Patent ID: 7206814

Claim:
In a network, a method of processing e-mail messages comprising: a) receiving an e-mail message from an unknown sender; b) requesting information about the sender from at least one database that compiles global statistics about senders based on information about the sender received from recipients in the network, wherein compiling statistics includes determining a ratio reflecting whether the sender sends a majority of messages to recipients who have included the sender on a whitelist, wherein the statistics are used to determine a sender's reputation, wherein the sender is identified based on data in the message header including at least one of the following: i) an actual sender; ii) a final IP address used by the sender; iii) a final domain name used by the sender; or iv) an IP path used by the sender; and c) categorizing whether the e-mail message is good based on information received about the sender's reputation, wherein the e-mail message is allowed through a recipient's e-mail filter it the reputation as good and the e-mail message is not allowed through the e-mail filter if the reputation is either not good or not known.