Program, computer, and information processing method

Abstract

To provide a program, a computer and an information processing method that are capable of easily removing a password set on a file attached to a sent e-mail.SOLUTION: The program causes a computer 10 to function as reception means 22 and password removal means 24. The reception means 22 receives a first mail to which a password-protected file is attached, and a second mail in which a password is written in the text. Upon the reception means 22 receiving the first mail and the second mail with a time difference shorter than a given period set in advance, the password removal means 24 extracts the password from the text in the second mail and decompresses the password-protected file attached to the first mail with the extracted password.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a program, a computer, and an information processing method. [Background technology]

[0002] In business practices, when sending emails with various files attached to a recipient, the files are password protected. In this case, a common method is to send an email with a password protected file attached, followed by another email with the password written in the body. This makes it possible to avoid the risk of confidential information leaking, since the attached file cannot be decrypted unless the email with the password written in the body is sent to an incorrect recipient. For example, one disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known as such an email encryption system. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2009-171542 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] If a file attached to an e-mail sent by the other party is password protected, there is a problem in that it is time-consuming to remove the password.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to provide a program, computer, and information processing method that can easily remove passwords set on files attached to sent emails. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The program of the present invention comprises: A program that causes a computer to function as a reception unit and a password release unit, The receiving means receives a first email having a password-protected file attached thereto and a second email having the password written in the body of the email, The password unlocking means is characterized in that when the receiving means receives the first email and the second email with a timing difference shorter than a predetermined period set in advance, it extracts a password from the body of the second email and decompresses a password-protected file attached to the first email using the extracted password.

[0007] In the program of the present invention, The password unlocking means may extract the password from the body of the second email only if the email address of the sender of the first email is the same as the email address of the sender of the second email, and decompress the password-protected file attached to the first email using the extracted password.

[0008] In addition, the program of the present invention is The computer further functions as a storage means, The storage means stores delimiters and exclusion rules in a storage unit in advance, The password unlocking means may divide the body of the second email into multiple character strings based on the delimiter stored in the memory unit, exclude some of the divided multiple character strings in accordance with the exclusion rule stored in the memory unit, extract the remaining one or more password candidates as a password, and attempt to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first email using each of the extracted one or more password candidates.

[0009] The exclusion rules may include at least one of the following rules: excluding strings whose number of characters is equal to or less than a predetermined number that is set in advance, and excluding strings that are not ASCII strings.

[0010] The delimiters may also include at least one of an html tag, a line break, a space, and a semicolon.

[0011] The storage means stores the one or more password candidates extracted as a password in the storage unit for a predetermined period of time that is set in advance, The password unlocking means, when decompressing a password-protected file attached to an email accepted by the accepting means, may attempt to decompress the password-protected file attached to the email using one or more of the password candidates stored in the memory unit.

[0012] The storage means stores in the storage unit, as a decompression password, a password that allows decompression of the password-protected file attached to the first mail, The password unlocking means may, when decompressing a password-protected file attached to the first email, attempt to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first email using the decompression password stored in the memory unit.

[0013] The storage means stores in the storage unit a password that allows decompression of the password-protected file attached to the first mail, in association with an email address of a sender of the first mail, and When decompressing a password-protected file attached to the first email, the password unlocking means may attempt to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first email using the decompression password stored in the memory unit and linked to the email address of the sender of the first email.

[0014] In addition, the program of the present invention is The computer further functions as a notification means, The notification means may provide a notification that the password cannot be found if a password-protected file attached to the first email cannot be decompressed using one or more of the password candidates.

[0015] In addition, the program of the present invention is A program that causes a computer to function as a reception unit and a password release unit, The receiving means receives a first email having a password-protected file attached thereto, The password unlocking means is characterized in that, when the receiving means receives the first email, if a password is stored in a memory unit linked to the email address of the sender of the first email, it decompresses the password-protected file attached to the first email using the password stored in the memory unit linked to the email address of the sender of the first email.

[0016] The computer of the present invention comprises: A computer that functions as a reception unit and a password release unit by executing a program, The receiving means receives a first email having a password-protected file attached thereto and a second email having the password written in the body of the email, The password unlocking means is characterized in that when the receiving means receives the first email and the second email with a timing difference shorter than a predetermined period set in advance, it extracts a password from the body of the second email and decompresses a password-protected file attached to the first email using the extracted password.

[0017] The computer of the present invention comprises: A computer that functions as a reception unit and a password release unit by executing a program, The receiving means receives a first email having a password-protected file attached thereto, The password unlocking means is characterized in that, when the receiving means receives the first email, if a password is stored in a memory unit linked to the email address of the sender of the first email, it decompresses the password-protected file attached to the first email using the password stored in the memory unit linked to the email address of the sender of the first email.

[0018] The information processing method of the present invention comprises the steps of: An information processing method carried out by a computer, comprising: A step in which a control unit of the computer receives a first email to which a password-protected file is attached and a second email in which the password is written in the body of the email; When the control unit receives the first email and the second email with a timing difference shorter than a predetermined period set in advance, the control unit extracts a password from a body of the second email and decompresses a password-protected file attached to the first email using the extracted password; The present invention is characterized by comprising:

[0019] The information processing method of the present invention comprises the steps of: An information processing method carried out by a computer, comprising: A step of a control unit of the computer receiving a first email having a password-protected file attached thereto; When the control unit receives the first email, if a password is stored in a storage unit in association with the email address of the sender of the first email, the control unit decompresses a password-protected file attached to the first email using the password stored in the storage unit in association with the email address of the sender of the first email; The present invention is characterized by comprising: Effect of the Invention

[0020] According to the program, computer, and information processing method of the present invention, it is possible to easily remove a password set for a file attached to a sent email. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a computer according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 10 is a flowchart showing an operation performed when a password-protected file attached to a first mail is decompressed in the computer shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the text of a second email. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a server according to another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. Figures 1 to 3 are diagrams showing a computer 10 according to the present embodiment and an information processing method performed by the computer 10.

[0023] The computer 10 according to this embodiment includes a control unit 20, a display unit 30, an operation unit 32, a storage unit 34, and a communication unit 36. Each of the components of the computer 10 will be described in detail below.

[0024] The control unit 20 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or the like, and functions as the reception means 22, the password release means 24, the storage means 26, and the notification means 28 by executing a program stored in the storage unit 34. The reception means 22 receives various information from an external device (for example, an external computer 50). In this embodiment, the reception means 22 receives a first email to which a password-protected file is attached and a second email in which the password is written in the body from the external computer 50. When the reception means 22 receives the first email and the second email with a timing difference shorter than a predetermined period set in advance, the password release means 24 extracts the password from the body of the second email and uses the extracted password to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first email. The storage means 26 stores the delimiter and the exclusion rule in the storage unit 34 in advance. The delimiter and the exclusion rule will be described later in detail. When the notification means 28 is unable to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first email using one or more password candidates (described later), it notifies the user that the password cannot be found. The functions of the reception means 22, password release means 24, storage means 26 and notification means 28 will be described in detail later.

[0025] The display unit 30 is composed of, for example, a monitor, and is configured to display various information when a display instruction signal is sent from the control unit 20. The operation unit 32 is composed of, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, and the like, and an operator can input various information to the control unit 20 using the operation unit 32. In this embodiment, the display unit 30 and the operation unit 32 may be integrated into one unit, and a touch panel or the like may be used. The storage unit 34 is composed of, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), and a solid state drive (SSD), and various information is stored in the storage unit 34.

[0026] In this embodiment, the storage unit 34 is configured to store delimiters and exclusion rules in advance, and the password release means 24 is configured to divide the password into a plurality of character strings based on the delimiters stored in the storage unit 34, exclude some of the divided character strings according to the exclusion rules stored in the storage unit 34, and extract one or a plurality of remaining password candidates as a password. Here, the exclusion rules include at least one of the following rules: excluding character strings whose number of characters is a predetermined number (e.g., two characters) or less that is set in advance, and excluding character strings that are not ASCII character strings. ASCII character strings include half-width English letters (a to z, A to Z), Arabic numerals (0 to 9), symbols, blank characters, control characters, and the like. Note that ASCII character strings do not include characters with accents, alphabets other than Latin characters such as Greek characters and Cyrillic characters, non-Western characters such as Chinese characters, kana, Hangul, and Thai characters, so-called full-width alphanumeric characters, full-width symbols, Roman numerals, emoticons, and the like. In addition, the delimiters include at least one of html tags, line breaks, spaces, and semicolons.

[0027] The storage means 26 stores one or more password candidates extracted as the password in the storage unit 34 for a predetermined period of time. The storage unit 34 may also store the email address of the sender of the first email and the password associated with the email address.

[0028] The communication unit 36 ​​is, for example, a communication interface, and the control unit 20 is capable of transmitting and receiving signals to and from an external device (for example, an external computer 50) via the communication unit 36.

[0029] Next, such an information processing method by the computer 10 will be described with reference to Figs. 2 and 3. Fig. 2 is a flow chart showing the operation when the password-protected file attached to the first mail is decompressed in the computer 10 shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the text of the second mail. The operation shown below is performed by each of the means 22, 24, 26, and 28 by the control unit 20 executing a program stored in the storage unit 34. According to the information processing method of this embodiment, when the first mail to which the password-protected file is attached and the second mail to which the password is written in the text are respectively transmitted from the external computer 50 to the computer 10, the password set for the file attached to the first mail is automatically released in the computer 10. Details of such an information processing method will be described below.

[0030] First, when a first mail with a password-protected file attached is sent from the external computer 50 to the computer 10, the receiving means 22 receives the first mail (STEP 1). At this time, a second mail with a password written in the body is also sent from the external computer 50 to the computer 10 around the same time as the first mail. If the password corresponding to the email address of the sender of the first mail is stored in the storage unit 34 ("YES" in STEP 2), the password unlocking means 24 can attempt to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first mail using the password stored in the storage unit 34 without using the password written in the body of the second mail. This will be described later.

[0031] When the reception means 22 receives the first email (STEP 1), if the password corresponding to the email address of the sender of the first email is not stored in the storage unit 34 ("NO" in STEP 2), the reception means 22 receives a second email from the external computer 50, the second email having the password written in the body (STEP 3). After that, the password release means 24 extracts one or more password candidates as the password from the body of the second email (STEP 4).

[0032] Specifically, when the receiving means 22 receives the first and second e-mails with a timing difference shorter than a predetermined period (e.g., 15 minutes) that has been set in advance, the password release means 24 extracts the password from the body of the second e-mail and uses the extracted password to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first e-mail only when the e-mail address of the sender of the first e-mail and the e-mail address of the sender of the second e-mail are the same. At this time, the receiving means 22 may receive the first e-mail first and the second e-mail later, or the receiving means 22 may receive the second e-mail first and the first e-mail later.

[0033] More specifically, the password release means 24 first divides the body of the second email into a plurality of character strings based on the delimiters stored in the storage unit 34. The delimiters stored in the storage unit 34 include at least one of, for example, an HTML tag, a line break, a space, and a semicolon. In the following description, it is assumed that the delimiters stored in the storage unit 34 include all of an HTML tag, a line break, a space, and a semicolon. For example, when the text of the second email is as shown in FIG. 3, the password release means 24 divides the body of the second email into the following character strings (a) to (i). (a)============================================= (b) Password for attachment file (c)============================================ (d) The ZIP file attached to the email with the subject "Sending Invoice" is encrypted with the following password. (e) [Password] (f)9^nz749#j~y. (g) We apologize for the inconvenience, but please decrypt the file using the above password. (h)※If you have any questions, please contact the sender. (i)※Please refrain from replying to this email as it contains your password.

[0034] Next, the password unlocking means 24 excludes some of the divided multiple character strings (a) to (i) in accordance with the exclusion rules stored in the storage unit 34. The exclusion rules stored in the storage unit 34 include at least one of the rules of excluding character strings whose number of characters is a predetermined number or less and excluding character strings that are not ASCII character strings. In the following explanation, the exclusion rules stored in the storage unit 34 will be explained as including both the rules of excluding character strings whose number of characters is a predetermined number or less (e.g., 2 characters) and excluding character strings that are not ASCII character strings.

[0035] Among the above-mentioned character strings (a) to (i), when those having a character count of a predetermined number (e.g., 2 characters) or less and those that are not ASCII character strings are excluded, character strings (a), (c), and (f) remain. That is, character strings (b), (d), (e), (g), (h), and (i) are excluded from the password candidates because they are not ASCII character strings. Then, the storage means 26 stores one or more password candidates extracted as the password in the storage unit 34 for a predetermined period (e.g., 24 hours) that is set in advance.

[0036] Then, the password release means 24 attempts to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first mail using each of the extracted one or more password candidates (STEP 5). In the above example, the password release means 24 attempts to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first mail using the character strings (a), (c), and (f) in sequence. If the password-protected file attached to the first mail can be decompressed using the character string (f) ("YES" in STEP 6), a message indicating that the password-protected file has been decompressed is displayed on the display unit 30 at will, and the operator can open the file attached to the first mail using the operation unit 32. In this case, the storage means 26 associates the password (i.e., the above character string (f)) that allowed the password-protected file to be decompressed with the email address of the sender of the first mail and stores it in the storage unit 34 (STEP 7). As a result, if the password of the password-protected file attached to the mail sent from the email address of the sender of the first mail is the same, the password release means 24 can attempt to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first mail using the password stored in the storage unit 34 from the next time onwards. On the other hand, if the password-protected file attached to the first mail cannot be decompressed using any of the password candidates extracted by the password unlocking means 24 ("NO" in STEP 6), the notification means 28 notifies the user that the password cannot be found (STEP 8). Specifically, the notification means 28 sends a display command signal to the display unit 30, causing the display unit 30 to display a message that the password cannot be found.

[0037] Furthermore, when the reception means 22 receives the first mail (STEP 1), if the password corresponding to the email address of the sender of the first mail is stored in the storage unit 34 ("YES" in STEP 2), the password release means 24 attempts to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first mail using the password stored in the storage unit 34 (STEP 9). If the password-protected file attached to the first mail can be decompressed using the password stored in the storage unit 34 ("YES" in STEP 10), a message indicating that the password-protected file has been decompressed is displayed on the display unit 30 at will, and the operator can open the file attached to the first mail using the operation unit 32. On the other hand, if the password for the password-protected file attached to the mail sent from the email address of the sender of the first mail is different each time, the password stored in the storage unit 34 cannot be used to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first mail ("NO" in STEP 10), and the operations shown in STEPs 3 to 8 described above are performed.

[0038] According to the program, computer 10, and information processing method of the present embodiment configured as described above, by the computer 10 executing the program, the reception means 22 receives a first email with a password-protected file attached and a second email with the password written in the body, and the password release means 24 extracts the password from the body of the second email when the reception means 22 receives the first email and the second email with a timing difference shorter than a predetermined period set in advance, and uses the extracted password to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first email. This makes it easy to release the password set on the file attached to the email sent to the computer 10, improving convenience.

[0039] In the program, computer 10, and information processing method of the present embodiment, as described above, the password release means 24 extracts the password from the body of the second mail only when the email address of the sender of the first mail is the same as the email address of the sender of the second mail, and decompresses the password-protected file attached to the first mail using the extracted password. Note that the present embodiment is not limited to such an embodiment. As another embodiment, the password release means 24 may extract the password from the body of the second mail when the receiving means 22 receives the first mail and the second mail with a timing difference shorter than a predetermined period set in advance, even if the email address of the sender of the first mail is different from the email address of the sender of the second mail.

[0040] In the program, computer 10, and information processing method of the present embodiment, as described above, the program further causes the computer 10 to function as a storage unit 26, the storage unit 26 stores delimiters and exclusion rules in advance in the storage unit 34, and the password release unit 24 divides the body of the second mail into a plurality of character strings based on the delimiters stored in the storage unit 34, excludes a portion of the divided plurality of character strings according to the exclusion rules stored in the storage unit 34, extracts one or more remaining password candidates as passwords, and attempts to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first mail using each of the extracted one or more password candidates. Here, the exclusion rule includes at least one of the rules that the number of characters in the character string is a predetermined number or less and that the character string is an ASCII character string. In the above description, the exclusion rule includes both the number of characters in the character string is a predetermined number or less and that the character string is an ASCII character string, but the present embodiment is not limited to such an embodiment. The exclusion rule may be only that the number of characters in the character string is a predetermined number or less. Also, the exclusion rule may be only that the character string is an ASCII character string.

[0041] The delimiter may include at least one of an html tag, a line break, a space, and a semicolon. In the above description, the delimiter includes all of an html tag, a line break, a space, and a semicolon, but the present embodiment is not limited to this. The delimiter may include only one of an html tag, a line break, a space, and a semicolon, or may include two or more of the following, but not all of them.

[0042] In this embodiment, the storage means 26 stores one or more password candidates extracted as a password in the storage unit 34 for a predetermined period (e.g., 24 hours) that is set in advance. In this case, when the password release means 24 decompresses a password-protected file attached to an e-mail accepted by the acceptance means 12, the password release means 24 attempts to decompress the password-protected file attached to the e-mail using one or more password candidates stored in the storage unit 34. In this way, when the first e-mail and the second e-mail are sent from the external computer 50 to the computer 10 and the password release means 24 decompresses the password-protected file attached to the first e-mail, for example, when another e-mail with a password-protected file attached is sent from the same sender several hours later, the password release means 24 can decompress the password-protected file attached to the other e-mail using the password extracted from the body of the second e-mail and stored in the storage unit 34.

[0043] In the program, computer 10, and information processing method of the present embodiment, as described above, the storage means 26 stores the password with which the password-protected file attached to the first mail can be decompressed in the storage unit 34 as a decompression password, and the password release means 24 attempts to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first mail using the decompression password stored in the storage unit 34 when decompressing the password-protected file attached to the first mail. In this case, by using the decompression password stored in the storage unit 34, the password-protected file attached to the first mail can be decompressed more reliably. Note that a period during which the password with which the password attached to the first mail can be decompressed as a decompression password in the storage unit 34 may be set in advance. For example, if the period during which the password with which the password attached to the first mail can be decompressed as a decompression password in the storage unit 34 is set in advance to one month, the password is erased from the storage unit 34 when one month has passed since the password was stored in the storage unit 34.

[0044] Furthermore, the storage means 26 associates the password that enabled the decompression of the password-protected file attached to the first mail with the email address of the sender of the first mail and stores it in the storage unit 34, and when the password release means 24 attempts to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first mail, it attempts to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first mail using the decompression password associated with the email address of the sender of the first mail stored in the storage unit 34. In this case, since the decompression password stored in the storage unit 34 is associated with the email address of the sender of the first mail, it becomes possible to more reliably decompress the password-protected file attached to the first mail.

[0045] However, this embodiment is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, the storage means 26 may store in the storage unit 34 a password that has enabled decompression of the password-protected file attached to the first mail, in association with the email address of the destination of the first mail (i.e., the email address of the operator of the computer 10), and the password release means 24 may attempt to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first mail using the decompression password stored in the storage unit 34 and associated with the email address of the destination of the first mail when decompressing the password-protected file attached to the first mail. In this case, too, the decompression password stored in the storage unit 34 is associated with the email address of the destination of the first mail, so that the password-protected file attached to the first mail can be decompressed more reliably. In yet another embodiment, the decompression password stored in the storage unit 34 may not be associated with the email address of the sender of the first mail. In this case too, when decompressing the password-protected file attached to the first email, the password unlocking means 24 attempts to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first email using each of the multiple decompression passwords stored in the memory unit 34, thereby enabling the decompression of the password-protected file.

[0046] The storage means 26 may also store in the storage unit 34 the password that enabled the decompression of the password-protected file attached to the first mail, in association with both the email address of the sender of the first mail and the email address of the destination of the first mail (i.e., the email address of the operator of the computer 10), and the password release means 24 may attempt to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first mail using the decompression password associated with both the email address of the sender of the first mail and the email address of the destination of the first mail, which are stored in the storage unit 34, when decompressing the password-protected file attached to the first mail. In this case, too, the decompression of the password-protected file attached to the first mail can be more reliably performed by linking the decompression password stored in the storage unit 34 with the email address of the sender of the first mail and the email address of the destination of the first mail.

[0047] Furthermore, in the program, computer 10, and information processing method of the present embodiment, as described above, the program further causes computer 10 to function as notification means 28, which notifies the user that the password cannot be found if the password-protected file attached to the first mail cannot be decompressed using one or more password candidates. In this case, the operator of computer 10 is notified by notification means 28 and is then able to manually attempt to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first mail using operation unit 32 based on the password described in the text of the second mail.

[0048] According to the program, computer 10, and information processing method of the present embodiment, the computer 10 executes the program, so that the reception means 22 receives a first e-mail to which a password-protected file is attached, and the password release means 24, when the reception means 22 receives the first e-mail, if a password is stored in the storage unit 34 in association with the e-mail address of the sender of the first e-mail, decompresses the password-protected file attached to the first e-mail using the password stored in the storage unit 34 in association with the e-mail address of the sender of the first e-mail. This makes it easy to release the password applied to the file attached to the e-mail sent to the computer 10, thereby improving convenience.

[0049] The program, computer 10, information processing method, and the like according to the present embodiment are not limited to the above-described aspects, and various modifications can be made.

[0050] For example, before a second email containing a password in the body is sent from the external computer 50 to the computer 10, the operator of the computer 10 may be able to register the password in advance in the storage unit 34 using the operation unit 32. Specifically, by the operator of the computer 10 asking in advance for password information from the operator operating the external computer 50, the operator can decompress the password-protected file attached to the first email without receiving the second email.

[0051] Furthermore, the password release means 24 is not limited to dividing the text of the second email into a plurality of character strings based on the delimiters stored in the storage unit 34, excluding some of the divided plurality of character strings in accordance with the exclusion rules stored in the storage unit 34, and extracting the remaining one or a plurality of password candidates as a password. As another aspect, for example, the password release means 24 may divide the text of the second email into a plurality of character strings based on the delimiters stored in the storage unit 34, and set each of the divided plurality of character strings as a password candidate.

[0052] The exclusion rule is not limited to excluding those strings whose number of characters is equal to or less than a preset number, or to excluding those strings that are not ASCII. Other rules may be used as the exclusion rule. The delimiters are not limited to html tags, line breaks, spaces, and semicolons. Other characters may be used as the delimiters.

[0053] Moreover, the storage means 26 is not limited to storing the delimiter, the exclusion rule, the extracted one or more password candidates, the decompression password that was able to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first email in the storage unit 34 of the computer 10. The storage means 26 may store this information in a storage unit such as an external server or cloud that is provided separately from the computer 10. In this case, when the reception means 22 receives the first email, the control unit 20 of the computer 10 transmits a command to the storage unit such as the external server or cloud to request the information stored in the storage unit. As a result, the information such as the delimiter, the exclusion rule, the extracted one or more password candidates, and the decompression password is transmitted from the external server or cloud to the control unit 20 of the computer 10, and the reception means 22 receives this information, and the password release means 24 attempts to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first email.

[0054] As another embodiment of the present invention, a system shown in Fig. 4 may be used. In the system shown in Fig. 4, when a first email and a second email are sent from an external computer 50 to a server 60, the server 60 decompresses the password-protected file attached to the first email, and the decompressed file is stored in the storage unit 34 by the storage means 26. Then, each employee of the business company that manages the server 60 can obtain the decompressed file stored in the storage unit 34 by the computer 70 that he or she operates. The configuration of such a system shown in Fig. 4 will be described.

[0055] 4, each computer 70 is communicatively connected to a server 60. Each computer 70 is operated by an employee of the business company that manages the server 60.

[0056] The server 60 includes a control unit 20, a storage unit 34, and a communication unit 36. Specifically, the control unit 20, the storage unit 34, and the communication unit 36 ​​of the server 60 have substantially the same configurations as the control unit 20, the storage unit 34, and the communication unit 36 ​​of the computer 10 shown in FIG. 1. The control unit 20 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or the like, and functions as a reception unit 22, a password release unit 24, a storage unit 26, and a notification unit 28 by executing a program stored in the storage unit 34. The reception unit 22, the password release unit 24, the storage unit 26, and the notification unit 28 in the control unit 20 of the server 60 perform substantially the same functions as the reception unit 22, the password release unit 24, the storage unit 26, and the notification unit 28 in the control unit 20 of the computer 10 shown in FIG. 1. In the server 60 shown in FIG. 4, the storage unit 34 is also configured to store delimiters and exclusion rules in advance, and the password release means 24 is configured to divide the plurality of character strings based on the delimiters stored in the storage unit 34, exclude a part of the divided plurality of character strings according to the exclusion rules stored in the storage unit 34, and extract one or more remaining password candidates as a password. The storage unit 26 is also configured to store one or more password candidates extracted as a password in the storage unit 34 for a predetermined period of time that is set in advance. The storage unit 26 is also configured to store the decompressed file in the storage unit 34. The storage unit 34 may also store the email address of the sender of the first email and the password associated with this email address.

[0057] The communication unit 36 ​​of the server 60 is, for example, a communication interface, and the control unit 20 is capable of transmitting and receiving signals to and from the external computer 50 and each computer 70 via the communication unit 36 ​​.

[0058] Such a server 60 is also a type of computer according to the present invention.

[0059] Such an information processing method by the server 60 is substantially the same as the information processing method by the computer 10 shown in Fig. 1, but when the password-protected file attached to the first mail is decompressed by the password decompression means 24, the decompressed file is stored in the storage unit 34 by the storage means 26. Then, when each employee accesses the server 60 using the computer 70 that he or she operates, and sends an instruction from the computer 70 to the server 60 to obtain the decompressed file stored in the storage unit 34 of the server 60, the decompressed file stored in the storage unit 34 is sent from the server 60 to the computer 70. This allows each employee to obtain the file that has been decompressed by the computer 70 and open the file on the computer 70. 4, the server 60 executes a program, and the reception means 22 receives a first email with a password-protected file attached and a second email with the password written in the body, and the password release means 24 extracts the password from the body of the second email when the reception means 22 receives the first email and the second email with a timing difference shorter than a predetermined period set in advance, and uses the extracted password to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first email. This makes it easy to release the password set on the file attached to the email sent to the server 60, improving convenience.

[0060] 4, the server 60 executes a program, so that the reception means 22 receives a first e-mail to which a password-protected file is attached, and when the reception means 22 receives the first e-mail, if a password is stored in the storage unit 34 linked to the e-mail address of the sender of the first e-mail, the password release means 24 decompresses the password-protected file attached to the first e-mail using the password stored in the storage unit 34 linked to the e-mail address of the sender of the first e-mail. This makes it easy to release the password set for the file attached to the e-mail sent to the server 60, improving convenience.

[0061] 4, the storage means 26 is not limited to storing the delimiter, the exclusion rule, the extracted one or more password candidates, the decompression password that was used to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first email, the decompressed file, and the like in the storage unit 34 of the server 60. The storage means 26 may be configured to store such information in a storage unit such as an external server or cloud provided separately from the server 60.

[0062] In the system shown in Fig. 4, when the password-protected file attached to the first mail is decompressed by the password release means 24, the information on the text of the first mail and the information on the text of the second mail may be stored in the storage unit 34 by the storage means 26 in addition to the decompressed file. In this case, when each employee accesses the server 60 using the computer 70 and sends an instruction from the computer 70 to the server 60 to obtain the decompressed file stored in the storage unit 34 of the server 60, the information on the text of the first mail and the information on the text of the second mail are transmitted from the server 60 to the computer 70 in addition to the decompressed file stored in the storage unit 34. This allows each employee to check the text of the first mail and the text of the second mail on the computer 70. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] 10. Computers 12. Reception methods 20 Control section 22 Reception methods 24 Password removal method 26 Memory means 28 Means of Notification 30 Display section 32 Operation section 34 Storage section 36 Communications Department 50 Computer 60 Servers 70 Computer

Claims

1. A program that causes a computer to function as a reception unit, a password release unit, and a storage unit, The receiving means receives a first email to which a password-protected file is attached and a second email to which the password is written in the body of the email; The password unlocking means extracts the password from the body of the second email and decompresses the password-protected file attached to the first email using the extracted password; The storage means stores delimiters and exclusion rules in a storage unit in advance, the password unlocking means divides the entire text of the second email into a plurality of character strings so as to separate the text before and after the delimiter stored in the storage unit, excludes a portion of each of the divided character strings in accordance with the exclusion rule stored in the storage unit, extracts all of the remaining one or more password candidates as passwords, and attempts to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first email using each of the extracted one or more password candidates; The exclusion rule excludes character strings whose number of characters is equal to or less than a predetermined number.

2. The program of claim 1, wherein the password unlocking means extracts a password from the body of the second email only when the email address of the sender of the first email is the same as the email address of the sender of the second email, and uses the extracted password to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first email.

3. The program according to claim 1 , wherein the delimiter includes at least one of an HTML tag, a line break, a space, and a semicolon.

4. the storage means stores the one or more password candidates extracted as the password in the storage unit for a predetermined period of time; The program of claim 1, wherein the password unlocking means, when extracting a password-protected file attached to an email accepted by the accepting means, attempts to extract the password-protected file attached to the email using one or more of the password candidates stored in the memory unit.

5. the storage means stores the password that allows decompression of the password-protected file attached to the first email in the storage unit as a decompression password; The program of claim 1, wherein the password unlocking means, when decompressing a password-protected file attached to the first email, attempts to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first email using the decompression password stored in the memory unit.

6. the storage means stores in the storage unit a password that can decompress the password-protected file attached to the first email, in association with an email address of a sender of the first email; The program of claim 5, wherein the password unlocking means, when extracting a password-protected file attached to the first email, attempts to extract the password-protected file attached to the first email using the extraction password stored in the memory unit and linked to the email address of the sender of the first email.

7. The computer further functions as a notification means, The program according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the notification means notifies the user that the password cannot be found if it is not possible to decompress a password-protected file attached to the first email using one or more of the password candidates.

8. A computer that functions as a reception means, a password release means, and a storage means by executing a program, The receiving means receives a first email to which a password-protected file is attached and a second email to which the password is written in the body of the email; The password unlocking means extracts the password from the body of the second email and decompresses the password-protected file attached to the first email using the extracted password; The storage means stores delimiters and exclusion rules in a storage unit in advance, the password unlocking means divides the entire text of the second email into a plurality of character strings so as to separate the text before and after the delimiter stored in the storage unit, excludes a portion of each of the divided character strings in accordance with the exclusion rule stored in the storage unit, extracts all of the remaining one or more password candidates as passwords, and attempts to decompress the password-protected file attached to the first email using each of the extracted one or more password candidates; The exclusion rule excludes character strings whose number of characters is equal to or less than a predetermined number.

9. An information processing method carried out by a computer, comprising: a step in which the control unit of the computer receives a first email to which a password-protected file is attached and a second email to which the password is written in the body of the email; a step of extracting a password from the body of the second email by the control unit, and decompressing a password-protected file attached to the first email using the extracted password; Equipped with Delimiters and exclusion rules are stored in a storage unit in advance, the control unit divides the entire text of the second email into a plurality of character strings so as to separate the text before and after the delimiter stored in the storage unit, excludes a portion of all of the divided plurality of character strings in accordance with the exclusion rule stored in the storage unit, extracts all of the remaining one or more password candidates as passwords, and attempts to decompress a password-protected file attached to the first email using each of the extracted one or more password candidates; The information processing method, wherein the exclusion rule excludes character strings whose number of characters is equal to or less than a predetermined number.

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