Patent ID: 7168094

Claim:
A method for granting a first user and a second user access to information, comprising: connecting to a first one of a plurality of intermediary servers using a first client processor, wherein the first one of the intermediary servers is associated with a first company; connecting to a second one of the plurality of intermediary servers using a second client processor, wherein the second one of the intermediary servers is associated with a second company, and wherein the first company and the second company are distinct from one another; transferring first client login authentication data provided by the first one of the intermediary servers to a host server after the first user has connected to the first intermediary server; transferring second client login authentication data provided by the second one of the intermediary servers to the host server after the second user has connected to the second intermediary server; granting the first user access to information associated with the host server when the first client login authentication data is transferred to the host server; and granting the second user access to information associated with the host server when the second client login authentication data is transferred to the host server; wherein access by the first user to specific information forming a subset of all information associated with the host server is dependent upon: (a) the distinct client login authentication data associated with the first user; and (b) the distinct company associated with the first intermediary server to which the first client processor had connected; and wherein access by the second user to specific information forming a subset of all information associated with the host server is dependent upon: (a) the distinct client login authentication data associated with the second user; and (b) the distinct company associated with the second intermediary server to which the second client processor had connected.