JP2006134254A - Authentication information automatic input apparatus, method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make registration work of authentication information of a user ID, password, and the like simpler than before and to prevent erroneous registration of the authentication information. <P>SOLUTION: The program is provided with: a step S24 for acquiring new authentication information; a step S26 for transmitting the new authentication information to an application (a); a step S27 for updating the authentication information registered to the application (a); and a step S30 for updating the authentication registered to a PC to new authentication information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an authentication information automatic input device, method, and program, and more particularly, an authentication information automatic input device, method, and method for automatically inputting authentication information such as a password registered in advance when logging on to an application or the like. Regarding the program.

  When logging on to various applications on the server from the user's personal computer, input of a user ID and a password is required in order to confirm that the application is a legitimate user (personal authentication). However, it is troublesome for the user to manually enter the user ID and password every time the user logs on. Accordingly, an authentication information automatic input device (hereinafter referred to as “authentication information paying device”) that automatically inputs a user ID and a password on behalf of a user has been developed.

  In this authentication information billing device, a user ID and a password are registered in advance for each application. When the authentication information substitute device detects the logon screen of the target application, it reads the user ID and password corresponding to the application and inputs them in a predetermined position on the logon screen. Thereby, even if a user does not manually input a user ID and a password every time it logs on, it can log on to a target application (for example, refer nonpatent literature 1).

The applicant has not yet found prior art documents related to the present invention by the time of filing other than the prior art documents specified by the prior art document information described in this specification.
URL: http://softplaza.biglobe.ne.jp/shop/symantec/npm2004

However, in the conventional authentication information substitution device, when a password is updated for a certain application, it is also necessary to update the password registered in the authentication information substitution device at the same time. This work is troublesome for the user. In addition, there is a possibility that a character string different from the application password is erroneously registered as the password for the authentication information paying device.
In addition, even if the same user ID and password are used to log on to a plurality of applications, it is necessary to register the same user ID and password for each application individually in the authentication information paying apparatus. .

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object thereof is to simplify the registration work of authentication information such as a user ID and a password.
Another object is to prevent erroneous registration of authentication information.

  In order to achieve such an object, an authentication information substitution device (authentication information automatic input device) according to the present invention includes authentication information storage means for storing authentication information registered in an application in association with each application, Authentication information input screen detection means for detecting an authentication information input screen transmitted from the application, authentication information input means for reading the authentication information from the authentication information storage means and inputting it at a predetermined position on the authentication information input screen, and acquiring new authentication information Authentication information acquisition means, authentication information update means for updating the contents of the authentication information storage means with the authentication information acquired by the authentication information acquisition means, and authentication information acquired by the authentication information acquisition means is transmitted to the application and registered in the application And an authentication information transmitting means for updating the authentication information being recorded. Here, examples of the authentication information include a user ID and a password.

The authentication information substitution device includes an authentication information change instruction detecting means for detecting an authentication information change instruction transmitted from an application, and a screen display means for displaying a screen on which new authentication information can be input upon detection of the authentication information change instruction. May be further provided.
Further, the apparatus may further include shared setting means for setting so that the authentication information of the first application stored in the authentication information storage means is input to the authentication information input screen transmitted from the second application. Good.
The authentication information storage means may store a plurality of applications in association with one authentication information.

  Further, the authentication information pay-in method (authentication information automatic input method) according to the present invention detects the authentication information input screen transmitted from the application and the step of storing the authentication information registered in the application in association with each application. A step of reading the stored authentication information and inputting it to a predetermined position on the authentication information input screen; a step of acquiring new authentication information; a step of updating the stored content with the acquired authentication information; and the acquired authentication information Transmitting to the application and updating the authentication information registered in the application.

  Further, the authentication information billing program (authentication information automatic input program) according to the present invention detects a step of storing authentication information registered in an application in association with each application and an authentication information input screen transmitted from the application. A step of reading the stored authentication information and inputting it to a predetermined position on the authentication information input screen; a step of acquiring new authentication information; a step of acquiring new authentication information; A step of causing the computer to execute a step of updating and a step of transmitting the acquired authentication information to the application and updating the authentication information registered in the application.

This authentication information billing program causes the computer to further execute a step of detecting an authentication information change instruction transmitted from the application and a step of displaying a screen on which new authentication information can be input upon detection of the authentication information change instruction. It may be.
Further, the computer may further execute a step of inputting the stored authentication information of the first application to the authentication information input screen transmitted from the second application.

  In the present invention, by inputting new authentication information to the authentication information paying device, not only the authentication information paying device but also authentication information registered in the application is updated to new authentication information. Therefore, it is not necessary to update the authentication information for each of the authentication information billing device and the application, and the authentication information update operation is simplified as compared with the conventional case. In addition, the same authentication information is registered in both the authentication information paying device and the application, and erroneous registration is prevented.

  Further, when the same authentication information is registered in the first and second applications, and the authentication information of the first application is registered in the authentication information substitution device, the first application is stored in the authentication information substitution device. The authentication information is set to be input to the authentication information input screen transmitted from the second application. This eliminates the need to repeatedly input the same authentication information as that of the first application in order to register the authentication information of the second application in the authentication information paying device, thus simplifying the registration process of authentication information as compared with the prior art. Is done.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of the entire system to which the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention is applied. The system shown in this figure includes a server 1A that manages application a, a server 1B that manages application b, and a personal computer (PC) that can access the servers 1A and 1B via a data communication network 2 such as the Internet or a LAN. 3.
Here, it is assumed that the user ID “U1” and the password “P1” are registered as authentication information of the user who uses the PC 3 in the application a of the server 1A. Further, it is assumed that a user ID “U2” and a password “P2” are registered in the application b of the server 1B as the authentication information of the user who uses the PC 3.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of the PC 3. As shown in this figure, the PC 3 includes a transmission / reception unit 31 that transmits and receives various information to and from the servers 1A and 1B, a display unit 32 that displays various screens such as a logon screen (authentication information input screen), and a user An operation unit 33 such as a keyboard and a mouse used for manual input of a user ID and a password, and an authentication information paying unit 34 that automatically inputs a user ID and password registered in advance to a predetermined location on the logon screen on behalf of the user. And a storage unit 35 for storing various information necessary for automatic input of the user ID and password.

3 to 5 are diagrams for explaining information stored in the storage unit 35.
As shown in FIG. 3, the storage unit 35 stores an authentication information management dictionary 41 for managing user IDs and passwords, an operation scenario 42, and an application / operation scenario comparison table 43.
In the authentication information management dictionary 41, the same authentication information as that registered in the applications a and b is registered in association with each application a and b. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the authentication information management dictionary 41 includes the authentication information of the application a, that is, the file 1 including the user ID “U1” and the password “P1”, and the authentication information of the application b, that is, the user ID “U2”. And a file 2 consisting of a password “P2”.

The operation scenario 42 is a program that defines the input position and input procedure of the user ID and password on the logon screen. Since the input positions of the user ID and password are different for each of the applications a and b, operation scenarios 42a and 42b corresponding to the applications a and b are set as shown in FIG. The operation scenarios 42a and 42b include instructions for reading the files 1 and 2 including the authentication information of the corresponding applications a and b.
The application / operation scenario comparison table 43 is a table showing the correspondence between the applications a and b and the operation scenarios 42a and 42b, as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the function of the authentication information billing unit 34. As shown in this figure, the authentication information billing unit 34 includes a logon screen detection function 51, an operation scenario selection function 52, an operation scenario execution function (authentication information input means) 53, a password change instruction screen detection function 54, , A screen display control function 55, a password acquisition function (authentication information acquisition means) 56, a password transmission control function 57, and a password update function 58.

Here, the logon screen detection function 51, the operation scenario selection function 52, and the operation scenario execution function 53 are functions for automatically inputting the user ID and password on the logon screen on behalf of the user. More details are as follows.
The logon screen detection function 51 detects a logon screen sent from the applications a and b. Which application a, b logon screen is also determined from the information added to the logon screen.
When the logon screen is detected, the operation scenario selection function 52 refers to the application / operation scenario comparison table 43 and selects the operation scenarios 42a and 42b corresponding to the applications a and b that have sent the logon screen.
The operation scenario execution function 53 executes the selected operation scenarios 42a and 42b. That is, the files 1 and 2 are read from the authentication information management dictionary 41 in accordance with the operation scenarios 42a and 42b, and the user ID and password included in the files 1 and 2 are input to a predetermined position on the logon screen.
With the above function, the user ID and password can be automatically entered without the user manually entering the user ID and password on the logon screen.

Further, the password change instruction screen detection function 54, the screen display control function 55, the password acquisition function 56, the password transmission control function 57, and the password update function 58 mainly include the applications a and b and the PC 3 (the authentication information management dictionary 41). This is a function for updating the registered passwords at the same time. More details are as follows.
The password change instruction screen detection function 54 detects a password change instruction screen periodically sent from the applications a and b. From the information added to the password change instruction screen, it is also determined which application a and b password change instruction screens are.
The screen display control function 55 performs control to display various screens such as a unique password change screen on the display unit 32.
The password acquisition function 56 acquires a new password manually input from the operation unit 33 by the user or a new password automatically generated.
The password transmission control function 57 performs control to transmit the new password acquired by the password acquisition function 56 to the applications a and b that are the transmission source of the password change instruction screen.
The password update function 58 updates the password corresponding to the password change instruction screen transmission source applications a and b among the passwords registered in the authentication information management dictionary 41 with the new password acquired by the password acquisition function 56.

Next, a method for newly registering a password in the PC 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of processing when a new password is registered in the PC 3.
First, when the user inputs a selection screen activation request of the authentication information paying unit 34 using the operation unit 33 (step S1), the authentication information paying unit 34 displays a selection screen on the display unit 32 in response to this request. (Step S2).
When the user selects the password a new registration target application a on the selection screen using the operation unit 33 and inputs a password registration request (step S3), the authentication information billing unit 34 receives the request and the display unit 32 receives the request. For example, a password registration screen as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed (step S4).

  When the user manually inputs the same character string as the password P1 already registered in the application a in the password input field 61 and the confirmation input field 62 on the password registration screen (step S5) and clicks the OK (save) button 63, the password is saved. The request is output to the authentication information billing unit 34 (step S6). In response to this request, the authentication information billing unit 34 stores the input password in the application a file 1 of the authentication information management dictionary 41 (step S7).

Thereafter, when the user inputs a selection screen end request using the operation unit 33 (step S8), the authentication information billing unit 34 ends the display of the selection screen in response to this request (step S9), and a series of passwords The new registration process is terminated.
As a result, the same password as the password P1 registered in the application a can be registered in the authentication information management dictionary 41 of the PC 3.

Next, a method for updating passwords registered in the application a and the PC 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of processing when updating a password.
The application a periodically transmits a password change instruction screen to the PC 3 in order to prompt the change of the registered password (step S21).

  When the password change instruction screen is detected (step S22), the authentication information billing unit 34 of the PC 3 determines that the information is sent from the application a from the information added to the password change instruction screen. Then, for example, a unique password change screen for application a as shown in FIG. 11 is displayed on the display unit 32 (step S23). The user ID registered in the application a is entered in the user ID entry field 71, but the current password entry field 72, the new password entry field 73, and the confirmation entry field 74 are blank.

  When the user manually inputs the current password in the current password input field 72, manually inputs the new password in the new password input field 73 and the confirmation input field 74 (step S24), and clicks the send button 75, the new password is entered. A password transmission request is output to the authentication information billing unit 34 (step S25). Upon receiving this request, the authentication information billing unit 34 transmits the input new password to the application a (step S26).

The application a updates the current password to the received new password (step S27), and displays a change confirmation screen on the display unit 32 of the PC 3 (step S28).
When the user confirms the completion of the password update on the change confirmation screen and clicks the OK (save) button 76 on the password change screen, a password save request is output to the authentication information billing unit 34 (step S29). In response to this request, the authentication information billing unit 34 updates the current password registered in the application a file 1 of the authentication information management dictionary 41 with a new password (step S30).

  Thereafter, when the user inputs a change screen end request using the operation unit 33 (step S31), the authentication information billing unit 34 ends the display of the password change screen in response to this request (step S32). Further, when a change instruction screen end request is input (step S33), application a receives the request and ends the display of the password change instruction screen (step S34). As a result, a series of password update processing is completed.

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, the password registered in the application a and the PC 3 can be updated at the same time by performing the password update process only once. Therefore, the password update operation can be simplified as compared with the conventional case. Further, since the same password is registered in both the application a and the PC 3, erroneous registration can be prevented.

Here, an example in which a new password is manually input as step S24 is shown, but a new password may be automatically generated. FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram when a new password is automatically generated.
When automatically generating a new password, the user clicks the automatic generation button 77 on the password change screen while leaving the new password input field 73 and the confirmation input field 74 blank. Thereby, a new password automatic generation request is output to the authentication information billing unit 34 (step S41). Upon receiving this request, the authentication information billing unit 34 automatically generates a new password consisting of a random character string (step S42). Then, a password change screen in which the password is inserted in the password input field 73 and the confirmation input field 74 is displayed on the display unit 32. The process before and after automatic password generation is the same as for manual entry.

  In addition, after confirming that the user is an authorized user of the PC 3 (person authentication), a new password may be registered or updated in the PC 3. In the new password registration process, for example, when there is a password registration request (step S3 in FIG. 8), personal authentication can be performed. Further, in the password update process, for example, when a password change instruction screen is detected (step S22 in FIG. 10), personal authentication can be performed. For personal authentication, a fingerprint, an IC card, a one-time password, a simple password, or the like can be used.

Moreover, although the example which updates only a password simultaneously was shown in the form of this Embodiment, it is also possible to update only a user ID or both a user ID and a password simultaneously.
It should be noted that this embodiment can be applied by regarding not only the various applications a and b of the servers 1A and 1B used by the user but also a management program for managing access to a data communication network such as the Internet as an application. The same applies to the embodiments described later.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the function of the authentication information billing unit of the PC used in the second embodiment of the present invention. The authentication information cash-in part 34A shown in this figure has a common setting function 59 in addition to the functions 51 to 58 of the authentication information cash-in part 34 in the first embodiment.
In the shared setting function 59, the same authentication information (that is, the same user ID and the same password) is registered in a plurality of applications, and the authentication information is registered in the authentication information management dictionary 41 of the PC 3 for one of the applications. In such a case, the registered authentication information is set to be used at the time of logon processing to another application. Hereinafter, a specific description will be given with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of processing when setting a shared user ID and password. Here, it is assumed that the same user ID and password are registered in both the applications a and b, and the registration of the user ID and password in the authentication information management dictionary 41 of the PC 3 has already been completed for the application a.

First, when the user inputs a selection screen activation request of the authentication information paying unit 34 using the operation unit 33 (step S61), the authentication information paying unit 34 displays a selection screen on the display unit 32 in response to this request. (Step S62).
When the user selects the application b on the selection screen using the operation unit 33 and inputs a password registration request (step S63), the authentication information billing unit 34 receives the request on the display unit 32 as shown in FIG. A password registration screen as shown is displayed (step S64). This registration screen is obtained by adding a common button 64 to the registration screen shown in FIG.

  When the user clicks the share button 64 on the password registration screen, an authentication information sharing request is output to the authentication information billing unit 34 (step S65). Upon receiving this request, the authentication information paying unit 34 creates a list of applications whose user IDs and passwords are already registered in the authentication information management dictionary 41 (step S66) and displays them on the display unit 32 (step S67). ).

  When the user selects application a having the same user ID and password as application b from this list, a selection request for selecting application a as a shared destination is output to authentication information paying unit 34 (step S68). In response to this request, the authentication information billing unit 34 displays a password registration screen on which the name of the shared application a is written on the display unit 32 (step S69).

  When the user confirms the name of the application a on the screen and inputs an application request using the operation unit 33 (step S70), the authentication information billing unit 34 receives the request and performs shared application processing (step S71). . Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 16, an instruction for reading the file 1 including the user ID and password of the sharing destination application a is set in the operation scenario 42bb corresponding to the application b. As a result, the file 1 is associated with the two applications a and b.

  Thereafter, when the user inputs a selection screen end request using the operation unit 33 (step S72), the authentication information paying unit 34 ends the display of the selection screen in response to this request (step S73), and a series of sharing The setting process ends.

  When such a sharing setting is made, when a logon screen is sent from the application b and the operation scenario 42bb corresponding to the application b is executed, the file 1 of the sharing destination application a is obtained from the authentication information management dictionary 41. The user ID and password included in the file 1 are read out and input to a predetermined position on the logon screen. Since the input user ID and password of the sharing destination application a are the same as the user ID and password of the application b, it is possible to log on to the application b.

  Also, by performing this sharing setting, it is not necessary to repeatedly input the same user ID and password as those of application a in order to register the user ID and password of application b in authentication information management dictionary 41, and the registration work is conventionally performed. Can be simplified.

Also in this embodiment, the user ID and password may be set to be shared after confirming that the user is a regular user of the PC 3 (person authentication). For example, when there is a selection screen activation request (step S61), personal authentication can be performed.
In this embodiment, an example in which two applications are associated with one authentication information has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and two or more applications may be associated with one or more authentication information. Is possible.

[Third Embodiment]
FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a PC used in the third embodiment of the present invention. The PC 3A shown in this figure has a configuration in which an arithmetic processing unit 81, a storage unit 82, and interface units (I / F units) 83 _{1 to} 83 ₃ are connected to a bus 84. The I / F units 83 ₁ , 83 ₂ , and 83 ₃ interface with the data communication network 2, the display device 85, and the operation device 86, respectively.
An authentication information billing program 87 for controlling the operation of the PC 3A is stored in the storage unit 82. By executing the arithmetic processing unit 81 with this program 87, the various functions 51 to 59 of the authentication information paying units 34 and 34A shown in FIG. 7 or FIG. 13 are realized. The program 87 is provided via a recording medium such as a magneto-optical disk or a data communication network.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the whole system to which the 1st Embodiment of this invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the principal part structure of PC. It is a block diagram which shows the information memorize | stored in a memory | storage part. It is a figure for demonstrating the content of an authentication information management dictionary. It is a figure for demonstrating the content of an operation scenario. It is a figure which shows an example of an application and operation scenario comparison table. It is a figure for demonstrating the function of an authentication information cash-on part. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of a process at the time of newly registering a password to PC. It is a figure which shows an example of a password registration screen. It is a sequence diagram which shows an example of the flow of a process at the time of updating the password registered into the application and PC. It is a figure which shows an example of a password change screen. It is a sequence diagram which shows the other example of the flow of a process at the time of updating the password registered into the application and PC. It is a figure for demonstrating the function of the authentication information cash-in part of PC used in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of a process at the time of setting to share a user ID and a password. It is a figure which shows the other example of a password registration screen. It is a figure for demonstrating the content of the operation scenario when sharing setting is carried out. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of PC used for the 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1A, 1B ... Server, 2 ... Data communication network, 3, 3A ... Personal computer, 31 ... Transmission / reception part, 32 ... Display part, 33 ... Operation part, 34, 34A ... Authentication information charge part, 35 ... Memory | storage part, 41 ... Authentication information management dictionary, 42, 42a, 42b, 42bb ... Operation scenario, 43 ... Application / operation scenario comparison table, 51 ... Logon screen detection function, 52 ... Operation scenario selection function, 53 ... Operation scenario execution function, 54 ... Password Change instruction screen detection function, 55 ... Screen display control function, 56 ... Password acquisition function, 57 ... Password transmission control function, 58 ... Password update function, 59 ... Shared setting function, 61 ... Password input field, 62 ... Password confirmation input Column, 63, 76 ... OK (save) button, 64 ... shared button, 71 ... user ID input column, 72 ... current password Word input field, 73 ... New password input field, 74 ... New password confirmation input field, 75 ... Send button, 77 ... Automatic generation button, 81 ... Arithmetic processing part, 82 ... Storage part, 83 ... Interface part, 84 ... Bus, 85 ... Display device, 86 ... Operating device, 87 ... Authentication information billing program, a, b ... Application.

Claims (8)

Authentication information storage means for storing authentication information registered in an application in association with each application, authentication information input screen detection means for detecting an authentication information input screen transmitted from the application, and authentication information storage means In an authentication information automatic input device comprising: authentication information input means for reading out the authentication information and inputting it at a predetermined position on the authentication information input screen;
Authentication information acquisition means for acquiring new authentication information;
Authentication information update means for updating the contents of the authentication information storage means with the authentication information acquired by the authentication information acquisition means;
An authentication information automatic input device comprising: authentication information transmitting means for transmitting the authentication information acquired by the authentication information acquiring means to the application and updating authentication information registered in the application. In the authentication information automatic input device according to claim 1,
Authentication information change instruction detection means for detecting an authentication information change instruction transmitted from the application;
An authentication information automatic input device, further comprising: a screen display unit that displays a screen on which the new authentication information can be input when the authentication information change instruction is detected. In the authentication information automatic input device according to claim 1 or 2,
Authentication further comprising shared setting means for setting so that authentication information of the first application stored in the authentication information storage means is input to an authentication information input screen transmitted from the second application Automatic information input device. In the authentication information automatic input device according to claim 1 or 2,
An authentication information automatic input device, wherein a plurality of applications are associated with one authentication information and stored in the authentication information storage means. Storing authentication information registered for each application in association with each application; detecting an authentication information input screen transmitted from the application; reading the stored authentication information; An authentication information automatic input method comprising: inputting to a predetermined position;
Obtaining new credentials,
Updating the stored content with the acquired authentication information;
Transmitting the acquired authentication information to the application, and updating the authentication information registered in the application. Storing authentication information registered for each application in association with each application; detecting an authentication information input screen transmitted from the application; reading the stored authentication information; In an authentication information automatic input program for causing a computer to execute the step of inputting to a predetermined position,
Obtaining new credentials,
Updating the stored content with the acquired authentication information;
An authentication information automatic input program that causes the computer to execute the step of transmitting the acquired authentication information to the application and updating the authentication information registered in the application. In the authentication information automatic input program according to claim 6,
Detecting an authentication information change instruction transmitted from the application;
An authentication information automatic input program that causes the computer to further execute a step of displaying a screen on which the new authentication information can be input upon detection of the authentication information change instruction. In the authentication information automatic input program according to claim 6 or 7,
Authentication information characterized by causing the computer to execute the step of inputting the stored authentication information of the first application on the authentication information input screen transmitted from the second application as the step of inputting the authentication information. Autofill program.

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