Web 2.0 is not everybody's idea of a good thing. One problem is the multitude of password-protected websites. Personal blogs, virtual communities from Xing to Facebook, and sites that manage workflow, expenses, and vacation planning often rely on web-based applications with private user accounts. This overload of passwords and login boxes is causing some hapless users to lose track of all the options. As long as users work on a single, local, physical device (or can access a server in the vicinity), tools such as the password managers offered by most web browsers, as well as alternatives such as KDE wallet, are useful aids. But the Web 2.0 paradigm assumes the user can move about and log in from different locations.

Community Approach

Identity management solutions provide a more mobile and flexible solution for simplifying web login. These tools often employ the principle of a trusted third party. A few large global players have stepped up with services that offer single-source, trusted third party login solutions. Microsoft's Passport system was created in line with this belief. Today, Microsoft markets Passport as "Windows Live ID" [1]. Many users, however, are wary of becoming dependent on proprietary applications.

An early alternative known as the Liberty Alliance Project [2] offered a more open approach, but it was widely regarded as an overspecified dinosaur, and the Liberty Alliance still has not found widespread acceptance despite a seven-year effort. The OpenID project, under the auspices of the OpenID Foundation [3], relies on simpler functionality that can be integrated more easily into online authentication systems.

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