COMPUTER NETWORK SYSTEM AND METHOD

摘要

A method of operating an Internet mail server is disclosed. The method comprises performing one or more tests upon an incoming e-mail message to assess whether it is an acceptable message; and in the event that the e-mail message is found to be unacceptable, preventing the server from sending acknowledgement of receipt of the message to indicate to the sender. In typical embodiments, mail is transported using the simple mail transport protocol. Acknowledgement of receipt of the message is advantageously achieved at a lower level in the protocol stack such that it is transparent to the mail transport protocol.