Working with .NET Passport Accounts

.NET Passport accounts allow users to minimize the number of account IDs and passwords that they must remember. .NET Passport for Kids is a feature of .NET Passport SSI that allows parents to control how children's profile information is collected, used, and shared on the Internet.

If an organization's Web site already has an authentication mechanism, you must consider whether to convert any existing accounts or have .NET Passport co-exist with the current authentication. Lack of proper planning and design for this issue can significantly impact existing users or customers.

Converting Accounts

When a site wants to use .NET Passport as its primary authorization mechanism, it must convert its accounts to this service. All users log in to the site as they normally would and then are required to register for a .NET Passport and associate their current information with .NET Passport. Anytime thereafter, the users would use only their .NET Passport accounts.

Using Site Accounts and .NET Passport

Some sites may elect to keep current account information active, whereas new users or customers are required to use a .NET Passport account. Another alternative is to give users the option to either use .NET Passport or create a standard account.

Note

If sites use multiple authentication mechanisms and therefore two separate directories of information, the amount of administration and maintenance involved can increase substantially.

Alternatively, sites can introduce .NET Passport to users gradually. This approach allows coexistence but allows the sites to move forward with .NET Passport.

Creating Passport Accounts

Users can create a .NET Passport account using one of four methods:

• By registering at the .NET Passport registration page (http://www.passport.com), as shown in Figure 14.5

• By registering at a participating site, which automatically redirects users to a Microsoft-hosted (and possibly co-branded) .NET Passport registration page

• By registering for an email account on MSN Hotmail (http://www.hotmail.com) or through the MSN Internet Access ISP service, which automatically registers users for the .NET Passport SSI service

• By registering using the Microsoft Windows XP .NET Passport Registration Wizard

Figure 14.5. The .NET Passport registration page.

Note

Signing up for a .NET Passport does not require a valid email address. Users can enter any email address in the form of [e-mail]. Also, the password has a minimum required length of six characters.

There are only two required fields to create a .NET Passport: an email address and a password. However, participating sites may optionally choose to require additional fields, such as the following:

• Accessibility Needs

• Country/Region

• Date of Birth

• First and Last Name

• Gender

• Postal Code

• State

• Time Zone

• Occupation