Differentiated management of wireless connectivity

At least one storage device having encoded thereon instructions which, when executed, cause a device to perform a method for managing wireless connectivity of the device, the device comprising a computer with an operating system configured to be shared by a plurality of users having respective user accounts on the computer, the method comprising acts of:

• (A) receiving a request via a service executing on the device, the service used to manage connectivity between the device and any of a plurality of wireless networks, the service configuring a plurality of network profiles each usable to initiate a connection between the device and one of the plurality of wireless networks, the request received from a first user of the device to initiate an action related to connectivity between the device and at least one of the plurality of wireless networks, the network profiles including all-user network profiles that are applicable to all users of the device and including per-user network profiles that according to the operating system are owned by respective of the users;
• (B) determining whether the first user is an active console user who is logged on to the device or a non-active console user who employs a terminal service to access the device;
• (C) when it is determined in the act (B) that the first user is an active console user who is logged on to the device, then responding to the request received in the act (A) by presenting a first subset of the plurality of network profiles to the first user, based on the first user having been determined to be an active console user who logs on to the device, the first subset formed by determining if any all-user network profiles are applicable to an available wireless network and if not including in the first subset, if available, a user-specific network profile owned and controlled by the first user;
• and
• (D) when it is determined in the act (B) that the first user is a non-active console user who employs a terminal service to access the device, then responding to the request received in the act (A) by presenting a second subset of the plurality of network profiles to the first user, the second subset formed by determining if any all-user network profiles are applicable to an available wireless network and if not then determining if the first user has a privilege for adding network profiles and if the first user has the privilege then connecting to the available wireless network.

A method of managing network profiles on a computing device, each network profile comprising a respective configuration setting for a corresponding network, the computing device comprising a wireless network interface and an operating system providing multiple user accounts for respective users, the user accounts able to use the wireless network interface, the method performed by the operating system and comprising:

• enabling the users, via the respective user accounts, to generate and edit the network profiles, each network profile comprising an object stored and managed by the operating system, wherein when an arbitrary user generates a new network profile the profile comprises, according to input from the arbitrary user, either an all-user profile or a per-user profile, wherein all-user profiles are applicable to all of the user accounts and per-user profiles are applicable to a corresponding one of the user accounts;
• when the computing device is to connect with a wireless network, selecting a set of network profiles by first determining whether there are any all-user network profiles that are applicable to the wireless network and second, if the first determining indicates that there are not any all-user network profiles that are applicable to the wireless network, then determining whether there are any per-user network profiles that are applicable to the wireless network, wherein the selecting of the network profiles is informed by a determination of whether a user of the computing device has logged in through a remote login service or with a console login session, wherein which network profiles are selected depends at least in part on the determination of whether the user has logged in through the remote login service or through the local console login, and wherein the selecting is further performed such that the all-user network profile is only selected when the user has permission for the all-user network profile;
• and
• forming a preferred network list from the set of network profiles and using the preferred network list to automatically connect the wireless network interface with the wireless network.