Method and apparatus for filtering incoming telephone calls

The present invention pertains to telephony and computer systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to techniques for using a personal computer system to handle incoming telephone calls. A technique for using a computer system to filter incoming telephone is provided. The computer system decodes caller ID information in an incoming telephone call and compares the decoded caller ID information against a stored list of caller ID information. If the caller ID information in the incoming call matches an item in the stored list, the computer system prevents the telephone input/output device from ringing, opens a connection on the telephone line, outputs a prerecorded audio message on the telephone line, and closes the connection. If the caller ID information in the incoming call does not match an item in the stored list, the computer system passes the incoming call to the input/output device normally. The computer system is configured to receive voice commands from a user to manage the stored list, including adding the caller ID information from a current or recent call to the list. The user may be located remotely from the computer system while inputting commands, and the user does not need to know the number of an incoming call to have it added to the list. Telephone numbers can also be added to the list automatically by the computer system by applying a set of specified conditions.