U.S. patent application number 11/304927 was filed with the patent office on 2006-05-04 for methods and systems for achieving and verification of electronic communications.
Invention is credited to George H. JR. Sykes.
Application Number | 20060095528 11/304927 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26923819 |
Filed Date | 2006-05-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060095528 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Sykes; George H. JR. |
May 4, 2006 |
Methods and systems for achieving and verification of electronic
communications
Abstract
A method and system for archiving and/or verifying electronic
communications. The method and system provide verification of an
email sent by a sender to a recipient, comprising receiving a copy
of an email as an addressee; indexing the email according to at
least one of sender, recipient, date, or subject matter; and
storing an exact copy of the email as received. The method and
system also provide for secure electronic communication between a
sender and at least one recipient, comprising receiving from the
sender view a secure internet connection a message and the email
address of at least one intended recipient of the message; sending
an email message to the at least one intended recipient of the
message that a message is waiting; transmitting the message to the
at least one intended recipient via a secure internet connection
established by the at least one intended recipient; and sending an
email message to the sender that the at least one recipient has
been sent the message. The method and system also provide for
transmitting a facsimile for a sender to a recipient, the
comprising: receiving an electronic facsimile message from the
sender together with the facsimile number of the recipient; storing
a copy of the electronic facsimile message; transmitting the
facsimile message to the facsimile number of the recipient.
Inventors: |
Sykes; George H. JR.;
(Granite City, IL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
HARNESS, DICKEY, & PIERCE, P.L.C
7700 BONHOMME, STE 400
ST. LOUIS
MO
63105
US
|
Family ID: |
26923819 |
Appl. No.: |
11/304927 |
Filed: |
December 15, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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09948055 |
Sep 5, 2001 |
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11304927 |
Dec 15, 2005 |
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60229998 |
Sep 5, 2000 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
709/206 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 51/30 20130101;
G06Q 10/107 20130101; H04L 51/34 20130101; H04L 63/166
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
709/206 |
International
Class: |
G06F 15/16 20060101
G06F015/16 |
Claims
1. A method of sending a verifiable email message, the method
comprising: addressing the email message, either as an addressee or
a copy, to a third party that will index the email message
according to at least one of sender, date, recipient, and subject;
storing an exact copy of the e-mail message for at least a period
of time specified by the sender for the purpose of archiving the
sender's email message; sending an acknowledgement of the receipt
of the email message from the third party to the sender; and
sending an acknowledgement to at least one addressee notifying the
addressee that the email message is waiting for the intended
recipient at the third party's Internet website.
2. The method according to claim 1 wherein upon request, the third
party makes a printed copy of the stored e-mail message, and
provides a written verification that it is an exact copy of the
email message as received from the recipient.
3. The method according to claim 1 wherein a credit card or debit
card of the sender is debited for services.
4. The method according to claim 1 wherein the sender is charged
based upon the size of the email and the duration of storage.
5. The method according to claim 4 wherein the sender is advised of
charges via email and can settle an account via the internet.
6. The method according to claim 1 wherein the sender is sent a
statement of charges incurred.
7. A method of secure electronic communication comprising:
transmitting to a third party via a secure Internet connection an
email message and the email address of at least one intended
recipient of the email message; storing an exact copy of the email
message in the third party's database for a time period specified
by the sender; sending an email notification from the third party
to the intended recipient indicating that an email message is
waiting for the intended recipient via an Internet website of the
third party; entering recipient's log on information and a password
to permit the recipient to establish a secure Internet connection
with the third party's website; delivering the email message from
the third party's database to the intended recipient via the secure
Internet connection with the third party's website; and sending an
email notification to the sender when the email message has been
transmitted to the intended recipient.
8. The method according to claim 7 wherein the secure Internet
connection between the sender and the third party is an SSL
connection.
9. The method according to claim 7 wherein the secure Internet
connection between the at least one intended recipient and the
third party is SSL connection.
10. The method according to claim 7 wherein the email message to
the at least one intended recipient includes instructions on how to
establish a secure Internet connection to receive the message.
11. The method according to claim 7 wherein the email message
includes at least a URL to establish the secure Internet
connection.
12. The method according to claim 7 wherein the intended recipient
enters log on information of a valid username, and password, to
logon to the third party's website, and clicks on an inbox to
initiate delivery of the message waiting for the intended
recipient.
13. The method according to claim 12 further comprising alerting
the sender that the copy of the email message that was stored for a
time period specified by the sender is about to be deleted if the
sender does not extend the time period.
14. The method according to claim 13 wherein the time period for
storing the copy of the message is extended for the sender upon
agreement to pay an extension fee.
15. A method of facilitating secure electronic communication
between a sender and at least one recipient, comprising: receiving
from the sender via a secure internet connection an email message
and the email address of at least one intended recipient of the
email message; storing an exact copy of the email message for at
least a period of time specified by the sender; sending an email
notification to the at least one intended recipient of the email
message that the email message is waiting for the intended
recipient to retrieve the email message via a secure internet
website of the third party; establishing a secure internet
connection with the intended recipient upon completion of log in by
the intended recipient onto the third party's website; transmitting
the email message to the at least one intended recipient via a
secure internet connection established by the at least one intended
recipient; and sending an email notification to the sender that the
at least one recipient has been sent the email message.
16. The method according to claim 15 wherein the email notification
to the at least one intended recipient includes instructions on how
to establish a secure internet connection to receive the
message.
17. The method according to claim 16 wherein the email notification
includes at least a URL to establish the secure internet connection
with the third party's website.
18. The method according to claim 17 wherein the email notification
includes a password for the intended recipient to use to establish
the secure internet connection with the third party's website.
19. The method according to claim 18 wherein the intended recipient
enters log on information of a valid username and a password to
establish a secure internet connection with the third party's
website.
20. The method according to claim 19 wherein the intended recipient
clicks on an inbox to initiate delivery of the email message
waiting for the intended recipient.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 09/948,055, filed Sep. 5, 2001, entitled
"Method And System For Achieving And Verification Of Electronic
Communications", which claims priority of U.S. Provisional
Application Ser. No. 60/229,998, filed Sep. 5, 2000.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to electronic communications such as
emails and facsimiles, and in particular to methods of archiving
and verifying electronic communications.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Electronic communications such as emails and facsimiles are
continuing to replace pure paper-based methods of communications. A
problem with electronic communications versus their paper-based
counterparts is that some electronic communications can be altered,
sometimes without detection, and thus it is difficult to verify
what was sent, when it was sent, or when it was received. With
respect to email, it can be difficult for an email sender to prove
that an email was actually sent, when it was sent, or what the
contents were, or whether it was received. Likewise with respect to
facsimiles, it can be difficult for a facsimile sender to prove
that that a facsimile was actually sent, when it was sent, or what
the contents were, or whether it was received.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] This invention relates to archiving and/or verifying
electronic communications. According to a first aspect of the
invention relating to sending verifiable email messages, the
invention comprises addressing the email to a third party
verification provider, either as an addressee or as a cc, who will
index the message according to at least one of sender, date,
recipient, and subject, and store an exact copy of the e-mail
message. Similarly, the invention also relates to providing email
verification of an email sent by a sender to a recipient,
comprising receiving a copy of an email as an addressee; indexing
the email according to at least one of sender, recipient, date, or
subject matter; and storing an exact copy of the email as
received.
[0005] According to a second aspect of the invention relating to
secure electronic communication, the invention comprises
transmitting to a third party via a secure internet connection a
message and the email address of at least one intended recipient of
the message, who will send an email message to the intended
recipient indicating that a message is waiting for the intended
recipient via a secure internet connection, transmit the message to
the intended recipient who establishes a secure internet connection
with the third party, and sends an email to the sender when the
message has been transmitted to an intended recipient. Similarly,
the invention relates to providing secure electronic communication
between a sender and at least one recipient, comprising receiving
from the sender view a secure internet connection a message and the
email address of at least one intended recipient of the message;
sending an email message to the at least one intended recipient of
the message that a message is waiting; transmitting the message to
the at least one intended recipient via a secure internet
connection established by the at least one intended recipient; and
sending an email message to the sender that the at least one
recipient has been sent the message.
[0006] According to an alternative embodiment of the second aspect
of this invention relating to transmitting a message including at
least two options to a recipient and receiving the recipient's
selection, the invention comprises transmitting a message including
at least two options to a third party that communicates the message
to the recipient, receives the recipient's selection, and transmits
the recipient's selection back to the sender. Similarly the
invention also relates to providing for transmission of a message
including at least two options to a recipient and transmitting the
recipient's selection to the sender, comprising receiving from the
sender via a secure connection, the message, including at least two
options, and the email address of at least one intended recipient
of the message; sending an email message to the at least one
intended recipient of the message that a message is waiting;
transmitting the message to the at least one intended recipient via
a secure internet connection established by the at least one
intended recipient, together with instructions to the recipient
about how to make the selection; receiving the selection from the
intended recipient; sending an email message to the sender that the
at least one recipient has made a selection; communicating the
recipient's selection to the sender via a secure internet
connection established by the sender.
[0007] According to a third aspect of this invention relating to
transmitting a verifiable facsimile message to at least one
intended recipient, the invention comprises sending the facsimile
together with the facsimile number of the at least one intended
recipient to a third party who will store an copy of the facsimile
as received and transmit the facsimile to the intended recipient.
The invention also relates to a method of transmitting a facsimile
for a sender to a recipient, the method comprising: receiving an
electronic facsimile message from the sender together with the
facsimile number of the recipient; storing a copy of the electronic
facsimile message; transmitting the facsimile message to the
facsimile number of the recipient.
[0008] These and other features and advantages will be in part
apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a method of archiving email
in accordance with a first aspect of this invention;
[0010] FIG. 2a is a sample email message; and
[0011] FIG. 2b is a sample confirmation of the archiving of the
sample email message of FIG. 2a;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a sample pricing matrix for the archiving and
verification services in accordance with the first aspect of this
invention;
[0013] FIG. 4 is a view of a sample screen for providing account
information for setting up an account with a third party archiving
and verification provider providing services in accordance with the
first aspect of this invention;
[0014] FIG. 5 is a view of a sample screen for providing billing
information for setting up an account with a third party archiving
and verification provider providing services in accordance with the
first aspect of this invention;
[0015] FIG. 6 is an example of a web site page for logging onto a
third party archiving and verification provider's website in
accordance with the several aspects of this invention;
[0016] FIG. 7 is an example of a "Main Menu--Welcome" page of an
administrative web site provided by a third party archiving and
verification provider, as it would appear from a user's web
browser.
[0017] FIG. 8 is an example of a "Find a Message--Simple Search"
page that would be reached through the "Find A Stored Email" link
on the screen shown in FIG. 7;
[0018] FIG. 9 is an example of a search results screen, from using
the "Find a Message--Simple Search" page;
[0019] FIG. 10 is an example of an "Email Contents" page,
displaying the contents of an archived email;
[0020] FIG. 11 is an example of a screen that might be displayed
when the "Delete This Message" link on the Email Contents page of
FIG. 10 is followed;
[0021] FIG. 12 is an example of a screen that might be displayed
when the "Get a Notarized Copy" link on the FIG. 10 "Email
Contents" page is followed;
[0022] FIG. 13 is an example of a screen that might be displayed
when the "Extend this Message" link on the FIG. 10 "Email Contents"
page is followed;
[0023] FIG. 14 shows an "Account Activity" page that might be
displayed when the "View Account Activity" link on the FIG. 7 "Main
Menu--Welcome" screen is followed;
[0024] FIG. 15 shows a "My Profile" page that might be displayed
when the "Change My Profile" link on the FIG. 7 "Main
Menu--Welcome" screen is followed;
[0025] FIG. 16 shows a "Change My Password" page that might be
displayed when the "Change My Password" link on the FIG. 15 "My
Profile" screen is followed;
[0026] FIG. 17 shows a "My Billing" page that might be displayed
when the "Billing Options" link on the FIG. 15 "My Profile" screen
is followed;
[0027] FIG. 18 shows a "Payment Status" page that might be
displayed when the "Make Payment" link on the FIG. 7 "Main
Menu--Welcome" screen is followed;
[0028] FIG. 19 shows the second "Payment Status" page that might be
displayed when the "Next" link on the FIG. 18 "Payment Status" page
is followed;
[0029] FIG. 20 is a "Registered Email" page this might be displayed
when the "gProof Confidential" link on the FIG. 7 "Main
Menu--Welcome" is followed;
[0030] FIG. 21 is a "Send Registered Email" page that might
displayed when the "Outbox" button on the FIG. 20 "Registered
Email" page is clicked;
[0031] FIG. 22 is a "Receive Registered Email" page that might be
displayed when the "Inbox" button on the FIG. 20 "Registered Email"
page is clicked;
[0032] FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram of a secure method of email
communication in accordance with a second aspect of this
invention;
[0033] FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram of a method of verifying
facsimile transmissions in accordance with a third aspect of this
invention;
[0034] FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram of a method of verifying
facsimile transmissions in accordance with this invention;
[0035] FIG. 26 is a sample of notification generated by the system
of the archiving of an email;
[0036] FIG. 27 is a sample of a verified copy of an email provided
by a Third Party Archiving and Verification Provider.
[0037] Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding
parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0038] According to a first aspect, this invention relates to a
system and a method for senders to backup and archive email to a
third party server without the need for conventional backup
software, thereby providing proof of on-line communications. The
system and method are preferably implemented by a third party
archiving and verification provider using an Application Service
Provider ("ASP") model that allows a sender to use the system and
method regardless of his or her location on the Internet. An
example of the structure of tables in a SQL database for
implementing the system and method of this invention is shown in
Appendix A, attached hereto, and incorporated herein by reference.
In the preferred embodiment, no special software is required, and
an email sender can use the system without changing his or her
standard email process.
[0039] Referring to FIG. 1, at 22 the sender sends an email to the
recipient, and to the third party archiving and verification
provider either as an addressee (via the "To:" field) or as a copy
(via the "CC:" field). Using any conventional email program, such
as Outlook, Lotus Notes, Eudora, etc., the sender prepares an email
to a recipient, and in the "To:" field, or in the "CC:" field also
addresses the email to the sender's account with the third party
archiving and verification provider. For example an email sender
would address the email, or copy the email, to his or her system
account xxxxx@yyyyy.com, where xxxxx is a string identifying the
sender's account with the third party archiving and verification
provider, and where yyyyy.com is the third-party verification
provider's email address.
[0040] At 24, the email message is received by the third party
archiving and verification provider. At 26, a Message Transfer
Agent (MTA), for example Sendmail, available from Sendmail,
Emoryville, Calif., passes the email to a filter that generates an
id based upon the time and date of receipt. The MTA is running on
the system server. The email's id is preferably a 24 character
identification code in the format yyyymmddhhmmssnnnnnnnnnn where
yyyymmdd is an eight-character representation of the date of
receipt, hhmmss is a six-character representation of the time of
receipt, and nnnnnnnnnn is a unique ten-digit integer. At 28, the
email message is written out to a queue directory based upon the id
assigned to the email. At 30, a record is inserted into a queue
table in the system's database, which cues a cataloging daemon to
begin processing the message. At 32 the MTA returns to processing
incoming mail requests.
[0041] The third party verification provider's system includes at
least one, and preferably more than one, cataloging daemons that
monitor the queue table in the system database. The cataloging
daemons also run on the system server. The number of cataloging
daemons depends upon the CPU and the 10. Each cataloging daemon is
assigned an id that corresponds to the queue table and the queue
directories. The queue table has 2 fields: a queue number and a
queue message ID. The queue directory is structured as:
/gp/gpc1/outgoing, /gp/gpc1/incoming, /gp/gpc0/outgoing, and
/gp/gpc0/incoming, and depending on the number of queues desired,
the gpc(number) directory would be correspondingly increased. The
same applies for an outgoing queue; a single process is in charge
of it as well. When a cataloging daemon encounters an entry in its
queue, it begins processing.
[0042] At 34, the header of the email message is read, based on
RFC-822 internet mail standards, (which standards are incorporated
herein by references as if fully set forth). At 36, each email
address in the "To:" and "CC:" lines of the email message's header
are temporarily stored in an array, which may be a simple character
pointer array. The "From:" line of the email message's header is
temporarily stored separately. At 38, the cataloging daemon
performs a lookup in an alias table of each email address to
determine if that email address is a system account with the third
party archiving and verification provider. If an email address is
an account on the system, the cataloging daemon extracts the
system's id for that account. At 40, if the address is valid, the
email message's "Received:" header is verified with the MTA table.
The MTA table is an extra security feature that stores and allows
comparison with the mail relay authorized to deliver the email
message to the account. This is an optional feature, that is
preferably turned off by default for most accounts. The MTA table
has 2 fields, user ID and the sender's MTA's host name. This
ensures that the email message was sent from the proper internet
mail relay, i.e. an email address that, according to the user's
account profile, is authorized to send email to the account. At 42,
if the internet mail relay is correct or if it is non-existent the
cataloging daemon checks the email message's "From:" header against
the address table to verify that the address is allowed to send to
the system account. "Non-existent" means that no record is found in
the MTA table for that user. This means that the user did not wish
to restrict email coming in based on their outgoing mail server. If
the user does have an entry and that entry does not match the value
in the MTA table, the message is rejected and an error email is
placed in the queue for delivery to the user who sent the email. At
44, if the operations at 38, 40 and 42 are successful, the email
message is passed to a catalogue routine, which is part of the
cataloging daemon. If there is an error, appropriate error routines
are called.
[0043] At 46, the email message's "To:", "From:", and "Subject:"
lines and the message's size are stored in the system's message
table, with the email message referred to by its assigned message
id. The message table has the following fields: a) message id; b)
user id; c) folder id ( for later use in grouping messages); d)
"To:" line; e) "From:" line; f) "Subject:" line; g) "Date:" line;
h) "Time:" line; i) "Size:" line; j) expiration date; and k) has
the message been paid for.
[0044] At 48, the archive matrix is used to determine the price of
the email. The matrix, an example of which is shown in FIG. 3, is a
cross of storage duration and message size. After the price of the
email is determined, the price is inserted into the system's
transaction table together with the email message's system id. The
storage duration is determined based upon the default value in the
sender's account profile with the third party archiving and
verification provider, unless the sender selects a different
duration. At 50, a notification is written for each recipient in
the email message to an outgoing message queue directory. The
notification preferably includes the system message id, the date
that the message was archived, and the original contents of the
message including all attachments. A sample message is shown in
FIG. 26. At 52 the cataloging daemon checks its particular queue
and begins processing the next email message An outgoing daemon
handles the notifications in the outgoing message queue. The
outgoing daemon is a process that runs at a lower priority than the
MTA and the cataloging daemon to ensure that new messages enter the
system at a high priority than the notifications. The outgoing
daemon handles all outbound correspondence. Each outgoing daemon is
assigned an id that corresponds to the queue table and the queue
directories. When an outgoing daemon encounters an entry in its
queue, processing begins.
[0045] At 54, a system process pipe is opened by a call from the
outgoing daemon for writing to the MTA. At 56, each message is
opened up and written to the MTA process, causing the MTA to send
the mail out.
[0046] The email message remains stored with the third party
archiving and verification provider for a time determined by the
sender's user profile, which was established at the time the sender
opened its account, as from time to time amended. Alternatively,
the user could be allowed to select the time for storage at the
time the message is sent. The user can also extend the time for
storage later, as described below. The third party verification
provider preferably provides the sender with access to the stored
email messages via a web browser, allowing the sender to manage the
stored messages, deleting unneeded messages, extending the storage
time for messages, and requesting verified copies of messages.
[0047] An example of a web page for providing account information
for setting up an account via the Internet with a third party
verification provider operating in accordance with the principles
of this invention is shown in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the page
includes boxes to input the sender's name, the sender's address,
the sender's city, the sender's state or region, the sender's zip
code or postal code, the sender's country, the sender's phone
number, the sender's fax number, and the sender's email address.
The page also includes boxes for selecting a user id and selecting
and confirming a password. The page includes a "Next" button for
advancing to the next screen. An example of a page for providing
billing information for setting up an account via the Internet with
a third party archiving verification provider operating in
accordance with the principles of this invention is shown in FIG.
5. As shown in FIG. 5, the page includes a box to select the
default archive duration, selection buttons to select a billing
option ("1. Send a monthly paper bill", "2. Send a monthly email
bill and you pay online", and "3. We keep your credit card on
line."). The page preferably also includes a box for selecting a
credit card type, a box for entering a credit card number, and
boxes for selecting the expiration date. The page also includes a
"Previous" button for returning to the previous page, and a "Next"
button for advancing to the next page.
[0048] An example of a web page for logging onto a third party
verification provider's website is shown in FIG. 6. As shown in
FIG. 6, the sender enters his or her ID, his or her Email Address,
and his or her Account Password, and clicks on the "Secure Login"
button. An example of an "Main Menu--Welcome" page of an
administrative web site provided by a third party archiving and
verification provider is shown in FIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 7, the
"Main Menu--Welcome" page includes a fields displaying "Account
Status", "Account ID", "Account Aliases", "Account Addresses",
"Last Login", "Archived Message Count", "Registered Message Count",
and "Free Messages". The "Main Menu--Welcome" page also includes a
"Find A Stored Email" link; a "View Account Activity Link", a
"Change My Profile" link, a "Make Payment" link, and a "gProof
Confidential" link.
[0049] An example of a "Find a Message--Simple Search" page that
would be reached through the "Find A Stored Email" link on the page
shown in FIG. 7, is shown in FIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 8, the "Find
a Message--Simple Search" screen includes check boxes for enabling
various search criteria. One criteria is the date of the email
message, and if enabled, boxes are provided to enter search strings
for the start date (default current date), a box to enter the start
time (default 00:00:00), an end date (default current date), and an
end time (default 23:59:59). Another search criteria is the
contents of the "To:" line of the email message, and if enabled, a
box labeled "To Line Contains" is provided to enter search strings.
Another search criteria is the contents of the "From:" line of the
email, and if enabled, a box labeled "From Line Contains" is
provided to enter search strings. Still another search criteria is
the contents of the "Subject:" line of the email message, and if
enabled a box labeled "Subject Line Contains" is provided to enter
a search string. A search button is also provided, which the user
can click to execute the selected search. An example of the search
results page is shown in FIG. 9. The Search Results page provides
links to "Read" and to "Delete" each message displayed on the page.
If the user clicks on the "Read" link, the message is displayed,
together with a warning that a printout could have been modified.
An example of such a page is shown in FIG. 10.
[0050] As shown in FIG. 10, on the display page of an archived
email, three links are provided: "Delete This Message", "Get a
Notarized Copy", and "Extend This Message". The "Delete This
Message" link causes the message to be deleted. FIG. 11 shows an
example of a page that might appear when the "Delete This Message"
link is clicked. The "Get a Notarized Copy" link initiates the
preparation and of a paper copy of the email that is verified as
correct. Can we provide a sample? FIG. 12 shows an example of a
page that might appear when the "Get a Notarized Copy" link is
clicked. As shown in FIG. 12, the page includes boxes for inputting
the name, addess, city, state or region, zip or postal code, and a
selection box to select the country. There is an "Order" button,
which the user clicks to place the order, and have a verified copy
of the selected email delivered to the specified address. The
"Extend This Message" link extends the time that the message will
remain archived. FIG. 13 shows an example of a page that might
appear when the "Extend This Message" link is clicked. The page
might contain the option to extend the archiving for one to seven
years, providing pick buttons for making the selection, and a place
order button for effecting the transaction. Before the expiration
of the archive time, the sender will preferably be notified of the
expiry of the archive time, and be given the option to extend the
archive time.
[0051] FIG. 14 shows an "Account Activity" page that might be
displayed if a user clicks the View Account Activity on the FIG. 7
"Main Menu--Welcome" page. As shown in FIG. 14, the "Account
Activity" page can display "Invoice Number", "Date", "Amount",
"Status" and "Paid Date" of the various charges incurred on the
account.
[0052] FIG. 15 shows a "My Profile" page that might be displayed if
a user clicks the "Change My Profile" link on the FIG. 7 "Main
Menu--Welcome" page. As shown in FIG. 15, the "My Profile" page can
display fields for Name, Address, City, State or Region, Zip or
Postal Code, a selection box for country, a telephone number, a
facsimile number, an email address, email aliases, and From
Requirements (email addresses authorized to send email to the third
party verification provider). The user can replace or update
information, and there is an "Update Information" button the user
can click to update profile information.
[0053] FIG. 16 shows a "Change My Password" page that might be
displayed if a user clicks the "Change My Password" link on the
FIG. 15 "My Profile" page. As shown in FIG. 16, the "Change My
Password" page has boxes for entering the old password, the new
password, and confirming the new password, and a "Change Password"
button for the user to click to effect the change.
[0054] FIG. 17 shows a "My Billing" page that might be displayed if
a user clicks the "Billing Options" link on the FIG. 15 "My
Profile" page. As shown in FIG. 17, the "My Billing" page has a
selection box labeled "Keep New Messages" for setting the default
archive period, pick-buttons for "Send Paper Bill", "Email
Bill--Pay Online", and "Credit Card Billed Automatically". The "My
Billing" page also includes a selection box for selecting the
credit card type, a box for entering the credit card number, and
selection boxes for selecting the expiration date. An "Update
Billing" button allows the user to update billing information.
[0055] FIG. 18 shows a "Payment Status" page that might be
displayed if a user clicks the "Make Payment" link on the FIG. 7
"Main Menu--Welcome" page. As shown in FIG. 18, the "Payment
Status" page displays a pick box for each outstanding invoice, and
displays invoice number, date, status and amount. There is a "Next"
button that the user clicks to continue with the payment process.
FIG. 19 shows the second "Payment Status" page that is displayed
when the user clicks "Next" on the FIG. 18 "Payment Status" page.
As shown in FIG. 19, the second "Payment Status" page includes a
selection box for selecting the credit card type, a box for
entering the credit card number, and selection boxes for selecting
the expiration date. A "Pay Bill" button allows the user to
complete the payment.
[0056] FIG. 20 is a "Registered Email" page this might be displayed
when a user clicks on the "gProof Confidential" link on the FIG. 7
"Main Menu--Welcome" page. As shown in FIG. 20, the "Registered
Email" page includes a "Send Registered Email" section with an
"Outbox" button the user clicks to send a registered email, and a
"Receive Registered Email" section, with an "Inbox" button the user
clicks to receive a registered email. FIG. 21 is a "Send Registered
Email" page that might displayed if a user clicks on the "Outbox"
button on the FIG. 20 "Registered Email" page. As shown in FIG. 21,
the "Send Reigstered Email" page has a "To:" box to enter the email
address of the recipient, a "From:" box to enter the email address
of the sender, an "Attachments:" box with an "Add" to add
attachments; a "Selection:" box to either input selections for
responses by the recipient (as described below), or to remove the
selection feature; a "Subject:" box to enter a subject, and a
"Body:" box to enter the text of the message. The page also
includes a "Cancel" button and an "Submit" button to sent the
email. FIG. 22 is a "Receive Registered Email" page that might be
displayed if a user clicks on the "Inbox" button on the FIG. 20
"Registered Email" page. As shown in FIG. 22, the "Receive
Registered Email" page has an "Input a Registered Email ID" box to
ender the ID number of an email, and an "Add it" button to add it
to the listing of registered emails displayed on the page. The page
allows the recipient to see the sender and the subject, and
provides links for each email to delete or to "Read" or to "Delete"
the email.
[0057] According to a second aspect of this invention, a system and
method is provided for allowing closed and secure communications on
the internet. A problem with conventional email messages is that
they may be stored on unsecure servers. According to this second
aspect of this invention, messages are never sent over normal SMTP
channels, and are instead created and read using SSL technology,
and the documents remain on the system's servers.
[0058] The system and method of the present invention provide a
secure method for Internet users to communicate registered emails
on the Internet without using conventional email clients such as
Microsoft's Outlook Express or Netscape's Network Navigator.
Instead, messages are created and read inside a web browser such as
Microsoft's Internet Explorer, or Netscape's Navigator. Further,
unlike conventional email, the system and method of this invention
allow the sender to know if and when a message has been read. The
system and method allow the sender to see the state of any message,
i.e., the user can see that the message has been delivered and read
by the recipient, in contrast to conventional email where a user
sends a message and is only notified when and if the recipient
replies. According to an alternate aspect of the invention, the
system and method also allows the sender to receive an electronic
or telephone reply to a needed request.
[0059] On the FIG. 7 "Main Menu--Welcome" page, the user would
click "gProof Confidential" link, and reach the FIG. 20 page. From
the FIG. 20 page, the user the "Outbox" button to reach the FIG. 21
screen. On the FIG. 21 screen, the user is presented with an
attachment box, an upload, and next buttons. As the user uploads
files, they appear in the attachment box. Thee messages are stored
on the system server as MIME entities. This preserves the
content-type and other properties needed. The file names are
defined as "internalMessageID.count++". After the user clicks the
next button, the user is prompted with the "to", "from", "subject",
and "body" form. The user is prompted with a confirmation of how
much the message will cost and a "Send it" button. As shown in FIG.
23, at 100, the Sender securely uploads email message to Third
Party Archiving and Verification Provider. At 102, Third Party
Archiving and Verification Provider emails Recipient that an
message is waiting. At 104, Recipient securely downloads message
from Third Party Archiving and Verification Provider. At 106, Third
Party Archiving and Verification Provider emails Sender when
Recipient receives message.
[0060] When the sender clicks the confirm button on the FIG. 21
page, the system checks to see if the "To:" line is a registered
user with the Third Party Archiving and Verification Service. If
the addressee in the "To:" line is a registered user, the system
automatically assigns that registered user's id to the message, and
sends that user a message to logon and view the message. The
recipient then logs onto the Third Party Archiving and Verification
Provider's website, Entering a valid user id and password on the
FIG. 6 page to reach the FIG. 7 "Main Menu--Welcome" page. By
clicking the "gProof Confidential" link (gProof is a proprietary
service mark), the recipient reaches the FIG. 20 page. By clicking
"Inbox" under "Receive Registered Email", the recipient reaches the
FIG. 22 page, where the recipient inputs the registered email id in
the box, and clicks the "Add it" button. This delivers the email to
the users inbox, where the user can access the message, as well as
previous received messages and other store messages. Where the
recipient does not have an account with the Third Party Archiving
and Verification Provider, the system and method can include a
verification system to make sure that the message is delivered to
the proper recipient. As described above, when the sender clicks
the "Confirm" button on the FIG. 21 page, the system checks to see
if the addressee in the "To:" has an account with the Third Party
Archiving and Verification Provider. If the recipient does not have
an account, the system sends an email that instructs the user to go
to Third Party Archiving and Verification Provider's website and
create an account. After the recipient creates an account, with the
Third Party Archiving and Verification Provider's website, the
system generates a 64 character string that relates to that user's
email address. The system then sends an email to that address with
the 64 character ID embedded in a link. When recipient clicks on
that link, the system verifies that the recipient's email address
is valid because they referenced an ID that was sent to that email
address. The same ID is mapped to the same address in the Third
Party Archiving and Verification Provider's database. After the
user clicks the link, the Third Party Archiving and Verification
Provider's system marks the recipient's account as active, then
searches the database for any email messages that do not yet have
an ID assigned to it, and which also have the recipient's email
address in the "To:" line. After the system finds the email
messages meeting these criteria, the messages are then assigned to
that userID. Thus when the recipient logs in for the first time,
the message or messages addressed to the recipient will be waiting
for the recipient.
[0061] According to a third aspect of this invention, a system and
method is provided to allow a user to preset choices for a
recipient, and allow the recipient to make a selection by web
browser or by telephone.
EXAMPLE
[0062] A project manager tells a client that changes need to be
made to a customer's project and that the cost of those changes
will be $1000. The project manager can send a confidential message
describing the change, and creating selections, such as "A--Yes,
make the changes", "B--No, do not make the changes", "C--Yes, but
only if they can be done by 3:00 tomorrow afternoon", and
"D--Please call me". The client will receive a normal email message
that a message is waiting for delivery at the system's website. The
user is able to check the status of the message and view the
selection. A time and date stamp can be applied to show when the
message was received, and when the selection was made.
[0063] In an alternate embodiment, the recipient can make the
selection via telephone. The message would include a telephone
number, which is preferably a toll free number. Upon calling the
telephone number the recipient inputs an id number uniquely
identifying the message the recipient is replying to, and is given
instructions how to make the selection using the telephone keypad.
The recipient's telephone number and selection are stored, and made
available to the original user, for example via a website.
[0064] According to a fourth aspect of this invention, a system and
method is provided that allows users to create a third party
archive of their fax documents. Users can deliver faxes using their
current workflow process simply by dialing into the system fax
server and then entering the outgoing fax phone number. The system
and method then allow the user to view faxed documents via an
internet browser.
[0065] As shown in FIG. 24, when a user wants to send a fax, at
200, the user dials the system's telephone number, which preferably
is a toll free number. At 202, the system sends a "beep" or other
audible signal to prompt the user to enter a PIN number. At 204,
the user enters a PIN number. At 206, the system sends another
"beep" or other audible signal to prompt the user to enter the
recipient's facsimile number. At 208, the user enters the
recipient's facsimile number. At 210, the user transmits the
facsimile to the third party archiving and verification
provider.
[0066] At 212, the third party archiving and verification system
verifies that the PIN number entered by the user is correct, by
looking it up in a PIN table. At 214, if the PIN number is correct,
the system finds the user id associated with the PIN number, and
associates the user id with the fax document. At 216 the fax data
is written to the system in two formats, a summary file and a data
file. The summary file lists information relative to the fax
received, such as the system user id, the number of pages, the time
of transfer, and the user's PIN number. A data file is preferably a
.pdf file, but the could be one or more pages of fax data stored as
an image. At 218, the facsimile is sent to the fax number entered
by the user. At 220, upon successful transmission of the fax, the
system optionally sends a notification back to the fax machine that
sent the original fax. Alternatively, or in addition, the system
could send a notification only upon failure of transmission.
Further, instead of sending a notification through the user's fax
machine, or in addition to sending a notification through the
user's fax machine, the system can send a email notification either
of successful transmission and/or failure of transmission.
[0067] At 220, a fax daemon monitors the systems fax queue. At 222,
when the fax daemon finds a summary file, the fax daemon reads in
the summary file and inserts the information from the summary file
into the systems fax database. The data files are then moved to the
user's fax directory.
[0068] An alternative implementation is shown in FIG. 25. The
system shown in FIG. 25 includes at least two telephone numbers,
the first number is the system "home" number for receiving calls
from the users home or main fax number; and the second number is
the system's "mobile" number , which gives the user the ability to
fax from machines other than the user's home or main fax number.
When a call is received on the system "home" number, the user is
prompted for a PIN number, and if the PIN number input by the user,
and the user's calling number detected via caller id or similar
methods are authenticated, the system accepts the recipient's fax
number, and the system is set up to accept the facsimile. When a
call is received on the system's "mobile" number, the user is
prompted to input a PIN number and the user's home calling number,
and if the PIN number and home calling number input by the user are
authenticated, the system accepts the recipient's fax number, and
the system is set up to accept the facsimile.
[0069] As shown in FIG. 25, at 300 the user calls either the system
"home" number or the systems "mobile" number. At 302, if the call
is made to the system's "mobile" number, the user is prompted to
enter the customer's "home" number. At 304, the user is prompted to
enter its PIN number. The PIN number is preferably a unique four
digit number. At 328, the home number (detected if the call is on
the "home" number, or input if the call is on the "mobile" number),
and the PIN number are authenticated. At 306, the system then sends
a "beep" or other audible tone that prompts the user to in put the
recipient's facsimile number. At 308, the user transmits the fax to
the system.
* * * * *