Abstract: A method for filtering e-mail messages based on an identification of a true sender and assessing the reputation of the true sender among other users of an e-mail network. The true sender of a received e-mail message is identified in one embodiment by combining data in the e-mail message that is nearly impossible to forge with other information in the e-mail message. The reputation, or rating, of the true sender among other users in the e-mail network is then assessed by looking up the true sender in a database which maintains statistics, provided by the users in the network, on true senders. If the rating of a true sender exceeds some threshold set by the recipient, the message is passed on to the recipient. This method may work in combination with other e-mail filtering programs. An analogous method can be employed to detect e-mail messages having a computer virus sent via an attachment.

Abstract: The system filters-out undesirable email messages sent to a user email address. The system includes a data store providing updateable storage of signature records that correspond to a subset of undesirable email messages that may be sent to the predetermined email address. An email filter processor is coupled to the store of signature records and operates against the email messages received at the predetermined email address to identify and filter-out email messages corresponding to any of the signature records. An update system is provided to automatically receive a set of signature records, which are then used to update the plurality of signature records stored by the data store. The system can be implemented to include at least a portion of the email processor system within a client site email transport system, which receives the email messages addressed to the set of email addresses assigned or associated with the client site, including the predetermined email address.

Abstract: The origin address of an e-mail message is validated to enable blocking of e-mail from spam e-mail sources, by preparing, in response to the receipt of a predetermined e-mail message from an unverified source address, a data key encoding information reflective of the predetermined e-mail message. This message, including the data key, is then issued to the unverified source address. The computer system then operates to detect whether a response e-mail message, responsive to the challenge e-mail message, is received and whether the response e-mail message includes a response key encoding predetermined information reflective of a predetermined aspect of the challenge e-mail message. The unverified source address may be recorded in a verified source address list.

Abstract: Methods and systems for accelerating data communication by reducing network latency particularly by data compression in which requested data is recursively compressed by an encoder and sent to the requester in codes which may or may not be understood by the requester. The requester can subsequently request data corresponding to unknown codes. The request-reply sequence is also recursive and continues until the requested data is present at the requester. To further accelerate communication, a persistently connected network is employed, together with a new socket layer capable of combining multiple messages from different machines, threads, and/or processes into single TCP/IP packets to be relayed along message hubs in the persistent network. These features are introduced singly and combined to create a new caching network. A new content distribution network can take advantage of these data communication improvements since requested content can be distributed in caches in a caching network.

Abstract: The origin address of an e-mail message is validated to enable blocking of e-mail from spam e-mail sources, by preparing, in response to the receipt of a predetermined e-mail message from an unverified source address, a data key encoding information reflective of the predetermined e-mail message. This message, including the data key, is then issued to the unverified source address. The computer system then operates to detect whether a response e-mail message, responsive to the challenge e-mail message, is received and whether the response e-mail message includes a response key encoding predetermined information reflective of a predetermined aspect of the challenge e-mail message. The unverified source address may be recorded in a verified source address list.

Abstract: A message is provided to a tracking server system in response to a client system referencing a predetermined resource locator that corresponds to a resource external to the tracking server system. The tracking server system indirectly provides for the client system to have an informational element selectable by the client system, where the informational element is graphically identified on the client system with informational content obtainable from a content server system through use of a content resource locator. The informational element includes a tracking resource locator, referencing the tracking server system, and data identifying the informational element. The selection of the informational element causes the client system to use the tracking resource locator to provide the data to the tracking server system and to use the content resource locator to obtain the informational content from the content server system.

Abstract: A message is provided to a tracking server system in response to a client system referencing a predetermined resource locator that corresponds to a resource external to the tracking server system. The tracking server system indirectly provides for the client system to have an informational element selectable by the client system, where the informational element is graphically identified on the client system with informational content obtainable from a content server system through use of a content resource locator. The informational element includes a tracking resource locator, referencing the tracking server system, and data identifying the informational element. The selection of the informational element causes the client system to use the tracking resource locator to provide the data to the tracking server system and to use the content resource locator to obtain the informational content from the content server system.

Abstract: A repository server system supports one-click retrieval of user data over a communications network in fulfillment of the data requirements of a Web page form served to a user computer system by a Web page server. The repository server system includes a data store that stores user data. The repository server system provides the Web page form with a clickable user interface control to the user computer system. The control encompasses a user data request, issuable by the user computer system and that corresponds to the Web page form. The repository server system is responsive to the user data request to provide a user data response, corresponding to the user data request, to the user computer system.

Abstract: A repository server system supports a user in submission of confidential user information through client Web page forms served to user computer systems. A data store contains user data referenceable by a first set of names. The repository server processor is coupled to the data store and coupleable to a communications network to receive a user data request from a user computer system, where the user data request includes a client specification of the user data requested to complete the client Web page form. The client specification identifies user data by a second set of names. The processor provides for the conversion of user data stored in correspondence with the first set of names to a form corresponding with the second set of names.

Abstract: A repository server system stores confidential user-information for selective distribution, on behalf of a user to third-party server systems to enable autonomous form data fill-in of form fields having third-party server defined data formats. A database stores the confidential user-information data in named data fields. A repository server processor is coupleable to the database to access the confidential user-information. The processor is coupleable to a communications network to receive a form data request from a form served by the third-party server. The form data request includes a predefined selective mapping of named form fields relative to the named data fields. The processor operates over the selective mapping to access the confidential user-information data and produce instances of the confidential user-information data corresponding to the defined data formats of the named form fields.

Abstract: A Web site is integrated with an information repository server storing user-information to provide for the selective submission of user-information to the Web site. A form Web page deployable by the Web site is first prepared by establishing a specification of user-information needed to complete the form Web page for a given user. The Web page is then coded to issue a request including the specification to the information repository server in response to a predetermined user action. The specification is evaluable by the information repository server to determine a mapping between user-information requested by the Web page and the user-information stored by the information repository server for the user. The Web page is then deployed for retrieval by the user. When the specification is subsequently evaluated, mapping and conversion functions are applied, specific to the user-information stored for a particular user, to return data for completion of the form Web page.

Abstract: An information locator system providing for the expedient acquisition, validation and updating of information locators in a heterogenous network protocol environment. The locator system includes an information location discrimination engine coupleable to a network operating in the heterogeneous network protocol environment, a validation engine coupled to the information location discrimination engine to receive information locators and a database providing for the storage of information locators as discrete searchable resource locators. The validation engine is also connected to the data base for retrieving and storing resource locators. The validation engine provides for the autonomous interrogation of the heterogeneous network protocol environment to validate a predetermined information locator as a corresponding resource locator that is unique to the discrete searchable resource locators then stored by the database.

Abstract: A message is provided to a tracking server system in response to a client system referencing a predetermined resource locator that corresponds to a resource external to the tracking server system. The tracking server system indirectly provides for the client system to have an informational element selectable by the client system, where the informational element is graphically identified on the client system with informational content obtainable from a content server system through use of a content resource locator. The informational element includes a tracking resource locator, referencing the tracking server system, and data identifying the informational element. The selection of the informational element causes the client system to use the tracking resource locator to provide the data to the tracking server system and to use the content resource locator to obtain the informational content from the content server system.

Abstract: A collection search system is responsive to a user query against a collection of documents to provide a search report. The collection search system includes a collection index including first predetermined single word and multiple word phrases as indexed terms occurring in the collection of documents, a linguistic parser that identifies a list of search terms from a user query, the linguistic parser identifying the list from second predetermined single words and multiple word phrases, and a search engine coupled to receive the list from the linguistic parser. The search engine operates to intersect the list with the collection index to identify a predetermined document from the collection of documents. The search engine includes an accumulator for summing a relevancy score for the predetermined document that is related to the intersection of the predetermined document with the list.

Abstract: A method of selecting the likely most relevant database collections for document searching based on an ad hoc query where each of the databases includes a plurality of documents. Iterative collection selection processing of the databases is performed to obtain consistent relative-ranking collection selection results for each iteration. The method uses a collection selection query and performs the repetitive steps of determining an inverse collection frequency and a document frequency for each database; determining a ranking value for each database; selecting a subset of the set of databases based on predetermined criteria dependant on the ranking value for each the database. The method provides for automated and manual descriptions, boolean selection terms combined with soft terms, and uses term proximity, capitalization, phraseology and other information in establishing a relevance ranking of the collections with respect to the ad hoc query.

Abstract: A method of performing automated collection selection relative to a plurality of document collections, each including one or more documents, using a list of qualified terms developed from an input query text. The method comprises the steps of: (a) parsing the input query text to select single-word terms and multiple-word phrase terms from the query text by exclusion of predetermined context-free single-word terms and punctuation; (b) applying each such selected term against a meta-index descriptive of the document collections; (c) determining cumulative rankings for the document collections relative to each such selected term normalized against the plurality of document collections; and (d) selecting a set of the document collections having the highest relative cumulative rankings.

Abstract: A purchase transaction is performed between a client browser and a merchant server over a general access wide area connected network. The transaction appears to the client as singularly identifying a purchasable product or service and singularly confirming the purchase. A persistent predetermined coded identifier is established on the client browser corresponding to an account record stored by the merchant server. A predetermined URL referencing a purchasable product or service is served to the client browser. The predetermined URL includes an implicit reference to the persistent predetermined coded identifier. The predetermined URL is received by the merchant server, including the predetermined coded identifier, in response to a client browser selection. The merchant server validates the predetermined coded identifier against the account record and records an identifier of the purchasable product or service as derived from the predetermined URL by the merchant server.

Abstract: A collection search system is responsive to a user query against a collection of documents to provide a search report. The collection search system includes a collection index including first predetermined single word and multiple word phrases as indexed terms occurring in the collection of documents, a linguistic parser that identifies a list of search terms from a user query, the linguistic parser identifying the list from second predetermined single words and multiple word phrases, and a search engine coupled to receive the list from the linguistic parser. The search engine operates to intersect the list with the collection index to identify a predetermined document from the collection of documents. The search engine includes an accumulator for summing a relevancy score for the predetermined document that is related to the intersection of the predetermined document with the list.

Abstract: A Web server computer system provides for server based controlled management over a client reference to a resource locator independently selected by a client computer system and referencing a server external Web server. The Web server system provides a client system with a predetermined URL reference to the Web server system encoded with predetermined redirection and accounting data including a reference to a second server system. On receipt by the first Web server system of the predetermined URL reference from said client system, the predetermined redirection and accounting data is decoded from the predetermined URL and processed by the Web server system to provide the client system with a redirection message including the reference to said second server system. The accounting data is processed by the Web server system and resulting data is selectively stored by the Web server system.

Abstract: A method of selecting a subset of a plurality of document collections for searching in response to a predetermined query is based on accessing a meta-information data file that describes the query significant search terms that are present in a particular document collection correlated to normalized document usage frequencies of such terms within the documents of each document collection. By access to the meta-information data file, a relevance score for each of the document collections is determined. The method then returns an identification of the subset of the plurality of document collections having the highest relevance scores for use in evaluating the predetermined query. The meta-information data file may be constructed to include document normalized term frequencies and other contextual information that can be evaluated in the application of a query against a particular document collection.