Patent ID: 8230088

Claim:
An apparatus, comprising: circuitry configured to: determine whether a user is authorized to access a remote server; if the user is authorized, identify a first privilege level associated with the user, the identified first privilege level defining how the user is permitted to control an Operating System (OS) installed on the remote server; log the apparatus onto the OS, the logon using a logon account that provides the apparatus a second different privilege level for accessing the OS on the remote server, the logon account being non-corresponding with the identified first privilege level, wherein the logon account does not restrict privileges according to the identified first privilege level and the apparatus is configured to impose administrative privilege level restrictions on requests from the user, and wherein the logon account allows multiple users access to the remote server through a single account logon; receive commands entered through a web browser associated with the user, wherein the commands are configured to allow the user to administer the remote server through the web browser without requiring physical access to the remote server, and wherein the commands are configured to establish, run and manage files on the OS; filter the received commands according to a verification of whether the received commands correspond to the identified first privilege level for the user; and send messages that represent the filtered commands from the apparatus, over a network, and to the remote server if the filtered commands correspond to the identified first privilege level; wherein at least one of the received commands is blocked through the filtering by the apparatus, the blocked command being one that is permissible under the second privilege level such that said filtering and sending by the apparatus simulates user OS logon using a user account having the identified first privilege level while the apparatus is actually logged onto, and accessing, the remote server using the logon account having the second privilege level.