Patent ID: 8079070

Claim:
A method for selectively granting a user access to data, comprising: receiving, at an authentication server, communication that has been transferred, transparently to the user of a user computer, from an information server that is separate from the authentication server and in response to a valid user name and password being received by the information server, wherein the communication is with the user computer; and at the authentication server, responsive to determining that a cookie previously deposited on the user computer includes a machine ID matching a test machine ID at the authentication server and a login key matching a test login key at the authentication server, transparently to the user of the user computer transferring communication with the user computer back to the information server that is configured to grant the user computer access to the data in response to communication with the user computer being transferred back to the information server; and refreshing the login key on the user computer by depositing a new cookie on the user computer to replace the cookie, wherein the new cookie comprises the machine ID and a new login key.