Tracking a user across both secure and non-secure areas on the Internet, wherein the users is initially tracked using a globally unique identifier

摘要

A system and method is disclosed for tracking a user across both secure and non-secure areas on an Internet and/or Intranet site. In one aspect of the system and method, when a user first accesses a non- secure area, such as a public area, the user is assigned a token, such as a globally-unique identifier (GUID). The token is used as a key to a database entry on a server computer for tracking the user in non-secure areas. When the user first accesses a secure area, the user is prompted to enter a user identification and a password. The user identification is then used as the key to the database entry, rather than the token. The server then uses the user identification to track the user across both secure and non-secure areas.