Patent ID: 8005960

Claim:
A network connection management apparatus device, the device comprising: a permission determining unit of the device, configured to receive a network connection request from a first network apparatus, to determine whether the requested connection is permitted, and to transmit permission information to the first network apparatus over a network to which the network connection management apparatus is connected, when it is determined that the requested connection is permitted; a display unit of the device, configured to display to a user of the network connection management apparatus that the connection request received from the first network apparatus is being processed; an input unit of the device, configured to receive a user input responsive to information about the connection request displayed on the display unit, the user input comprising a first confirmation; a memory unit of the device, configured to store address information of a second network apparatus already connected to the network; a notification transmitting unit of the device, configured to transmit, using the address information of the second network apparatus stored in the memory unit, a confirmation request over the network to the second network apparatus comprising a notification of the connection request received from the first network apparatus, the confirmation request inviting a confirmation response from the second network apparatus, the confirmation response from the second network apparatus comprising a second confirmation; and a response receiving unit of the device, configured to receive the confirmation response from the second network apparatus, wherein said permission determining unit transmits the permission information to the first network apparatus with address information for the first network apparatus, in response to receiving said user input representing the first confirmation at the input unit or in response to receiving the second confirmation from the second network apparatus at the response receiving unit.