Patent ID: 8549317

Claim:
An authentication method that causes an authentication apparatus to authenticate that a user is a valid user, the authentication apparatus including a storage section that stores first-type authentication data and second-type authentication data such that the first-type authentication data and the second-type authentication data are associated with each of a plurality of users and are associated with information for distinguishing whether each of the users is one within a group of the users or a user not within the group of the users, and the authentication method comprises: setting one or both of a first authentication approach for performing authentication based on the first-type authentication data and a second authentication approach for performing authentication based on the second-type authentication data by a user operation, the authentication being completed by either one of the first authentication approach and the second authentication approach, the first authentication approach and the second authentication approach being independent of each other while either one of the first authentication approach and the second authentication approach does not include the other; displaying that authentication by an authentication approach set by the setting is to be accepted and displaying, although authentication is completed through performing authentication by the second authentication approach without performing authentication by the first authentication approach and authentication is also completed through performing authentication by the first authentication approach for the group of the users when only the first authentication approach is set, an indication in terms of display that only the authentication by the first authentication approach is to be accepted, before processing of authentication is performed for the group of the users; and authenticating which includes performing, when only the first authentication approach is set, authentication by the first authentication approach, and also performing authentication by the second authentication approach when there is an authentication request by the second authentication approach in spite of the fact that only the first authentication approach is set and it is stored in the storage section that a user who performs the authentication request is included within the group of users.