Patent ID: 7676834

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for selectively granting a user access to data, comprising: at a Web server, receiving a user name and password from a user computer; if the password or user name is not valid, refusing validation, and only if both the password and user name are valid, determining whether a cookie was previously deposited on the user computer by the Web server prior to the receiving act and if so, whether the cookie is valid, and only if the cookie, the user name, and the password are valid, granting access to the data to the user computer; otherwise, always initiating a user validation process if the user computer has been previously validated at least if the password is valid but the cookie is not, wherein the cookie includes a first machine ID and a first login key and is downloaded from the Web server to the user computer without requiring software on the user computer to generate the cookie, wherein, if the cookie, user name, and password are valid and access is granted to the user computer, a new cookie is downloaded to the user computer, the new cookie including the first machine ID and a second login key different from the first login key, the new cookie being used by the Web server to test for validation in a subsequent login to the Web server.