JP2005031926A - Image forming device and image forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent virus contamination in an image forming device for executing image formation by using an electronic mail. <P>SOLUTION: This image forming device for executing image formation on sheets on the basis of image data comprises: an electronic mail receiving means to receive an electronic mail with an attached file; a deciding means to decide whether or not virus exists in the attached file; and an image forming means to permit the execution of the image formation based on the attached file as long as it is decided that any virus does not exist in the attached file by the deciding means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention belongs to the technical field of an image forming apparatus such as a copier, a facsimile machine, a printer, or a so-called multifunction machine having these functions. The present invention also belongs to a technical field of an image forming system in which the image forming apparatuses are connected to each other in a network.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, a plurality of personal computers (hereinafter also referred to as “personal computers”) and a plurality of printing machines and other image forming apparatuses constitute a network, and a single personal computer is connected to a single image forming apparatus. Thus, an image forming system is known that can print the document / graphics by transmitting information such as the document / graphics and a print command. In this case, as the network, either wired connection or wireless connection can be assumed, or a network using a so-called WWW (World Wide Web) can be assumed.
[0003]
Further, in such an image forming system, one or more of the image forming apparatuses in the system are configured to be able to receive an e-mail with an attached file, whereby the image forming apparatus is configured based on the attached file. There is known a system capable of directly executing printing (see Patent Document 1). In this case, the image forming apparatus is preinstalled with application software that can open an attached file attached to an e-mail (the application software basically creates the document). (It is the same application software used for.) The “attached file” includes at least one of a document and a drawing.
[0004]
According to this, as described above, when a print command is transmitted from a certain personal computer to a certain image forming apparatus to execute printing, generally, the image forming apparatus is driven by the personal computer. However, in the image forming system that can use the electronic mail, there is an advantage that the driver is not necessary.
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-99215 [0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the conventional image forming apparatus has the following problems. In other words, there is a possibility that a so-called virus is mixed in the attached file attached to the e-mail not frequently. In such a case, if the attached file is opened or started, a virus is activated, which may cause fatal damage to the image forming apparatus.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an image forming apparatus capable of preventing virus infection in an image forming apparatus capable of forming an image using e-mail or an image forming system including the image forming apparatus. It is an object to provide an apparatus and an image forming system.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the image forming apparatus of the present invention is an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet based on image data, and an e-mail receiving unit capable of receiving an e-mail with an attached file; Determining means for determining whether or not a virus is present in the attached file, and only when the virus is not present in the attached file by the determining means, the attached file is executed and image formation is permitted Image forming means.
[0009]
According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, first, an image can be formed on a sheet based on image data. Here, “image data” is created based on “image information”, and this “image information” is, for example, an image on a document surface read from a scanner unit that can be attached to the image forming apparatus, or Information necessary for constructing an image transmitted from a user terminal such as a personal computer connected to the image forming apparatus. In the present invention, in particular, the image forming apparatus is preferably preinstalled with an appropriate type of application software, and the attached file in the attached file e-mail transmitted to the image forming apparatus is included in the attached file. By operating application software, image information based on the attached file can be configured. The “image” includes all forms such as documents and drawings.
[0010]
The present invention further includes an e-mail receiving unit capable of receiving the e-mail with the attached file, and a determining unit for determining whether or not a virus is present in the attached file. Here, as a specific aspect of the determination method or detection method of the presence or absence of a virus in the determination means, for example, various other aspects such as a pattern matching method and a behavior matching method may be adopted. Can do. In addition, the image forming unit according to the present invention is allowed to perform image formation by executing the attached file as long as the determining unit determines that no virus is present in the attached file. In this case, “only when no virus exists” means that the execution of the attached file is allowed. In general, when “the virus exists”, the execution of the attached file is not allowed. Become. However, for example, if it is possible to delete only the virus from the attached file and the safety of executing the attached file is ensured only by the remaining part, the attached file is executed. However, no problem arises. In other words, the presence of a virus in an attached file at first does not mean that the attached file is never allowed to be executed. “Execution only when it does not exist” in the present invention includes the above significance.
[0011]
As described above, according to the present invention, it is determined whether or not a virus is present in an attached file that constitutes an electronic mail with an attached file, and based on this, it is determined whether or not to print the attached file. As a result, the risk of the image forming apparatus being infected with a virus is extremely reduced.
[0012]
The term “paper” in the present invention does not mean only a piece of paper made of pulp or the like, but includes general media that can be printed by adhering toner, such as an OHP sheet.
[0013]
Such an operation and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the embodiments described below.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the image forming system according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the printing apparatus shown in FIG.
[0015]
In FIG. 1, the image forming system includes two personal computers 50, six printing apparatuses 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, and 600 (hereinafter referred to as “100 to 600” for convenience when referred to collectively). Are connected to each other via the network 10 as an example of the “contact means” in the present invention.
[0016]
Among these, the personal computer 50 is equipped with known word processing software, image drawing software, and the like. On the personal computer 50, documents, drawings and the like can be created by using these software. Then, the information and the print command relating to the document / drawing are sent to any one of the printing apparatuses 100 to 600 or two or more of the printing apparatuses (for example, 100 and 300, etc.) via the network 10. By transmitting to the printing apparatus, printing (image formation) of the document / drawing or the like can be executed on an appropriate sheet or the like stored in the printing apparatus. In the present embodiment, the personal computer 50 includes e-mail transmission / reception software (not shown). The user of the personal computer 50 can send an electronic mail to the other personal computer 50 or the printing apparatuses 100 to 600 by using the electronic mail transmission / reception software.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 2, each of the printing apparatuses 100 to 600 (hereinafter represented by reference numeral “100”) includes an interface (hereinafter referred to as “I / F”) 110, a storage device 180, and an attached file extraction unit. 120, a virus checker 130, an application selection / activation unit 140, an application storage unit 150, and a print driver 160. Among these, the I / F 110 receives an email with an attached file, particularly in the present embodiment. Here, the “attached file” refers to a file whose content is, for example, a document / drawing created on word processing software / image drawing software in the personal computer 50 or the like. An e-mail with an attachment file typically includes an attachment file that constitutes such a document / drawing, an e-mail body (for example, a notification sentence for notifying that the attachment file is attached, a simple greeting sentence). , A standard sentence etc.). The storage device 180 is, for example, a readable / writable memory having a known configuration, and can store an email with an attached file taken into the printing device 100 via the I / F 110. In addition to the above, the storage device 180 may be used for temporarily storing information about documents and drawings sent from the personal computer 50 shown in FIG. 1 via the network 10, for example. The attached file extraction unit 120 extracts only the part of the electronic data corresponding to the attached file from the email with the attached file. There is a possibility that a virus exists in this electronic data as will be described later.
[0018]
The virus checker 130 determines whether a virus exists in the attached file extracted as described above. Here, “virus” generally refers to electronic data (“attached file” in the example of this embodiment) necessary to drive some electronic device (“printing apparatus” in the example of this embodiment). ")" Refers to electronic data that, when executed, impairs the normal operation of the electronic device. In addition, the term “virus” usually has infectivity. That is, when a certain virus “infects” an electronic device, the virus is transmitted to other electronic devices connected to the electronic device via a network.
[0019]
There are various methods for determining or detecting the presence or absence of such viruses, but the present invention is not particularly limited to this. For example, typically, a pattern matching method or a behavior matching method can be assumed.
[0020]
The former pattern matching method has virus definition data in advance, compares the electronic data constituting the attached file with the virus definition data, and if there is a part that completely matches both, the attached file Is a method for determining that the virus is infected. On the other hand, in the latter behavior matching method, for example, an attached file that is a target of virus search is actually executed in a safe area that does not affect the other configuration of the printing apparatus 100, and the mode is executed. This is a method for determining that the attached file is “virus-infected” when it is determined that the processing progress status (ie, “behavior”) is different from that normally assumed. Incidentally, the pattern matching method has an advantage that virus detection can be performed almost certainly, but has a disadvantage that it is ineffective against a virus that does not correspond to the virus definition data, that is, a new kind of virus. The behavior matching method has advantages and disadvantages just as the advantages of the pattern matching method are reversed.
[0021]
The application selecting / starting unit 140 selects and starts application software corresponding to the attached file that has been determined by the virus checker 130 that no virus exists. In order to realize this selection / activation, the printing apparatus 100 is provided with an application storage unit 150. The application storage unit 150 includes, for example, various word processing software / image drawing software installed in the personal computer 50 and application software that shares all or part of the configuration or functions thereof.
[0022]
The print driver 160 creates specific print data based on the contents of the attached file and the selected / started application software, and controls actual printing (image formation) in the printing apparatus 100 based on the print data. The print driver 160 includes a print execution unit in order to perform actual printing based on the print data. The print driver 160 is operated as described above, and is configured to perform printing based on the print command sent from the personal computer 50 and the document / drawing information stored in the storage device 180. May be.
[0023]
In addition to the above, the printing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes an operation panel 170. The operation panel 170 is used, for example, to transmit various print commands from the user to the printing apparatus 100, or to transmit a print execution result or the like from the printing apparatus 100 to the user. In the present embodiment, the operation panel 170 also functions as a “notification unit” that notifies the user when the presence of an attached file infected with a virus is confirmed by the virus checker 130.
[0024]
In FIG. 2 and FIG. 2, the configuration of the printing apparatus has been described by using the printing apparatus 100 as a representative. However, the other printing apparatuses 200 to 600 illustrated in FIG. 1 basically have the same configuration as the printing apparatus 100. I have. In other words, the other printing apparatuses 200 to 600 include, for example, I / F 210 to 610 or virus checkers 230 to 630.
[0025]
The image forming apparatus having such a configuration is operated as shown in FIG. 3, for example, and as a result, the following effects can be obtained. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing processing for preventing the attached files from being executed even when the virus-infected electronic mail with the attached file is received in the printing apparatuses 100 to 600 constituting the image forming system. In the following description, the printing apparatus 100 will be representatively described for the sake of simplicity.
[0026]
First, for example, the printing apparatus 100 receives an email with an attached file (step S10 in FIG. 3). Subsequently, upon receipt of the email with the attached file, the attached file extracting unit 120 automatically sends the electronic data corresponding to the attached file (hereinafter simply referred to as “attached file electronic data”) from the email with the attached file. Only the portion of “.” Is extracted (step S12 in FIG. 3). Next, the virus checker 130 determines whether or not a virus exists in the attached file electronic data (step S14 in FIG. 3). As described above, this virus check may employ either the pattern matching method or the behavior matching method. If it is determined that a virus is present in the attached file electronic data, the process proceeds to “virus infection prevention processing” (step S161 in FIG. 3). If it is determined that there is no virus, the attached file electronic data An execution process is performed (step S162 in FIG. 3). Among them, the attached file execution process is to first select and start application software corresponding to the attached file, create print data based on the contents of the application software and the attached file, and based on the print data The process of actually performing printing (image formation). More specifically, for example, if the attached file is a document created using A word processing software, application software that shares all or part of the configuration or functions of the A word processing software is selected / selected. When activated, each of the above-described processes is transferred to execution. The same applies when the attached file is a general image file. In any case, if it is confirmed that the file is a safe attachment with no virus, the attachment is executed.
[0027]
On the other hand, as the specific content of the “virus infection prevention process” in step S161, for example, the following various processes can be considered.
[0028]
First, regarding the e-mail with attached file, it is possible to consider a process of deleting all information related to the e-mail without referring to the contents or the like without any questions.
[0029]
Second, it is possible to consider a process in which, for example, the transmission source information is stored in the storage device 180 instead of deleting all the information related to the electronic mail with the attached file. Here, the sender information specifically corresponds to, for example, the mail address or IP address of the other party. It should be noted that it is possible to appropriately select what information should be left. For example, instead of or in addition to the above-mentioned transmission source information, it is possible to store the subject name, reception date / time, transmission date / time, etc. of the e-mail. Or you may comprise so that what should be left this information can be set suitably by a user's hand.
[0030]
According to this, each time an electronic mail with an attached file infected with a virus is received, the transmission source information is stored, whereby a history regarding the transmission source information is created. If this history is used, it is also possible to perform processing such as immediately discarding an email sent from the same sender as the email with the attached file already stored without receiving it. is there. That is, in this case, when the printing apparatus 100 receives an email with an attached file, the sender information of the email with the attached file is any one of the sender information already stored in the storage device 180. If it matches, it can be said that the electronic mail with the attached file is rejected if it matches. Such specific processing may be performed by, for example, the virus checker 130 in FIG.
[0031]
Third, when a virus is found in the attached file in conjunction with or independently of the first or second process (from step S14 in FIG. 3 to step S161 in FIG. 3), for example, an operation is performed. A process of notifying the user via the panel 170 (hereinafter referred to as “notification process”) may be performed. In this case, first, if this notification process is to be performed in combination with the first or second process, the user may receive “An email with a virus-attached attachment has been received, but it is already ( Or most of them have been deleted), while if only the notification process is performed alone, the user "received an email with a virus-infected attachment" You can know that. In the latter case, the final handling of the email with the attached file is left to the user. In order to perform the notification processing here, the operation panel 170 has been used in the above description. In addition to or instead of this, for example, the fact is displayed on the display constituting the personal computer 50. It may be. Further, various specific modes of “notification” can be taken. For example, a message such as “I received a virus mail”, a “voice” notification that includes a warning sound (in other words, a notification using the user ’s “hearing”), or a “light” that uses a light-emitting diode, etc. Notification (in other words, notification using the user's “sight”) can be considered.
[0032]
Fourth, in conjunction with one or more of the first to third processes described above, or independently, a process of returning an attached e-mail with an attached file to the sender as it is can be considered. .
[0033]
As described above, the specific contents of the “virus infection prevention process” in step S161 in FIG. 3 can be variously determined, but in any case, it is possible to prevent the printing apparatus 100 from being infected with a virus. become.
[0034]
In the present invention, the following modifications can be realized based on the above embodiment.
[0035]
First, in the above, it is assumed that when the printing apparatus 100 receives an email with an attached file, if the attached file is safe, printing is immediately performed on the attached file. (Refer to the flow from step S14 in FIG. 3 to step S162 in FIG. 3). However, the present invention is not limited to such a form. For example, even if the printing apparatus 100 receives an email with an attached file, the printing apparatus 100 can temporarily store the attached file in the storage device 180 without executing the attached file immediately. (Hereinafter, such a form is referred to as “passive mode”, whereas the above form is referred to as “automatic mode”). In the case of this “passive mode”, as long as this is continued, the printing apparatus 100 sequentially stores these emails without executing each attached file while receiving a plurality of emails with attached files. become. In this case, it is preferable that printing is performed on an attached file that constitutes an e-mail with a specific attached file only when a print execution command is issued again from the user.
[0036]
In this case, if the printing apparatus 100 simply receives the electronic data with an attached file, the printing apparatus 100 is not likely to be infected with a virus. When the attached file constituting this is executed, there is a risk of infection.
[0037]
Therefore, in the present invention, in such a passive mode, a process similar to that shown in FIG. 3 may be performed at the same time that the print execution command is issued. In other words, in this case, a process in which “electronic data reception with attached file” in step S10 in FIG. 3 is replaced with “issue of print execution command” may be considered. Obviously, the same effects as those described above can be obtained.
[0038]
Next, secondly, focusing on the fact that the printing apparatus 100 according to the above-described embodiment is connected to the network 10, a mode of actively using this is conceivable. For example, assuming that an e-mail with an attached file is transmitted to the printing apparatus 100, and considering that the printing apparatus 100 is in the automatic mode, the printing apparatus 100 is shown in FIG. Accordingly, it is determined whether or not a virus exists in the attached file. That is, if it is determined that a virus exists in the attached file, “virus infection prevention processing” in step S161 in FIG. 3 is performed.
[0039]
Here, it is assumed that the printing apparatus 100 performs the above-described second process as a specific example of the “virus infection prevention process”, that is, the process of saving the transmission source information of the email with the attached file in the storage device 180. At the same time, the printing apparatus 100 indicates that the other printing apparatuses 200 to 600 include a virus in the attached file of the electronic data with the attached file, and the transmission source information and other predetermined information. It is more preferable to execute the process of transmitting the information (hereinafter simply referred to as “transmission process”) (that is, in this case, this transmission process is also “virus infection prevention” in step S161 in FIG. 3). It's part of the process.) In this case, it is needless to say that it is further preferable that the printing apparatuses 200 to 600 store the information about the virus received by the transmission process in their storage devices 280 to 680, respectively.
[0040]
According to this, when any one of the printing apparatuses 100 to 600 connected to the network 10 receives an e-mail with an attached file infected with a virus, the fact and the transmission source information thereof are printed. In other words, all of the devices 100 to 600 are “shared”. Thus, for example, the printing apparatus 100 initially received an email with an attached file infected with a virus sent from a certain sender, but later, an email with an attached file sent from the same sender is sent to the printing apparatus. In the case of being transmitted to 200, the printing apparatus 200 can reject the reception in advance only by determining that both transmission sources are the same.
[0041]
Thus, according to the present embodiment, the resistance against virus infection can be enhanced for the entire network.
[0042]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist or concept of the invention that can be read from the claims and the entire specification, and an image forming apparatus with such a change. In addition, an image forming system is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
[0043]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to effectively prevent virus infection in an image forming apparatus capable of forming an image using e-mail, or in an image forming system including the same. obtain.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an image forming system according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of the printing apparatus illustrated in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a process for preventing an attached file from being executed even when an email with an attached file infected with a virus is received.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 ... Network 50 ... PC 100 to 600 ... Printer 110 ... I / F
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 120 ... Attached file extraction part 130 ... Virus checker 140 ... Application selection / starting part 150 ... Application storage part 160 ... Print driver 170 ... Operation panel 180 ... Memory | storage device

Claims (9)

An image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet based on image data,
An email receiving means capable of receiving an email with an attached file;
Determination means for determining whether or not a virus is present in the attached file;
An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit that is allowed to execute image formation based on the attached file only when the virus is not present in the attached file by the determining unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit automatically performs the determination every time the electronic mail with an attached file is received. A storage means for storing the email with the attached file;
3. The determination unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the determination unit performs the determination when an execution command for image formation is received from a user for the attached file in the email with the attached file stored in the storage unit. The image forming apparatus described in 1. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising notification means for notifying a user of the result of the determination. As a result of the determination, transmission source storage means for storing transmission source information of an email attached with an attached file determined that the virus exists;
When the email with the attached file is received, if the sender information of the email with the attached file matches any one of the sender information stored in the sender storage means, the attached file 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an e-mail reception rejection unit that rejects reception of the attached e-mail. 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a deletion unit that deletes at least one of an attached file determined to contain the virus as a result of the determination and an e-mail attached with the attached file. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. 5. The first to n th image forming apparatuses according to claim 1, wherein n is a positive integer.
Communication means for connecting the first to n-th image forming apparatuses;
The result of the determination by the m-th image forming apparatus (where m is a positive integer and 1 ≦ m ≦ n) that is any one of the first to n-th image forming apparatuses. When it is determined that the virus is present in the attached file in the electronic mail with the attached file, the first to n-th image forming apparatuses (however, the first to n-th image forming apparatuses) An image forming system comprising: virus finding notification means for transmitting to (except for m image forming apparatuses). The predetermined information includes transmission source information of the email with the attached file in which the virus is found,
The image forming system according to claim 7, wherein each of the first to nth image forming apparatuses includes a transmission source storage unit that stores the transmission source information. The first to n-th image forming apparatuses are
When the email with the attached file is received, if the sender information of the email with the attached file matches any one of the sender information stored in the sender storage means, the attached file 9. The image forming system according to claim 8, further comprising an e-mail receipt refusal means for refusing receipt of the attached e-mail.

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