JP2003333559A - Conference system, conference management method, computer program, and computer-readable storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a conference system capable of properly protecting confidential information. <P>SOLUTION: A host PC newly calculates a password and stores the password to a storage device (S301). Then a display device displays the password on part of a desktop thereon (S302). In this case, a projector 108 connected to the host PC 107 projects the desktop on the screen. A user uses an entry device such as a keyboard or a mouse to enter the password projected on the screen onto a notebook PC 101, and transmits a conference participation request including the entered password to the host PC 107 (S303). The host PC compares the received password with the password stored in the step S301. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a conference system, a conference management method, a computer program, and a computer-readable storage medium, and more specifically, participants bring terminals such as notebook PCs and connect them to a network. The present invention relates to a conference system, a conference management method, a computer program, and a computer-readable storage medium for managing a conference by using a host computer installed in a conference room when conducting a conference using these terminals.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a participant brings a terminal such as a notebook PC to hold a meeting, the terminal transmits a password unique to the meeting room to a host PC installed in the meeting room, and the host PC The password sent was authenticated and allowed to attend the meeting.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the system configuration of a conventional conference system. Dedicated host P in the meeting room
C107 is installed, and the projector 108 is connected to the host PC 107. Participants in the meeting bring a notebook personal computer (notebook PC) 101 and connect it to the network 106.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing control in a notebook PC in a conference system using a conventional PC. The notebook PC 101 inputs a password unique to the conference room (S701). The notebook PC 101 transmits a request to participate in the conference (conference participation request) to the host PC 107 (S702). The notebook PC 101 is a host PC
When the notice (permitting to participate in the conference) that permits the participation in the conference from 107 is received (S703), the notebook PC can communicate with other notebook PCs via the network 106, and the operator can perform the conference. Can participate in (S
704). If not, the notebook PC 101 receives from the host PC 107 a notification that the participation in the conference is rejected (conference rejection). In this case, the notebook PC1
01 cannot communicate with other notebook PCs via the network 106, and the operator cannot participate in the conference (S705).

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing control by the host PC 107 of the conventional conference system using a PC. When the host PC 107 receives the conference participation request from the notebook PC 101 (S801), the password is compared with the password stored in advance. Then, if they match (S802), the conference participation permission is transmitted to the corresponding notebook PC 101 (S803), and the information on the notebook PC permitted to participate in the conference stored in advance is updated (S804). If the passwords do not match, the meeting participation is rejected.
It transmits to 101 (S805).

Further, conventionally, when a participant brings a notebook PC 101 to hold a conference, in order to give a presentation, a presentation file is copied from the notebook PC 101 to a host PC 107 connected to the projector 108, and the host PC is connected to the notebook PC 101.
Occupies 107 resources. Next, the application program of the host PC 107 is activated from the notebook PC 101 to open the presentation file.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the control of a notebook computer of a conference system using a conventional PC. When the presentation start is activated in the notebook PC 101 (S901), the presentation file is copied to the host PC 107 (S902) and the resources of the host PC 107 are occupied (S903). In this state, the operator of the notebook PC 101
Start the presentation application program and open the copied presentation file to give a presentation. Then, when the presentation is completed, the operator of the notebook PC 101 releases the occupation of the resources of the host PC 107 and deletes the copied presentation file from the host PC 107 (S905).

[0008]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, the same password is used even when the participants of the conference are exchanged. Therefore, the network 1
When 06 is connected to an external network or when a wireless LAN is used as the network, the host PC may be maliciously accessed from the network outside the conference room. Therefore, there is a serious problem that confidential information may be leaked.

Further, in the above-mentioned conventional example, when the presentation application program of the host PC is not terminated and the occupation of the resource is released, the application program file may remain without being deleted from the host PC. Therefore, if the confidential information is
There was a serious problem that it could remain in C.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a conference system, a conference management method, and a conference system capable of appropriately protecting confidential information.
It is to provide a computer program and a computer-readable storage medium.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve such an object, the present invention provides a meeting held in a meeting room using a plurality of terminals connected to a network. In a conference system including a host computer installed in the conference room to be managed, the host computer calculates a password peculiar to the conference, and a display unit for displaying the password calculated by the calculator. And receiving means for receiving a request for participation in the conference including the password from the terminal,
The password received by the receiving means and the password displayed by the display means are compared, and if the comparison results in a match, the terminal that has transmitted the request to participate in the conference is said to be in the conference. And a permission unit that permits the use of the terminal.

The invention described in claim 2 is the same as claim 1.
In the conference system described in (1), the information regarding the terminal permitted by the permitting means is stored, and the calculating means clears the stored information regarding the terminal in response to a request to hold a new conference. Then, the password unique to the conference is recalculated.

The invention described in claim 3 is the same as claim 1
Alternatively, in the conference system according to Item 2, the host computer further includes a copy unit that copies the password calculated by the calculation unit to a removable storage medium, and the permission unit is copied to the storage medium. It is characterized in that the terminal, which has transmitted the request for participation in the conference based on the password, is permitted to use the terminal in the conference.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a conference system including a host computer installed in the conference room for managing a conference held in the conference room using a plurality of terminals connected to a network. The terminal has an execution unit that occupies a host computer installed in a conference room and executes an application program on the host computer, and the host computer executes the application program.
It is characterized by further comprising display control means for displaying an icon associated with a predetermined file or folder of the terminal occupying the resource on the display of the host computer.

The invention described in claim 5 is the same as claim 4
In the conference system described in [1], the display control means is
When the displayed icon is clicked, an icon indicating the associated file or folder is displayed on the display.

The invention according to claim 6 is the same as that of claim 4
Alternatively, in the conference system according to the fifth aspect, the display control unit deletes the displayed icon when the occupation of the resource is released.

The invention according to claim 7 is the same as claim 4
In the conference system according to any one of 1 to 6, the folder or file is not set to be shared.

The invention according to claim 8 manages a conference held in a conference room by using a plurality of terminals connected to a network, and a conference management method using a host computer installed in the conference room. Which is, calculates a password unique to the conference, displays the calculated password, receives a request for participation in the conference including the password from the terminal, and the received password,
Comparing the displayed password and permitting the terminal, which has transmitted the request to participate in the conference, to use the terminal in the conference when the comparison results in a match. Is characterized by.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a conference system including a host computer installed in the conference room for managing a conference held in the conference room using a plurality of terminals connected to a network. A conference management method, wherein the terminal occupies the resources of the host computer to execute an application program on the host computer, and the host computer in which the application program is executed associates the resource with the terminal. The displayed icon is displayed on the display of the host computer.

The invention according to claim 10 is a computer program, which is a host computer installed in a conference room for managing a conference held in the conference room using a plurality of terminals connected to a network. A password unique to the conference is displayed, the calculated password is displayed, a request for participation in the conference including the password is received from the terminal, and the received password and the displayed password are displayed. And comparing the result of the comparison with the password, and permitting the terminal that has transmitted the request to participate in the conference to use the terminal in the conference, when the comparison results in a match. To do.

The invention according to claim 11 is a computer program, which is a host computer installed in a conference room for managing a conference held in the conference room using a plurality of terminals connected to a network. On the other hand, when a resource is occupied by the terminal and an application program on the host computer is executed, an icon associated with the terminal occupying the resource is displayed on the display of the host computer. .

The invention according to claim 12 is a computer-readable storage medium, which stores the computer program according to claim 10 or 11.

According to the present invention, when carrying a notebook PC,
In the conference system that requests the participation of the conference from those notebook PCs to the host PC installed in the conference room, the host PC calculates and displays the password of the conference when the power is turned on. The conference participant requests participation in the conference by inputting the password calculated and displayed as described above into the notebook PC at hand.

The host PC compares the password input when requesting participation in the conference with the password calculated and displayed as described above. When they match, the corresponding notebook PC is used to permit the participation in the conference.

Further, when the host PC receives the activation of the new conference, it clears the information of the notebook PC participating in the conference,
The password is calculated and displayed again. With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent leakage of confidential information with simple control.

Further, according to the present invention, in the conference system in which the resources of the host PC installed in the conference room are occupied by the notebook PC, the application program on the host PC is activated, and the presentation file is opened to give a presentation, When the notebook PC occupies the resources of the host PC, an icon pointing to the occupied notebook PC is displayed on the window of the host PC. Then, when the notebook PC releases the occupation of the resources of the host PC, the display of the icon displayed at the time of occupation is deleted. With such a configuration, it is possible to easily give a presentation without copying the presentation file to the host PC.

[0027]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) The present invention can be applied to the conventional conference system shown in FIG. In the conference system shown in the figure, a dedicated host PC 107 for managing a conference held in the conference room using a plurality of terminals connected to the network is installed in the conference room. The host PC 107 is a host computer for managing a conference held using a notebook PC connected to the network. The host PC 107 has a multimedia conference program for multiplexing and transmitting information between terminals, and a presentation application program used in the conference. In addition, the host PC 107 is a notebook PC 10 that is permitted to be used for the conference as information that is referred to when the program for the multimedia conference is executed on the PC.
The information (for example, IP / computer name, etc.) regarding No. 1 is stored in the internal storage device.

A projector 108, which outputs a screen by projecting light onto an object such as a screen, is connected to the host PC 107 via an input / output interface (not shown). Participants of the conference can use the notebook PC 1 in the conference room.
01 is brought and connected to the network 106, and the host PC 107 and other notebook PCs are connected to the network 106.
Communication is possible. The notebook PC 101 is equipped with a liquid crystal display, and I is used as an auxiliary storage device.
It is possible to use a general one that uses a C card or a floppy (R) disk and has a built-in hard disk, but the terminal usable in the present invention is not limited to this.

Notebook PC 101 and host PC 107
Provides a GUI implemented by a well-known multi-window system, and the terms relating to the GUI used in the following description have their ordinary meanings.
For example, the "desktop" refers to the most basic part of the screen that serves as the GUI platform, on which windows and icons are arranged and where the operator operates. In addition, “icon” indicates a symbol that symbolizes a command. Further, the “folder” is used to indicate files in the multi-window system in a hierarchical structure.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the control of the host PC of the conference system using the PC to which the present invention is applied. When the power is turned on, the host PC 107 determines that a new conference has been requested, calculates a new password, and stores it in the storage device (S301). Then, the stored password is displayed on a part of the desktop on the display (S302).

When displaying the password, the host PC 10
A desktop is projected on a screen (not shown) by the projector 108 connected to the projector 7. By performing such processing, the participants of the conference can make the host P
The password calculated by C107 can be confirmed.

The user inputs the password projected on the screen into the notebook PC 101 by using an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse, and transmits a meeting participation request including the input password to the host PC 107 (S303). . The host PC 107 compares the received password with the password stored in step S301. If the passwords match as a result of this comparison (S304), the conference participation permission is transmitted to the corresponding notebook PC 101 (S305). In this way, the password unique to the conference is calculated, the calculated password is displayed, the request to join the conference including the password is received from the terminal, and the received password is compared with the displayed password. If the results of the comparison match,
A process for permitting the terminal that has transmitted the request to participate in the conference to use the terminal in the conference is realized.

After that, the host PC 107 updates the information (IP, computer name, etc.) about the notebook PC 101 which is permitted to be used in the conference, which is stored in advance (S306).

On the other hand, if the password included in the request for participation in the conference does not match the password stored in step S303, the rejection of the conference is transmitted to the corresponding notebook PC 101 (S309).

Thereafter, the host PC 107 holds a conference using the notebook PCs 101 permitted to participate, and a conference based on the management of the host PC 107 is held. After the conference, the host PC 107 determines that the host PC 107 has requested to hold a new conference when the power is turned on again (S307), and clears the currently stored information about the conference participation notebook PC. (S308).
Then, the password is recalculated, and the new password obtained by this recalculation is stored (S301). Then, the stored password is displayed (S302).
In this way, the host PC 107 manages the conference.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the control performed by the notebook PC in the conference system using the PC to which the present invention is applied. The operator of the notebook PC 101 inputs the password displayed on the screen by the projector into the notebook PC 101 (S20
1), Host PC requests meeting participation including the password
To (S202). And the host PC1
Upon receiving the conference participation permission from 07 (S203), the notebook PC 101 can communicate with other notebook PCs via the network 106, and the operator can participate in the conference (S204). On the other hand, if not, that is, if the conference participation rejection is received from the host PC 107, the host PC 107 determines that the notebook PC 101
Is used to prohibit communication with other notebook PCs via the network 106. Therefore, the operator cannot participate in the conference (S205).

(Second Embodiment) In the above-described first embodiment, the host PC 10 is used when requesting participation in the conference.
The example in which the password to be transmitted to the No. 7 is displayed on the screen using the projector 108 has been described. In this embodiment, the password is displayed only on the display of the host PC 107 and is not displayed by the projector 108. This facilitates implementation of an improved conference security.

It is also possible to improve the security of the conference by copying the password unique to the conference calculated in the host PC 107 to a storage medium such as a floppy (R) memory card that can be attached to and detached from the computer. . In this case, if the storage medium storing the password is inserted into the notebook PC and the conference participation request is not transmitted from the notebook PC 101, the host PC 107 controls so as not to permit the participation in the conference. As a result, the host computer copies the calculated password to the removable storage medium and uses the terminal in the conference to the terminal that transmitted the request to participate in the conference based on the password copied in the storage medium. The processing that permits the execution is realized. Such a system can also be easily realized.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the control of the notebook PC of the conference system according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

When the presentation start is activated in the notebook PC 101 (S1201), the notebook PC 101 occupies the resources of the host PC 107 (S1202). In this state, the notebook PC 101 executes the presentation application program of the host PC 107 from the notebook PC 101, and the presentation file on the notebook PC 101 is opened by this application program. Such processing is
It can be realized by occupying the host PC 107 by the notebook PC 101 with a dedicated application.

The operator uses, for example, the projector 1 based on the presentation file thus opened.
08, the contents can be projected to give a presentation. When the presentation application program ends, the notebook PC 10
1 releases the occupation of the resources of the host PC 107 (S12)
03).

This embodiment differs from the conventional example shown in FIG. 9 in that the presentation file is stored in the host PC 1.
This means that the presentation is given without copying or deleting it on 07.

The method of starting the presentation (S1201) can be realized by implementing the GUI in the notebook PC 101.

For example, on the desktop of the notebook PC 101, an icon for launching the presentation application program on the host PC 107 to open the presentation file stored in the notebook PC 101 (hereinafter referred to as “presentation start icon”) is prepared. . The operator of the notebook PC 101 can start the presentation application program by double-clicking the presentation start icon using the mouse.

Further, in the notebook PC 101, the presentation may be opened by dragging and dropping the presentation file to the icon for starting the presentation using the mouse. Further, in the notebook PC 101, the presentation may be opened by dragging and dropping the folder containing the presentation file to the icon of the presentation start using the mouse.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the control of the host PC 107 in the conference system according to this embodiment. The resources of the host PC 107 are occupied by the notebook PC 101 (S1301). The host PC 107
I of the notebook PC 101 occupying the host PC 107
If a file or folder is designated in P, the computer name, or the notebook PC 101, the absolute address of the file or folder is stored. By storing the information about the notebook PC 101 in this way, the host PC 107 refers to the stored information and easily occupies the notebook PC 101 via the network 106.
You can access the presentation files, etc.

When the presentation file is specified from the occupying notebook PC 101 (that is, when the presentation file is dragged to the presentation start icon on the notebook PC 101) (S1302), the icon associated with the presentation file is selected. It is displayed on the desktop of the host PC 107. Here, "associated" means
By clicking the icon, it means that a predetermined file is executed or a window showing the contents of a predetermined folder is displayed. Such processing is specifically performed by associating the absolute address of the file or folder stored in step S1301 with the icon.

If the folder containing the presentation file is specified from the notebook PC 101 (that is, the folder containing the presentation file is dragged to the presentation start icon on the notebook PC 101) (S1303),
The icon associated with the folder containing the presentation file is displayed on the desktop of the host PC 107.

When there is no file designation or folder designation from the notebook PC 101, the icon associated with the notebook PC 101 is displayed on the desktop (S130).
8). Then, the presentation ends, and note P
When the occupation of the resource by C101 is released (S130
In 4), the icon on the desktop of the host PC 107 is automatically deleted (S1305).

In this way, when the terminal occupies the resources of the host computer, executes the application program on the host computer to open the presentation file stored in the terminal, and the host computer occupies the resources, A process for displaying an icon associated with a predetermined file or folder associated with the terminal that has occupied the resource on the display of the host computer is realized.

FIG. 6 shows the notebook PC 101 or the host P.
An example of icons displayed on the display of C107 is shown, and screens 6-1a, 6-2a, and 6-3a are notebook PCs.
The screen displayed on the display of 101 is the screen 6-
Reference numerals 1b, 6-2b, and 6-3b denote screens displayed on the display of the host PC 107, respectively. Screen 6-1
As shown in a, when the presentation file icon 602 is dragged to the presentation start icon 604 in the notebook PC 101, the host P
On the C107 side, as shown in screen 6-1b, an icon associated with the dragged presentation file is displayed.

As shown in the screen 6-2a, when the folder containing the presentation file is dragged to the presentation start icon in the notebook PC 101, the screen 6-2b is displayed on the host PC 107 side.
The icon 606 associated with the folder containing the dragged presentation file, as shown in.
Is displayed. Then, as shown in the screen 6-3a, when the icon for simply starting the presentation is (double) clicked, the icon associated with the notebook PC 101 is displayed in the host PC as shown in the screen 6-3b.
It is displayed on 107.

(Fourth Embodiment) In the third embodiment, only the icon is displayed on the desktop of the host PC 107, but it is easy to simultaneously open a window showing the contents of the icon on the desktop. It is possible. In this way, the processing of displaying the window showing the contents of the predetermined folder of the terminal associated with the icon and the window corresponding to the file on the display of the host computer is realized.

Even if the folder or file is not set to be shared, the processing shown in FIG. 5 can be realized by the dedicated application that occupies the host PC 107 by the notebook PC 101.

According to the present invention, a storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus is supplied. Needless to say, can also be achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

A storage medium for supplying the program code is, for example, a floppy (R) disk, a hard disk, a magneto-optical disk, an optical disk, or a CD-RO.
M, CD-R, magnetic tape non-volatile memory card, R
OM or the like can be used.

Further, the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by executing the program code read by the computer, and the OS and the like running on the computer are actually executed based on the instructions of the program code. A part or all of the processing is performed, and the functions of the above-described embodiments can be realized by the processing.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, A CPU or the like included in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs a part or all of the actual processing, and the processing can also realize the functions of the above-described embodiments.

The present invention is also applicable to the case where the program is distributed from a storage medium recording the program code of the software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments to a requester through a communication line such as personal computer communication. It goes without saying that you can do it.

[0062]

As described above, according to the present invention, the host computer installed in the conference room manages the conference held in the conference room using the plurality of terminals connected to the network. In the conference system, the host computer calculates a password unique to the conference, display means for displaying the password calculated by the calculation device, and participation of the conference including the password from the terminal. The receiving means for receiving the request, the password received by the receiving means, and the password displayed by the display means are compared, and if the results of the comparison match, a request for participation in the conference is sent. Since the terminal is provided with a permitting unit for permitting the use of the terminal in the conference, confidential information can be protected with simple control. Mode it is possible to prevent.

In a conference system including a host computer installed in the conference room, which manages a conference held in the conference room using a plurality of terminals connected to the network, the terminals are installed in the conference room. And executing means for executing an application program on the host computer, the host computer, when the application program is executed, stores in a predetermined file or folder of the terminal that has occupied the resource. Since the display control means for displaying the associated icon on the display of the host computer is provided, it is possible to prevent leakage of confidential information with simple control.

Further, it is possible to easily give a presentation without copying the presentation file to the host PC.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of a conference system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing control of a host PC to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing control of a notebook PC to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing control of a notebook PC to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing control of a host PC to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example of an icon adopting the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing control of a conventional notebook PC.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing control of a conventional host PC.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing control of a conventional notebook PC.

[Explanation of symbols]

101, 102, 103, 104, 105 Notebook PC 106 Network 107 Host PC 108 Projectors 601-a, 601-b, 602-a, 602-b, 6
03-a, 603-b screen

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A conference system comprising a host computer installed in a conference room for managing a conference held in the conference room using a plurality of terminals connected to a network, wherein the host computer is connected to the conference. Calculating means for calculating a unique password; display means for displaying the password calculated by the calculating means; receiving means for receiving a request for participation in the conference including the password from the terminal; The received password is compared with the password displayed by the display means, and if the comparison results in a match, the terminal that has transmitted the request to participate in the conference is used in the conference. A conferencing system comprising: a permitting unit for permitting the above. 2. The conference system according to claim 1, wherein information regarding the terminal permitted by the permitting unit is stored, and the calculating unit stores the information in response to a request to hold a new conference. A conference system characterized by clearing information regarding the terminal and recalculating a password unique to the conference. 3. The conference system according to claim 1, wherein the host computer further comprises a copy unit for copying the password calculated by the calculating unit to a removable storage medium, and the permitting unit. A conference system, wherein the terminal, which has transmitted a request to participate in the conference based on the password copied to the storage medium, is permitted to use the terminal in the conference. 4. A conference system including a host computer installed in a conference room for managing a conference held in the conference room using a plurality of terminals connected to a network, wherein the terminal is installed in the conference room. And executing means for executing an application program on the host computer, the host computer, when the application program is executed, stores in a predetermined file or folder of the terminal that has occupied the resource. A conferencing system having display control means for displaying the associated icon on the display of the host computer. 5. The conference system according to claim 4, wherein the display control means displays an icon indicating the associated file or folder on the display when the displayed icon is clicked. A featured conference system. 6. The conference system according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the display control means deletes the displayed icon when the occupation of the resource is released. 7. The conference system according to claim 4, wherein the folder or the file is not set to be shared. 8. A meeting management method using a host computer installed in a meeting room, which manages a meeting held in the meeting room using a plurality of terminals connected to a network, the method being unique to the meeting. Calculating a password, displaying the calculated password, receiving a request for participation in the conference including the password from the terminal, comparing the received password with the displayed password, A conference management method comprising allowing a terminal that has transmitted a request to participate in the conference to use the terminal in the conference when the comparison results in a match. 9. A conference management method in a conference system, comprising a host computer installed in a conference room, which manages a conference held in a conference room using a plurality of terminals connected to a network. In which a resource of the host computer is occupied to execute an application program on the host computer, and in the host computer in which the application program is executed, an icon associated with a terminal that has occupied the resource is displayed on the display of the host computer. A meeting management method characterized by being displayed above. 10. A host computer installed in the conference room, which manages a conference held in the conference room using a plurality of terminals connected to a network, calculates a password unique to the conference, and calculates the password. The received password is displayed, the request for participation in the conference including the password is received from the terminal, the received password is compared with the displayed password, and when the result of the comparison is a match, A computer program, comprising: permitting a terminal, which has transmitted a request to participate in the conference, to use the terminal in the conference. 11. A host computer installed in the conference room for managing a conference held in the conference room using a plurality of terminals connected to a network, wherein resources are occupied by the terminal and the host computer is installed on the host computer. When the application program is executed, an icon associated with the terminal that has occupied the resource is displayed on the display of the host computer. 12. A computer-readable storage medium in which the computer program according to claim 10 is stored.