Mobile tablets are growing significantly in the enterprise, and are presenting new security and usability challenges.
Tablet generally have a timeout feature that logs out after a few minutes of idle time, however, in order to do any meaningful work on a tablet—such as reading a document—the tablet timeout has to be increased to 10-20 minutes. This creates numerous usability and security challenges:                Timeout causes users to have to login numerous times a day, to the device and to the application. This is two logins, about 20 to 40 times a day.        Setting longer timeout causes a new problem of devices left un-attended with active sessions, thus enabling anybody that finds the device un-restricted access to the network.        Devices are lost.        
Previous patents by the current inventor taught authentication based on Bluetooth proximity as well as proximity logout, however, the prior art did not teach using historical proximity in order to provide automatic login.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,045,961 by the current inventor, System for wireless authentication based on Bluetooth proximity, teaches a Bluetooth device that facilitates login using a Bluetooth device that stores the user credentials and that supplies them wirelessly over Bluetooth communication channel. It does not teach automatic login if the Bluetooth channel stayed above a threshold during a recent period of time, otherwise, asking for user credentials.
US patent application 20090221266 by Ohta et al, Mobile terminal, access control management device, and access control management method teaches a method to acquire access control rules from a mobile device and using them for access authentication. It does not teach automatic login if the Bluetooth channel stayed above a threshold during a recent period of time, otherwise, asking for user credentials.
US patent application 20030105725 by Hoffman et al, Token identification system for authorization of electronic transmission and electronic transmissions teaches a system and method for authentication using a device to capture user biometrics and using the biometrics to authenticate the user on a second device. It does not teach automatic login if the Bluetooth channel stayed above a threshold during a recent period of time, otherwise, asking for user credentials.
US patent application 20090104888 by Cox et al, One time passwords for mobile wallets teaches a onetime password generated in a mobile wallet and transmitted to the mobile device. The one time password is used to authenticate the user of the mobile wallet when completing a transaction. It does not teach automatic login if the Bluetooth channel stayed above a threshold during a recent period of time, otherwise, asking for user credentials.
Thus, a need exists for systems for automatic login based on historical proximity.