Patent ID: 8606917

Claim:
A method for granting access to a computer network, comprising: receiving at an access controller a request to access the network from a source computer, the request including a transmission control protocol (TCP) connection request having a source IP address and a destination IP address; determining by the access controller whether the source computer must login to access the network, including: comparing the source IP address with profiles of authorized source devices, each profile including an IP address, wherein if the source IP address is included in a profile of an authorized source device, the source device is granted access without further authorization, and if the source IP address is not included in a profile associated with an authorized source device, then determining whether the destination IP address is included in a plurality of destination IP addresses associated with the access controller, wherein if the destination IP address is included in the plurality of destination IP addresses, the source device is granted access without further authorization, and if the destination IP address is not included in the plurality of destination IP addresses, then the access controller determines the source device must be authorized to access the network and provides the source device with a login page; using the access controller to authenticate credentials provided from the source device via the login page; and authorizing the source device access to the network if the provided credentials are authenticated.