The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 14, 2010
Filed:
Dec. 03, 2003
Nancy Pettigrew, Venice, CA (US);
Amit Jhawar, Los Angeles, CA (US);
Nancy Pettigrew, Venice, CA (US);
Amit Jhawar, Los Angeles, CA (US);
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA (US);
Abstract
An improved system and method for detecting spam e-mail over a distributed network is disclosed. The distributed network includes multiple servers that receive and process e-mail messages for a multiple remotely located clients. The system includes multiple packet sniffers that are each located on a unique one of servers. The packet sniffers extract originating IP addresses associated with e-mail messages that are communicated to the clients over the network. The system further includes a central monitor that communicates with the packet sniffers and that monitors data regarding originating IP addresses. The monitor determines whether an originating IP address has exceeded a threshold value and may take corrective measures in response, such as generating an alert to a spam analyst or blocking messages originating from that IP address. By leveraging data from several different clients, the system can detect and stop spam messages for an IP address even if a spammer has not targeted a specific customer.