WO2010107031A1

WO2010107031A1 - Relay device, setting update method, and program

Info

Publication number: WO2010107031A1
Application number: PCT/JP2010/054455
Authority: WO
Inventors: 慎吾梅島; 雅行水嶋; 良信岩崎
Original assignee: ヤマハ株式会社
Priority date: 2009-03-16
Filing date: 2010-03-16
Publication date: 2010-09-23
Also published as: JP5417914B2; JP2010219731A; CN102356611B; CN102356611A

Abstract

An access from a proper person who is authorized to customize a security setting of a relay device can be judged by an easier process. When a new e-mail address must be registered to an unwanted e-mail transmission source address list (16), the relay device (10) generates setting data to instruct a content of this update, and transmits the setting data to terminals (20-i) as an update notification e-mail message. When the relay device (10) receives an HTTP message containing the setting data from any of the terminals (20-i), and judges that the setting data contained in the HTTP message is valid, the relay device (10) performs a setting update process on the basis of the setting data.

Description

Relay device, setting update method and program

The present invention relates to a technique for updating setting of a relay device.

The relay device is a network device that performs data transfer according to the protocol of the third layer (network layer) or the fourth layer (transport layer) in the OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) reference model. Many relay devices refuse to forward packets that have a certain IP address as the source IP address or destination IP address, or refuse to forward packets that have a certain port number as the source port number or destination port number. These settings can be customized from an external computer. A user who customizes the settings of this type of relay device accesses a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of setting utility screen data in the relay device from a computer connected to the relay device, and causes the computer to display a setting utility screen. Then, the user inputs an ID and password, which are unique account information, on the setting utility screen. Then, the computer transmits the ID and password to the relay device. When the ID / password pair received from the computer matches the registered pair, the relay device regards the computer as a user having a legitimate authority and follows the command transmitted from the computer thereafter. (See, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-041064

Whenever an administrator of this type of relay device grants the user the authority to customize the settings of the relay device, the administrator sets the account information unique to that user in the relay device. Therefore, if there are circumstances such as giving the authority to customize the settings of the relay device to many users or changing the user who gives the authority later, the burden of setting account information by the administrator is heavy. It becomes. On the other hand, if no account information is set in the relay device, and all computers that access the URL of the setting utility screen data are operated as if they have a legitimate authority, fraud by the Service-to-Self It is not possible to exclude changes in settings.
The present invention has been devised under such a background, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to determine access from a legitimate person who is authorized to customize the setting of a relay device by simpler processing. And

According to the present invention, a generation unit that generates setting data instructing setting contents of a relay device and a message including the setting data generated by the generation unit are transmitted with a predetermined address in a communication network under the relay device as a destination address. And when receiving a message from the subordinate communication network and the received message contains the same setting data as the setting data generated by the generating means, according to the setting data included in the message Provided is a relay device comprising update means for updating the setting contents of the relay device.

In the present invention, when a situation that requires updating of the setting contents of the relay apparatus occurs, the relay apparatus generates setting data instructing the updating contents, and updates the setting data, for example, the setting of the relay apparatus Send to the address of one or more authorized terminals. Then, the relay device considers that the transmission source is a person who has been given the authority to update when receiving the setting data from the terminal that was the transmission destination of the setting data generated by itself, and according to the setting data Update the settings of the relay device. Therefore, by limiting the transmission destination of the setting data, it is possible to eliminate an unauthorized update request from a person who has not been given authority.

It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the electronic mail transfer system containing the relay apparatus concerning 1st and 2nd embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the email message transmitted / received in the email transfer system shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the relay apparatus in the electronic mail transfer system shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the relay apparatus concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the mail screen displayed when the terminal in the email transfer system shown in FIG. 1 receives an update notification email message. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the relay apparatus concerning 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an electronic mail transfer system including a relay device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

The relay device 10 forms a LAN (Local Area Network) together with the terminals 20-i (i = 1 to 3) and the mail transfer server apparatus 30. The relay device 10 is a device that plays a role of relaying the exchange of data packets through the line 91 between the terminal 20-i and the mail transfer server device 30 under the relay device 10 and the Internet 90. Details of the relay device 10 will be described later.

The terminal 20-i is, for example, a personal computer. The user who uses the terminal 20-i is given the authority to update the security setting of the relay device 10. The terminal 20-i has a mailer program installed. The mailer program is a program that causes the terminal 20-i to execute processing for generating, sending and receiving and displaying an e-mail message in MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension) format. Although the number of terminals 20-i is 3 here, the present invention is not limited to this, and one or more terminals may be arranged (i = 1 to N, N: natural number).

As shown in the example of FIG. 2, a MIME-format e-mail message has a mail header and a mail body. The mail header of the e-mail message has a plurality of header fields, and information such as a destination e-mail address, a transmission source e-mail address, a subject, and a transmission date / time is described in these header fields. In the mail body, the body of the e-mail message and various contents such as an image file and an audio file attached to the e-mail message are described for each group called a part.

The part has a content header and a content body. In the content body of each part, encoded data obtained by encoding a character string forming the body of the e-mail message and other various contents is described. In the content header of each part, a character string indicating the data type of the content described in the content body of the part is described.

In FIG. 1, an electronic mail address (XXX@example1.net) assigned to the user is set in the terminal 20-1. The terminal 20-2 is set with an electronic mail address (YYY@example1.net) assigned to the user. In the terminal 20-3, an e-mail address (ZZZ@example1.net) assigned to the user is set.

The mail transfer server device 30 is a server device that plays a role as an SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) server and a role as a POP (Post Office Protocol) 3 server in the domain (example1.net) to which the terminal 20-i belongs. The mail transfer server device 30 is implemented with SMTP and POP3. SMTP is a protocol related to transmission of an electronic mail message by the terminal 20-i. POP3 is a protocol related to reception of an electronic mail message by the terminal 20-i. The mail transfer server device 30 has a mailbox database 31 and a mailing list 32. The mailbox database 31 is a collection of mailboxes of the terminal 20-i. Each mailbox in the mailbox database 31 stores an e-mail message having each e-mail address of the terminal 20-i as a destination e-mail address. Further, the mailing list 32 includes “XXX@example1.net” which is the electronic mail address of the terminal 20-1, “YYY@example1.net” which is the electronic mail address of the terminal 20-2, and the electronic mail of the terminal 20-3. A set of “ZZZ@example1.net” which is a mail address is registered in association with “LIST@example1.net” which is a representative e-mail address representing those three. Note that it is not necessary to register all of the above-mentioned mail addresses in the mailing list 32.

In accordance with SMTP, the mail transfer server device 30 receives an email message from the terminal 20-i or the relay device 10, and the destination email address of the received email message is any of the email addresses of the terminal 20-i. It is determined whether it is. When the mail transfer server device 30 receives an e-mail message having any one of the e-mail addresses of the terminal 20-i as the destination e-mail address, the mail transfer server device 30 corresponds to the terminal 20-i in the mailbox database 31. Store the email message in a mailbox. In addition, when an e-mail message having an e-mail address other than that of the terminal 20-i as a destination e-mail address is received, the e-mail message is used as a payload portion, and a POP3 server (non-address) of the same domain as that of the e-mail address A data packet whose destination IP address is the IP address shown in the figure is assembled, and the assembled data packet is delivered to the relay apparatus 10. The data packet is transferred from the relay device 10 to the Internet 90 via the line 91, and then received by a POP3 server (not shown) having the destination IP address and stored in the mailbox.
Further, when the mail transfer server device 30 receives an e-mail message having “LIST@example1.net” which is the representative e-mail address of the mailing list 32 as the destination e-mail address, the e-mail message is transferred to the terminal 20-i. The same number of copies is made, and the destination e-mail address of each copied e-mail message is stored in the mailbox corresponding to each terminal 20-i in the mailbox database 31.

In accordance with POP3, the mail transfer server device 30 receives the user ID and password, which are each account information, from the terminal 20-i, and performs an authentication process using the received account information. Then, the mail transfer server device 30 reads an e-mail message having the e-mail address of the terminal 20-i that has been authenticated by the account information as the destination e-mail address from the corresponding mailbox in the mailbox database 31, and the terminal 20 -Hand over to i.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the relay device 10. The relay device 10 includes a communication interface 11-k (k = 1 to 4), a storage unit 12, a control unit 13, and a real time clock 19. The communication interface 11-k is a NIC (Network Interface Card). At least one of the communication interfaces 11-k (for example, the communication interface 11-1) of the relay device 10 is connected to the terminal 20-i and the mail transfer server device 30, and at least one of the remaining (for example, the communication interface) 11-2) is connected to the line 91. The communication interfaces 11-1 and 11-2 receive Ethernet (registered trademark) frames (hereinafter simply referred to as “frames”) having the MAC addresses of the communication interfaces 11-1 and 11-2 as destination MAC addresses. The data packet included in the frame is delivered to the control unit 13. Although the number of interfaces 11-k is four here, the present invention is not limited to this, and one or more interfaces may be arranged (k = 1 to N, N: natural number).
The real time clock 19 outputs a signal indicating the current time.

The storage unit 12 includes a volatile storage unit 14 and a nonvolatile storage unit 15. The volatile storage unit 14 is a RAM (Random Access Memory) and provides a work area to the control unit 13. The nonvolatile storage unit 15 is, for example, a hard disk or a Flash ROM. In addition to ID data indicating an ID unique to the relay device 10, a spam mail source address list 16 and a control program 17 are stored in the nonvolatile storage unit 15.

The junk mail sender address list 16 is a list for registering an e-mail address that is handled as a junk mail sender in the relay device 10.

The control program 17 has the following four functions.
a. Junk mail discard function This is because the payload part of the data packet delivered from the communication interface 11-2 includes an e-mail message having the e-mail address of the terminal 20-i as the destination e-mail address. This is a function for discarding the e-mail message when the sender e-mail address is registered in the junk mail sender address list 16.
b. Setting data generation function This is when the e-mail address of the e-mail message is not registered in the junk e-mail sender address list 16 and the mail body contains a predetermined character string that violates public order and morals. This is a function for generating setting data that is a pair of commands related to the registration of the e-mail address of the e-mail message and the e-mail address in the junk e-mail transmission source address list 16.
c. Configuration data distribution function This generates an update notification email message, which is an email message containing the configuration data generated by the function of the configuration data generation function, and this update notification email message is represented by a representative email address in the mailing list 32. This is a function that transmits a certain “LIST@example1.net” as a destination electronic mail address.
d. Setting content update function This is a setting data generated by receiving a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) message from the terminal 20-i after transmitting an update notification e-mail message, and generating the received HTTP message by the function of the setting data generation function. When the same setting data is included, the setting content of the relay device 10 is updated according to the setting data.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the relay device 10 in the present embodiment. The control unit 13 of the relay apparatus 10 performs the operation shown in FIG. 4 every time a data packet is delivered from the communication interfaces 11-1 and 11-2. Of the series of processes shown in FIG. 4, steps S100 to S130 are processes executed by the control unit 13 by the function of the junk mail discard function, and steps S140 to S150 are performed by the control unit 13 by the function of the setting data generation function. Steps S160 to S170 are processes executed by the control unit 13 by the function of the setting data distribution function, and steps S180 to S230 are processes executed by the control unit 13 by the function of the setting content update function. is there.

In FIG. 4, when the data packet is delivered from the communication interfaces 11-1 and 11-2, the control unit 13 of the relay device 10 adds one of the e-mail addresses of the terminal 20-i to the payload portion of the data packet. It is determined whether or not an e-mail message having a destination e-mail address is included (S100).

When the corresponding e-mail message is included in the payload portion of the data packet (S100: Yes), the control unit 13 takes out the e-mail message from the payload portion of the data packet and stores it in the volatile storage unit 14 It is stored in an area (referred to as “determined mail storage area”) (S110). Next, the control unit 13 determines whether or not the transmission source email address of the email message stored in the determination required email storage area is registered in the junk mail transmission source address list 16 (S120). And the control part 13 cancels | discards the email message, when the transmission origin email address is registered into the junk mail transmission source address (S120: Yes).

In addition, when the transmission source email address of the email message stored in the determination required email storage area is not registered in the spam email transmission source address (S120: No), the control unit 13 determines the email body of the email message. It is determined whether or not a predetermined character string that violates public order and morals is included (S140). The determination in step S140 is performed, for example, by collating the character string described in the mail body with the contents recorded in the junk mail determination dictionary file.

If it is determined in step S140 that the mail body of the e-mail message stored in the determination required mail storage area does not include a character string that violates public order and morals (S140: No), the control unit 13 performs a transfer process ( S300). In this transfer process, the control unit 13 assembles a data packet having the payload of the electronic mail message stored in the determination required mail storage area, and transmits a frame including the data packet from the communication interface 11-1.

If the control unit 13 determines in step S140 that the mail body of the e-mail message stored in the determination required mail storage area includes a character string that violates public order and morals (S140: Yes), the control data generation process is performed. Perform (S150). In this setting data generation process, the control unit 13 sends a command (referred to as an “address registration command”) for instructing registration of an email address to the junk mail source address list 16 and an email message email in the determination required email storage area A pair of sender e-mail addresses described in the header is set as setting data.

Next, the control unit 13 performs an encryption process (S160). In this encryption process, the control unit 13 reads ID data stored in the nonvolatile storage unit 15. Then, the control unit 13 sets the ID data read from the nonvolatile storage unit 15, the setting data generated in step S150, the time data indicating the current time output from the real-time clock 19 at the time of generation, and the expiration date of the setting data. Encrypted data is generated by encrypting a set of four types of data consisting of time length data indicating the time length set in the relay device 10 with a secret key unique to the relay device 10.

The control unit 13 performs the update notification mail transmission process (S170), and then proceeds to the transfer process (S300) described above. In the update notification mail transmission process in step S170, the control unit 13 generates a new e-mail message in the storage area secured in the volatile storage unit 14 (referred to as “new mail storage area”), and the e-mail message The mail header of the electronic mail message stored in the determination mail storage area and the body part in the mail body are copied. Then, after the text string of the text in the part of the text, a text string for requesting confirmation of the update contents (referred to as “update check request text string”) and the URL of the relay device 10 are described. The update confirmation request string is: "This email has been determined to be suspected of being spam. By registering the sender address of this email in the list, receiving emails with the same address as the sender is rejected. If you wish to register in the list, please upload to the following URL. "

In the update notification mail transmission process, the control unit 13 adds a new part to the mail body of the e-mail message stored in the new mail storage area, and uses the encrypted data generated by the encryption process in step S160. Describe it as the content body of the added part. Further, the destination e-mail message described in the e-mail header of the e-mail message is replaced with “LIST@example1.net” which is the representative e-mail address of the mailing list 32, and this e-mail message is replaced with an update notification e-mail message. To do. When the generation of the update notification e-mail message is completed, the control unit 13 assembles a data packet having the update notification e-mail message as a payload portion, and transmits a frame including the assembled data packet from the communication interface 11-1.

When the mail transfer server device 30 acquires the update notification email message from the relay device 10 and confirms that the destination email address is “LIST@example1.net”, which is the representative email address, the update notification email The same number of messages as the terminal 20-i are duplicated, and the duplicated update notification e-mail message is stored in the mailbox of each terminal 20-i in the mailbox database 31. These update notification e-mail messages are delivered to each terminal 20-i according to POP3, and each terminal 20-i displays the acquired e-mail message as a mail screen.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a mail screen displayed when the terminal 20-1 (e-mail address: XXX@example1.net), which is one of the destinations of the update notification e-mail message, acquires the update notification e-mail message. FIG. In the example of FIG. 5, the header information display column 51 of the mail screen displays each character string indicating the destination, sender, subject, and transmission date / time, and is described in the mail header of the update notification email message on the right of each. The destination information e-mail address, transmission source e-mail address, subject, and transmission date and time are displayed.

Further, in the text display field 52 of this mail screen, a character string “Would you like a photo of SSS?” That was the text of the email message stored in the judgment required mail storage area is displayed. The And below that, “It was determined that this email was suspected of being spam. By registering the sender address of this email in the list, it was refused to receive emails from the same address. If you wish to register in the list, please upload to the following URL "and the string" http://133.176.74.1/decode.mail "indicating the URL is displayed. . These character strings are described by the control unit 13 of the relay apparatus 10.

The user of the terminal 20-i refers to the transmission source e-mail address in the header information display column 51 and the content of the text in the text display column 52 of the mail screen displayed by each terminal 20-i, and the transmission source e-mail It is determined whether the address can be registered in the spam mail source address list 16. If the user determines that the source e-mail address can be registered in the junk e-mail source address list 16, the user moves the mouse pointer mp to the URL in the text display field 52 and performs a left double-click operation. .

When the terminal 20-i detects that an operation of moving the mouse pointer mp over the URL in the text display field 52 and double-clicking has been performed, the DNS 20 The associated IP address, that is, the IP address of the relay device 10 is acquired from the server. Then, the terminal 20-i extracts the encrypted data from the update notification electronic mail message acquired by the terminal 20-i, and generates an HTTP message including the encrypted data. Further, the terminal 20-i uses this HTTP message as a payload part, assembles a data packet having the IP address of the relay device 10 as a destination IP address, and transmits a frame including the assembled data packet. The communication interface 11-1 of the relay apparatus 10 receives the frame transmitted by the terminal 20-i and delivers the data packet included in the frame to the control unit 13. Since the payload portion of the data packet does not include an e-mail message having the e-mail address of the terminal 20-i as the destination e-mail address, the determination result in step S100 in FIG. 4 is “No”. In this case, the control unit 13 determines whether an HTTP message is included in the payload portion of the data packet (S180).

If the control unit 13 determines in step S180 that the HTTP message is included in the payload portion of the data packet (S180: Yes), the control unit 13 determines whether encrypted data is included in the HTTP message (S190). .

If the control unit 13 determines in step S190 that the HTTP message includes encrypted data (S190: Yes), the control unit 13 stores the encrypted data in the storage area (" (S200), the decryption process is performed (S210). In this decryption process, the control unit 13 decrypts the encrypted data stored in the decryption required data storage area with a secret key unique to the relay device 10 to obtain ID data, time data, and time length. The data and the four types of data set data are restored.

Next, the control unit 13 determines whether or not the set of four types of data restored by the decoding process in step S210 should be discarded (S220). More specifically, the control unit 13 should discard these data sets when the four types of data sets restored by the decoding process do not satisfy at least one of the following conditions a and b. If both conditions a and b are satisfied, it is regarded as a valid data set that should not be discarded.
a. ID data forming a set of four types of data restored by the decryption process matches the ID data stored in the nonvolatile storage unit 15.
b. The time length indicated by the time length data forming the set of four types of data restored by the decoding processing is the time when the decoding processing is executed from the time indicated by the time data forming the set (specifically, the decoding processing) Is longer than the time length from the real time clock 19 to the current time).

If it is determined in step S220 that the four types of data sets are to be discarded (S220: Yes), the control unit 13 ends the process without proceeding to the subsequent processes.
If it is determined in step S220 that the four types of data sets are not to be discarded (S220: No), the control unit 13 performs a setting update process (S230). In the setting update process in step S230, the control unit 13 extracts the address registration command included in the setting data from the four types of data restored by the decoding process, and executes the extracted address registration command. Then, the e-mail address included in the setting data is registered in the junk mail transmission source address list 16.

If it is determined in step S180 that the HTTP message is not included in the payload portion of the data packet (S180: No), or the encrypted data is not included in the HTTP message in step S190. When it determines (S190: No), it progresses to step S300, without performing step S230 from step S200. For example, a request transmitted from a terminal 20-i to a DNS server (not shown) or a WWW server (not shown) in the Internet 90 is included in the payload portion of a data packet delivered from the communication interfaces 11-1 and 11-2. If the response transmitted from the server to the terminal 20-i is included, the control unit 13 immediately proceeds from step S180 or step S190 to step S300, and performs the following transfer process. First, the control unit 13 determines the transfer destination of the data packet by referring to the destination IP address of the data packet delivered from the communication interfaces 11-1 and 11-2. When a data packet having the destination IP address as the IP address of any one of the terminals 20-i or the mail transfer server device 30 is delivered, the frame including the data packet is transmitted from the communication interface 11-1, and the terminal When a data packet having a destination IP address as an IP address other than that of 20-i and the mail transfer server device 30 is delivered, a frame including the data packet is transmitted from the communication interface 11-2.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the control unit 13 of the relay apparatus 10 determines the e-mail address when a situation that requires registration of a new e-mail address in the spam mail source address list 16 occurs. Setting data for instructing registration in the list 16 as setting contents is generated. Then, the control unit 13 uses the encrypted data obtained by encrypting the set of four types of data, that is, the setting data, the ID data, the time data, and the time length data, as the update notification e-mail message. Broadcast transmission to the terminal 20-i. Thereafter, the ID data of the four types of data included in the HTTP message received from the terminal 20-i thereafter matches the own ID data stored in the nonvolatile storage unit 15 (condition a ), If the time length indicated by the time length data constituting the set is longer than the time length indicated by the time data constituting the set and the current time (condition b), spam mail is set according to the setting data constituting the set. A new e-mail address is registered in the source address list 16. Therefore, by restricting the transmission destinations to which the update notification e-mail message is broadcast from the relay device 10, fraud from a computer of a person who is not authorized to update the junk mail source address list 16 of the relay device 10. Can be easily eliminated.

Further, in the present embodiment, by imposing the condition a as a condition for permitting registration of a new e-mail address in the junk mail transmission source address list 16 according to the setting data, the relay device 10 is a device other than the relay device 10. The inconvenience of updating the junk mail sender address list 16 according to the setting data generated by the apparatus can be prevented. Furthermore, by imposing the condition b, the relay device 10 prevents the occurrence of inconvenience that the junk mail source address list 16 is updated according to the setting data that has lost its value after a lapse of a considerable period from the time of generation. be able to.

Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, when the relay apparatus 10 erroneously determines that an e-mail message that should not be determined as junk mail is junk mail, an e-mail message that is subsequently transmitted from that e-mail address Can be prevented from being discarded by the relay device 10.

(Second Embodiment)
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description of the present embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.
In the present embodiment, the relay device 10 registers the e-mail address in the junk e-mail sender address list 16 when a situation that requires registration of a new e-mail address in the junk e-mail sender address list 16 occurs. After the process is performed as the first setting update process, setting data for instructing cancellation of the first setting update process is transmitted as an update notification e-mail message. Then, the relay device 10 receives the HTTP message from the terminal 20-i subordinate to the relay device 10, and the HTTP message includes the same setting data as the setting data transmitted as the update notification e-mail message to the terminal 20-i. If it is, the process of deleting the e-mail address registered in the spam mail source address list 16 from the list 16 is performed as the second setting update process.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the relay device 10 in the present embodiment. In the operation illustrated in FIG. 6, when the determination result in step S140 is “Yes”, the control unit 13 of the relay apparatus 10 proceeds to the next step after executing step S141. In step S141, the control unit 13 performs a first setting update process. In the first setting update process, the control unit 13 registers the destination e-mail address of the e-mail message stored in the determination necessary mail storage area in the junk mail transmission source address list 16.

In the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, steps S150, S170, and S230 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 (first embodiment) are replaced with steps S151, S171, and S231.
More specifically, in the setting data generation process in step S151, the control unit 13 instructs the deletion of the e-mail address from the junk mail transmission source address list 16 (referred to as “address deletion command”) and the determination required mail. A pair of sender email addresses described in the email header of the email message in the storage area is set as setting data.

In addition, in the update notification mail transmission process in step S171, the control unit 13 adds the mail header of the email message stored in the determination required mail storage area and the mail body to the email message generated in the new mail storage area. After copying the body part, after the text string in the body part, “The email address of the sender was registered in the list because it was determined that this email was suspected of being spam. If you do not wish, please upload the update confirmation request character string “Please upload to the following URL” and the URL of the relay device 10, and let this email message be the update notification email message.

Furthermore, in the second setting update process in step S231, the control unit 13 extracts an address deletion command from the setting data, and executes the extracted address deletion command, thereby changing the e-mail address included in the setting data. It is deleted from the spam mail sender address list 16.

Also in this embodiment, when the relay apparatus 10 erroneously determines that an e-mail message that should not be determined as junk mail is junk mail, an e-mail message that is subsequently transmitted from that e-mail address is relayed. It is possible to prevent an inconvenience that the device 10 continues to be discarded.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention may have other embodiments. For example, it is as follows.
(1) In the first and second embodiments, two conditions a and b are imposed as conditions for permitting registration or deletion of a new e-mail address in the spam mail source address list 16 in step S230 or step S231. It was done. However, only condition b may be imposed. In this embodiment, the control unit 13 of the relay apparatus 10 restores a set of ID data, time data, time length data, and setting data from the encrypted data included in the HTTP message, and then forms the set. When the time length indicated by the time length data is longer than the time length from the time indicated by the time data forming the set to the current time (when the condition b is satisfied), the setting update processing according to the setting data forming the set It is good to do.

(2) In the first and second embodiments, the control unit 13 of the relay apparatus 10 performs the encryption process and the decryption process using a secret key unique to the relay apparatus 10. However, the encryption process may be performed using a public key unique to the relay device 10, and the decryption process may be performed using a secret key that is paired with the public key.

(3) In the first and second embodiments, the control unit 13 of the relay apparatus 10 transmits a set of setting data, ID data, time data, and time length data to the terminal 20-i as an update notification e-mail message. The terminal 20-i transmits the setting data included in the update notification e-mail message to the relay apparatus 10 as an HTTP message. However, transmission / reception of setting data between the relay device 10 and the terminal 20-i may be performed as a message according to another protocol (for example, a message in an instant messenger, an IP phone, or a push-type email protocol). Good.

(4) In the first and second embodiments described above, the control unit 13 of the relay apparatus 10 receives an HTTP message from any one of the terminals 20-i (for example, the terminal 20-1), and converts the HTTP message into the HTTP message. When the setting of the relay device 10 is updated according to the included setting data, a message including the update completion data indicating that the update has been completed is displayed as an HTTP message of the terminal 20-i that broadcasts the update notification e-mail message. Alternatively, the addresses of the terminals 20-2 and 20-3 that are not the transmission source may be transmitted as the destination address. According to this embodiment, the user of the terminals 20-2 and 20-3 is informed that there is no need to perform an operation for instructing registration or deletion of an e-mail address in the junk mail transmission source address list 16. Can do. Further, the control unit 13 of the relay device 10 receives an HTTP message from any one of the terminals 20-i (for example, the terminal 20-1), and sets the relay device 10 according to the setting data included in the HTTP message. When a message is updated, a message including update completion data indicating that the update has been completed may be transmitted to all terminals 20-i under the relay apparatus 10. According to this embodiment, it is possible to notify the user of the terminal 20-1 that the registration and deletion of the e-mail address in the junk mail transmission source address list 16 has been successfully completed.

(5) In step S230 of the first embodiment or step S231 of the second embodiment, the control unit 13 of the relay device 10 determines whether or not the set of four types of data restored by the decoding process satisfies the condition b. This determination may be made as follows. First, the control unit 13 compares the time length data forming the set of four types of data restored by the decoding process with the time length data set for itself, and selects the shorter one. Further, the time length indicated by the selected time length data is compared with the time length from the time indicated by the time data in the set to the time when the decoding process is executed, and the time length indicated by the selected time length data. If is longer, it is determined that the condition b is satisfied.

(6) The control program 17 in the first and second embodiments may be downloaded from a server device on the Internet 90 to a computer, and the computer may function as the relay device 10. Further, such a program may be distributed after being stored in a storage medium.

(7) In the first and second embodiments described above, as an example of setting data indicating the setting contents of the relay device 10, the transmission source electronic mail address of the electronic mail message and the electronic mail address to the junk mail transmission source address list 16 are set. Although a pair of commands related to registration is listed, the setting data in the present invention is not limited to this. That is, examples of setting data include the following (A)-(D).

(A) Change of bandwidth allocation 1
In the relay device 10, when the QoS (Quality of Service) function of the bandwidth control method is operating, the relay device 10 performs class classification in order to set the priority of the packet to be transmitted. At this time, the control unit 13 of the relay apparatus 10 monitors the traffic for each class. When it is determined that the deviation from the band in which a certain class of traffic is set continues for a certain period of time, the control unit 13 generates setting data for changing the set bandwidth allocation. Then, the control unit 13 transmits the generated setting data to the terminal 20-i subordinate to the relay device 10. The user of the terminal 20-i confirms the received setting data and returns a message to the relay apparatus 10 after including the setting data. As a result, the user of the terminal 20-i can approve the allocated amount of the band of the class.

(B) Change of bandwidth allocation 2
In the relay device 10, when the bandwidth control type QoS function is operating, the control unit 13 of the relay device 10 monitors its own CPU load factor. When the control unit 13 determines that the CPU load rate exceeds a preset threshold, the control unit 13 identifies a class that increases the CPU load rate and changes the bandwidth allocation amount set for the class. Generate configuration data. Then, the control unit 13 transmits the generated setting data to the terminal 20-i subordinate to the relay device 10. The user of the terminal 20-i confirms the received setting data and returns a message to the relay apparatus 10 after including the setting data. As a result, the user of the terminal 20-i can approve the allocated amount of the band of the class.

(C) WAN (Wide Area Network) side line switching The control unit 13 of the relay apparatus 10 monitors packets relating to a specific terminal passing through the relay apparatus. When the control unit 13 determines that the packet loss of the packet related to the specific terminal has increased and it is preferable for the specific terminal that there is no packet loss than the packet delay, the control unit 13 Setting data for switching the communication network (WAN side line) to a line with less packet loss is generated. Then, the control unit 13 transmits the generated setting data to the terminal 20-i subordinate to the relay device 10. The user of the terminal 20-i confirms the received setting data and returns a message to the relay apparatus 10 after including the setting data. As a result, line switching can be approved by the user of the terminal 20-i. As examples of line switching, switching from the Internet line to the ISDN line or switching from the ISDN line to the satellite line can be considered.

(D) Access restriction setting change When the relay device 10 has a server function, the relay device 10 always monitors the access status from the client terminal. When the control unit 13 determines that the communication amount from a certain terminal is equal to or greater than the threshold, the access from the client terminal is determined to be a DoS attack (Denial of Service Attack), and the communication from the terminal is blocked by the interface unit. Setting data to generate. Then, the control unit 13 transmits the generated setting data to the terminal 20-i subordinate to the relay device 10. The user of the terminal 20-i confirms the received setting data and returns a message to the relay apparatus 10 after including the setting data. Thereby, the user of the terminal 20-i can approve the interruption of communication with the terminal.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Relay device, 11 ... Communication interface, 12 ... Memory | storage part, 13 ... Control part, 14 ... Volatile memory | storage part, 15 ... Nonvolatile memory | storage part, 17 ... Control program, 19 ... Real time clock, 20 ... Terminal, 30 ... Mail transfer server device, 31 ... mailbox database, 32 ... mailing list, 90 ... internet, 91 ... line.

Claims

Generating means for generating setting data for instructing setting contents of the relay device;
Distribution means for transmitting a message including setting data generated by the generation means as a destination address in a communication network under the relay device;
When a message is received from the subordinate communication network, and the received message contains the same setting data as the setting data generated by the generating means, the setting of the relay device according to the setting data included in the message An updating device comprising: an updating means for updating contents.
A real-time clock that outputs the current time is further provided.
The distribution means sends a message including setting data generated by the generating means, time data indicating the time when the setting data was generated, and time length data indicating a predetermined time length to the destination address. Send
The update means, when the setting data, time data, and time length data are included in the message received from the subordinate communication network, the real-time from the time indicated by the time data included in the received message. The time length up to the current time output by the clock is compared with the time length indicated by the time length data included in the received message, and the time length indicated by the time length data included in the received message 2. The relay apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in a case where the message is long, the setting contents are updated according to the setting data included in the received message.
The updating means includes
Before the distribution means transmits the setting data, a first setting update process for setting the setting contents of the relay device in advance is performed,
When a message is received from the subordinate communication network and the received message includes the same setting data as the setting data generated by the generating means, the relay apparatus is preliminarily set according to the setting data included in the message. The relay apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a second setting update process for erasing the updated setting contents is performed.
The relay device according to claim 1, wherein the setting content of the relay device is registration of an e-mail address in a junk mail transmission source address list.
The setting data includes a predetermined transmission source email address, and an address registration command for instructing registration of the predetermined transmission source email address in the junk mail transmission source address list,
The update means receives a message from the subordinate communication network, and registers the predetermined sender email address in the spam sender address list when the received message includes the address registration command. The relay device according to claim 4, wherein:
The setting data includes a transmission source e-mail address, and an address deletion command for instructing deletion of the transmission source e-mail address from the junk mail transmission source address list,
The updating means includes
Performing a first setting update process for pre-registering a predetermined sender email address to the spam sender address list;
A second message that receives a message from the subordinate communication network and deletes the predetermined source e-mail address from the junk e-mail source address list when the received message includes the address deletion command; 5. The relay apparatus according to claim 4, wherein setting update processing is performed.
2. The relay according to claim 1, further comprising: a transmission unit configured to transmit a message including update completion data to the subordinate communication network when the setting content of the relay device in the update unit is updated. apparatus.
Generating setting data instructing the setting contents of the relay device;
Transmitting a message including the setting data generated in the generating step as a destination address with a predetermined address in a communication network under the relay device;
When a message is received from the subordinate communication network, and the received message includes the same setting data as the setting data generated in the generating step, the relay device according to the setting data included in the message A setting update method for the relay device, comprising the step of updating the setting content.
On the computer,
Generating means for generating setting data for instructing setting contents of the relay device;
Distribution means for transmitting a message including setting data generated by the generation means as a destination address in a communication network under the relay device;
When a message is received from the subordinate communication network, and the received message contains the same setting data as the setting data generated by the generating means, the setting of the relay device according to the setting data included in the message A program that realizes an updating means for updating contents.