Delay technique in e-mail filtering system

1. A method for controlling transmission of messages in a data communication network, the method comprising:

using a store and forward relay implemented as programmed computer hardware to receive messages intended for respective recipients thereof;

selecting computer readable formulations of comparisons to apply to the received messages, wherein a selected comparison applied to a message is based on one or more attributes of the message, and a first comparison selected for a first message is different from a second comparison selected for a second message;

delaying delivery of at least some of the received messages, the delay being based on whether a comparison score associated with a received message is beyond a threshold; and

after a delay period, applying a filtering policy to the delayed messages and based on one or more results thereof delivering at least one, but not another, of the delayed messages to its intended recipient, wherein the applying of the filtering policy to a delayed message is triggered by a download to the store and forward relay of new executable code to update one or more computer readable formulations of comparisons.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

Identifying the first comparison for evaluating by reference to the first message;

identifying at least one evaluation associated with the first comparison;

for each evaluation associated with the first comparison:

extracting data from the first message in accordance with parameters associated with the identified evaluation;

executing the evaluation for the extracted data by comparing the extracted data to data from an unsolicited bulk e-mail database;

determining a new comparison score based on the executed evaluation; and

determining that the first message is unsolicited bulk e-mail if the new comparison score is beyond the threshold.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the relay is configured to take action based on the filtering policy and wherein the action taken includes one or more actions selected from a group consisting of:

delay delivery of the received message;

deliver the received message normally;

return the received message to sender;

send a copy or blind copy of the received message to an additional recipient;

forward the received message; and

delete the received message, and

wherein the delay delivery action, when performed, includes one or more additional actions selected from a group consisting of:

move the received message to an area for review by an administrator;

move the received message to an area for future review by an external user;

move the received message to an area for future review by a recipient;

save a copy of the received message; and

move the received message to a delayed delivery area.

4. The method of claim 1 ,

wherein the filtering policy applied to the first message is different from the first comparison applied to the first message.

5. The method of claim 1 ,

wherein the filtering policy is an updated version of the first comparison applied to the first message.

6. The method of claim 1 , further including:

determining whether it is time to process the delayed messages;

when it is determined to be time to process the delayed messages, ending the delay period;

when it is determined to not be the time to process the delayed messages:

waiting for a period of time; and

after the period of time, re-determining whether it is time to process the delayed messages.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the filtering policy is a subsequent application of the first comparison based on the updated executable code and updated data.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first comparison is based on a first set of evaluations and the second comparison is based on a second set of evaluations, and wherein the first set of evaluations is different from the second set of evaluations.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein said relay is an email relay applying e-mail filtering policies to the received messages.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein said relay is acting as an intermediate node for a store and forward email protocol.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein said relay is acting as a final node for a store and forward email protocol.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the relay comprises components which are distributed across several physical computers but act logically as a single system.

13. An apparatus comprising:

a detention store;

a store and forward relay interposable in a message delivery path and implemented as computer hardware configurable to receive messages intended for respective recipients thereof; and

the relay further configurable to (i) select computer readable formulations of comparisons to apply to the received messages, wherein a selected comparison applied to a message is based on one or more attributes of the message, and a first comparison selected for a first message is different from a second comparison selected for a second message, (ii) delay delivery of at least some of the received messages, wherein the delay is based on whether a comparison score associated with a received message is beyond a threshold, and (iii) after a delay period during which the delayed messages are held in the detention store, apply a filtering policy to the delayed messages and based on one or more results thereof deliver at least one, but not another, of the delayed messages to its intended recipient, wherein the application of the filtering policy to a delayed message is triggered by a download to the store and forward relay of new executable-code to update one or more computer readable formulations of comparisons.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the relay applies the first comparison to the first message, and wherein application of the first comparison to the first message:

identifying the first comparison for evaluating by reference to the first message;

identifying at least one evaluation associated with the first comparison;

for each evaluation associated with the first comparison:

extracting data from the first message in accordance with parameters associated with the identified evaluation;

executing the evaluation for the extracted data by comparing the extracted data to data from an unsolicited bulk e-mail database;

determining a new comparison score based on the executed evaluation; and

determining that the first message is unsolicited bulk e-mail if the new comparison score is beyond the threshold.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the relay is configurable to take action based on the filtering policy and wherein the action includes one or more actions selected from a group that includes:

the delivery delay;

delivery of the received message normally;

return of the received message to sender;

sending a copy or blind copy of the received message to an additional recipient; and

deleting the received message.

16. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the delivery delay, when performed, includes moving the received message to an area for review by an administrator.

17. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the delivery delay, when performed, includes moving the received message to an area for future review by an external user.

18. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the delivery delay, when performed, includes moving the received message to an area for future review by a recipient.

19. The apparatus of claim 13 ,

wherein the filtering policy is an updated version of the first comparison applied to the first message.

20. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the filtering policy is a subsequent application of the first comparison based on the updated executable code and updated data.