Rating communicating entities based on the sharing of insecure content

1. A computer-implemented method for protecting a first user from insecure content disseminated by other users that are members of one or more user groups of which the first user is a member, the method comprising the following steps:

tracking communications received by a computing device and originating from specific ones of the other users that are members of one or more user groups of which the first user is a member, each user group comprising an association of users in a social media or other electronic communication distribution context;

maintaining a corresponding unique user identifier for each specific one of the other users that are in one or more user groups of which the first user is a member;

for each specific one of the other users that are in one or more user groups of which the first user is a member, configuring an associated security rating comprising a quantification of a security risk of receiving communication from the associated specific user;

performing a security analysis of content received by the computing device from specific ones of the other users that are members of one or more user groups of which the first user is a member;

adjusting security ratings associated with given users that are members of one or more user groups of which the first user is a member, responsive to given security analyses of content received by the computing device from given associated users identifying given security concerns; and

responsive to a specific security rating associated with a specific user that is a member of one or more user groups of which the first user is a member exceeding a predefined threshold, taking a security action that prevents the first user from being exposed to communication from the specific user.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein tracking communications received by a computing device and originating from specific ones of the other users that are members of one or more user groups of which the first user is a member further comprises:

monitoring communications received by the computing device via a plurality of user-level communication applications.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein maintaining a corresponding unique user identifier for each specific one of the other users that are in one or more user groups of which the first user is a member further comprises:

maintaining additional data concerning additional users that are in one or more user groups of which the first user is a member.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

gleaning data concerning additional users that are in one or more user groups of which the first user is a member from multiple separate user-level communication applications.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein configuring a security rating comprising a quantification of security risks of receiving communication from an associated specific user further comprises:

initializing the security rating to a default value.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein performing a security analysis of content received by the computing device from specific ones of the other users that are members of one or more user groups of which the first user is a member further comprises:

intercepting communications received by the computing device from additional users that are in one or more user groups of which the first user is a member; and

scanning content of the intercepted communications.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein performing a security analysis of content received by the computing device from specific ones of the other users that are members of one or more user groups of which the first user is a member further comprises:

scanning files using a set of signatures of known malicious code.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein performing a security analysis of content received by the computing device from specific ones of the other users that are members of one or more user groups of which the first user is a member further comprises:

comparing links embedded in content to known or suspected malicious websites.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein performing a security analysis of content received by the computing device from specific ones of the other users that are members of one or more user groups of which the first user is a member further comprises:

analyzing content for patterns associated with spam or phishing.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein performing a security analysis of content received by the computing device from specific ones of the other users that are members of one or more user groups of which the first user is a member further comprises:

running active content in a sandbox; and

subjecting the running active content to heuristic analysis.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein adjusting security ratings associated with given users that are members of one or more user groups of which the first user is a member, responsive to given security analyses of content received by the computing device from given associated users identifying given security concerns further comprises:

making multiple adjustments to security ratings, each adjustment being quantitatively proportional to one of a plurality of different seriousness levels associated with an associated security analysis of received content.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein taking a security action that prevents the first user from being exposed to communication from the specific user further comprises:

blocking communications from the specific user.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein taking a security action that prevents the first user from being exposed to communication from the specific user further comprises:

redacting communications from the specific user.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein taking a security action that prevents the first user from being exposed to communication from the specific user further comprises:

auto-deleting messages or files from the specific user.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein taking a security action that prevents the first user from being exposed to communication from the specific user further comprises:

automatically removing the first user from at least one group of which the specific user is a member.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

responsive to a specific security rating associated with a specific user that is a member of at least one user group of which the first user is a member exceeding a predefined threshold, transmitting at least one warning notification to at least one of: the first user, the specific user, and other members of at least one user group of which the specific user is a member.

17. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

using machine learning driven by telemetry received from multiple endpoints to set the predetermined threshold.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the computing device further comprises a mobile computing device, and the steps are performed by an app running on the mobile computing device.

19. At least one non-transitory computer readable storage medium for protecting a first user from insecure content disseminated by other users that are members of one or more user groups of which the first user is a member, the at least one non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing computer executable instructions that, when loaded into computer memory and executed by at least one processor of a computing device, cause the computing device to perform the following steps:

tracking communications received by a computing device and originating from specific ones of the other users that are members of one or more user groups of which the first user is a member, each user group comprising an association of users in a social media or other electronic communication distribution context;

maintaining a corresponding unique user identifier for each specific one of the other users that are in one or more user groups of which the first user is a member;

for each specific one of the other users that are in one or more user groups of which the first user is a member, configuring an associated security rating comprising a quantification of a security risk of receiving communication from the associated specific user;

performing a security analysis of content received by the computing device from specific ones of the other users that are members of one or more user groups of which the first user is a member;

adjusting security ratings associated with given users that are members of one or more user groups of which the first user is a member, responsive to given security analyses of content received by the computing device from given associated users identifying given security concerns; and

responsive to a specific security rating associated with a specific user that is a member of one or more user groups of which the first user is a member exceeding a predefined threshold, taking a security action that prevents the first user from being exposed to communication from the specific user.

20. A computer system comprising:

system memory;

a group member tracking module residing in the system memory, the group member tracking module being programmed to track communications received by a computing device and originating from specific ones of the other users that are members of one or more user groups of which the first user is a member, each user group comprising an association of users in a social media or other electronic communication distribution context

an identification maintaining module residing in the system memory, the identification maintaining module being programmed to maintain a corresponding unique user identifier for each specific one of the other users that are in one or more user groups of which the first user is a member;

a security rating configuring module residing in the system memory, the security rating configuring module being programmed to configure, for each specific one of the other users that are in one or more user groups of which the first user is a member, an associated security rating comprising a quantification of a security risk of receiving communication from the associated specific user

a content analysis performing module residing in the system memory, the content analysis performing module being programmed to perform a security analysis of content received by the computing device from specific ones of the other users that are members of one or more user groups of which the first user is a member;

a security rating adjusting module residing in the system memory, the security rating adjusting module being programmed to adjust security ratings associated with given users that are members of one or more user groups of which the first user is a member, responsive to given security analyses of content received by the computing device from given associated users identifying given security concerns;

a security action taking module residing in the system memory, the security action taking module being programmed to take, responsive to a specific security rating associated with a specific user that which is a member of one or more user groups of which the first user is a member exceeding a predefined threshold, a security action that prevents the first user from being exposed to communication from the specific user; and

at least one processor configured to execute the modules.