Patent ID: 7512971

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for enabling users to remotely access a computer system using an active shared directory account maintained on a different computer system, comprising: facilitating authentication of a user using only information derived from said shared directory account, wherein said authenticating includes the computer system accessing said shared directory account on the different computer system; determining that the user does not have a local account on the computer system in response to successfully authenticating the user thereby recognizing that the user is a non-local user with respect to the computer system; selecting a universal local user account of the computer system in response to successfully identifying a recognized group membership affiliation for the user that corresponds to said shared directory account such that the universal local user account is selected dependent upon said shared directory account and the recognized group membership affiliation, wherein the universal local user account has access privilege on the computer system; and mapping the user to the universal local user account, wherein said mapping enables access to the computer system by the user in accordance with an access privilege level corresponding to the universal local user account.