SHARING USER ID BETWEEN OPERATING SYSTEM AND APPLICATION

• US 20120227098A1
• Filed: 03/03/2011
• Published: 09/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Obasanjo, Oludare Victor, Fleischman, Eric, Parker, Christopher, Kanazawa, Keiji, Faulkner, Sarah
• Application Number:
  US13/039,469
• Publication Number:
  US 20120227098A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/8
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/335 for accessing specific resources, e.g. using Kerberos tickets
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/41 where a single sign-on provides access to a plurality of computers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0807 using tickets, e.g. Kerberos cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using tickets or tokens H04L9/3213
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0815 providing single-sign-on or federations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers

Abstract

One or more techniques and/or systems are disclosed for authenticating a user of an application using an operating system. A user can log onto their device, such as at power-up, using a cloud-based ID registered to an online identity service. The user can be authenticated with the operating system on the user'"'"'s device, using the cloud-based identity for the user, where the operating system may contact the online identity service to authenticate the user. When the user activates an application on the device it may request authentication of the user from the operating system, and an authentication token for the user'"'"'s cloud-based identity is provided to the application. The application then uses the authentication token to authenticate the user for the application, as long as the application supports the use of the cloud-based ID of the user. In this manner, a subsequent manual user log-in operation is not required.

Claims

1. A computer-based method for authenticating a user of an application using an operating system, comprising:

authenticating the user with the operating system using a cloud-based identity for the user;

providing an authentication token for the user'"'"'s cloud-based identity to the application upon request to the operating system, using a computer-based processor; and

using the authentication token to authenticate the user for the application.

2. The method of claim 1, authenticating the user with the operating system comprising using a strong authentication protocol to authenticate the user with the operating system.

3. The method of claim 1, authenticating the user with the operating system comprising communicating with a cloud-based identity service to authenticate the user for the cloud-based identity.

4. The method of claim 3, comprising retrieving user-related information from the cloud-based identity service upon authentication of the user.

5. The method of claim 1, upon request from the application for access to the user'"'"'s cloud-based identity, requesting access to the user'"'"'s cloud-based identity from the user.

6. The method of claim 5, providing the authentication token to application if the user authorizes access to the user'"'"'s cloud-based identity.

7. The method of claim 1, comprising generating the authentication token upon authentication of the user.

8. The method of claim 1, providing an authentication token for the user'"'"'s cloud-based identity to the application if the application supports the user'"'"'s cloud-based identity.

9. The method of claim 1, comprising registering the user'"'"'s cloud-based identity with an Internet-based service for the application.

10. The method of claim 9, comprising the Internet-based service for the application communicating with a cloud-based identity service, associated with the user'"'"'s cloud-based identity, to register the user'"'"'s cloud-based identity with the Internet-based service for the application.

11. The method of claim 1, the application comprising one of:

a browser resident on a client device of the user navigating to a website that requests authentication for the user; and

an application that is at least partially resident on the user'"'"'s client device, which can communicate with a remote server, and request authentication for the user.

12. The method of claim 1, authenticating the user with the operating system using a cloud-based identity for the user comprising authenticating the user with a client device of the user.

13. The method of claim 1, authenticating the user comprising logging the user into a client device of the user using a strong authentication protocol.

14. The method of claim 1, comprising the request for the authorization token received from the application, comprising:

the application asking the operating system for the identity of a user logged onto a client device comprising the application;

the operating system responding with the user'"'"'s cloud-based identity; and

the application using the user'"'"'s cloud-based identity to authorize the user for the application.

15. A system for authenticating a user of an application using an operating system, comprising:

a computer-based processor configured to process data for the system;

a user authentication component, operably coupled with the processor, configured to authenticate the user with the operating system using a cloud-based identity associated with the user; and

an authentication token providing component, operably coupled with the user authentication component and operating system, configured to provide an authentication token based on the user'"'"'s cloud-based identity to the application for authenticating the user for the application, upon request to the operating system.

16. The system of claim 15, comprising a cloud-based identity service communication component configured to communicate with a cloud-based identity service, associated with the user'"'"'s cloud-based identity, to perform one or more of:

authenticate the user for the cloud-based identity; and

retrieve user-related information from the cloud-based identity service upon authentication of the user.

17. The system of claim 15, comprising an authentication token generation component configured to generate the authentication token associated with the user'"'"'s cloud-based identity upon authentication of the user by the user authentication component.

18. The system of claim 15, comprising a user log-in component configured to retrieve user log-in credentials for the operating system, used to authenticate the user'"'"'s cloud-based identity for the operating system.

19. The system of claim 15, the user authentication component comprised in a client device operated by the user and configured to obtain the user'"'"'s cloud-based identity based at least in part upon a user log in to the client device.

20. A computer readable medium comprising computer executable instructions that when executed via a processor on a computer perform a method, comprising:

authenticating the user with the operating system using a cloud-based identity for the user, comprising;

communicating with a cloud-based identity service to authenticate the user for the cloud-based identity; and

retrieving user-related information from the cloud-based identity service upon authentication of the user;

generating an authentication token upon authentication of the user;

if the user is authenticated;

upon request from the application to the operating system for access to the user'"'"'s cloud-based identity, requesting access to the user'"'"'s cloud-based identity from the user; and

providing the authentication token and user-related information for the user'"'"'s cloud-based identity to the application if the application supports the user'"'"'s cloud-based identity and if the user authorizes access to the user'"'"'s cloud-based identity; and

using the authentication token and user-related information to authenticate the user for the application.