Patent ID: 8561168

Claim:
An access point that connects to terminals to network through a wireless LAN connection device equipped on said terminals, said access point comprising: a processor and a memory; an operation receiving unit that receives a prescribed operation; a detection unit that detects a status of a connection configuration required for connection to the network, when said prescribed operation is received by said operation receiving unit; a mode activation unit that, when the detected status of the connection configuration indicates that the connection configuration remain to be performed, activates a restricted receiving mode in which an initial configuration packet is accepted from one of said terminals by wireless communication, prior to data communication, wherein said initial configuration packet consists of only a packet including information specific to said one terminal; a terminal identification unit that, when said initial configuration packet sent from a first terminal among said terminals is received while the restricted receiving mode is active, identifies the first terminal that sent the initial configuration packet based on said terminal-specific information; an encryption key setting unit that, prior to the commencement of subsequent communications with said first terminal identified by said terminal identification unit, sets a first encryption key to be used for communications with said first terminal to a value corresponding to an encryption key set in said first terminal that sent the initial configuration packet, using the MAC address of said terminal; and a communication unit that performs wireless communication with said first terminal while decoding wireless communication data using said first encryption key; wherein the setting of the first encryption key is performed internally in the access point based on information in the initial configuration packet accepted by the wireless communication.