Patent ID: 8423781

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: a validating unit configured to validate a holder of an IC card having a first security information set, a login information set, and a first identifier information set corresponding to the first security information set, based on the first security information set; a login unit configured to perform a login process for the holder of the IC card to log in based on the login information set stored in the IC card; and a storage unit configured to store the first security information set of the IC card as a second security information set and the first identifier information set corresponding to the first security information set of the IC card as a second identifier information set that are obtained by the validating unit when the login process that is performed, after the holder of the IC card has been validated by the validating unit, by the login unit using the IC card is successful, wherein the validating unit validates, provided that the first identifier information set obtained from the IC card matches the second identifier information set corresponding to the second security information set of the IC card stored in the storage unit, the holder of the IC card by reusing the second security information set corresponding to the second identifier information set of the IC card stored in the storage unit when the first security information set is, after the login process has been performed, requested by using the IC card.