| 摘要 |
Methods, articles, signals, and systems are provided for protecting email message contents (212). A self-removing message (206) is designated as such by the message's originator (200), and a self-removal enhancement such as self-removal code (208) or self-removal indicators (210) are added to conventional message content before the message is transmitted over a computer network (100) toward one or more recipients (202). Copies of the message may be removed from intermediate network nodes (220) by software which recognizes, and acts in response to, self-removal indicators (210). At the recipient's location, the message (206) is displayed and then removed from disk and from memory without additional effort by the recipient. Thus, the burden of removing unsolicited email messages is transferred from recipients (202) to the system (100) and the message's originator (200). Security of messages (206) may also be enhanced by reducing the number of copies of confidential message content (212) and/or the accessible life span of those copies. |
