CLIENT-SERVER SYSTEM FOR MAINTAINING A USER DESKTOP CONSISTENT WITH SERVER APPLICATION USER ACCESS PERMISSIONS

• US 20010011341A1
• Filed: 05/05/1998
• Published: 08/02/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: KING, BRETT GRAHAM, HAYES, KENT FILLMORE Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 6,339,826 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 712/11
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/121 Restricting unauthorised execution of programs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/604 Tools and structures for managing or administering access control systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/45 Network directories; Name-to-address mapping
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A system with a network interconnecting a server and a plurality of user stations. The server stores a plurality of user applications for downloading to user stations and further stores access permissions for the applications for each user. When a user attempts to log onto the system, the server uses the user'"'"'s log-on identifier to build a list of applications for which the user has access permission. The server downloads to the station a list of applications to which the user has access permission. The user station uses the list to build a folder containing only the applications from the list to which the user has access permission. The system further verifies from the list that the user has access to applications that are represented by objects that the user may have added to his or her desktop at an earlier time. For each user desktop preference specified by the user at an earlier time that corresponds to a user application, the access permission for the user to the user application is checked from the list, and, if the application is not included on the list, the desktop object representing the application is removed from the desktop.

Claims

1. In a network system comprising a network interconnecting a server and a plurality of user stations, a method of managing desktops on the user stations from the server, wherein the server stores a plurality of user applications for downloading to user stations, and further stores access permissions for the applications for each user, said method comprising

receiving at the server a log-on request including a user identifier from a user station,

using the identifier to build a list of applications for which the user has access permission,

downloading to the station the list of applications for which the user has access permissions, and

displaying on a portion of the desktop objects corresponding to each application in the list, said objects when selected by the user being operative to request a download of the corresponding application to the user station.

2. The network system of

claim 1

further comprising

using the user identifier to built an icon on the desktop that represents a user application specified by the user at an earlier time,

for each user desktop icon specified by the user at an earlier time that corresponds to a user application, checking the access permission for the user to the user application, and

omitting from the desktop any such user-specified icon corresponding to a user application to which the user does not have access permission.