Patent ID: 7702794

Claim:
In a distributed computing system a method of providing a user with access to data stored on a mainframe computer system, the method including: logging the user onto a client computer using a client computer user ID associated with the user and the client computer; sending a signal from the client computer to the mainframe computer system to initiate a transfer of a trusted application list from the mainframe computer system to the client computer, the trusted application list comprising web applications that are authorized to access the data stored on the mainframe computer system; storing the trusted application list on the client computer; using a browser on the client computer to select an application residing on a web applications server; receiving a sign on signal from the selected application; querying the trusted application list on the client computer to determine if the selected application is on the trusted application list; in response to the selection of the application and the application being on the trusted application list, transmitting a sign on procedure signal to an automatic sign on procedure module loaded on the client computer; using the automatic sign on procedure module to obtain a security token from an authentication server, the security token including a mainframe user ID correlated to the client computer user ID and the mainframe computer system; and utilizing the security token to provide the client computer with access to data stored on the mainframe computer system through the application residing on the web applications server.