Extensible configuration system to allow a website to authenticate users based on an authorization protocol

• US 9,930,030 B2
• Filed: 10/23/2015
• Issued: 03/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Adobe Inc.
• Original Assignee: Adobe Systems Incorporated (Adobe Inc.)
• Inventors: Wilkes, Ryan, Trieloff, Lars, Meschberger, Felix, Norris, Tyson, Doshi, Pankil
• Primary Examiner(s): Korsak, Oleg
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kanaan, Simon
• Application Number:
  US14/921,821
• Publication Number:
  US 20160044019A1
• Time in Patent Office: 886 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/00 Security arrangements for protecting computers, components thereof, programs or data against unauthorised activity
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/335 for accessing specific resources, e.g. using Kerberos tickets
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0629 for generating comparisons
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0876 based on the identity of the terminal or configuration, e.g. MAC address, hardware or software configuration or device fingerprint
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0884 by delegation of authentication, e.g. a proxy authenticates an entity to be authenticated on behalf of this entity vis-à-vis an authentication entity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

An extensible configuration system to allow a website to authenticate users based on an authorization protocol is disclosed. In some embodiments, the extensible configuration system includes receiving an identifier for an authentication provider; and automatically configuring a website to use the authentication provider for logging into the website.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for configuring a web site to authenticate users based on authentication providers, the computer-implemented method comprising:

generating, at a web authoring platform hosting a web site, an application configured to authenticate access to the web site based on an account of the user with an authentication provider;

receiving, at an authentication configuration engine of the web authoring platform and from the authentication provider, an application identifier associated with the application and a secret associated with the authentication provider, the authentication configuration engine configured to authenticate the user based on an authentication workflow of the authentication provider;

generating, at the web authoring platform, a service configuration based on the application identifier and the secret, wherein the service configuration comprises a permission associated with access to a resource of the authentication provider, the resource associated with user authentications;

configuring, at the web authoring platform and based on the service configuration, a web page of the web site, the web page configured to use the application to login a user based on a user login identity and a password corresponding to an account of the user with the authentication provider, wherein logging the user into the web page comprises;

providing the user login identity and the password to the application for transmission to the authentication configuration engine based on the permission of the service configuration,

receiving, at the application, an authentication of the user from the authentication provider based on the user login identity and the password, and

logging the user into the web page based on the authentication; and

personalizing, via a social connect engine of the web authoring platform, content of the web site for the user based on social profile data available from the authentication provider.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,

wherein the authentication configuration engine further comprises a rule segment engine, the rule segment engine configured to generate a segment based on the social profile data, the segment identifying the user, the method further comprising generating targeted content to the user based on the segment.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the authentication configuration engine comprises an authentication handler configured to handle the authentication workflow of the authentication provider, and wherein the application is generated based on the authentication handler.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the application is generated based on a pluggable service of the web authoring platform.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the authentication configuration engine further comprises an authentication service configurator configured to communicate with the authentication provider to authenticate the user based on the application identifier and the secret.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the social connect engine comprises a client context engine configured to access authorized user profile data of the user from the authentication provider.

7. A computer system, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory comprising computer readable instructions that, when executed with the processor, cause the system to provide a web authoring platform, wherein the web authoring platform is configured to;

generate an application configured to authenticate access to a web site based on an account of a user with an authentication provider;

receive, at an authentication configuration engine of the web authoring platform and from the authentication provider, an application identifier associated with the application and a secret associated with the authentication provider, the authentication configuration engine configured to authenticate the user based on an authentication workflow of the authentication provider;

generate a service configuration based on the application identifier and the secret, wherein the service configuration comprises a permission associated with access to a resource of the authentication provider, the resource associated with user authentications;

configure, based on the service configuration, a web page of the web site, the web page configured to use the application to login a user based on a user login identity and a password corresponding to an account of the user with the authentication provider, wherein logging the user into the web page comprises;

providing the user login identity and the password to the application for transmission to the authentication configuration engine based on the permission of the service configuration,

receiving, at the application, an authentication of the user from the authentication provider based on the user login identity and the password, and

logging the user into the web page based on the authentication; and

personalizing, via a social connect engine of the web authoring platform, content of the web site for the user based on social profile data available from the authentication provider.

8. The computer system of claim 7, wherein logging the user further comprises requesting an action to be performed at the authentication provider on behalf of the user based on the application.

9. The computer system of claim 7, wherein the web authoring platform is further configured to associate the user with a group of users based on the authentication provider and to personalize content of the web site for the user based on the group of users.

10. The computer system of claim 7, wherein the web authoring platform comprises a first authentication service and a second authentication service associated with the authentication provider, wherein the first authentication service is configured to authenticate the user for access to a first portion of the web site based on requesting a first set of social profile data of the user from the authentication provider, wherein the second authentication service is configured to authenticate the user for access to a second portion of the web site based on requesting a second set of the social profile data from the authentication provider, and wherein the first set and the second set are different.

11. The computer system of claim 7, wherein the web authoring platform comprises a first authentication service based on the application and a second authentication service based on a second application associated with a second authentication provider, wherein the first authentication service is configured to authenticate the user based on the authentication provider, and wherein the second authentication service is configured to authenticate the user based on the second authentication provider.

12. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the first authentication service is configured to login the user to a first portion of the web site, and wherein the second authentication service is configured to login the user to a second portion of the web site.

13. The computer system of claim 7, wherein upon an authentication of the user, the web authoring platform is further configured to:

receive a token from the authentication provider indicating a resource of the authentication provider accessible to the web authoring platform;

access the resource based on the token to receive social profile data of the user; and

generate a user profile for the user based on the social profile data.

14. The computer system of claim 13, wherein content of the web site is personalized for the user based on the user profile.

15. A computer-implemented method for configuring a web site to authenticate users based on authentication providers, the computer-implemented method comprising:

generating, at a web authoring platform hosting a web site, an application configured to authenticate access to the web site based on an account of the user with an authentication provider;

receiving, at an authentication configuration engine of the web authoring platform and from the authentication provider, an application identifier associated with the application and a secret associated with the authentication provider, the authentication configuration engine configured to authenticate the user based on an authentication workflow of the authentication provider;

generating, at the web authoring platform, a service configuration based on the application identifier and the secret, wherein the service configuration comprises a permission associated with access to a resource of the authentication provider, the resource associated with user authentications;

configuring, at the web authoring platform and based on the service configuration, an authentication configuration engine based on the application, the authentication configuration engine configured to authenticate the user to access a portion of the web site based on providing the application identifier and the secret to the authentication provider and receiving an authentication of the user from the authentication provider, the authentication comprising;

receiving a user login identity and a password from the application, the user login identity and password based on the permission of the service configuration,

sending, to the application, an authentication of the user from the authentication provider based on the user login identity and the password, and

logging the user into the web site based on the authentication; and

personalizing, via a social connect engine of the web authoring platform, content of the web site for the user based on social profile data available from the authentication provider.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein the authentication configuration engine is associated with a web page of the web site, wherein the web page is configured to login the user based on a user login identity and a password corresponding to an account of the user with the authentication provider.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein the authentication configuration engine is further configured to request access to a resource of the authentication provider on behalf of the user.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein the authentication configuration engine is further configured to request an action to be performed at a resource of the authentication provider on behalf of the user.