Methods and systems for sharing a network resource with a user without current access

A computer system for sharing a network resource with a user not currently having access to the network resource, comprising:

• storage containing an access list for the network resource;
• a network interface;
• and
• a processing device configured to generate a placeholder within the network resource that contains the known identifier, generate a message through the network interface to the user instructing the user to obtain an authentication identifier from an authentication identifier server, store to a computer of the user the authentication identifier, obtain the authentication identifier through the network interface from the computer of the user, obtained from the authentication identifier server, upon attempting to access the network resource, store a copy of the authentication identifier obtained from the computer of the user in the placeholder containing the known identifier within the storage, grant the computer of the user access to the network resource upon storing the copy of the authentication identifier and upon a subsequent attempt by the computer of the user to access the network resource, obtain the authentication identifier from the computer of the user and compare the authentication identifier obtained from the computer of the user to the authentication identifier stored in the access list to grant access to the network resource.

A network system for sharing a network resource with a user not currently having access to the network resource, comprising:

• a first server computer that provides the network resource and that maintains an access list providing permissions for the network resource, and wherein the first server generates a placeholder within the access list, stores a known identifier of the user in the placeholder, sends a message to the known identifier instructing the user to obtain an authentication identifier from an authentication identifier server, obtains the authentication identifier from a client computer, stores the authentication identifier obtained from the client computer within the placeholder containing the known identifier, grant the computer of the user access to the network resource upon storing the copy of the authentication identifier and upon a subsequent attempt by the computer of the user to access the network resource, obtain the authentication identifier from the computer of the user and compare the authentication identifier obtained from the computer of the user to the authentication identifier stored in the access list to grant access to the network resource;
• wherein
• the client computer receives the message to the known identifier, obtains an authentication identifier associated with the known identifier from the authentication identifier server, and attempts to access the network resource at the first server after obtaining the authentication identifier.

A computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that when executed by a computer perform the steps of:

• generating a placeholder storing a known identifier of a computer of a user in storage;
• communicating instructions to the computer of the user, wherein the computer of the user is instructed to access a network resource and obtain an authentication identifier from an authentication identifier server;
• upon receiving an attempt by the computer of the user to access a network resource, detecting whether an authentication identifier being provided by the computer of the user has been verified with an authentication identifier server of the authentication identifier, comparing an authentication identifier of the authentication identifier server that is associated with the known identifier of the computer of the user with the authentication identifier being provided by the computer of the user, and comparing the known identifier of the computer of the user to the known identifier in the placeholder;
• when the authentication identifier being provided by the computer of the user has been verified with the authentication identifier server and matches the authentication identifier of the authentication identifier server that is associated with the known identifier of the computer of the user, and when the known identifier of the computer of the user matches the known identifier in the placeholder, then storing the authentication identifier provided by the computer of the user in the placeholder;
• granting the computer of the user access to the network resource upon storing the copy of the authentication identifier;
• and
• upon a subsequent attempt to access the network resource, obtaining the authentication identifier from the computer of the user and comparing the authentication identifier obtained from the computer of the user to the authentication identifier stored in the placeholder to grant the computer of the user access to the network resource.