Abstract:
Initiating a user session at an internet terminal using a smart card is provided. An internet terminal is coupled to a server system. The internet terminal detects the presence of a smart card. The smart card includes a memory such as a programmable ROM (PROM), any form of erasable PROM (EPROM) or flash memory having stored therein identification information. The internet terminal reads a unique smart card identifier from the smart card and transmits the identifier a server. The server locates configuration information associated with a particular user of the server based upon the unique smart card identifier. The configuration information may include a defined customer environment or customer preferences for customizing the operation of the internet terminal such as the type of on-screen keyboard presented by the internet terminal, the font used by the internet terminal for displaying text, background music options, and e-mail options. After locating the configuration information, the server downloads the configuration information to the internet terminal. Thus, a user is able to initiate a user session from any internet terminal coupled to the server system and obtain access to the environment and preferences associated with the particular user.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/931,816, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Providing Physical Security for a User Account and Providing Access to the User&#39;s Environment and Preferences,” filed Sep. 16, 1997, which is incorporated herein by reference, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,983,273. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. The Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates generally to the field of client-server computer networking. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing physical security for a user account and supplying access to the environment and preferences associated with a particular user. 
     2. The Prior State of the Art 
     The number of people using the Internet and the World Wide Web (the Web) has increased substantially in recent years. Some Internet users gain access to the services of the Internet and the Web through user accounts provided by their employer or an educational institution. Others access the internet from their home computers through accounts supplied by commercial Internet access providers such as America Online™, CompuServe™ or the like. In any event, these accounts provide only a minimal amount of security against intrusion. Typical account security includes merely a username and a password, typically both chosen by the user. 
     One of the disadvantages of these typical Internet access accounts is the vulnerability to invasion as a result of the poor security. For example, passwords can be cracked by password crack programs employing password cracking dictionaries or by brute force password guessing programs. Further, users are sometimes tricked into disclosing their account passwords. For example, individuals purporting to be support staff for a particular online service were able to convince subscribers to reveal their passwords. 
     Internet access providers generally charge an hourly or monthly fee for a user account. Due, at least in part, to the cost of such an account, many people are still without access to the Internet and the Web. In fact, these costs may be incentive enough for some people to break into user accounts to gain access to the Internet services such as chat and electronic mail (e-mail). Others apparently find pleasure in gaining access to another&#39;s account. 
     Based on the foregoing, it is desirable to provide more security for user accounts. Specifically, it is desirable to provide a mobile mechanism of physical security. Also, it would be desirable for the host system to associate user preferences and environment with the physical security mechanism, thereby making the preferences and environment available to the user upon establishing a user session by way of the physical security device. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A method and apparatus for providing physical security for a user account and supplying access to the environment and preferences associated with a particular user are described. An internet terminal is coupled to a server system. The internet terminal determines whether or not a smart card is present, if so, the internet terminal reads identification information from a memory in the smart card and requests initiation of a user session by transmitting the identification information to a server. Otherwise, if a smart card is not present, the internet terminal requests initiation of a user session by transmitting an identifier that identifies the internet terminal. In this manner, a user that is not associated with an internet terminal may bypass the normal log-in processing of the internet terminal and request initiation of a user session with his/her smart card. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention an internet terminal can be configured by a server. The server receives identification information from an internet terminal. The identification information uniquely identifies a smart card from which it was read. The server locates configuration information associated with a particular user of the server based upon the identification information. After locating the configuration information, the server downloads the configuration information to the internet terminal. Advantageously, by employing the smart card, the particular user&#39;s preferences are made available to the user upon establishing a user session from another&#39;s internet terminal. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which: 
     FIG. 1 illustrates several clients connected to a proxying server in a network. 
     FIG. 2 illustrates a client according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an Internet terminal according to one embodiment of the present invention used to implement a Web browser that can be operated by remote control. 
     FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a server according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a server system showing relationships between various services and corresponding databases according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6A illustrates an exemplary customer database record according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6B illustrates an exemplary favorites database record according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating the establishment of an online user session according to one embodiment of the present invention 
     FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating service request processing according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A method and apparatus are described for providing physical security for a user account and supplying access to the environment and preferences associated with a particular user. In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form. 
     The present invention includes various steps, which will be described below. The steps can be embodied in machine-executable instructions, which can be used to cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processor programmed with the instructions to perform the steps. Alternatively, the steps of the present invention might be performed by specific hardware components that contain hardwired logic for performing the steps, or by any combination of programmed computer components and custom hardware components. 
     SYSTEM OVERVIEW 
     The present invention may be included in a system, known as WebTV™, for providing a user with access to the Internet. WebTV™ and WebTV Networks™ are trademarks of WebTV Networks, Inc. of Mountain View, Calif. A user of a WebTV client generally accesses a WebTV server via a direct-dial telephone (POTS, for “plain old telephone service”), ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), or other similar connection, in order to browse the Web, send and receive e-mail, and use various other WebTV network services. The WebTV network services are provided by WebTV servers using software residing within the WebTV servers in conjunction with software residing within a WebTV client. 
     FIG. 1 illustrates a basic configuration of the WebTV network according to one embodiment. A number of WebTV clients  1  are coupled to a modem pool  2  via direct-dial, bi-directional data connections  29 , which may he telephone (POTS, i.e., “plain old telephone service”), ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), or any other similar type of connection. Other connection mechanisms may be employed such as cable and satellite forward channels, for example. In any event, the modem pool  2  is coupled typically through a router, such as thaw conventionally known in the art, to a number of remote servers  4  via a conventional network infrastructure  3 , such as the Internet. The WebTV system also includes a WebTV server  5 , which specifically supports the WebTV clients  1 . The WebTV clients  1  each have a connection to the WebTV server  5  either directly or through the modem pool  2  and the Internet  3 . Note that the modem pool  2  is a conventional modem pool, such as those found today throughout the world providing access to the Internet and private networks. 
     Note that in this description, in order to facilitate explanation the WebTV server  5  is generally discussed as if it were a single device, and functions provided by the WebTV services are generally discussed as being performed by such single device. However, the WebTV server  5  may actually comprise multiple physical and logical devices connected in a distributed architecture, and the various functions discussed below which are provided by the WebTV services may actually be distributed among multiple WebTV server devices. 
     AN EXEMPLARY CLIENT SYSTEM 
     FIG. 2 illustrates a WebTV client  1  according to one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the WebTV client  1  includes an Internet terminal  10  (hereinafter referred to as “the WebTV box  10 ”), an ordinary television set  12 , and a remote control  11 . In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the WebTV box  10  is built into the television set  12  as an integral unit. The WebTV box  10  includes hardware and software for providing the user with a graphical user interface, by which the user can access the WebTV network services, browse the Web, send e-mail, and otherwise access the Internet. 
     The WebTV client  1  uses the television set  12  as a display device. The WebTV box is coupled to the television set  12  by a video link  6 . The video link  6  is an RF (radio frequency), S-video, composite video, or other equivalent form of video link. In the preferred embodiment, the client  1  includes both a standard modem and an ISDN modem, such that the communication link  29  between the WebTV box  10  and the server  5  can be either a telephone (POTS) connection  29   a  or an ISDN connection  29   b . The WebTV box  10  receives power through a power line  7 . 
     The WebTV box  10  also includes a SmartCard slot  8  for receiving an optional SmartCard  9 . The SmartCard  9  may be a plastic card that includes a memory chip  13 , for example. In one embodiment, the memory chip  13  is pre-programmed with identification information for uniquely identifying the SmartCard  9 . Preferably, the memory chip  13  is embedded within the SmartCard  9 . Various semiconductor memories may be used for memory chip  13  such as a programmable ROM (PROM), any form of erasable PROM (EPROM) or Hash memory. It will be recognized that numerous other storage devices are suitable for use as the memory chip  13 . Since portability is important, preferably, the SmartCard  9  is the size of a typical credit card. In alternative embodiments, the SmartCard  9  may additionally include one or more microprocessors and/or additional memory chips such as a random access memory (RAM), for example. Further, to facilitate reusability of SmartCards, the unique identification information may be generated by a centralized authority and previously stored SmartCard identification information may be overwritten. 
     In the embodiment depicted, the user may operate remote control  11  to control the WebTV client  1  in browsing the Web, sending e-mail, and performing other Internet-related functions. The WebTV box  10  receives commands from remote control  11  via an inflated (IR) communication link. In alternative embodiments, the link between the remote control  11  and the WebTV box  10  may be RF or any equivalent mode of transmission. 
     FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the internal features of the WebTV box  10  according to one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, operation of the WebTV client  1  is controlled by a central processing unit (CPU)  21  which is coupled to an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)  20 . The CPU  21  executes software designed to implement features of the present invention. ASIC  20  contains circuitry which may be used to implement certain features provided by the WebTV client  1 . ASIC  20  is coupled to an audio digital-to-analog converter  25  which provides audio output to television  12 . In addition, ASIC  20  is coupled to a video encoder  26  which provides video output to television set  12 . An IR interface  24  detects IR signals transmitted by remote control  11  and in response, provides corresponding electrical signals to ASIC  20 . ASIC  20  is further coupled to a SmartCard interface  31 . The SmartCard interface detects the presence of a SmartCard such as SmartCard  9  and signals the ASIC  20  accordingly. A standard telephone modem  27  and an ISDN modem  30  are coupled to ASIC  20  to provide connections  29   a  and  29   b , respectively, to the modem pool  2  and, via the Internet  3 , to the remote servers  4 . Note that the WebTV box  10  also may include a cable television modem (not shown). 
     Also coupled to ASIC  20  is Read-Only Memory (ROM)  22 , which provides storage of program code for implementing the application software to be executed by the WebTV box  10 . Note that ROM  22  may be a programmable ROM (PROM) or any form of erasable PROM (EPROM) or Flash memory. Also coupled to ASIC  20  is Random Access Memory (RAM)  23 . A mass storage device  28  may optionally be provided and coupled to ASIC  20 . The mass storage device  28  may be used to input software or data to the client or to download software of data received over network connection  29 . The mass storage device  28  includes any suitable medium for storing machine-executable instructions, such as magnetic disks, optical disks, and the like. 
     AN EXEMPLARY SERVER SYSTEM 
     The WebTV server  5  generally includes one or more computer systems generally having the architecture illustrated in FIG.  4 . It should be noted that the illustrated architecture is only exemplary; the present invention is not constrained to this particular architecture. The illustrated architecture includes a central processing unit (CPU)  50 , random access memory (RAM)  51 , read-only memory (ROM)  52 , a mass storage device  53 , a modem  54 , a network interface card (MC)  55 , and various other input/output (I/O) devices  56 . Mass storage device  53  includes a magnetic, optical, or other equivalent storage medium.  1 , 0  devices  56  may include any or all of devices such as a display monitor, keyboard, cursor control device, etc. Modem  54  is used to communicate data to and from remote servers  4  via the Internet. 
     As noted above, the WebTV server  5  may actually comprise multiple physical and logical devices connected in a distributed architecture. Accordingly, MC  55  is used to provide data communication with other devices that are part of the WebTV services. Modem  54  may also be used to communicate with other devices that are part of the WebTV  5  services and which are not located in close geographic proximity to the illustrated device. 
     EXEMPLARY SERVICES, DATABASES, CUSTOMER PREFERENCES, AND ENVIRONMENT 
     As shown in FIG. 5, a WebTV server  5  may provide a number of services such as a setup service  510 , a log-in service  515 , a favorites service  520 , and a mall service  525 . Each service may be associated with one or more persistent databases where customer information may be stored such as customer preferences related to the particular service. Note the specific choice of services and databases for this example is illustrative only. In this example, a setup database  530  is associated with the setup service  510 , a customer database  540  is associated with the log-in service  515 , a favorites database  545  is associated with the favorites service  520 , and a mailbox  550  and an address book database  555  are associated with the nail service  525 . In alternative embodiments, more or less services and databases may be provided. Also, while these services are shown as being provided by a single WebTV server  5 , it should be appreciated that the services and databases may be distributed among one or more servers. 
     In this embodiment, the log-in service  515  is used specifically to control initial log-on procedures by a client  1 . The log-in service  515  has exclusive access to the customer database  540 . As will be discussed further with respect to FIG. 6A, the customer database  540  may store various information pertaining to each authorized user of a client  1  such as a unique customer id, and other information used to control certain features relating to access privileges and capabilities of the user. This information may be used to regulate initial access to the WebTV service during the establishment of a user session, as well as to facilitate access to the individual services provided by the WebTV service. 
     The setup service  510  provides the user with the ability to customize the operation  5  of the WebTV box  10 . An exemplary set of customer preferences may include the following: the type of on-screen keyboard presented by the WebTV box  10 ; the font used for displaying text on the display device  12 ; background music options, and e-mail options. With respect to the on-screen keyboard, the user may indicate his/her preference between a traditional keyboard (e.g., QWERTY) or an alphabetical keyboard (e.g. a, b, c, d, etc.), for example. Regarding the font used for displaying text, the user may indicate preferences relating the font size such as small, medium, or large font size. With respect to background music options, the user may choose whether background music is enabled or disabled and if enabled, the preferred type of background music may be selected. E-mail preferences may include the listing order of e-mail messages (e.g., newest to oldest, oldest to newest, etc.), a text signature to be appended to outgoing e-mail messages, and addressing options (e.g., whether a carbon copy line should be included on outgoing e-mail messages). These customer preferences may be maintained by the setup service  510  and made available to the WebTV box  10  when a user session is established. For example, to help the user feel at home while connected to the WebTV service through another&#39;s WebTV box  10 , the customer preferences associated with the particular user may be downloaded to the WebTV box  10  from the setup service  510  when a user session is established. The customer preferences for each user may be conveniently stored in a database such as the setup database  530 . The preferences may be accessed from the database using a unique customer ID associated with the user, for example. Such a unique id may be stored in the customer database  540  as discussed further with respect to FIG.  6 A. 
     Having described customer preferences related to the operation of the WebTV box  10 , exemplary elements of a user&#39;s environment will now be described. The environment may include preferences and other data related to a particular user&#39;s account. In this embodiment, information regarding a particular user&#39;s environment is also maintained in one or more persistent databases on one or more WebTV servers  5 . An exemplary user environment may include information pertaining to favorite Web pages and/or e-mail such as stored or newly received e-mail messages and an e-mail identifier. 
     In the embodiment depicted, the favorites service  520  tracks a user&#39;s favorite or preferred Web pages. Each user may have an individual favorites list. Essentially, the favorites service  520  acts as a book mark facility allowing the user to mark certain favorite Web pages. Further, the favorites service  520  provides a way to jump to those favorite Web pages. When a user indicates a Web page being displayed is a “favorite,” it is added to the user&#39;s list of favorites and stored in a database such as the favorites database  545 . Additionally, the favorite Web pages may be organized into user-defined categories. For example, a user might have a set of favorite pages including Web pages providing real-time stock quotes, portfolio valuations, and financial news grouped in a category labeled “financial information.” Like the setup database  530 , the favorites database  545  may be organized by customer id. An exemplary favorites database record will be discussed below. 
     The mail service  525  provides functions to support sending and retrieving e-mail The mailbox  550  may store a list of new e-mail and a list of stored e-mail for each user. The mailbox  550  may be organized by the user&#39;s e-mail identifier or by customer id. Each user may maintain e-mail address lists in an address book database  555 . As above, the e-mail address lists stored in the address book database  555  may be accessed by the user&#39;s customer id. Each e-mail address list record may contain an e-mail address for a individual and a name to be associated with the address, for example. 
     A TYPICAL LOG-IN SCENARIO 
     A typical log-in scenario involves a client  1  requesting access to the WebTV service by transmitting an embedded silicon id that uniquely identifies the WebTV box  10  to the log-in service  515 . Therefore, the WebTV box  10  itself serves as one level of physical security. A user&#39;s account cannot be accessed without at least his/her WebTV box  10  or SmartCard  9 . A SmartCard  9  log-in scenario is discussed below. 
     In any event, upon receiving the silicon id, the log-in service  515  consults the customer database  540  to determine if access to the server  5  by this particular WebTV box  10  is authorized. Assuming access is authorized, the log-in service  515  determines the user(s) associated with the WebTV box  10  and transmits a log-in screen which is presented to the user by the WebTV box  10  via the display device  12 . The log-in screen displays the usernames of the authorized users of the WebTV box  10 . When the user selects one of the displayed usernames and enters an optional password associated with his/her account, a log-on request is transmitted to the log-in service  515 . In response to the log-on request by the WebTV box  10 , the log-in service  515  consults the customer database  540  to verify the user password. 
     TICKET GENERATION 
     Assuming the correct password has been entered by the user, the log-in service  515  proceeds to retrieve information pertaining to the particular user from the customer database  540 . The log-in service  515  then generates a “ticket”  560 , which is an information packet including the retrieved information. The ticket  560  is then provided to the WebTV box  10  that requested access. The ticket  560  includes information identifying the access privileges of a particular user with respect to services provided by the server  5 . 
     For example, the ticket  560  may include the username of the user operating the client  1 , the real name of the user, the customer id associated with the user, and any filtering requested by the user with respect to viewing Web sites. As will be discussed further below, when the user makes a service request (e.g., a request to access to one of the services), the client  1  may submit a copy of the ticket  560  to that service. 
     AN EXEMPLARY CUSTOMER DATABASE RECORD 
     FIG. 6A illustrates an exemplary customer database record according to one embodiment of the present invention. In this example, each record in the customer database  540  includes a silicon ID  605 , a collection of subscriber information  610 , a customer ID  615 , a username  620 , a password  625 , a SmartCard ID  630 , and a SmartCard password  635 . As discussed above, the silicon ID  605  is an identifier such as a serial number that uniquely identifies a particular WebTV box  10 . Because multiple users may share a WebTV box  10 , in this embodiment, there is a one-to-many relationship between the silicon ID  605  and the fields associated with a particular user. The subscriber information  610  may include such information as administrative and billing data for a particular user including the user&#39;s real name, a credit card number, the user&#39;s address and phone number, etc. The customer ID  615  is an identifier such as a serial number that uniquely identifies a particular user of the WebTV service. The username  626  is a name the user has chosen to associate with his/her account. The username  626  may serve as the user&#39;s e-mail identifier within a particular domain. For example, a user having the username “merlin” might have an e-mail address of merlin@webtv.net. The password  625  is optional, if a user chooses to assign a password to his/her account, then the WebTV service will require its entry upon log-in and perform appropriate validation before generating the ticket  560 . The SmartCard ID  630  is also optional. Preferably, a separate SmartCard password  635  is associated with the SmartCard ID  630 . However, the  10  password  625  may be used for both the user password and the SmartCard password  635 . 
     In any event, if a user has associated a SmartCard  9  with his/her account, then identification information stored on the SmartCard  9  such as an identification number for uniquely identifying the SmartCard  9  may be stored in a field in the customer record associated with that user such as the SmartCard ID  630 . In this manner, a translation may be performed from a particular SmartCard ID  630  to a customer ID  615 , thereby allowing the WebTV service to identify a particular user at log-in and produce a ticket  560  without reference to the silicon ID  605  of the user&#39;s WebTV box  10 . Therefore, as will be discussed further below, one advantage of associating a SmartCard  9  with a given user customer record in the customer database  540 , is that the user can log-in to the WebTV service from any available client  1  such as one that might be provided by a hotel in each of its rooms for the benefit of its patrons. Thus, the user is not limited to logging in to the WebTV service from his/her WebTV box  10 . Additionally, as will be explained further below, the user will automatically have access to his/her preferences such as those stored in the setup database  530  and his/her environment such as favorites and e-mail upon establishing a user session with a SmartCard  9 . 
     AN EXEMPLARY FAVORITES DATABASE RECORD 
     FIG. 6B illustrates an exemplary favorites database record according to one embodiment of the present invention. In this example, each record in the favorites database  545  includes the customer ID  615 , a list of favorite uniform resource locators (URLs)  645 , a list of favorite tides  650  each tide corresponding to a URL in a list of favorite URLs  645 , and a list of favorite thumbnails  655  each thumbnail corresponding to a particular URL in  10  the list of favorite URLs  645 . The list of favorite URLs  645  is a list including one or more URLs the user has designated as a “favorite.” When the user designates a Web page as a favorite site, the URL, of the Web page is stored in the list of favorite URLs  645  associated with the customer id  615  of the user. In this embodiment, a tide of the Web page is also stored in the list of favorite tides  650 . Further, a thumbnail image of the Web page may be stored in the list of favorite thumbnails  655 . In this manner, when the user requests his/her favorite URLs, they may be graphically depicted with thumbnail images and tides. To jump to a favorite Web page, the user may select a thumbnail image corresponding to the Web page he/she desires. The server  5  may then request the URL associated with the thumbnail image selected. 
     SMARTCARD LOG-IN 
     In the log-in scenario discussed above, a silicon id associated with the user&#39;s WebTV box  10  was used to access the customer database  540  to generate the ticket  560 . However, insertion of the SmartCard  9  inhibits the normal log-in processing sequence that involves the WebTV box  10  transmitting its silicon id to the log-in service  515 , thereby allowing a user session to be initiated by someone other than the users associated with the particular the WebTV box  10 . Rather, when a user logs into the WebTV service using a SmartCard  9 , identification information stored on the SmartCard  9  is used to initially access the customer database  540  rather than the silicon id of the particular WebTV box  10  employed. The log-in service  515  may search the customer database for a SmartCard ID  630  matching the identification information provided during log-in. Upon finding the appropriate customer record, the log-in service  515  can retrieve the customer ID  615  corresponding to the identification information. Once the log-in service  515  has determined the customer ID  615  associated with the SmartCard  9 , ticket generation may proceed as discussed above. 
     FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating the establishment of an online user session according to one embodiment of the present invention. At step  705 , the WebTV box  10  detects the presence of a SmartCard  9  that has been inserted into the SmartCard slot  8 . For example, SmartCard interface  31  may detect the presence of the SmartCard  9  and generate an input event. 
     At step  710 , input processing is performed. In this embodiment, the WebTV box  10  may be in one of two high level states: powered down or powered up. When the WebTV box  10  is powered up, it may be sleeping or awake. In the powered up state, the WebTV box  10  may additionally be either disconnected or connected. In the powered down state, power may be limited to the particular circuitry of the WebTV box  10  necessary to detect input events such as those indicating the power button has been depressed or indicating the insertion of a SmartCard  9 . In the sleeping state, a screen-saver may be active to prevent damage to the display device  12 . In the disconnected state, the WebTV box is not in communication with the WebTV Service. In the connected state, the WebTV box  10  is in communication with the WebTV Service and may additionally have a ticket  560  stored in RAM  23 . The input processing may include transitioning from the current state to a new state. For example, if the WebTV box  10  is in the powered down state when the SmartCard  9  is detected the WebTV box  10  may transition to the powered up state. Moreover, when the SmartCard  9  is detected, the sleeping state may give way to the awake state (e.g., the screen-saver may be deactivated). 
     At step  715 , the identification information is read from the SmartCard  9 . Subsequently, at step  720 , the identification information is transmitted to a server  5  such as a server providing the log-in service  515 . 
     At step  725 , the log-in service  515 , with reference to the customer database  540 , determines if the identification information is associated with an authorized user of the WebTV Service, if the identification information is not found, processing continues with step  730 . Otherwise, if the identification information is found, processing continues with step  735 . 
     At step  730 , the SmartCard  9  identification information is not currently associated with a customer record in the customer database  540 . At this point, the user may choose to have the log-in service  515  perform SmartCard  9  initialization processing. The initialization processing may include storing the SmartCard  9  identification information in the SmartCard D  630  of the customer record corresponding to the user. In this manner, during subsequent SmartCard  9  log-in attempts, the identification information will be found in step  725 . 
     At step  735 , the identification information has been found in a customer record. The log-in service  515  may require entry of a password before a ticket  560  is generated, if a password is associated with the SmartCard  9 . If the identification information is not authenticated by the correct password, log-in will be denied and no user session will be established. However, if the correct password is entered, a ticket  560  will be generated as described above and transmitted to the client  1  at step  740 . 
     At step  745 , the client  1  receives the ticket  560  and stores it for future service access requests. The ticket  560  may be stored in a memory of the WebTV box  10  such as RAM  23 . 
     At step  750 , configuration information is downloaded to the client  1 . Configuration information may include customer preferences associated with the particular user. The configuration information may be useful for tailoring certain operations of the internet terminal to the liking of a particular user. As discussed above, the setup service  510  may retrieve the customer preferences from a database such as the setup database  530  using the customer id in the ticket  560 . At step  760 , the client may store the client configuration information in a memory of the WebTV box  10  such as RAM  23 . 
     Advantageously, the association of a SmartCard  9  with a user account provides a mobile mechanism for accessing the account while maintaining physical security. Additionally, the SmartCard  9  makes the user&#39;s preferences and environment accessible even when the user logs in to the WebTV service from a WebTV box  10  other than his/her own. For example, alter the configuration information is downloaded in step  750 , the particular WebTV box  10  employed will act in accordance with the user&#39;s previously established customer preferences. 
     SERVICE REQUEST PROCESSING 
     FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating service request processing according to one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, when the user makes a service request, the client  1  submits a copy of the ticket  560  to that service. The requested service may then determine from the copy of the ticket  560  whether access to that service by the user is authorized and, if so, any important information relating to such access. Further, information in the copy of the ticket  560  may be useful for facilitating the processing of the user&#39;s particular service request. 
     At step  810 , a service request and a copy of the ticket  560  are transmitted to a server  5  such as one providing the mail service  525 . The ticket  560  may have been generated in response to either the typical log-in scenario (i.e., the user logging in from his/her WebTV box  10 ) or the SmartCard log-in scenario (e.g., the user logging in from the WebTV box  10  of another). 
     At step  820 , the server  5  processes the service request with reference to the information stored in the ticket  560 . For example, if the service request is to view new e-mail messages, the mail service  525  may use the e-mail identifier in the ticket  560  to retrieve the user&#39;s e-mail from the mailbox  550 . 
     At step  830 , the server S transmits the results of the service request to the client  1 . For example, the server  5  may compose a page of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) including a list of newly received e-mail messages, in response to a user request to read his/her mail. 
     Thus, it should be appreciated, the WebTV service will respond to service requests in the manner defined by the user&#39;s environment whether the user has logged-in to the WebTV service from his/her WebTV box  10  or from another WebTV box  10  employing a SmartCard  9 . 
     In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.