IP Library Granted Patent US 11,991,139
Granted Patent B2
US 11,991,139 · App. 18/367,884 · Granted May 21, 2024

Automated email protocol analyzer in a privacy-safe environment

Inventor: Seth Joshua Blank (New York, NY)
Assignee: ValiMail Inc.
H04L51/42H04L51/48
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,991,139
App. No.
18/367,884
Granted
May 21, 2024
Kind
B2
Abstract

A computing server may receive an authorization from a domain owner to gain access to email data of the domain owner. The email data may be hosted by a mailbox service provider on behalf of the domain owner. The computing server may determine email protocol check results of the email data retrieved from the mailbox service provider. The computing server may determine that a sender has a number of failed emails in the email data that fail the email protocol check. The computing server may identify, from the email data, one or more recipients of the domain owner to whom the failed emails intend to be sent. The computing server may notify the domain owner regarding information about the one or more recipients.

Claims (60)

1. A system comprising:

a computing server comprising memory and one or more processors, the memory configured to instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

receive an authorization from a domain owner to gain access to email data of the domain owner, the email data being hosted by a mailbox service provider on behalf of the domain owner;

determine email protocol check results of the email data retrieved from the mailbox service provider, wherein the email protocol checks results are determined based on one or more header fields of email data;

determine that a sender has a number of failed emails in the email data that fail the email protocol check; and

identify, from the email data, one or more recipients of the domain owner to whom the failed emails intend to be sent; and

an interface in communication with the computing server, the interface configured to notify the domain owner regarding information about the one or more recipients.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the interface is a graphical user interface, and the graphical user interface is configured to display mailbox addresses of the one or more recipients.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the graphical user interface is part of a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform provided by the computing server, the SaaS platform configured to:

allow the domain owner to provide authorization to the computing server to gain access to the email data;

display one or more senders that have emails that fail the email protocol check; and

identify, for each displayed sender, one or more recipients to whom the failed emails intend to be sent.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions of the computing server, when executed, further cause the one or more processors to:

extract a header of a failed email that fails the email protocol check;

remove personal identifiable information from the header; and

provide the domain owner a copy of the header.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions of the computing server, when executed, further cause the one or more processors to:

identify a failed email that fails the email protocol check;

extract a message identifier of the failed email, the message identifier generated by the sender; and

provide the domain owner a copy of the message identifier, wherein a copy of the failed email is retrievable at the mailbox service provider using the message identifier.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the email protocol checks include Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance (DMARC) checks.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the sender is a service provider of the domain owner, and the one or more recipients are predicted to lead to one or more administrators of the domain owner, wherein an administrator manages, for the domain owner, a service provided by the service provider.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the computing server identify the one or more recipients of the domain owner without examining bodies of the failed emails.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the email protocol checks comprise:

receiving an email that is included in the email data;

examining one or more header fields in the email to identify a DNS address; and

sending a query to a DNS server based on the DNS address to retrieve a DNS record.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the instruction to identify, from the email data, the one or more recipients of the domain owner to whom the failed emails intend to be sent comprises instructions to rank the one or more recipients based on numbers of the failed emails that are intended to send to the one or more recipients.

11. A computer-implemented process, comprising:

receiving an authorization from a domain owner to gain access to email data of the domain owner, the email data being hosted by a mailbox service provider on behalf of the domain owner;

determining email protocol check results of the email data retrieved from the mailbox service provider, wherein the email protocol checks results are determined based on one or more header fields of email data;

determining that a sender has a number of failed emails in the email data that fail the email protocol check; and

identifying, from the email data, one or more recipients of the domain owner to whom the failed emails intend to be sent; and

notifying the domain owner regarding information about the one or more recipients.

12. The computer-implemented process of claim 11 , wherein notifying the domain owner regarding information about the one or more recipients is through a graphical user interface, and the graphical user interface is configured to display mailbox addresses of the one or more recipients.

13. The computer-implemented process of claim 12 , wherein the graphical user interface is part of a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform provided by a computing server, the SaaS platform configured to:

allow the domain owner to provide authorization to the computing server to gain access to the email data;

display one or more senders that have emails that fail the email protocol check; and

identify, for each displayed sender, one or more recipients to whom the failed emails intend to be sent.

14. The computer-implemented process of claim 11 , further comprising:

extracting a header of a failed email that fails the email protocol check;

removing personal identifiable information from the header; and

providing the domain owner a copy of the header.

15. The computer-implemented process of claim 11 , further comprising:

identifying a failed email that fails the email protocol check;

extracting a message identifier of the failed email, the message identifier generated by the sender; and

providing the domain owner a copy of the message identifier, wherein a copy of the failed email is retrievable at the mailbox service provider using the message identifier.

16. The computer-implemented process of claim 11 , wherein the email protocol checks include Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance (DMARC) checks.

17. The computer-implemented process of claim 11 , wherein the sender is a service provider of the domain owner, and the one or more recipients are predicted to lead to one or more administrators of the domain owner, wherein an administrator manages, for the domain owner, a service provided by the service provider.

18. The computer-implemented process of claim 11 , further comprising identifying the one or more recipients of the domain owner without examining bodies of the failed emails.

19. The computer-implemented process of claim 11 , wherein the email protocol checks comprise:

receiving an email that is included in the email data;

examining one or more header fields in the email to identify a DNS address; and

sending a query to a DNS server based on the DNS address to retrieve a DNS record.

20. One or more non-transitory computer readable media configured to store code comprising instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

receive an authorization from a domain owner to gain access to email data of the domain owner, the email data being hosted by a mailbox service provider on behalf of the domain owner;

determine email protocol check results of the email data retrieved from the mailbox service provider, wherein the email protocol checks results are determined based on one or more header fields of email data;

determine that a sender has a number of failed emails in the email data that fail the email protocol check; and

identify, from the email data, one or more recipients of the domain owner to whom the failed emails intend to be sent; and

notify the domain owner regarding information about the one or more recipients.

Assignments (3)
FIRST LIEN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jan 9, 2026
From: VALIMAIL INC.
To: HPS INVESTMENT PARTNERS, LLC, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 074281/0239 →
SECOND LIEN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Dec 10, 2025
From: VALIMAIL INC.
To: UBS AG, STAMFORD BRANCH, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 073910/0374 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 5, 2023
From: BLANK, SETH JOSHUA
To: VALIMAIL INC.
Reel/Frame 065772/0165 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 63407166 · Sep 16, 2022
Related Publication 20240098057A1 · Mar 21, 2024
Cited By (1)
US 12,592,972