DETECTION OF REQUIRED PASSWORD AUTHENTICATION IN A NETWORK

• US 20100312904A1
• Filed: 06/04/2009
• Published: 12/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: NELSON, SARAH A., WALTER, STEPHANIE L., BALHOFF, KRISTEN M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,140,686 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles

Abstract

A client device interrogates an access point on a network to request an initial connection to the network. Without using a browser, the client device determines if the connection failed due to a lack of authorization for the client device to connect to the network.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

transmitting an interrogation to an access point on a network, wherein the interrogation is transmitted by a client device that is suitably configured to request a connection to the network, and wherein the interrogation requests the connection between the client device and the network without the client device initially utilizing a browser;

determining if an authorization for the client device is required before connecting the client device to the network; and

in response to determining that the authorization for the client device is required before connecting the client device to the network, obtaining, by the client device, authorization to connect the client device to the network.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to determining that the authorization for the client device is required before connecting the client device to the network, disabling any user applications on the client device that are not needed for establishing a connection to the network, wherein the user applications remain disabled until the client device is connected to the network.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining if the authorization for the client device is required before connecting to the network is performed by the client device:

transmitting, from the client device, requests for resources that are identified by multiple uniform resource identifiers (URIs); and

in response to the requests being redirected to a login page, receiving a same error message at the client device for all of the requests, wherein the same error message enables a user of the client device to conclude that the requests were redirected to a web-based resource that the client device cannot process without an active browser, and wherein the error message enables the user to determine that authorization for the client device is required before connecting the client device to the network.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining if the authorization for the client device is required before connecting to the network is performed by the client device:

transmitting a request for a connection to a known defective uniform resource identifier (URI), wherein the known defective URI is an invalid address that is unable to present resources to any requester; and

receiving a valid response to the request for the connection to the known defective URI, wherein the valid response indicates that the request to the known defective URI was automatically directed to a valid login page.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the client device is a wireless device and the network is a wireless network.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to the client device obtaining authorization to connect to the network, connecting the client device to the network via the access point.

7. A method comprising:

receiving, by a hardware access point that is suitably configured to provide a client device access to a network, an interrogation, wherein the interrogation requests a connection between the client device and the network without the client device initially utilizing a browser;

in response to determining that an authorization for the client device is required before connecting the client device to the network, transmitting an alert to the client device, wherein the alert informs the client device that the connection between the client device and the network failed; and

in response to receiving authorization from the client device, connecting the client device to the network.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

in response to determining that the authorization for the client device is required before connecting the client device to the network, transmitting a disabling signal to the client device, wherein the disabling signal disables any user applications on the client device that are not needed to connect the client device to the network.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein said determining if the authorization for the client device is required before connecting to the network is performed by the access point:

receiving, from the client device, requests for connections to multiple resources that are identified by multiple uniform resource identifiers (URIs);

redirecting all of the requests to a single login page; and

transmitting the single login page to the client device, wherein the client device determines from an inability to process the single login page that the client device was unable to connect to the network.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein said determining if the authorization for the client device is required before connecting the client device to the network is performed by the access point:

receiving, from the client device, a request for a connection to a known defective uniform resource identifier (URI), wherein the known defective URI is an invalid address that is unable to present resources to any requester; and

transmitting a valid response to the client device, wherein the valid response indicates to the client device that the request was automatically redirected to a valid login page.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the client device is a wireless device and the network is a wireless network.

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

in response to the client device obtaining authorization to connect to the network, connecting the client device to the network via the access point.

13. A computer program product for connecting a client device to a network, the computer program product comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer usable program code embodied therewith, the computer usable program code comprising;

computer usable program code configured to transmit an interrogation to an access point on a network, wherein the interrogation is transmitted by a client device that is suitably configured to request a connection to the network, and wherein the interrogation requests a connection between the client device and the network without the client device initially utilizing a browser;

computer usable program code configured to determine if an authorization for the client device is required before connecting the client device to the network;

computer usable program code configured to, in response to determining that the authorization for the client device is required before connecting the client device to the network, transmit an alert to a user of the client device; and

computer usable program code configured to, in response to the user receiving the alert, obtain, by the client device, authorization to connect to the network.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, further comprising:

computer usable program code configured to, in response to determining that the authorization for the client device is required before connecting to the network, disable any user applications on the client device that are not needed for establishing a connection to the network, wherein the user applications are disabled until the client device is connected to the network.

15. The computer program product of claim 13, further comprising:

computer usable program code configured to transmit requests from the client device for connections to resources that are identified by multiple uniform resource identifiers (URIs); and

computer usable program code configured to, in response to all of the requests being redirected to a login page, determine that authorization for the client device is required before connecting the client device to the network.

16. The computer program product of claim 13, further comprising:

computer usable program code configured to transmit a request for a connection to a known defective uniform resource identifier (URI), wherein the known defective URI is an invalid address that is unable to present resources to any requester; and

computer usable program code configured to receive a valid response to the request for the connection to the known defective URI, wherein the valid response indicates that the request to the known defective URI was automatically directed to a valid login page.

17. A system comprising:

a network; and

a hardware access point for connecting the network to client devices that do not initially utilize a browser to connect to the network, wherein the hardware access point;

receives an interrogation, wherein the interrogation requests a connection between a client device and the network without the client device initially utilizing a browser;

in response to determining that an authorization for the client device is required before connecting the client device to the network, transmitting an alert to the client device, wherein the alert informs the client device that the connection between the client device and the network failed; and

in response to receiving authorization from the client device, connecting the client device to the network.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the hardware access point:

transmits, in response to determining that the authorization for the client device is required before connecting the client device to the network, a disabling signal to the client device, wherein the disabling signal disables any user applications on the client device that are not needed for establishing a connection between the client device to the network.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the hardware access point:

receives, from the client device, requests for connections to multiple resources identified by multiple uniform resource identifiers (URIs);

redirects all of the requests to a single login page; and

transmits the single login page to the client device, wherein the client device determines from a receipt of the single login page that authorization for the client device is required before connecting the client device to the network.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the client device is a wireless device and the network is a wireless network.