Granted Patent B1

US 8,973,113 · App. 12/761,114 · Granted Mar 3, 2015

Abstract

Claims (39)

1. A method for automatically resetting a password, comprising:

identifying a failed login attempt on a managed node by a management agent running on the managed node, wherein the identifying comprises looking for windows visible on a desktop of the managed node that communicate to a user that the last login failed;

determining, by the management agent, if a failed login condition is satisfied;

verifying that the managed node is associated with the user, wherein verifying comprises receiving a secondary identification indicator unique to the user from the managed node, wherein the secondary identification indicator is received from a scanner;

providing a prompt, by the management agent on the managed node, about resetting a password if the failed login condition is satisfied and if the managed node is associated with the user;

communicating with a management application on an administrative system to request generating a new password based on a response to the prompt; and

sending from the administrative system the new password to the user via voicemail or email.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining comprises determining if a number of failed login attempts on the managed node since a successful login attempt is greater than a predefined threshold.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising storing a record of the failed login attempt.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the prompting comprises displaying a message to the user asking if the user would like to reset the password.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the identifying comprises monitoring all login attempts.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein verifying that the managed node is associated with a user comprises determining that the managed node is a node on which the user logs into more than any other node.

7. An apparatus for automatically resetting a password, the apparatus comprising:

a processor;

memory in electronic communication with the processor; and

instructions stored in the memory, the instructions being executable by the processor to:

identify a failed login attempt on a managed node by a management agent running on the managed node, wherein the identifying comprises looking for windows visible on a desktop of the managed node that communicate to a user that the last login failed;

determine, by the management agent, if a failed login condition is satisfied;

verify that the managed node is associated with the user, wherein verifying comprises receiving a secondary identification indicator unique to the user from the managed node, wherein the secondary identification indicator is received from a scanner;

provide a prompt, by the management agent on the managed node, about resetting a password if the failed login condition is satisfied;

communicate with a management application on an administrative system to request generating a new password based on a response to the prompt; and

send from the administrative system the new password to the user via voicemail or email.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the instructions executable to determine comprise instructions executable to determine if a number of failed login attempts on the managed node since a successful login attempt is greater than a predefined threshold.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 , further comprising instructions executable to store a record of the failed login attempt.

10. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the instructions executable to prompt comprise instructions executable to display a message to the user asking if the user would like to reset the password.

11. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the instructions executable to identify comprise instructions executable to monitor all login attempts.

12. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the instructions executable to verify comprises determining that the managed node is a node on which the user logs into more than any other node.

13. A computer-program product for automatically resetting a password, the computer-program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions thereon, the instructions comprising:

code for identifying a failed login attempt on a managed node by a management agent running on the managed node, wherein the identifying comprises looking for windows visible on a desktop of the managed node that communicate to a user that the last login failed;

code for determining, by the management agent, if a failed login condition is satisfied;

code for verifying that the managed node is associated with the user, wherein verifying comprises receiving a secondary identification indicator unique to the user from the managed node, wherein the secondary identification indicator is received from a scanner;

code for providing a prompt, by the management agent on the managed node about resetting a password if the failed login condition is satisfied;

code for communicating with a management application on an administrative system to request generating a new password based on a response to the prompt; and

code for sending from the administrative system the new password to the user via voicemail or email.

14. The computer-program product of claim 13 , wherein the code for determining comprises code for determining if a number of failed login attempts on the managed node since a successful login attempt is greater than a predefined threshold.

15. The computer-program product of claim 13 , further comprising code for storing a record of the failed login attempt.

16. The computer-program product of claim 13 , wherein the code for prompting comprises code for displaying a message to the user asking if the user would like to reset the password.

17. The computer-program product of claim 13 , wherein the code for identifying comprises code for monitoring all login attempts.

18. The computer-program product of claim 13 , wherein the code for verifying comprises code for determining that the managed node is a node on which the user logs into more than any other node.

Assignments (23)