Patent ID: 7751339

Claim:
A method comprising: automatically determining when a hardware token device is directly connected to a network appliance implementing a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) server application, wherein the hardware token device is configured to store configuration data for providing the network appliance access to a network controlled by a service provider; automatically sending, from the hardware token device, an Internet Protocol (IP) data packet to the HTTP server application of the network appliance, wherein the network appliance is configured to utilize at least a portion of the configuration data included in the received IP data packet to attempt to gain access to the network controlled by the service provider; receiving, with the hardware token device, a response data packet from the network appliance, wherein the response data packet indicates to the hardware token device whether the network appliance was provided access to the network according to the configuration data; and when the response data packet indicates the network appliance was not provided access to the network due to a challenge to an authentication of the network appliance, sending, from the hardware token device, another IP data packet that includes additional configuration data, wherein the network appliance is configured to attempt to gain access to the network with the additional configuration data, and wherein the network appliance is configured to indicate to the hardware token device whether the network appliance was provided access to the network with the additional configuration data.