Email system for preventing inadvertant transmission of proprietary message or documents to unintended recipient

Abstract

A system that alerts a sender of an email message as to the addressees of the email, when the email is determined to be sensitive, such as when it includes a word such a “confidential”. The user can allow the message to be sent or go back to a mail create/edit operation where the message or list of addresses can be revised. Trigger words can be stored in a table or database. The system also detects sensitive words in attachments. The sensitive words detected and their locations can be shown in a pop-up message.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 specifying trigger words in a trigger word table before a message is sent where the trigger words indicate proprietary, confidential or sensitive material;   detecting initiation of sending of an email message by detecting activation of a send function;   scanning, by an email system, the message for the trigger words of the trigger word table indicating that a message may include proprietary, confidential or sensitive material where the message comprises a message body and message attachments;   alerting the user, that the user is about to send a message when the message includes one or more of the trigger words, with a pop-up display message comprising a list of trigger words found, locations in the message body and message attachments of the trigger words found and an email address of the email message recipient;   allowing the user to approve sending the message and sending the message using an icon; and   allowing the user to disapprove sending the message and initiate revising the message using another icon.   
     
     
         2 . A method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the trigger words are selected to stop sending of the email message determined as comprising confidential, proprietary or sensitive material. 
     
     
         3 . A method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the user is alerted directly when one or more of the trigger words are first found. 
     
     
         4 . A method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the alerting is triggered by an exact match with one or more of the trigger words. 
     
     
         5 . A method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the corresponding locations of the one or more of the trigger words determined to be included in the at least one of the message body and the attachment of the email message respectively identify the one or more of the trigger words as being located in one or more of a subject line, the message body and the attachment. 
     
     
         6 . A system, comprising:
 an email server computer; and   an email client computer allowing specification of trigger words in a trigger word table before a message is sent where the trigger words indicate proprietary, confidential or sensitive material, detecting initiation of sending of an email message by detecting activation of a send function., scanning, by an email system, the message for the trigger words of the trigger word table indicating that a message may include proprietary, confidential or sensitive material where the message comprises a message body and message attachments, alerting the user, that the user is about to send a message when the message includes one or more of the trigger words, with a pop-up display message comprising a list of trigger words found, locations in the message body and message attachments of the trigger words found and an email address of the email message recipient, allowing the user to approve sending the message and sending the message using an icon and allowing the user to disapprove sending the message and initiate revising the message using another icon.   
     
     
         7 . A non-transitory computer readable storage storing a process, comprising:
 specifying trigger words in a trigger word table before a message is sent where the trigger words indicate proprietary, confidential or sensitive material;   detecting initiation of sending of an email message by detecting activation of a send function;   scanning, by an email system, the message for the trigger words of the trigger word table indicating that a message may include proprietary, confidential or sensitive material where the message comprises a message body and message attachments;   alerting the user, that the user is about to send a message when the message includes one or more of the trigger words, with a pop-up display message comprising a list of trigger words found, locations in the message body and message attachments of the trigger words found and an email address of the email message recipient;   allowing the user to approve sending the message and sending the message using an icon; and   allowing the user to disapprove sending the message and initiate revising the message using another icon.   
     
     
         8 . A display comprising a pop-up message indicating a message to be sent is a sensitive message the pop-up display message includes a surrounding border that blinks, an indication that the user is about to send the message with one or more of trigger words determined as indicating confidential, proprietary or sensitive material, an email address of an addressee of the email message and corresponding locations of the one or more of the trigger words in the email message.