Communication device, control method for communication device, and storage medium for stored program

Abstract

This invention provides a communication device, a control method for the communication device, and a storage medium for a stored program. If the authentication type parameter included in the communication settings stored in the storage unit indicates support for the WPA and WPA2 standards and the WPA3 standard which is backward compatible with them, the communication device replaces the authentication type parameter with an authentication type parameter indicating support for the WPA and WPA2 standards but not support for the WPA3 standard, and outputs the communication settings including the replaced authentication type parameter.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication device capable of wireless communication, a control method for the communication device, and a storage medium for storing programs. Background Technology

[0002] In recent years, the number of communication devices with wireless communication capabilities (such as digital cameras, camcorders, printers, and smartphones) has increased. These devices can store communication settings input by the user and perform wireless communication based on those stored settings.

[0003] Communication settings include authentication type parameters related to wireless communication authentication.

[0004] Some of the aforementioned communication devices have the function of exporting and importing communication settings. By using this function, such communication devices can export the communication settings stored therein to another device so that the other device can use the communication settings, or they can import the communication settings stored in another device for use.

[0005] When a device imports communication settings from and uses those settings from different devices, compatibility between those settings often becomes an issue. For example, if a new standard is added to a wireless security standard (e.g., authentication type), devices that support the new standard and devices that do not (legacy devices) will coexist. Therefore, methods need to be designed to allow the use of communication settings based on the new standard in legacy devices.

[0006] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-212242 discusses a technique for ensuring consistency between devices used for importing and exporting communication settings. Specifically, when a device exports communication settings to a different device, the exporting device provides setting version information to the importing device. If the importing device does not support the version indicated by the setting version information, the importing device does not read the communication settings.

[0007] However, according to the method discussed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-212242, there is a situation where, when a new standard is added, the firmware needs to be modified so that different models can determine the version of the new settings. Furthermore, in cases where the new standard is compatible with the old standard, there are situations where models supporting the old standard cannot use the communication settings that should be available in it.

[0008] The present invention aims to enable a device to replace a portion of the communication settings used for wireless communication when outputting communication settings, thereby enabling a receiving device to reliably use the communication settings. Summary of the Invention

[0009] According to one aspect of the present invention, a communication apparatus for wirelessly communicating with an external device includes: a storage unit configured to store communication settings including authentication type parameters for wireless communication; a replacement unit configured to replace the authentication type parameters in the communication settings stored in the storage unit with authentication type parameters indicating that the second authentication type is not supported but the first authentication type is supported, if the authentication type parameters indicate support for both a first authentication type and a second authentication type that is backward compatible with the first authentication type; and an output unit configured to output the communication settings including the authentication type parameters replaced by the replacement unit.

[0010] Other features of the invention will become clear from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0011] Figure 1 An example of system construction is shown.

[0012] Figure 2A and Figure 2B Each is a block diagram illustrating an example of the construction of a digital camera.

[0013] Figure 3 An example of the communication settings for a digital camera is shown.

[0014] Figure 4 An example of the network authentication type parameter included in the communication settings is shown.

[0015] Figure 5 An example of the password string length parameter included in the communication settings is shown.

[0016] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of the communication settings export process.

[0017] Figure 7 An example of the replacement processing for the network authentication type parameter is shown.

[0018] Figure 8 This is an example of a user interface for selecting the export destination device.

[0019] Figure 9 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of the communication settings export process when an export destination device is selected.

[0020] Figure 10 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of the communication settings export process in determining whether a compatible wireless security standard is included in the network authentication type parameter.

[0021] Figure 11This is a flowchart illustrating an example of the communication settings export process when the communication settings are access point settings. Detailed Implementation

[0022] In the following description, exemplary embodiments of the invention will be illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings. The scope of this disclosure is defined by the scope of the claims, and not by the following exemplary embodiments.

[0023] System Construction Example

[0024] A first exemplary embodiment will now be described. Figure 1 This embodiment illustrates a construction example of a system 100 as an example of a communication system according to the present exemplary embodiment. The system 100 includes, for example, a digital camera 101, a digital camera 102, and a communication settings file 103 to which communication settings are exported. Although the digital camera 101 is described as an example of a communication device in this exemplary embodiment, this exemplary embodiment of the invention can also be applied to various types of communication devices other than digital cameras (e.g., printers, smartphones, etc.).

[0025] This exemplary embodiment assumes that both digital cameras 101 and 102 have wireless communication capabilities. The following description will assume that the wireless communication capability is a wireless local area network (LAN) function conforming to the IEEE 802.11 series. However, the wireless communication capability is not limited to this and can be different wireless communication capabilities, such as... Multiband OFDM Alliance (MBOA), Ultra-Wideband (UWB), ZigBee, or Near Field Communication (NFC) are all possible alternatives. Wired communication based on wired LAN, Universal Serial Bus (USB) connections, etc., can also be used instead of wireless communication. Examples of UWB include Wireless USB, Wireless 1394, and WiNET.

[0026] As one means of allowing digital camera 102 to use the communication settings of digital camera 101, digital camera 101 has the function of generating a communication setting file 103. The communication setting file 103 generated by this function is stored in a memory card attached to digital camera 101. When the memory card is attached to digital camera 102, digital camera 102 reads the stored communication setting file 103. In this way, the communication setting file 103 is transmitted between digital camera 101 and digital camera 102. Alternatively, the aforementioned wireless or wired communication can be used as a means of outputting communication settings to an external device via a network.

[0027] In this system configuration, although the digital camera 102 is described as a device for reading communication settings output by the digital camera 101 to the outside, more than one external device can read these communication settings. That is, multiple digital cameras can import these communication settings using the same communication settings file 103. Furthermore, a network can be established among devices including the digital camera 102 using the aforementioned communication functions, and the digital camera 101 can send its communication settings to multiple other devices via this network.

[0028] In this exemplary embodiment, Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), WPA2, and WPA3 will be described as wireless security standards. The following description assumes an example in which digital camera 101 supports not only the WPA and WPA2 standards corresponding to the first encryption method, but also the WPA3 standard corresponding to the second encryption method, and digital camera 102 only supports the WPA and WPA2 standards, but does not support the WPA3 standard.

[0029] Construction of a digital camera

[0030] Figure 2A This illustration shows an example of the hardware configuration of a digital camera 101 according to this exemplary embodiment. The wireless LAN control unit 201 performs wireless LAN radio frequency (RF) control processing, wireless LAN communication processing, driver processing for various control processes of wireless LAN communication conforming to the IEEE 802.11 series, and protocol processing related to wireless LAN communication. The antenna 202 is used for wireless LAN communication.

[0031] The control unit 203 comprehensively controls the digital camera 101 by executing a control program stored in a read-only memory (ROM) 204. The ROM 204 stores the control program executed by the control unit 203. The control unit 203 performs various operations, which will be described below, by executing the control program stored in the ROM 204. Communication settings to be stored in the digital camera are stored in the ROM 204.

[0032] When the control unit 203 executes the control program and uses temporarily stored data, the random access memory (RAM) 205 is used as working memory. The storage unit 206 stores various information, such as parameters for communication and compressed and encoded image data, in a recording medium (not shown). The operation unit 207 is used to operate the digital camera 101.

[0033] The display unit 208 displays various information and has the function of outputting visually identifiable information like a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a light-emitting diode (LED), or outputting sound like a speaker. The operation unit 207 and the display unit 208 can be integrated into a single unit such as a touch panel. The digital camera 101 also includes a microphone 209.

[0034] The packet transmitting / receiving unit 210 transmits and receives packets related to various communications. The camera unit 211 captures optical images of the object. The image processing unit 212 converts the captured images output from the camera unit 211 into image data in a predetermined format, and performs various processing such as correcting the brightness and color of the image data.

[0035] The encoding / decoding unit 213 performs predetermined efficient encoding (e.g., discrete cosine transform and quantization followed by variable-length encoding) on ​​the image data output from the image processing unit 212. The reproduction unit 214 reproduces the compressed and encoded image data. The power supply unit 215 supplies power to the digital camera 101.

[0036] Figure 2B An example of a software configuration implemented by the control unit 203 reading a program stored in ROM 204 is shown. The instruction determination unit 251 determines whether the user has initiated the communication function or exported communication settings using an instruction such as a button on the operation unit 207. The storage control unit 252 controls the storage unit 206 to store data and read data into RAM 205.

[0037] The display control unit 253 controls the display unit 208 to perform various display processes. The transmitting unit 254 uses the packet transmitting / receiving unit 210 and the wireless LAN control unit 201 to send requests and data to the outside. The receiving unit 255 uses the packet transmitting / receiving unit 210 and the wireless LAN control unit 201 to receive responses and data from the outside. The setting output unit 256 outputs the communication settings stored in the ROM 204 to the outside.

[0038] Figure 2A and Figure 2B All functional blocks shown are related to each other in terms of software or hardware. The functional blocks described above are simple examples, and multiple functional blocks can constitute a single functional block. Alternatively, any functional block can be further divided into multiple blocks that perform multiple corresponding functions. The control unit 203 may first load the control program stored in ROM 204 into RAM 205, and then execute the control program.

[0039] Communication settings

[0040] Next, the communication settings stored in ROM 204 will be described. Figure 3The communication setting 301 shown is a set of communication setting parameters used by the digital camera 101 or 102 to communicate with external devices. This set of communication setting parameters includes various communication parameters, including authentication type parameters, which will be described below.

[0041] These parameters include: interface information used by wired and wireless LANs, the destination IP address, and network authentication type parameters related to wireless security standards. This parameter also includes information for communicating with external devices, and examples of this information include a password string length parameter and a password string.

[0042] Figure 4 An example of the parameter value for the network authentication type parameter is shown. In this exemplary embodiment, the network authentication type parameter is a setting value that indicates the wireless security standard (authentication type) that the digital camera 101 or 102 can use when conducting wireless LAN communication.

[0043] In this exemplary embodiment, three types of wireless security standards, namely WPA, WPA2, and WPA3, can be set in the network authentication type parameter, and the parameter values ​​are combined to indicate whether the standard is available or unavailable. The network authentication type parameter also specifies the operating mode of the wireless security standard used when the digital camera 101 or 102 conducts wireless LAN communication.

[0044] Specifically, the Network Authentication Type parameter specifies whether the WPA standard is used in Personal or Enterprise mode. The Network Authentication Type parameters shown in Table 401 indicate a combination of WPA and WPA2 standards, compatible with a specific import device. In other words, Table 401 indicates that while WPA and WPA2 standards are supported, WPA3 is not.

[0045] The network authentication type parameters shown in Table 402 correspond to the parameter types of the WPA3 standard. These are incompatible with this specific import device but compatible with other specific import devices. In other words, Table 402 indicates that while the WPA3 standard is supported, the WPA and WPA2 standards are not.

[0046] The network authentication type parameters shown in Table 403 indicate a combination of WPA3 standards that are incompatible with the specific importing device but compatible with other specific importing devices, and WPA and WPA2 standards that are compatible with the specific importing device. In other words, Table 403 indicates support for all WPA, WPA2, and WPA3 standards.

[0047] Figure 5An example of a parameter value for the password string length parameter is shown. In this exemplary embodiment, the password string length parameter is a setting value that indicates the length of the password used in communication based on the wireless security standard specified by the network authentication type parameter described above, and the format in which the password is stored in communication setting 301. Specifically, the format indicates whether the password is specified as binary data or as an American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) string, and also indicates a range of possible password lengths.

[0048] The password string length parameter shown in Table 501 indicates the password types available in the WPA / WPA2 standard. The password string length parameter shown in Table 502 indicates the password types available in the WPA3 standard. Select one of the parameters shown in Tables 401 to 403 as the network authentication type parameter, and select one of the parameters shown in Tables 501 and 502 as the password string length parameter. The selected parameters constitute communication setting 301.

[0049] Processing flow

[0050] In the following text, reference will be made to Figure 6 The following describes the processing performed by the digital camera 101 according to this exemplary embodiment. The processing begins when the control unit 203 of the digital camera 101 executes the program stored in the ROM 204 and when the user selects the export processing of the communication settings of the digital camera 101 via the operation unit 207.

[0051] First, in step S601, the control unit 203 determines whether the network authentication type parameter included in the exported communication settings is included in table 403. As a result of this determination, if the parameter is included in either table 401 or table 402 (which is "No" in step S601), the process proceeds to step S602 because the parameter may or may not be usable by the importing device. In step S602, the control unit 203 directly performs the export processing of the communication settings (i.e., without performing the replacement processing described below).

[0052] The exported communication settings can be read by the digital camera 102. Specifically, if the export process has been performed using parameters included in Table 401 above that do not indicate WPA3 as an available standard, the digital camera 102 can read the communication settings. However, if the export process has been performed using parameters included in Table 402 that indicate WPA3 as an available standard, the digital camera 102 cannot read the communication settings.

[0053] In step S601, if the parameter is included in Table 403 ("Yes" in step S601), the importing device that does not support the WPA3 standard expects to use the exported parameter as a parameter for the WPA2 standard, thus proceeding to step S603. In step S603, the password string length parameter is determined.

[0054] In step S603, the control unit 203 determines whether the password string length parameter of the communication settings is included in table 502. If the parameter is included in table 501 ("No" in step S603), the importing device can establish a connection based on the WPA2 standard because the password string length parameter is compatible with the WPA2 standard. Therefore, in step S604, the control unit 203 performs a replacement process on the currently set network authentication type parameter. Afterwards, the control unit 203 performs an export process in step S602.

[0055] Figure 7 An example of the replacement process is shown. The network authentication type parameter value to be exported is replaced with a value that does not include the WPA3 standard, according to Table 701. Since the communication settings exported in step S602 after the replacement process do not include the WPA3 parameter, the digital camera 102 can read the communication settings.

[0056] The replaced network authentication type parameter value is only applied to the export process and does not replace parameters included in the communication settings stored in ROM 204. In step S603, if the password string length parameter is not included in table 501 but is included in table 502 ("Yes" in step S603), the process proceeds to step S605. In step S605, the control unit 203 checks the password string.

[0057] If the password string length parameter is the parameter indicating "1 to 255 ASCII characters" as shown in Table 502, and if the actual password string is 8 to 63 ASCII characters or 64 hexadecimal numeric characters available based on the WPA2 standard, then a connection can be established based on the WPA2 standard. Therefore, in step S605, the control unit 203 determines whether the password length is 8 to 63 ASCII characters or 64 hexadecimal numeric characters.

[0058] If the password length is 8 to 63 ASCII characters or 64 hexadecimal numeric characters ("Yes" in step S605), the process proceeds to step S604. In step S604, the currently set network authentication type parameter is replaced. Then, in step S602, an export process is performed. In step S605, if the password length is not 8 to 63 ASCII characters or 64 hexadecimal numeric characters ("No" in step S605), the process proceeds to step S602. In step S602, the communication settings are exported.

[0059] Therefore, the present invention has been described in detail based on the exemplary embodiments described above. However, the present invention is not limited to these specific exemplary embodiments, and various variations thereof are also included in the present invention without departing from the scope thereof.

[0060] For example, in the exemplary embodiment described above, the export process is performed after the user selects the communication settings. Figure 6 The processing in the process is performed regardless of the type of the export destination device (i.e., the import device). However, alternatively, before determining the network authentication type parameter included in the communication settings after export processing in step S601, the user may be asked to select a device as the export destination (output destination) device, and it may be determined whether to perform the above-mentioned replacement processing based on the selected device.

[0061] Figure 8 User interface 801 is shown as an example of a user interface for selecting an export destination device. Figure 9 This is an example of a flowchart illustrating the processes performed when an export destination device is selected.

[0062] After the user selects the export processing of the communication settings and is prompted to select a device as the export destination, user interface 801 is displayed.

[0063] Here, it is assumed that device A is the same type as digital camera 101 and does not require parameter replacement processing, while devices B and C are different types of devices from digital camera 101 and can be made compatible with the communication settings of digital camera 101 through parameter replacement processing. When the user selects any of the displayed export destination devices, in step S901, the control unit 203 determines whether to perform parameter replacement determination processing on the selected device.

[0064] In step S901, if device A, which is the same type as digital camera 101 and does not require parameter replacement processing ("No" in step S901), is selected, the process proceeds to step S902, and then the processing in step S602 and subsequent steps is performed. On the other hand, in step S901, if device B or device C, which is of a different type and requires parameter replacement processing ("Yes" in step S901), the process proceeds to step S903, and then the processing in step S601 and subsequent steps is performed. In this way, the parameter replacement determination process can be omitted for devices that do not require determination processing. This variation is included within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

[0065] Furthermore, in the exemplary embodiments described above, if parameter replacement has been performed before the export process, a configuration can be provided in which, after the export process in step S602, the user is notified via a user interface or the like that a replacement process has been performed. This variation is included within the scope of the claims of this invention.

[0066] Furthermore, in the exemplary embodiments described above, combinations of the WPA, WPA2, and WPA3 standards are described as examples of network authentication type parameters determined in step S601. However, the combinations in this exemplary embodiment are not limited to these examples. For instance, standards that may be released in the future that are backward compatible with the existing WPA3 standard, or wireless security standards that are incompatible with the WPA3 standard or earlier versions of security standards (i.e., WPA / WPA2 standards), may be considered to be included in the parameter combinations.

[0067] In this case, for example, such as Figure 10 As shown, step S1001 can be performed before step S601. In step S1001, it is determined whether the wireless security standards included in the network authentication type parameter include a combination of wireless security standards that are incompatible with the specific importing device. If the combination of wireless security standards that are incompatible with the specific importing device is not included ("No" in step S1001), the process proceeds to step S1002, and step S602 may be performed without further determination.

[0068] Additionally, if the password length in step S605 is not 8 to 63 ASCII characters or 64 hexadecimal numeric characters, then the processing in step S602 is performed without parameter replacement.

[0069] In this scenario, with communication set to infrastructure mode, there is no need to change the password. This is because the password relies on the other device, such as the access point, and if the settings are changed, the exporting device cannot connect to the other device. In contrast, with communication set to access point mode, the password is the one already provided by the digital camera 101. Therefore, usability is improved by converting or resetting the password to one supported by WPA2.

[0070] like Figure 11 As shown, if the password length is not 8 to 63 ASCII characters or 64 hexadecimal numeric characters in step S605 ("No" in step S605), the process proceeds to step S1101. In step S1101, the control unit 203 determines whether the communication settings are in access point mode. If the communication settings are not in access point mode ("No" in step S1101), the process proceeds to step S1102, and then the process in step S602 is performed. Conversely, if the communication settings are in access point mode ("Yes" in step S1101), the process proceeds to step S1103. In step S1103, the password is changed to 8 to 63 ASCII characters or 64 hexadecimal numeric characters. The process proceeds to step S1104, and then proceeds to step S604. In step S604, the control unit 203 performs a replacement process on the network authentication type parameter.

[0071] As described above, when the communication settings are in access point mode, communication settings compatible with the import device can be exported by changing the password. In step S1103, the password can be changed automatically, and the user is notified of the password change via a user interface. Alternatively, a configuration requiring the user to directly enter a new password can be provided, and this variation is included within the scope of the claims of this invention.

[0072] The present invention can also be implemented as follows: a computer system or apparatus that reads and executes computer-executable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on a storage medium (which may also be more fully referred to as a "non-transitory computer-readable storage medium") to perform one or more functions of the above-described embodiments, and / or, the system or apparatus includes one or more circuits (e.g., application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs)) for performing one or more functions of the above-described embodiments; and a method executed by the computer of the system or apparatus, for example, reading and executing the computer-executable instructions from the storage medium to perform one or more functions of the above-described embodiments, and / or, controlling the one or more circuits to perform one or more functions of the above-described embodiments. The computer may include one or more processors (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor unit (MPU)) and may include separate computers or a network of separate processors to read and execute the computer-executable instructions. The computer-executable instructions may be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or a storage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, a hard disk, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), the memory of a distributed computing system, or an optical disc (such as a compact disc (CD), a digital versatile optical disc (DVD), or a Blu-ray disc (BD)). TM One or more of the following: flash memory devices and memory cards.

[0073] The embodiments of the present invention can also be implemented by providing software (programs) that perform the functions of the above embodiments to a system or device via a network or various storage media, and the computer or central processing unit (CPU) or microprocessor unit (MPU) of the system or device reads out and executes the program.

[0074] While the invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be given the broadest interpretation so as to cover all equivalent structures and functions.

Claims

1. A communication device for wirelessly communicating with an external device, the communication device comprising: A non-volatile storage cell is configured to store communication settings including authentication type parameters for wireless communication, wherein a communication device participates in a wireless local area network by using the communication settings stored in the non-volatile storage cell. A replacement unit is configured to, when the authentication type parameter included in the communication settings stored in the non-volatile memory unit indicates support for both a first authentication type and a second authentication type that is backward compatible with the first authentication type, replace the authentication type parameter with an authentication type parameter indicating that the second authentication type is not supported but the first authentication type is supported; and The output unit is configured to, when the authentication type parameters included in the communication settings stored in the non-volatile memory indicate support for both a first authentication type and a second authentication type that is backward compatible with the first authentication type, generate a settings file including the replacement communication settings, and output the communication settings including the authentication type parameters replaced by the replacement unit. The configuration file output by the output unit is configured to enable another communication device, different from the aforementioned communication device and not supporting the second authentication type, to import communication settings using the configuration file. The memory card storing the configuration file can be attached to the other communication device, and the other communication device to which the memory card storing the configuration file is attached performs a process of importing communication settings based on the stored configuration file.

2. The communication apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a first determining unit, the first determining unit being configured to determine whether an authentication type parameter included in the communication settings stored in the non-volatile storage unit indicates support for both a first authentication type and a second authentication type. in, Based on the result determined by the first determining unit, the output unit outputs communication settings including the authentication type parameters replaced by the replacement unit.

3. The communication device according to claim 2, wherein, If the first determining unit determines that the authentication type parameter included in the communication settings stored in the non-volatile storage unit does not support both the first authentication type and the second authentication type, the output unit outputs the communication settings including the authentication type parameter that was not replaced by the replacement unit.

4. The communication device according to claim 1, further comprising a second determining unit, the second determining unit being configured to determine whether the format of the password setting is a format that can be used for the first authentication type. in, When the second determining unit determines that the password setting format is a format that can be used for the first authentication type, the output unit outputs communication settings including the authentication type parameters replaced by the replacement unit.

5. The communication device according to claim 1, further comprising a third determining unit, the third determining unit being configured to determine whether the setting password is a password that can be used for the first authentication type. in, If the third determining unit determines that the password setting is a password that can be used for the first authentication type, the output unit outputs the communication settings including the authentication type parameters replaced by the replacement unit.

6. The communication device according to claim 5, wherein, If the third determining unit determines that the password setting is not a password that can be used for the first authentication type, the output unit outputs the communication settings including the authentication type parameters that were not replaced by the replacement unit.

7. The communication apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a determining unit configured to determine, based on the output destination of the communication settings, whether to output communication settings including authentication type parameters replaced by the replacement unit, or to output communication settings including authentication type parameters not replaced by the replacement unit. in, The communication device is a digital camera, and the other communication device is another digital camera.

8. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein, The first authentication type is Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) or WPA2, and the second authentication type is WPA3.

9. A control method for a communication device, the communication device wirelessly communicating with an external device, the control method comprising: Communication settings, including authentication type parameters for wireless communication, are stored in a non-volatile storage unit, wherein the communication device participates in the wireless local area network by using the communication settings stored in the non-volatile storage unit. In cases where the authentication type parameter included in the communication settings stored in the non-volatile memory cell indicates support for both a first authentication type and a second authentication type that is backward compatible with the first authentication type, the authentication type parameter is replaced with an authentication type parameter indicating that the second authentication type is not supported but the first authentication type is supported; and If the authentication type parameter in the communication settings stored in the non-volatile memory cell indicates support for both a first authentication type and a second authentication type that is backward compatible with the first authentication type, a settings file including the replacement communication settings is generated, and a communication setting including the replacement authentication type parameter is output. The output configuration file is configured to enable another communication device, different from the aforementioned communication device and not supporting the second authentication type, to import communication settings using the configuration file. The memory card storing the configuration file can be attached to the other communication device, and the other communication device to which the memory card storing the configuration file is attached performs a process of importing communication settings based on the stored configuration file.

10. A storage medium storing programs for enabling a computer to function as units of the communication apparatus according to claim 1.

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