Patent ID: 8387134

Claim:
An information processing apparatus comprising: a storage unit to store a password for identifying a user; a system environment setting module operable by an administrator to control a forced-registration process to be performed, the forced-registration process forcing a user to perform a password registration process of storing a password in the storage unit; a setting module configured to set first flag information indicating that the forced-registration process is to be performed in active state, when the forced-registration process is activated by the administrator; a forced-registration module configured to: determine whether a password is stored in the storage unit upon power-on of the apparatus when the first flag information is set in active state, request the user to register a password and inhibit the apparatus from operating until the password is registered when no password is stored in the storage unit, request the user to change the password and inhibit the apparatus from operating until the password is changed when the password is stored in the storage unit, reset the first flag information when the password is registered or changed; and inhibit the registered or changed password from being deleted from the storage unit, after the password is registered or changed; and an authentication module configured to: determine whether a password is stored in the storage unit upon power-on of the apparatus when the first flag information is not set in active state, perform an authentication process to authenticate the user by comparing a password input by the user and the password stored in the storage unit when the password is stored in the storage unit and the first flag information is not set in active state, and skip the authentication process when no password is stored in the storage unit and the first flag information is not set in active state.