The disclosure provides a system and method of authenticating a user to a network. For the method, if a request for a resource initiated by the device is related to a restricted resource, then the method: redirects the request to the authentication server; initiates an authentication process at the server to request a user account and a password from the device to authenticate the device if it has not been authenticated; automatically provides the device with access to the restricted resource if the device previously had been authenticated to access the restricted resource; and provides a signal to the device indicating whether it has been authenticated to allow the device to update its graphical user interface to indicate an access status for the restricted resource. If the request relates to a non-restricted resource, then the method automatically provides the device with access to the non-restricted resource.