Patent ID: 8356336

Claim:
A method for automatic pre-authentication redirection of network traffic, comprising: providing a network access controller in a shared network, wherein the shared network comprises a plurality of server computers and a set of network destinations hosted on the plurality of server computers; intercepting at the network access controller a request to access a network resource from a browser application running on a client device within the shared network associated with an anonymous user; determining whether the network resource referenced in the request is in the set of network destinations hosted on the plurality of server computers in the shared network; if the network resource is in the set of network destinations hosted on the plurality of server computers in the shared network, directing the browser application running on the client device within the shared network associated with the anonymous user to the network resource; and if the network resource is not in the set of network destinations hosted on the plurality of server computers in the shared network, redirecting the browser application running on the client device within the shared network associated with the anonymous user to a pre-authentication capture destination hosted on a first server computer, wherein the first server computer is one of the plurality of server computers in the shared network and wherein from the pre-authentication capture destination the anonymous user is free to visit any of the set of network destinations hosted on the plurality of server computers in the shared network without authentication.