Cookie data stored on transportable recording medium

A service providing method used by a first apparatus operable to receive each service provided by a plurality of other apparatuses via a network and provide the received service to a current user of the first apparatus, wherein the first apparatus is able to communicate with each of the plurality of other apparatuses via the network and is locally connectable to a recording medium from among recording media that are uniquely assigned to users of the first apparatus, each recording medium has a media identifier as a unique identifier recorded thereon and is transportable, and each recording medium includes an area for storing unique information, said service providing method comprising:

• a service requesting operation of the first apparatus requesting a second apparatus to provide a service desired by the current user, the second apparatus being one of the plurality of other apparatuses;
• a first determining operation of the first apparatus determining whether a recording medium of the current user is locally connected to the first apparatus;
• a second determining operation of the first apparatus determining whether a recording medium of the current user is locally connected to the first apparatus and stores unique information;
• a transmitting operation of the first apparatus reading the media identifier in the locally connected recording medium and transmitting the read media identifier to the second apparatus via the network when the first apparatus determines in said first determining operation that the recording medium is locally connected thereto, and the first apparatus reading the unique information in the locally connected recording medium and transmitting the read unique information to the second apparatus via the network when the first apparatus determines in said second determining operation that the recording medium is locally connected thereto and includes the unique information;
• and
• a service providing operation of the first apparatus receiving a service that has been customized by the second apparatus from the second apparatus and providing the received service to the current user, wherein the second apparatus customizes the customized service by (i) generating a decryption key based on the media identifier that has been transmitted to the second apparatus in said transmitting operation, (ii) generating unique information by decrypting, by using the generated decryption key, the encrypted unique information that has been transmitted to the second apparatus, and (iii) customizing a desired service according to the generated unique information, wherein:
• the encrypted unique information stored in each recording medium is encrypted user information that is inherent to a user assigned the recording medium, the user information having been encrypted;
• said service providing operation includes a user password receiving operation of receiving a user password from the current user;
• and
• the customized service that is received and provided in said service providing operation is generated at the second apparatus by generating a decryption key based on the media identifier transmitted in said transmitting operation and the user password received in said user password receiving operation, decrypting the encrypted user information included in the transmitted unique information using the generated decryption key, and customizing the desired service for the current user according to the decrypted user information.