JP2002374307A - Mail server, client device, method of controlling them, electronic mail system, program and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mail server, etc., capable of avoiding the reception of a large quantity of mails from an unknown sender, without conducting complicating works. SOLUTION: The mail server 104 receives an electronic mail (e-mail), obtains first mail reception information (information on a reception date, a sender, a destination and a data capacity (size)) and calculates the sum total of the received data capacity of the e-mail within a first retrieving period (first total reception capacity) by the combination of a sender and a destination. When the first total reception capacity exceeds the first upper limit, the mail server 104 adds this combination to a server side reception prohibition list. After this, when the sender and the destination obtained in advance of the reception of the e-mail are set to rejection of reception (register to the list), the error is returned to a transmission source, without being received; when they are not set to rejection of reception, normal reception processing is performed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mail server in which an electronic mail is received by a mail server and transferred from the mail server to each destination client device, a client device, a control method thereof, an electronic mail system, a program, and a program. It relates to a storage medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an electronic mail system in which a mail server and a mail client device are connected via a network, and after an electronic mail is received by the mail server, the electronic mail is transferred to a client device at each destination. ing.

In this system, for example, a large number of e-mails may be sent from a specific malicious sender to a specific destination, and when such a situation occurs, it becomes difficult to receive necessary normal e-mails. May cause trouble. On the client device side, in order to avoid this, a malicious sender is identified and identified from the received mail or the like, the mail address of the sender is registered as a sender whose reception should be refused, and the reception of the electronic mail is individually performed. I was trying to refuse.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional system, there is a problem that a malicious sender must be specified and reception rejection must be individually set, and the operation is complicated. Also, if a large number of e-mails are sent from an unknown sender in a short period of time, the setting of rejection may be made afterwards, which will immediately hinder normal e-mail reception and cause a failure. There was a problem that it could not be avoided.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem of the prior art, and has as its object to avoid a large number of mails from an unknown sender without complicated work. An object of the present invention is to provide a server, a client device, a control method thereof, an electronic mail system, a program, and a storage medium.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mail server, comprising: a server-side receiving unit for receiving an e-mail; and a server for receiving the e-mail by the server-side receiving unit. A mail server comprising: a server-side mail information obtaining unit that obtains a sender and a destination of the electronic mail; and a mail transfer unit that transfers the electronic mail received by the server-side receiving unit to a destination client device. A server-side calculating means for calculating the total data capacity by accumulating the data capacity of the e-mail received by the server-side receiving means for each combination of sender and destination; and a total data capacity calculated by the server-side calculating means. Server-side reception rejection setting means for setting the e-mail reception setting to rejection for a combination exceeding a predetermined capacity; If the sender and destination of the new e-mail obtained by the server-side mail information obtaining means correspond to the combination for which the reception rejection is set by the server-side reception rejection setting means, the new electronic mail by the server-side reception means is set. A server-side reception prohibiting unit that prohibits reception of mail.

In a mail server according to a second aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to the first aspect, the server-side reception prohibiting means sends an error notification to a transmission source of the new e-mail whose reception is prohibited. It is characterized by performing.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the mail server according to the first or second aspect, the server-side reception prohibiting means transmits the new electronic mail to the client apparatus to which the reception is prohibited. And that the fact is notified.

A mail server according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the mail server according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the server-side reception rejection setting means sets reception rejection. Among them, a server-side setting canceling means for canceling the setting of the reception rejection for an arbitrary combination is provided.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the mail server according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the predetermined capacity is settable by a user of the client device. Features.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the mail server according to the first aspect, the predetermined capacity can be set for each of the combinations. I do.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the mail server according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the total of the data capacity by the server-side calculating means is determined by the server-side receiving means. Is regarded as an electronic mail received within a predetermined period.

[0013] In the mail server according to the present invention, the predetermined period can be set by a user of the client device.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the mail server according to the seventh or eighth aspect, the predetermined period can be set for each combination.

In order to achieve the above object, a client device according to a tenth aspect of the present invention comprises a client-side receiving means for receiving an electronic mail addressed to itself from a mail server, and prior to receiving the electronic mail by the client-side receiving means. A client-side mail information acquisition unit for acquiring a sender of the electronic mail, wherein a total data amount is calculated by accumulating a data volume of the email received by the client-side reception unit for each sender. Client-side calculating means, a client-side reception rejection setting means for setting an e-mail reception setting to reception rejection for a sender whose total data capacity calculated by the client-side calculation means exceeds a predetermined amount, and the client-side mail The sender of the new e-mail acquired by the information acquisition means A client-side reception prohibition unit that prohibits reception of the new e-mail by the client-side reception unit when the sender corresponds to a sender for which reception rejection is set by the client-side reception rejection setting unit. I do.

[0016] In the client apparatus according to the present invention, the client-side reception prohibiting means deletes the new electronic mail from the mail server.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the tenth aspect, the user can set a mode of prohibiting reception by the client-side reception prohibiting means.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a client apparatus according to any one of the tenth to twelfth aspects, wherein the sender has a reception rejection set by the client side reception rejection setting means. Preferably, the apparatus further comprises a client-side setting canceling means for canceling the setting of the reception refusal for an arbitrary sender.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the client device according to any one of the tenth to thirteenth aspects, the predetermined capacity can be set by a user.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the client device according to any one of the tenth to fourteenth aspects, the predetermined capacity can be set for each sender. I do.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the client apparatus according to any one of the tenth to fifteenth aspects, the total of the data capacity by the client-side calculating means is determined by the client-side receiving means. Is regarded as an electronic mail received within a predetermined period.

According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in the client device according to the sixteenth aspect, the predetermined period can be set by a user.

[0023] In the client apparatus according to the present invention, the predetermined period can be set for each sender.

In order to achieve the above object, a mail server control method according to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention provides a server-side receiving step of receiving an electronic mail, and a step of receiving the electronic mail before receiving the electronic mail in the server-side receiving step. A server-side mail information obtaining step of obtaining a sender and a destination of the mail, and a mail transfer step of transferring the electronic mail received by the server-side receiving step to a destination client device, wherein the mail server control method, A server-side calculating step of calculating the total data capacity by accumulating the data capacity of the e-mail received in the server-side receiving step for each combination of sender and destination; and determining the total data capacity calculated in the server-side calculating step by a predetermined amount. For combinations that exceed capacity,
The server-side reception rejection setting step of setting the e-mail reception setting to reception rejection, and the sender and destination of the new e-mail acquired in the server-side mail information acquisition step are set to the reception rejection by the server-side reception rejection setting step. And a server-side reception prohibition step of prohibiting the reception of the new e-mail by the server-side reception step when the combination corresponds to the combination described above.

According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, in the mail server control method according to the nineteenth aspect, the server-side reception prohibiting step includes the step of: The error notification is performed.

According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, in the mail server control method according to the twenty-first or the twenty-ninth aspect, the server-side reception inhibiting step includes the step of: It is characterized by notifying the device to that effect.

In the mail server control method according to a twenty-second aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to any one of the nineteenth to twenty-first aspects, reception rejection is set by the server-side reception rejection setting step. A server-side setting canceling step of canceling the setting of the reception rejection for an arbitrary combination among the available combinations.

According to a twenty-third aspect of the present invention, in the mail server control method, the predetermined capacity is settable by a user of the client device. There is a feature.

According to a twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention, in the mail server control method according to the first aspect, the predetermined capacity can be set for each of the combinations. It is characterized by.

According to a twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the mail server control method according to any one of the nineteenth to twenty-fourth aspects, wherein the cumulative data capacity in the server-side calculation step is determined by the server server. The electronic mail received within the predetermined period by the side receiving process is regarded as being considered.

According to a twenty-sixth aspect of the present invention, in the mail server control method, the predetermined period can be set by a user of the client device.

[0032] In the mail server control method according to claim 27 of the present invention, in the configuration according to claim 25 or 26, the predetermined period can be set for each of the combinations.

In order to achieve the above object, a method for controlling a client device according to a twenty-eighth aspect of the present invention includes a client-side receiving step of receiving an electronic mail addressed to itself from a mail server; A client-side mail information obtaining step of obtaining a sender of the electronic mail prior to reception, wherein the data amount of the electronic mail received by the client-side receiving step is accumulated for each sender. A client-side calculation step for calculating the total data capacity;
For a sender whose total data amount calculated in the client-side calculation step exceeds a predetermined amount, the client-side reception rejection setting step of setting the e-mail reception setting to reception rejection and the client-side mail information obtaining step are obtained. If the sender of the new e-mail is a sender for which rejection is set by the client-side rejection setting step, a client-side reception prohibition step of prohibiting the reception of the new e-mail by the client-side reception step. It is characterized by having.

According to a twenty-ninth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the twenty-eighth aspect, the client-side reception inhibiting step deletes the new electronic mail from the mail server. And

According to a thirty-seventh aspect of the present invention, in the method for controlling a client device according to the thirty-eighth aspect, the user can set a mode of reception inhibition by the client-side reception inhibition step. I do.

According to a thirty-first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a client device according to any one of the twenty-eighth to thirty-second aspects.
In the configuration described in the paragraph, among the senders for which reception rejection is set by the client-side reception rejection setting step, a client-side setting release step of releasing the reception rejection setting for any sender .

According to a thirty-second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a client device according to any one of the twenty-eighth to thirty-first aspects.
In the configuration described in the paragraph, the predetermined capacity can be set by a user.

[0038] A method for controlling a client device according to claim 33 of the present invention is the method according to any one of claims 28 to 32.
In the configuration described in the paragraph, the predetermined capacity can be set for each sender.

According to a thirty-fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a client device according to any one of the twenty-eighth to thirty-eighth aspects.
In the configuration described in the paragraph, the total of the data capacity in the client-side calculation step is regarded as an electronic mail received within a predetermined period in the client-side reception step.

[0040] According to a thirty-fifth aspect of the present invention, in the client device control method according to the thirty-fourth aspect, the predetermined period can be set by a user.

According to a thirty-sixth aspect of the present invention, in the method for controlling a client device according to the thirty-fourth or thirty-fifth aspect, the predetermined period can be set for each sender.

In order to achieve the above object, an electronic mail system according to claim 37 of the present invention comprises a mail server according to any one of claims 1 to 9 and a mail server connected to the mail server via a network. And a client device capable of receiving e-mail from the mail server.

To achieve the above object, an electronic mail system according to claim 38 of the present invention provides a client device according to any one of claims 10 to 18 and a receiving device connected to the client device via a network. And a mail server capable of transferring the e-mail to the client device.

In order to achieve the above object, a program according to claim 39 of the present invention comprises a server-side receiving procedure for receiving an electronic mail, and a sender and a destination of the electronic mail before receiving the electronic mail by the server-side receiving procedure. A program for causing a computer to implement a method of controlling a mail server having a server-side mail information obtaining procedure for obtaining the e-mail and a mail transfer procedure for transferring an e-mail received by the server-side receiving procedure to a destination client device. A server-side calculation procedure for calculating the total data capacity by accumulating the data capacity of the e-mail received by the server-side reception procedure for each combination of sender and destination; and a data calculated by the server-side calculation procedure. For the combinations whose total capacity exceeds the specified capacity, set the e-mail reception setting to reject If the sender and destination of the new e-mail acquired by the server-side reception rejection setting procedure and the server-side mail information acquisition procedure correspond to the combination for which reception rejection is set by the server-side reception rejection setting procedure, The program is a program for causing a computer to execute a server-side reception prohibition procedure for prohibiting reception of the new electronic mail by the server-side reception procedure.

In order to achieve the above object, a program according to claim 40 of the present invention comprises a client-side receiving procedure for receiving an e-mail addressed to itself from a mail server; A program for causing a computer to implement a method of controlling a client device having a client-side mail information acquisition procedure for acquiring a sender of an electronic mail, wherein the data capacity of the email received by the client-side reception procedure is determined for each sender. A client-side calculation procedure for calculating the total data capacity by summing the data, and a client-side reception procedure for setting the e-mail reception setting to reception rejection for a sender whose total data capacity calculated by the client-side calculation procedure exceeds a predetermined capacity. Rejection setting procedure and the client-side mail information collection If the sender of the new e-mail obtained by the procedure corresponds to the sender for which reception refusal is set by the client-side reception rejection setting procedure, the client that prohibits the reception of the new e-mail by the client-side reception procedure The program is a program for causing a computer to execute the side reception prohibition procedure.

In order to achieve the above object, a storage medium according to claim 41 of the present invention comprises a server-side receiving procedure for receiving an electronic mail, a sender of the electronic mail before receiving the electronic mail by the server-side receiving procedure, A program for causing a computer to implement a mail server control method having a server-side mail information obtaining procedure for obtaining a destination and a mail transfer procedure for transferring an e-mail received by the server-side receiving procedure to a destination client device A computer-readable storage medium storing the server-side calculation procedure of calculating the total data capacity by accumulating the data capacity of the e-mail received by the server-side reception procedure for each combination of sender and destination, Combinations in which the total data capacity calculated by the server-side calculation procedure exceeds a predetermined capacity. The server-side reception rejection setting procedure for setting the e-mail reception setting to reception rejection, and the sender and destination of the new e-mail acquired by the server-side mail information acquisition procedure are rejected by the server-side reception rejection setting procedure. Is stored, a program for causing a computer to execute a server-side reception prohibition procedure for prohibiting reception of the new e-mail by the server-side reception procedure is stored.

In order to achieve the above object, a storage medium according to claim 42 of the present invention provides a client-side receiving procedure for receiving an electronic mail addressed to itself from a mail server, and a step of receiving the electronic mail by the client-side receiving procedure. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to implement a method for controlling a client device having a client-side mail information obtaining procedure for obtaining a sender of the electronic mail, the program being received by the client-side receiving procedure The client-side calculation procedure of calculating the total data capacity by accumulating the data capacity of the e-mails obtained for each sender, and receiving the e-mail for the sender whose total data capacity calculated by the client-side calculation procedure exceeds a predetermined capacity. Client-side reception rejection that sets the setting to reception rejection If the sender of the new e-mail acquired by the client-side mail information acquisition procedure corresponds to the sender for which rejection has been set by the client-side reception rejection setting procedure, the client-side reception procedure A program for causing a computer to execute a client-side reception prohibition procedure for prohibiting reception of the new e-mail is stored.

[0048]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an electronic mail system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a general public network. Reference numeral 102 denotes a LAN which is an internal network of a provider, a company, a school, or the like. Reference numeral 103 denotes a connection destination (access point) from the general public network 101 to the LAN 102. Reference numeral 104 denotes an e-mail server connected to the LAN 102 (hereinafter, referred to as “mail server 104”).
It is. Reference numeral 105 denotes an e-mail client (hereinafter, referred to as “client 105”) that receives a mail.

The clients 105 include those connected to the same LAN 102 to which the mail server 104 is connected and those connected to the mail server 104 via the general public network 101. is there. Note that a plurality of clients 105 may have the same configuration, and a plurality of mail servers 104 may have the same configuration.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the mail server 104.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 201 denotes a CPU (central processing unit) (server-side calculating means, server-side rejection setting means, server-side reception prohibiting means, server-side setting canceling means) which performs calculations and controls. A ROM 202 stores programs, data, and the like. Reference numeral 203 denotes a RAM (main storage device) used as a work area and a data storage area. Reference numeral 204 denotes a storage device such as a hard disk drive for storing data and programs to be retained even when the power is turned off. 205 is the mail server 10
4 is an external storage device connected to the outside of the main body, and is used for the same purpose as the storage device 204.

Reference numeral 206 denotes a system bus for exchanging signals. Reference numeral 207 denotes an internal clock used in the system. Reference numeral 208 denotes a display device such as a CRT display for performing display as an interface with the user.
Reference numeral 09 denotes an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse for the user to input or give an instruction. 210 is a communication I / F such as a LAN adapter or a modem for communicating with an external server or the like.
(Interface) (server-side receiving means, server-side mail information obtaining means, mail transfer means).

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the client 105.

The client 105 is connected to the mail server 10
4, the CPU 301 (client-side calculation unit, client-side reception rejection setting unit, client-side reception prohibition unit, client-side setting release unit) includes a ROM 302, a RAM 303, and a storage device 30.
4, external storage device 305, internal clock 307, display device 3
08, input device 309 and communication I / F 310 (client-side receiving means, client-side mail information acquiring means)
Are connected via a system bus 306.

CPU 301, ROM 302, RAM 30
3, storage device 304, external storage device 305, internal clock 3
07, display device 308, input device 309, communication I / F3
10 and the system bus 306 are the above-described units of the mail server 104, the CPU 201, the ROM 20
2, RAM 203, storage device 204, external storage device 20
5, internal clock 207, display device 208, input device 20
9, the communication I / F 210 and the system bus 206 have the same configuration.

In such a configuration, the mail server 104
Receives the e-mail from the transmission source client device via the other server via the communication I / F 210, and transfers the e-mail in response to a request from the destination client device.

The storage device 204 stores a server-side reception prohibition list. The server-side reception prohibition list includes the mail server 1 among the combinations of the sender and the destination.
Reference numeral 04 denotes a list of items to be rejected, which are added and set in step S409 in FIG. 4 described later. As will be described later, the mail server 104 rejects an e-mail corresponding to the combination of the sender and the destination registered in the server-side reception prohibition list. The server-side reception prohibition list may be stored in the RAM 203 or the external storage device 205.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a mail receiving routine executed on the mail server 104 side.

First, the sender and destination of the e-mail are obtained (step S401). The information of the sender and the destination is stored in a commonly used mail transmission protocol SM.
According to TP (refer to RFC821), when an electronic mail is received from another mail server, the electronic mail is notified and received before receiving the electronic mail.

Next, by searching the server-side reception prohibition list held in the storage device 204 for a combination of the sender and the destination, the acquired e-mail from the sender to the destination is set to be rejected. That is,
It is determined whether the acquired combination of the sender and the destination corresponds to the combination of rejection of reception registered in the server-side reception prohibition list (step S402). As a result of the determination, if the e-mail from the sender to the destination is not set to reject reception, step S4
Go to 03.

In step S403, normal mail reception processing is performed, and the received e-mail is stored in the storage device 204 or the external storage device 205. Next, the first mail reception information is obtained (step S404), and the storage device 204 is obtained.
Alternatively, it is stored in the external storage device 205 (step S40).
5). The first mail reception information includes the reception date and time, sender, destination, and data capacity (size) of the received e-mail.
There is information of. The reception date and time are obtained from the internal clock 207,
The sender and the destination are obtained from the information notified in advance in step S401, and the data capacity is determined by the reception / transmission.
Obtained from saved e-mail. The set of these information is the first mail reception information.

Next, the first search period (predetermined period) and the first
The setting information of the upper limit capacity (predetermined capacity) is obtained from the storage device 204 (or the external storage device 205) (step S40).
6). Here, the first search period (for example, 3 days) and the first search period
The upper limit capacity (for example, 10 MB) is set in advance by default.

Next, the total of the received data capacity of the e-mail within the first search period (hereinafter, referred to as “first total received capacity”) (total data capacity) is calculated for each combination of sender and destination ( Step S407). That is, referring to the first mail reception information stored in step S405, the electronic mail received from the start time of the first search period to the present time, and the combination of the sender and the destination is determined in step S401. Sum the email data volume that matches the one obtained in. As a result, the total reception capacity for each combination of the sender and the destination within the first search period is calculated.

Next, it is determined whether or not the calculated first total reception capacity within the first search period has exceeded the first upper limit capacity (step S408). If the value does not exceed the first upper limit capacity, the present process ends. On the other hand, when the first total reception capacity exceeds the first upper limit capacity, the e-mail reception setting is set to the reception rejection setting (step S409). That is, the combination of the sender and the destination whose first total reception capacity exceeds the first upper limit capacity is added to the server-side reception prohibition list. In this case, the subsequent e-mail from the sender to the destination is rejected after the determination in step S402. After that, the process ends.

On the other hand, as a result of the discrimination in step S402, if the e-mail from the obtained sender to the destination is set to reject reception, an error (error notification) is returned to the source of the e-mail (step S410). ),
This processing ends. Therefore, in this case, the e-mail is not received and the reception is rejected. This allows
Short-term intensive e-mail reception from the same sender to the same destination is avoided.

In the above configuration, one client 105 can download an electronic mail addressed to itself from the mail server 104 by the communication I / F 310.

The storage device 304 stores a client-side reception prohibition list. The client-side reception prohibition list is a list of senders to whom the client 105 should reject reception, and is added and set in step S509 in FIG. 5 described later. As will be described later, the client 105 refuses to receive an e-mail from a sender registered in the client-side reception prohibition list. Note that the client-side reception prohibition list is R
It may be stored in the AM 303 or the external storage device 305.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a mail receiving routine executed on the mail client side.

First, the sender of the e-mail is obtained (step S501). The sender of the e-mail is the commonly used e-mail reception protocol POP3 (RFC1
939) to obtain only the header of the mail and analyze the header. Next, by searching for the sender from the client-side reception prohibition list held in the storage device 304, it is determined whether the obtained sender is set to reject reception, that is, the acquired sender is set to the client-side reception prohibition list. Is determined (step S502). As a result of the determination, if the acquired sender is not set to reject reception, the process proceeds to step S503.

In step S503, a normal mail receiving process is performed, and the received e-mail is stored in the storage device 304 or the external storage device 305. Next, the second mail reception information is obtained (step S504), and the storage device 304 is acquired.
Alternatively, it is stored in the external storage device 305 (step S50).
5). The second mail reception information includes information on the reception date and time, sender, and data capacity (size) of the received e-mail. The reception date and time are obtained from the internal clock 307, the sender and the destination are obtained from the information obtained in step S501, and the data capacity is obtained from the received and stored e-mail. A set of these information is the second mail reception information.

Next, the second search period (predetermined period) and the second search period
The setting information of the upper limit capacity (predetermined capacity) is obtained from the storage device 304 (or the external storage device 305) (step S50).
6). Here, the second search period and the second upper limit capacity are set in advance by default.

Next, the total of the received data capacity of the e-mails during the second search period (hereinafter, referred to as “second total received capacity”) (data total capacity) is calculated for each sender (step S507). In other words, referring to the second mail reception information stored in step S505, the e-mail is received from the start time of the second search period to the present, and the sender obtains the e-mail in step S501. Total email data size that matches. As a result, the total reception capacity for each sender in the second search period is calculated.

Next, it is determined whether or not the calculated second total received capacity within the second search period has exceeded the second upper limit capacity (step S508). If it does not exceed the second upper limit capacity, the process ends. On the other hand, when the second total reception capacity exceeds the second upper limit capacity, the electronic mail reception setting is set to the reception rejection setting (step S509). That is, the sender whose second total reception capacity exceeds the second upper limit capacity is added to the client-side reception prohibition list. In this case, subsequent e-mails from the sender are rejected after the determination in step S502. After that, the process ends.

On the other hand, as a result of the discrimination in step S502, if the acquired sender is set to reject reception, the e-mail is deleted from the mail server 104 (step S510), and this processing ends. Therefore, in this case, the e-mail is not received from the mail server 104, and the reception is rejected. This prevents a large amount of electronic mail from being intensively received in a short period of time from the same sender.

According to the present embodiment, the mail server 10
In 4, the sender and destination combination in which the first total reception capacity of the received e-mail exceeds the first upper limit capacity is additionally registered in the server-side reception prohibition list, and is acquired prior to reception in subsequent reception processing. When the combination of the sender and the destination is registered in the server side reception prohibition list, the reception of the e-mail is rejected (error notification without receiving the e-mail). Even if there is a malicious sender that sends a large amount of e-mails, it is possible to automatically avoid receiving more than a certain amount of e-mails from the sender. Thereby, reception of necessary e-mail is secured. Therefore, even if the sender is an e-mail from an unknown unknown person, reception is rejected without specifying the sender one by one and individually setting rejection. Therefore, it is possible to avoid receiving a large amount of mail from an unknown sender having the same destination without performing a complicated operation.

According to the present embodiment, a sender whose second total reception capacity of the received e-mail exceeds the second upper limit capacity is additionally registered in the client-side reception prohibition list in the client 105, and subsequent reception is performed. In the processing, if the sender obtained from the mail header is registered in the client-side reception prohibition list, the reception of the e-mail is rejected (deleted from the mail server 104), so that a large amount of the e-mail is sent to itself in a short time. Even if there is a malicious sender that sends the e-mail, it is possible to automatically avoid receiving more than a certain amount of e-mail from the sender. Thereby, reception of necessary e-mail is secured. Therefore, even if the sender is an e-mail from an unknown unknown person, reception is rejected without specifying the sender one by one and individually setting rejection. Therefore, it is possible to avoid receiving a large number of mails from an unknown sender without performing complicated work.

In this embodiment, the mail server 1
Although the mail receiving routine (FIGS. 4 and 5) is performed on each of the 04 side and the client 105 side, the effect of avoiding reception of a large amount of mail from an unknown sender can be obtained by performing only one of them. can get.

The first and second search periods may be the same or different. The same applies to the first and second upper limit capacities. Note that the first and second search periods and the first and second upper limit capacities are determined by the ROM 202, 302 or RA
M203 and 303 may be used.

From the viewpoint of improving usability,
Either or both of the first search period and the first upper limit capacity may be arbitrarily set by the user of the client 105. Also, these may be configured to be set for each combination of sender and destination. Further, either or both of the second search period and the second upper limit capacity may be arbitrarily set by the user of the client 105. In addition, these may be configured to be settable for each sender. In these cases, the search period or the upper limit capacity held in the storage device 204 or the like is changed by setting software having an appropriate user interface or by the user directly editing the file with an editor or the like. What should I do?

When the mail server 104 rejects the reception of the e-mail and returns an error to the sender, the mail server 104 may be configured to record information on the mail that returned the error in a file or the like. This file may be stored in the storage device 204 or the external storage device 205. Further, a configuration may be adopted in which a mail notifying that the reception has been refused is transmitted to the client device to which the mail whose reception has been refused is addressed.

In step S510 in FIG. 5, when the reception is rejected, the electronic mail is deleted from the mail server 104. However, the present invention is not limited to this. May be configured to be settable by the user, or may be specified by the user each time. For example, a configuration may be made so that the user can select whether or not to delete. This selection may be set in advance by the user and stored in the RAM 303, the storage device 304 or the external storage device 305, or may be configured by the user every time reception is rejected.

In the mail server 104, of the combinations of senders and destinations set as reception rejection in the server side reception prohibition list, desired combinations can be individually canceled or all settings can be canceled collectively. It may be configured so that the e-mail can be received again. In these cases, the reception rejection stored in the RAM 203, the storage device 204, or the external storage device 205 is performed by setting software having an appropriate user interface or by the user directly editing the setting file using an editor or the like. The setting may be canceled. Similarly, in the client 105, of the senders set as reception refusal in the client-side reception prohibition list, a desired sender can be canceled individually or all settings can be canceled collectively. Is also good. As a result, it is possible to individually receive e-mails from a specific sender (or a combination with a specific destination), thereby improving usability.

When the total capacity of the first and second mail reception information exceeds a certain size, the mail server 104 and the client 105 are configured to automatically delete the oldest information. The configuration may be such that the total capacity of the received information does not exceed a certain size. Alternatively, the mail receiving information exceeding a certain period may be automatically deleted, and the mail receiving capacity may be prevented from becoming excessively large. Further, the fixed period may be set to be the same as the first and second search periods, and the first and second mail reception information after the first and second search periods may be automatically deleted.

A storage medium storing program codes of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to the electronic mail system, and a computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system is stored in the storage medium. Needless to say, the object of the present invention can be achieved by reading and executing the program code.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. When the program code is supplied via a transmission medium or the like, the program code itself constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk,
Hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-
A ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

The functions of each of the above-described embodiments are realized not only by the computer executing the readout program code, but also by the operating system running on the computer based on the instructions of the program code. It goes without saying that a part or all of the actual processing is performed and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written to a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the program code is read based on the instruction of the program code. Needless to say, a CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

[0091]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to avoid receiving a large number of mails from unknown senders without performing complicated work.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an electronic mail system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a mail server.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a mail client.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a mail receiving routine executed on the mail server side.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a mail receiving routine executed on the mail client side.

[Explanation of symbols]

201 CPU (server-side calculation unit, server-side reception rejection setting unit, server-side reception prohibition unit, server-side setting release unit) 202 ROM 203 RAM 204 storage device 205 external storage device 207 internal clock 210 communication I / F (server-side reception Means, server-side mail information acquisition means, mail transfer means) 301 CPU (client-side calculation means, client-side reception rejection setting means, client-side reception inhibition means,
Client-side setting release means) 302 ROM 303 RAM 304 Storage device 305 External storage device 307 Internal clock 310 Communication I / F (Client-side receiving means, Client-side mail information acquisition means)

Claims (42)

[Claims] 1. A server-side receiving means for receiving an electronic mail, a server-side mail information obtaining means for obtaining a sender and a destination of the electronic mail before receiving the electronic mail by the server-side receiving means, and the server-side receiving means A mail transfer means for transferring the e-mail received by the means to a destination client device, wherein the data capacity of the e-mail received by the server-side receiving means is determined for each combination of sender and destination. A server-side calculating means for calculating the total data capacity by summing; and a server-side receiving rejection for setting an e-mail receiving setting to rejecting reception for a combination in which the total data capacity calculated by the server-side calculating means exceeds a predetermined capacity. Setting means, and the sender and destination of the new e-mail obtained by the server-side mail information obtaining means are And a server-side reception prohibiting unit that prohibits the server-side receiving unit from receiving the new e-mail when the combination corresponds to a combination for which reception rejection is set by the server-side reception rejection setting unit. And the mail server. 2. The mail server according to claim 1, wherein the server-side reception prohibiting unit notifies the source of the new e-mail of which the reception has been prohibited of an error. 3. The mail server according to claim 1, wherein the server-side reception prohibition unit notifies the client device of a destination of the new e-mail for which the reception is prohibited, of the fact. 4. A server-side setting canceling means for canceling the setting of the reception rejection for an arbitrary combination among the combinations for which reception rejection is set by the server-side reception rejection setting means. Item 5. The mail server according to any one of Items 1 to 3. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined capacity is settable by a user of the client device.
5. The mail server according to any one of 4. 6. The mail server according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined capacity can be set for each of the combinations. 7. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the total of the data amount calculated by the server-side calculating unit is regarded as an electronic mail received within a predetermined period by the server-side receiving unit. The mail server described in the section. 8. The mail server according to claim 7, wherein the predetermined period can be set by a user of the client device. 9. The mail server according to claim 7, wherein the predetermined period can be set for each combination. 10. A client-side receiving means for receiving an electronic mail addressed to itself from a mail server, and a client-side mail information obtaining means for obtaining a sender of the electronic mail before receiving the electronic mail by the client-side receiving means. A client device comprising: a client-side calculating unit that calculates a total data amount by accumulating a data amount of the e-mail received by the client-side receiving unit for each sender; and a client-side calculating unit that calculates the total data amount. For a sender whose total data volume exceeds a predetermined capacity, a client-side reception rejection setting unit that sets the e-mail reception setting to reception rejection, and a sender of the new e-mail acquired by the client-side mail information acquisition unit is the client Rejection is set by the A client-side reception prohibiting unit that prohibits the client-side receiving unit from receiving the new electronic mail when the sender corresponds to the sender. 11. The client-side reception inhibiting means,
The client device according to claim 10, wherein the new electronic mail is deleted from the mail server. 12. The client device according to claim 10, wherein a mode of prohibition of reception by said client-side reception prohibition unit can be set by a user. 13. A client-side setting canceling means for canceling the setting of the reception refusal for an arbitrary sender from among the senders whose reception rejection is set by the client-side reception rejection setting means. Item 1
13. The client device according to any one of 0 to 12. 14. The client device according to claim 10, wherein the predetermined capacity can be set by a user. 15. The client device according to claim 10, wherein the predetermined capacity can be set for each sender. 16. The electronic device according to claim 10, wherein the total of the data amount calculated by the client-side calculating unit is determined for an e-mail received within a predetermined period by the client-side receiving unit. The client device according to the item. 17. The client device according to claim 16, wherein the predetermined period can be set by a user. 18. The client device according to claim 16, wherein the predetermined period can be set for each sender. 19. A server-side receiving step of receiving an e-mail, a server-side mail information obtaining step of obtaining a sender and a destination of the e-mail prior to receiving the e-mail in the server-side receiving step, A mail transfer step of transferring the e-mail received by the step to a destination client device, wherein the data capacity of the e-mail received by the server-side receiving step is determined by a combination of a sender and a destination. A server-side calculating step of calculating the total data capacity by accumulating each time, and a server side of setting the e-mail reception setting to reject reception for a combination in which the total data capacity calculated in the server-side calculation step exceeds a predetermined capacity. Rejection setting step and sending of new e-mail acquired in the server-side e-mail information acquisition step A server-side reception prohibition step of prohibiting the reception of the new e-mail in the server-side reception step when the person and the destination correspond to the combination for which reception rejection is set in the server-side reception rejection setting step. A method for controlling a mail server, the method comprising: 20. The mail server control method according to claim 19, wherein said server-side reception prohibiting step notifies an error of a transmission source of the new electronic mail whose reception is prohibited. 21. The server-side reception prohibiting step of notifying a client device of a destination of the new e-mail whose reception has been prohibited, to that effect.
20. The method for controlling a mail server according to 20. 22. A server-side setting canceling step of canceling the setting of the reception rejection for an arbitrary combination among the combinations for which reception rejection is set by the server-side reception rejection setting step. 19 ~
22. The method for controlling a mail server according to any one of 21. 23. The system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined capacity is settable by a user of the client device.
23. The method for controlling a mail server according to any one of 9 to 22. 24. The method according to claim 19, wherein the predetermined capacity can be set for each combination. 25. The data processing method according to claim 19, wherein the total of the data capacity in the server-side calculation step is regarded as an electronic mail received within a predetermined period in the server-side reception step. Control method of mail server described in section. 26. The system according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined period is settable by a user of the client device.
5. The method for controlling a mail server according to item 5. 27. The system according to claim 25, wherein the predetermined period can be set for each of the combinations.
How to control the mail server described. 28. A client-side receiving step of receiving an electronic mail addressed to itself from a mail server, and a client-side mail information obtaining step of obtaining a sender of the electronic mail before receiving the electronic mail in the client-side receiving step. A client-side control method comprising: a client-side calculating step of calculating a total data amount by accumulating a data amount of an e-mail received in the client-side receiving step for each sender; and calculating by the client-side calculating step. For the sender whose total data capacity exceeds the predetermined capacity, the client-side reception rejection setting step of setting the e-mail reception setting to reception rejection, and the sender of the new e-mail acquired by the client-side mail information acquisition step, Rejection of reception by the client side reception rejection setting step And a client-side reception prohibition step of prohibiting the reception of the new electronic mail by the client-side reception step when the sender corresponds to the set sender. 29. The client-side reception inhibiting step,
The method according to claim 28, wherein the new electronic mail is deleted from the mail server. 30. The control method of a client device according to claim 28, wherein a mode of prohibition of reception in said client-side reception prohibition step can be set by a user. 31. A client-side setting canceling step of canceling the setting of the reception refusal for an arbitrary sender from among the senders for whom reception rejection is set in the client-side reception rejection setting step. 2
31. The control method of a client device according to any one of 8 to 30. 32. The method according to claim 28, wherein the predetermined capacity is settable by a user. 33. The method according to claim 28, wherein the predetermined capacity can be set for each sender. 34. The method according to claim 28, wherein the total of the data amount in the client-side calculating step is regarded as an electronic mail received within a predetermined period in the client-side receiving step. 13. The method for controlling a client device according to item 13. 35. The method according to claim 34, wherein the predetermined period can be set by a user. 36. The method according to claim 34, wherein the predetermined period can be set for each sender. 37. The mail server according to claim 1, further comprising a client device connected to the mail server via a network and capable of receiving an e-mail from the mail server. An e-mail system characterized by the following. 38. The client device according to claim 10, further comprising: a mail server connected to the client device via a network and capable of transferring received electronic mail to the client device. An e-mail system, comprising: 39. A server-side receiving procedure for receiving an e-mail, a server-side mail information obtaining procedure for obtaining a sender and a destination of the e-mail prior to receiving the e-mail by the server-side receiving procedure, A mail transfer procedure for transferring an e-mail received by the procedure to a destination client device, the method comprising: A server-side calculation procedure for calculating the total data capacity by accumulating the data capacity for each combination of sender and destination, and an e-mail reception setting for a combination in which the total data capacity calculated by the server-side calculation procedure exceeds a predetermined capacity. Server-side reception rejection setting procedure for setting If the sender and destination of the new e-mail acquired by the obtaining procedure correspond to the combination for which rejection is set by the server-side reception rejection setting procedure, the reception of the new e-mail by the server-side reception procedure is performed. A program for causing a computer to execute a server-side reception prohibition procedure to be prohibited. 40. A client-side receiving procedure for receiving an electronic mail addressed to itself from a mail server, and a client-side mail information obtaining procedure for obtaining a sender of the electronic mail prior to receiving the electronic mail according to the client-side receiving procedure. A program for causing a computer to implement a method for controlling a client device having a client-side calculation procedure for calculating the total data capacity by accumulating the data capacity of e-mail received by the client-side reception procedure for each sender. For a sender whose total data volume calculated by the client-side calculation procedure exceeds a predetermined capacity, a client-side reception rejection setting procedure for setting an e-mail reception setting to rejection reception, and a client-side mail information acquisition procedure The sender of the new e-mail A program for causing a computer to execute a client-side reception prohibition procedure for prohibiting reception of the new e-mail by the client-side reception procedure when the sender corresponds to a sender whose reception rejection is set by the client-side reception rejection setting procedure. . 41. A server-side receiving procedure for receiving an e-mail, a server-side mail information obtaining procedure for obtaining a sender and a destination of the e-mail prior to receiving the e-mail by the server-side receiving procedure, A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to implement a method of controlling a mail server having a mail transfer procedure of transferring an e-mail received by a procedure to a destination client device, wherein the server side A server-side calculation procedure for calculating the total data capacity by accumulating the data capacity of the e-mail received by the receiving procedure for each combination of sender and destination; and a total data capacity calculated by the server-side calculation procedure corresponding to the predetermined capacity. Server side that sets e-mail reception settings to rejection for combinations that exceed If the sender and destination of the new e-mail acquired by the server-side mail information acquisition procedure correspond to the combination for which rejection is set by the server-side reception rejection setting procedure, the server A storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute a server-side reception prohibition procedure for prohibiting the reception of a new electronic mail by a side reception procedure. 42. A client-side receiving procedure for receiving an electronic mail addressed to itself from a mail server, and a client-side mail information obtaining procedure for obtaining a sender of the electronic mail prior to receiving the electronic mail according to the client-side receiving procedure. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to implement a method for controlling a client device, the computer-readable storage medium comprising: a data amount of an e-mail received by the client-side receiving procedure for each sender; A client-side calculation procedure for calculating a capacity; a sender whose total data capacity calculated by the client-side calculation procedure exceeds a predetermined capacity; a client-side reception rejection setting procedure for setting an e-mail reception setting to rejection; According to client side mail information acquisition procedure If the sender of the obtained new e-mail corresponds to the sender for which reception refusal is set by the client-side reception rejection setting procedure, the client side that prohibits the reception of the new e-mail by the client-side reception procedure A storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute a reception prohibition procedure.