INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS CAPABLE OF OPERATING IN ADMINISTRATOR MODE, CONTROL METHOD THEREOF AND RECORDING MEDIUM

1 . An information processing apparatus, comprising:

an executing unit executing information processing;

a control unit controlling an operation of said executing unit;

a communication unit for communicating with a smart card;

an receiving unit for receiving input of information; and

a storage unit for storing specific information for executing an administrator mode; wherein

said control unit executes said administrator mode if information matching the PIN (personal identification number) code stored in said smart card and information matching the information stored in said storage unit are received by said receiving unit.

2 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

said communication unit communicates with an authentication server;

said control unit authorizes the user of said smart card by communicating with said authentication server; and

said control unit executes said administrator mode, on condition that information matching the PIN code stored in said smart card is received by said receiving unit, when authentication of the user of said smart card is successful or when authentication of the user of said smart card and information matching said specific information stored in said storage unit is received by said receiving unit.

3 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein

said control unit determines whether or not said communication unit can communicate with said authentication server; and

if it is determined that said communication unit cannot communicate with said authentication server, authentication of the user of said smart card is determined to be failed.

4 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

said storage unit stores a user name specified as an administrator; and

said receiving unit receives input of information on condition that a user name same as the user name stored in said storage unit is stored in said smart card.

5 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein

said storage unit stores said user name specified as an administrator, or a specific user name and a password associated with the specific user name;

said receiving unit receives said specific user name and said password on condition that the user name specified as an administrator is not stored in said storage unit; and

said control unit determines whether or not information matching said specific user name and said password is received by said receiving unit as said specific information for executing said administrator mode on condition that the user name specified as an administrator is not stored in said storage unit.

6 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

said information processing executed by said executing unit includes image processing.

7 . A method of controlling an information processing apparatus including a storage unit, an executing unit executing information processing and a control unit controlling an operation of said executing unit, comprising the steps of:

communicating with a smart card;

receiving input of a PIN (personal identification number) code;

determining whether or not the input PIN code matches the PIN code stored in said smart card;

storing specific information in said storage unit for executing an administrator mode;

receiving input of information corresponding to said specific information;

determining whether or not said input information corresponding to said specific information matches said specific information stored in said storage unit; and

causing said control unit to execute said administrator mode, if it is determined that the input PIN code matches the PIN code stored in said smart card and that the input information matches said specific information stored in said storage unit.

8 . The method of controlling an information processing apparatus according to claim 7 , further comprising the steps of

communicating with an authentication server; and

authorizing the user of said smart card by communicating with said authentication server; wherein

at said step of causing said control unit to execute said administrator mode, on condition that the input PIN code is determined to match said PIN code stored in said smart card, when authentication of the user of said smart card is successful or when authentication of the user of said smart card is unsuccessful and the input information is determined to match said specific information stored in said storage unit.

9 . The method of controlling an information processing apparatus according to claim 8 , further comprising the step of

determining whether or not communication with said authentication server is possible; wherein

at said step of authorizing the user of said smart card, if it is determined that said information processing apparatus cannot communicate with said authentication server, authentication of the user of said smart card is determined to be failed.

10 . The method of controlling an information processing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein

the storage unit of said information processing apparatus stores a user name specifying an administrator; and

at said step of receiving input of said information, input of information is received on condition that a user name same as the user name specifying an administrator stored in said storage unit is stored in said smart card.

11 . The method of controlling an information processing apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein

said storage unit stores said user name specifying an administrator, or a specific user name and a password associated with the specific user name;

said method further comprising the steps of:

determining whether or not said user name specifying an administrator is stored in said storage unit; and

receiving input of said specific user name and said password, if said user name specifying an administrator is not stored in said storage unit; wherein

at said step of causing said control unit to execute said administrator mode, determination is made as to whether or not information matching said specific user name and said password is input as said information for executing said administrator mode.

12 . A non-transitory recording medium recording a computer readable program for controlling a storage unit, an information processing apparatus including an executing unit executing information processing and a control unit controlling an operation of said executing unit, causing said information processing apparatus to execute the steps of

communicating with a smart card;

receiving input of a PIN (personal identification number) code;

determining whether or not the input PIN code matches the PIN code stored in said smart card;

storing specific information in said storage unit for executing an administrator mode;

receiving input of information corresponding to said specific information;

determining whether or not said input information corresponding to said specific information matches said specific information stored in said storage unit; and

causing said control unit to execute said administrator mode, if it is determined that the input PIN code matches the PIN code stored in said smart card and that the input information matches said specific information stored in said storage unit.

13 . The recording medium according to claim 12 , wherein

said program further causes said information processing apparatus to execute the steps of

communicating with an authentication server; and

authorizing the user of said smart card by communicating with said authentication server; wherein

at said step of causing said control unit to execute said administrator mode, on condition that the input PIN code is determined to match said PIN code stored in said smart card, when authentication of the user of said smart card is successful or when authentication of the user of said smart card is unsuccessful and the input information is determined to match said specific information stored in said storage unit.

14 . The recording medium according to claim 13 , wherein

said program further causes said information processing apparatus to execute the step of determining whether or not communication with said authentication server is possible; wherein

at said step of authorizing the user of said smart card, if it is determined that said information processing apparatus cannot communicate with said authentication server, authentication of the user of said smart card is determined to be failed.

15 . The recording medium according to claim 12 , wherein

the storage unit of said information processing apparatus stores a user name specifying an administrator; and

at said step of receiving input of said information, input of information is received on condition that a user name same as the user name specifying an administrator stored in said storage unit is stored in said smart card.

16 . The recording medium according to claim 15 , wherein

said storage unit stores said user name specifying an administrator, or a specific user name and a password associated with the specific user name;

said program further causes said information processing apparatus to execute the steps of:

determining whether or not said user name specifying an administrator is stored in said storage unit; and

receiving input of said specific user name and said password, if said user name specifying an administrator is not stored in said storage unit; wherein

at said step of causing said control unit to execute said administrator mode, determination is made as to whether or not information matching said specific user name and said password is input as said information for executing said administrator mode.