Patent ID: 8495714

Claim:
A method for authenticating a user accessing an unsecure WiFi access point, wherein a device of the user includes a MAC address, comprising: receiving at the unsecure WiFi access point a request from the user device to access the unsecure WiFi access point; transmitting from the unsecure WiFi access point to an Authentication, Authorization, and accounting server an access request including the MAC address of the user; when the MAC address is unauthorized by the AAA server, returning from the AAA server an access reject message to the unsecure WiFi access point; transmitting a redirect message from the WiFi access point to the user device redirecting the user device to a web portal; requesting at the web portal a username, password and selection of a memorable information element; receiving at the web portal a username, password and selection of a memorable information element; transmitting from the web portal an access request message to the AAA server containing the username, password, MAC address and the identifier of the memorable information element; authenticating at the AAA server the username and password; storing at the AAA server the MAC address and the identifier of the memorable information element; transmitting from the AAA server to the web portal an access accept message; transmitting from the web portal to the user device a site cookie; transmitting from the web portal an instruction to the unsecure WiFi access point to allow the user to access the unsecure WiFi access point; when the MAC address is authorized by the AAA server, returning from the AAA server an access accept message to the unsecure WiFi access point, wherein the access accept message includes the identifier of the memorable information element; transmitting a redirect message from the WiFi access point to the user device redirecting the user device to the web portal; receiving the site cookie from the user device at the web portal; validating the site cookie at the web portal; displaying by the web portal the memorable information element associated with the identifier for the memorable information element; receiving an indication from the user device that the memorable information element is a correct memorable information element; and transmitting from the web portal an instruction to the unsecure WiFi access point to allow the user device to access the WiFi access point.