US 2003/0126259 A1Published application

Mail server, electronic mail transmission control method for the mail server, and electronic mail system

AssigneeFuji Xerox Co., Ltd.

InventorsTakeo Yoshida, Naoki Yamada, Fumio Kitagawa

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Abstract

In order to simplify prevention of unauthorized or malicious electronic mail transmission, a mail server comprises a password conversion table which shows registered correlation among user ID, a formal password, and a virtual password different from the formal password, both assigned to each user for user authentication by a general-purpose mail server. A user is informed of only a virtual password. When electronic mail having a virtual password and addressed to an outsider of a company is sent from a client PC, a password conversion processor converts the virtual password into a corresponding formal password with reference to the password conversion table, and the virtual SMTP server function processor sends the electronic mail now having the formal password to the general-purpose mail server. A user at a client PC cannot access the general-purpose mail server using a virtual password as the user is not authenticated using the virtual password.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A mail server, comprising:

a password correspondence table showing registered correlation between identification information assigned to a user of a client computer and a password assigned to the user for user authentication by another mail server on which the user has a mailbox;
mail receiving request receiving means for receiving a mail receiving request sent from a client computer;
mail receiving request generating means for specifying, upon receipt of a mail receiving request by the mail receiving request receiving means, another mail server on which a user having sent the received mail receiving request has a mailbox, with reference to the password correspondence table to generate a mail receiving request relative to the other mail server on behalf of the user;
mail receiving request transmitting means for sending the mail receiving request generated by the mail receiving request generating means to the other mail server;
mail data receiving means for receiving mail data which is sent in response to the mail receiving request sent by the mail receiving request transmitting means;
and
mail data transmitting means for adding the mail data received by the mail data receiving means to mail data retrieved from a mailbox possessed by itself to send resultant mail data to the client computer.

4 more elements

An electronic mail transmission control method for a mail server, comprising:

a mail receiving request receiving step of receiving a mail receiving request sent from a client computer;
a mail receiving request generating step of specifying another mail server at which a user having sent the received mail receiving request has a mailbox, with reference to the password correspondence table which shows registered correlation between identification information assigned to a user of a client computer and a password assigned to the user for user authentication by the other mail server at which the user has mailboxes, to generate a mail receiving request relative to the other mail server on behalf of the user;
a mail receiving request transmitting step of sending the mail receiving request generated at the mail receiving request generating step to the other mail server;
a mail data receiving step of receiving mail data which is sent in response to the mail receiving request sent at the mail receiving request transmitting step;
and
a mail data transmitting step of adding the mail data received at the mail data receiving step to mail data retrieved from a mailbox possessed by the mail server to send resultant mail data to the client computer.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.