115  associated with such an indeterminate message, the validity of the target address  114  is not confirmed, and the sender is not informed that the user associated with the target address  114  is out of the office or otherwise unavailable. 
     In connection with incoming messages that are unauthorized or indeterminate, the response of the messaging application  228  to receipt of such messages is generally the same as the response of that application to messages received while the OOF autoreply function is not selected. For example, in connection with an e-mail application, no confirmation or reply message of any sort may be provided to the initiating address  115 . In the context of voice and/or video telephony, the user&#39;s standard greeting may be played back to the initiating address, instead of a temporary greeting (a type of OOF autoreply) informing the caller that the user is out of the office. Alternatively in the case of voice and facsimile, suppression of an OOF autoreply may comprise suppressing the greeting or fax go ahead completely and terminating the call. 
     The foregoing discussion of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. Further, the description is not intended to limit the invention to the form disclosed herein. Consequently, variations and modifications commensurate with the above teachings, within the skill and knowledge of the relevant art, are within the scope of the present invention. The embodiments described hereinabove are further intended to explain the best mode presently known of practicing the invention and to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention in such or in other embodiments and with various modifications required by their particular application or use of the invention. It is intended that the appended claims be construed to include the alternative embodiments to the extent permitted by the prior art.