Source-specific electronic message addressing

Abstract

A recipient computer system submits an anonymous electronic message address to a source computing system for use when the source computing system is to send electronic messages to the recipient. When the electronic message server receives an electronic message, it reads the electronic message address and determines that the address corresponds to the recipient, but only if the electronic message originated from the source. If the electronic message were to originate from a different source computing system, the same electronic message address would not be respected for delivery to the recipient. Accordingly, the electronic message address is specific to a source, and thus sharing the electronic message address has little avail. The association between the address and the recipient may be revoked when the recipient no longer desires to receive messages from the source.

1 . In a network environment configured to control distribution of an electronic message address to unauthorized sources, a method of monitoring leakage of a source-specific address in order to prevent receipt of unsolicited electronic messages, the method comprising the following: 
 an act of sending an electronic message address to a source computer system for using when the source computing system submits electronic messages to a recipient computing system;    an act of making the electronic message address source-specific based on a correlation between identifiers for both the recipient computing system's address and the source computing system's address, wherein the electronic message address conceals the identity of the recipient computing system's address;    an act of receiving an electronic message that includes the electronic message address from an unauthorized computing device not associated with the source computing system indicating that the source computing system inappropriately shared the electronic message address; and    marking the source as untrusted such that additional source-specific electronic message addresses, other sensitive information, or both, will not be distributed to the source due to an abuse of a privilege of having a source-specific address.