14 DAY TRIAL // Standardized login protocols are finally becoming a real option and are finally beginning to do what they were designed to: make life easier for users. Two formats are currently battling it out, each with its own advantages, an open standard, as the name itself implies, OpenID, and a proprietary one, Facebook Connect. OpenID has scored some pretty big victories lately and most important players, including Facebook, support it. Yahoo has had it implemented for a while now, but it took it to another level with support for the OpenID OAuth Hybrid Protocol.
“We're happy to announce support for the OpenID OAuth Hybrid Protocol, which combines OpenID authentication (sign in) with OAuth authorization (access control) in a single interface. The Hybrid Protocol makes it easy for the hundreds of millions of Yahoo! users to sign into websites with a Yahoo! account, and to enable two-way data sharing of their Profile, Contacts, and Updates, without having to register a new site-specific account or share their Yahoo! password,” Allen Tom, Yahoo membership architect, wrote.
With the new features, Yahoo users will find it easier to employ OpenID and they will also allow them to discover new sites and services easier without having to register every time. With OAuth, users can also share any information they want with third parties and have complete control of what these sites have access to. The login process has also been streamlined while also adding several security elements. Logging into a partner site using your Yahoo credentials will pop up a new window in which the process will take place without having to be redirected from the original site to the Yahoo login one and then back.
Yahoo gave some examples of the implementation, citing Plaxo, one of the earlier OpenID adopters. The service already allows new users to register without having to verify their email address. Now, Plaxo is introducing a beta program allowing Yahoo users to sign up with their Yahoo credentials and then to share certain data between the two services like their Yahoo Contacts and Updates, which, if successful, will be rolled out on a bigger scale.