Patent ID: 8006293

Claim:
A method for providing single-credential access to a restricted application, said method comprising: receiving a sign-on token, at a credential-protected service, directly from a user at an imaging device (IDev), wherein said sign-on token is related to a user credential data table, which relates said sign-on token to accounting server application credential data and sign-on credential data for each of a plurality of credential-protected IDev functions, services and applications and wherein said user credential data table and said credential data are stored and maintained by a single-sign-on server application (SSOSA); requesting, in response to said receiving, a sign on credential maintained by said SSOSA for said credential-protected service from said SSOSA by sending said sign-on token from said credential-protected service to said SSOSA; receiving, at said credential-protected service, said sign-on credential for said credential-protected service from said SSOSA; authenticating said sign-on credential for said credential-protected service at said credential-protected service; and granting service access for said user to use said credential-protected service based on said authenticating said sign-on credential for said credential-protected service received from said SSOSA.