Yahoo is moving in a big way to embrace the new OpenID 2.0 specification, which eliminates the need for Web surfers to create separate IDs and logins at each of the Web sites, blogs and profile pages that they may visit during an online session.
Beginning Jan. 30, Yahoos 248 million active registered users worldwide will be able to use a new beta test version of Yahoo ID to seamlessly sign in to hundreds of OpenID-compatible Web sites, the search engine giant said.
"Supporting OpenID gives our users the freedom to leverage their Yahoo ID both on and off the Yahoo network, reducing the number of usernames and passwords they need to remember and offering a single, trusted partner for managing their online identity," said Ash Patel, Yahoo executive vice president of platforms and infrastructure.
SECURITY ENHANCEMENTS
Once a Yahoo registrant has enabled a login account for OpenID access, the user can tell any OpenID-enabled Web site or blog page that he or she is a Yahoo user. The user will be automatically sent back to Yahoo to enter his or her Yahoo login information. Upon completion, the user will be routed back, and signed in to, the original site.
Because the OpenID framework for online access is decentralized, any Web site can employ the technology to enable users to sign in. To find out whether a Web site supports OpenID login, users can simply look for a Yahoo login button, or if they see a text box with an OpenID icon, they can type in "yahoo.com" to engage the login process.
Yahoo users logging in with their Yahoo IDs on OpenID-compatible sites gain added protection from Yahoos sign-in seal -- a personalized image of a message that only appears on genuine Yahoo pages. A similar technology is used by many financial institutions to prevent their online users from falling prey to malicious spoofers. But the search-engine giant warns that Yahoo ID users will always need to look for their personalized sign-in seal before typing in their Yahoo IDs and passwords.
A POWERFUL INCENTIVE
Yahoos support of OpenID gives the new framework for seamless Web roaming a much-needed boost, said Scott Kveton, chairman of the board at the nonprofit OpenID Foundation.
"The potential for access to Yahoos vast international user base will create an even more powerful incentive for additional Web sites to begin accepting OpenID users," he explained. For example, Web sites that accept OpenID 2.0 will be able to add a Yahoo ID sign-in button to their login pages that will streamline the process for Yahoo registrants.
Open-source aficionados will also like the fact that the developers of the next-generation Firefox Web browser at Mozilla have made OpenID support a high priority. In addition, OpenID is compatible with Windows CardSpace, which is part of the .Net Framework that ships with Windows Vista.
According to Kveton, approximately 4,500 sites had integrated OpenID consumer support as of July 2007, at which time there were more than 120 million OpenIDs in active use. In addition to Yahoo, the free technology is supported by AOL, Google, Microsoft, Novell, Sun Microsystems, Symantec and Verisign, among others.
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