Modifying a user account during an authentication process
View Patent ↗Techniques are described for repairing some types of user account problems that interfere with granting a user access to a computer system and doing so during a process to authenticate the user in a way that does not require the user to re-enter authentication information or require the user to restart a communication session with the computer system. In response to a determination that a user's account has a problem during an authentication process, techniques are provided to enable a user to execute an appropriate process or processes to fix the user account, after which the authentication process continues. In this way, the correction to the user account may appear to be seamless to the user.
1. A method of authenticating a client, the method comprising:
providing, by a client system, authentication information to an authentication server, the authentication server using the authentication information to authenticate the client system;
receiving, at the client system from the authentication server of a host system, an indication of a problem with an existing user account associated with a user identity, the problem interfering with access by the existing user account to a service provided by the host system, the indication of the problem being received during a communication session established between the client system and the host system;
receiving, at the client system from the authentication server, indicia of a computer application on a registration server of the host system;
using, at the client system, the indicia to access the computer application on the registration server to correct the problem with the existing user account through user input;
receiving, at the client system from the registration server, an indication that the problem has been corrected; and
providing the received indication, from the client system to the authentication server, to enable access by the user identity to the service through the user account,
wherein receiving the indication of the problem, receiving the indicia of the computer application, using the indicia to access the computer application, receiving the indication that the problem has been corrected, and providing the received indication to the host system occur during the communication session.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the method further comprises maintaining, without disruption, the communication session between the client system and the host system while the problem with the user access to the hosted service is corrected.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein multiple messages are exchanged between the client system and the host system during a temporal period of the communication session in which trust of the client system by the host system persists.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein the trust of the client system is conditioned upon authentication of a user of the client system by the host system.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein multiple connections are established between the client system and the host system during a temporal period of the communication session in which trust of the client system by the host system persists.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein the trust of the client system is conditioned upon authentication of a user of the client system by the host system.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the indicia of the computer application is an indicia of a location of the computer application.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein:
access to the service requires security information,
the problem with the user account comprises an absence of an association between the security information required to access the service and the user account, and
the method further comprises using the accessed computer application to enable user input, from an operator of the user identity at the client system to the registration server, to correct the problem, the step of using the accessed computer to enable user input comprising:
enabling user input of information related to the security information required to access the service, and
enabling an association of the information related to the security information with the user account.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein receiving the indication that the problem has been corrected comprises receiving an indication that the security information required to access the service is not associated with the user account.
10. The method of claim 8 wherein receiving the indication that the problem has been corrected comprises receiving information corresponding to the user input enabled by using the accessed computer application.
11. The method of claim 8 wherein the security information comprises user input of a response to a presented question to authenticate the user identity.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the registration server is different from the authentication server.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the indication of the problem with the existing user account comprises receiving an indication that a credit card associated with the existing user account has changed from a valid credit card to an expired credit card.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the indication of the problem with the existing user account comprises receiving an indication that a predetermined amount of access time that the existing user account is allowed to access the service has expired.
15. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the indication of the problem with the existing user account comprises receiving an indication that an Ask-Security-Question (ASQ) and answer have not been setup for the existing user account.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the authentication information includes a password.
17. A method of authenticating a client, the method comprising:
receiving, by an authentication server, authentication information from a client system, the authentication server using the authentication information to authenticate the client system;
providing, to the client system from the authentication server of a host system, an indication of a problem with an existing user account associated with a user identity, the problem interfering with access by the existing user account to a service provided by the host system, the indication of the problem being received during a communication session established between the client system and the host system;
providing, to the client system from the authentication server, indicia of a computer application on a registration server of the host system;
enabling use, at the client system, of the indicia to access the computer application on the registration server to correct the problem with the existing user account through user input;
providing, from the registration server to the client system, an indication that the problem has been corrected conditioned upon a determination that the problem has been corrected;
receiving, at the authentication server from the client system, the indication that the problem has been corrected; and
enabling access by the user identity to the service through the user account conditioned upon receipt of the indication at the authentication server that the problem has been corrected,
wherein providing the indication of the problem, providing the indicia of the computer application, enabling use of the indicia to access the computer application, providing the indication that the problem has been corrected, receiving from the client system the indication that the problem has been corrected, and enabling access occur during the communication session.
18. The method of claim 17 wherein the method further comprises maintaining, without disruption, the communication session between the client system and the host system while the problem with the user access to the hosted service is corrected.
19. The method of claim 17 multiple messages are exchanged between the client system and the host system during a temporal period of the communication session in which trust of the client system by the host system persists.
20. The method of claim 19 wherein the trust of the client system is conditioned upon authentication of a user of the client system by the host system.
21. The method of claim 17 wherein multiple connections are established between the client system and the host system during a temporal period of the communication session in which trust of the client system by the host system persists.
22. The method of claim 21 wherein the trust of the client system is conditioned upon authentication of a user of the client system by the host system.
23. The method of claim 17 , wherein providing the indication of the problem with the existing user account comprises providing an indication that a credit card associated with the existing user account has changed from a valid credit card to an expired credit card.
24. The method of claim 17 , wherein providing the indication of the problem with the existing user account comprises providing an indication that a predetermined amount of access time that the existing user account is allowed to access the service has expired.
25. The method of claim 17 , wherein providing the indication of the problem with the existing user account comprises receiving an indication that an Ask-Security-Question (ASQ) and answer have not been setup for the existing user account.
26. A computer program product tangibly stored in a machine-readable storage device, the computer program product including instructions that, when executed, enable authentication of a client system, the computer program product configured to:
provide, by a client system, authentication information to an authentication server, the authentication server using the authentication information to authenticate the client system;
receive, at the client system from the authentication server of a host system, an indication of a problem with an existing user account associated with a user identity, the problem interfering with access by the existing user account to a service provided by the host system, the indication of the problem being received during a communication session established between the client system and the host system;
receive, at the client system from the authentication server, indicia of a computer application on a registration server of the host system;
use, at the client system, the indicia to access the computer application on the registration server to correct the problem with the existing user account through user input;
receive, at the client system from the registration server, an indication that the problem has been corrected; and
provide the received indication, from the client system to the authentication server, to enable access by the user identity to the service through the user account,
wherein receiving the indication of the problem, receiving the indicia of the computer application, using the indicia to access the computer application, receiving the indication that the problem has been corrected, and providing the received indication to the host system occur during the communication session.
27. The computer program product of claim 26 wherein multiple messages are exchanged between the client system and the host system during a temporal period of the communication session in which trust of the client system by the host system persists.
28. The computer program product of claim 26 wherein multiple connections are established between the client system and the host system during a temporal period of the communication session in which trust of the client system by the host system persists.
29. A method of allowing a client to access a service offered by a host system, the method comprising:
establishing a communication session between a client system and a host system, the host system including an authentication server and a registration server;
providing, by the client system, authentication information to the authentication server, the authentication server using the authentication information to authenticate the client system;
receiving, at the client system from the authentication server, a message indicating existence of a problem with an existing user account associated with a user identity, the problem interfering with access by the existing user account to a service provided by the host system;
in response to the message, providing a display to a user operating under the user identity at the client system that informs the user of the problem and that includes a link selectable by the user to access the registration server of the host system to correct the problem with the existing user account;
in response to the user selecting the link, accessing the registration server and enabling the user to provide information to the registration server to correct the problem;
receiving, at the client system from the registration server, a first message that informs the client system that the problem has been corrected;
in response to receiving the first message that informs the client system that the problem has been corrected, sending, from the client system to the authentication server, a second message that informs the authentication server that the problem has been corrected to enable access by the client system to the service through the user account,
wherein receiving the message indicating existence of a problem, providing the display to a user operating under the user identity, accessing the registration server and enabling the user to provide information to the registration server to correct the problem, receiving the first message, and sending the second message occur during the communication session.