US 7668951

Patent Overview: US7668951B2

Title: Electronic Message Source Reputation Information System

Patent Number: US7668951B2

Assignee: Google LLC (original assignee listed as Google LLC; an assignment to Postini, Inc. appears in the record, followed by reassignment to Google Inc. and later Google LLC)

Inventors: Peter K. Lund, Scott M. Petry, Craig S. Croteau, Kenneth K. Okumura, Dorion A. Carroll

Application Number: US11/137,110

Priority Date: 2004-05-25

Filing Date: 2005-05-25

Publication Date: 2010-02-23

Adjusted Expiration: 2027-05-21

Purpose: The patent describes a system for monitoring network activity, creating pools of information reflecting that activity, and managing network activity based on the collected information. Specifically, it maintains a pool of source Internet Protocol (IP) address information—referred to as a Real-Time Threat Identification Network (RTIN) database—that provides the reputation of source IP addresses, which customers can use for filtering network traffic.

Plain-Language Scope: The system gathers reputation data about email senders (identified by IP address or domain) from multiple sources, then makes that reputation information available so customers can filter incoming network traffic. Data sources described include: a traffic monitoring system collecting real-time email traffic information; a "two-strikes" system that reduces false-positive spam identification by checking elapsed time since a prior suspected spam email from an IP address; and a "sudden-death" system that detects spam based on email addressed to known non-existent addresses (an indication of a directory harvest attack, or DHA). The reputation information can be accessed through multiple avenues, including Domain Name Server (DNS)-type queries and router-table data. The patent also touches on authentication processes for accessing reputation information (e.g., encryption keys), types of information maintained in the pool, and methods of access.

Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/[US7668951](/patent/US7668951)/en

What the excerpt does not establish: The supplied text is explicitly marked as an excerpt with omitted portions. It does not establish the full contents of the claims, the complete specification, the exact scope of the "Active EMS patent application" referenced, or the full details of the authentication and access methods. It does not establish litigation history, validity, ownership transfers beyond what is listed, or prior art.