Abstract: Authentication is widely used to protect consumer data and computing services, such as email, document storage, and online banking. Current authentication models, such as those employed by online identity providers, may have limited options and configurations for authentication schemes. Accordingly, as provided herein, a model based authentication scheme may be configured based upon a policy and/or an authentication mechanism list. The policy may define the target resource, a user, a group the user belongs to, devices used to connect to the target resource, a service owning the target resource, etc. The authentication mechanism list may comprise predefined authentication mechanisms and/or user plug-in authentication mechanisms (e.g., user created authentication mechanism). Once the authentication scheme is configured, it may be enforced upon authentication requests from a user. Feedback may be provided to the user based upon patterns of usage of the target resource.

Abstract: An authentication system combines device credential verification with user credential verification to provide a more robust authentication mechanism that is convenient to the user and effective across enterprise boundaries. In one implementation, user credential verification and device credential verification are combined to provide a convenient two-factor authentication. In this manner, an account authority service or other authentication provider verify both factors and provide a security token in accordance with the security policy of the account network resource the user is intending to access. The level of privilege granted by the target account network resource can vary depending on the number and type of factors verified by the account authority service.

Abstract: Techniques and systems are disclosed that can measure capacity of a server farm, and project capacity needs based on traffic and resources. Server farm system information is collected for managing the server farm by identifying a list of servers in the server farm. Performance metrics are collected from identified servers and stored in a collection database. The stored performance metrics are analyzed in accordance with a server farm management request.

Abstract: An authentication system combines device credential verification with user credential verification to provide a more robust authentication mechanism that is convenient to the user and effective across enterprise boundaries. In one implementation, user credential verification and device credential verification are combined to provide a convenient two-factor authentication. In this manner, an account authority service or other authentication provider verify both factors and provide a security token in accordance with the security policy of the account network resource the user is intending to access. The level of privilege granted by the target account network resource can vary depending on the number and type of factors verified by the account authority service.

Abstract: An authentication system combines device credential verification with user credential verification to provide a more robust authentication mechanism that is convenient to the user and effective across enterprise boundaries. In one implementation, user credential verification and device credential verification are combined to provide a convenient two-factor authentication. In this manner, an account authority service or other authentication provider verify both factors and provide a security token in accordance with the security policy of the account network resource the user is intending to access. The level of privilege granted by the target account network resource can vary depending on the number and type of factors verified by the account authority service.

Abstract: Authentication is widely used to protect consumer data and computing services, such as email, document storage, and online banking. Current authentication models, such as those employed by online identity providers, may have limited options and configurations for authentication schemes. Accordingly, as provided herein, a model based authentication scheme may be configured based upon a policy and/or an authentication mechanism list. The policy may define the target resource, a user, a group the user belongs to, devices used to connect to the target resource, a service owning the target resource, etc. The authentication mechanism list may comprise predefined authentication mechanisms and/or user plug-in authentication mechanisms (e.g., user created authentication mechanism). Once the authentication scheme is configured, it may be enforced upon authentication requests from a user. Feedback may be provided to the user based upon patterns of usage of the target resource.

Abstract: Techniques and systems are disclosed that can measure capacity of a server farm, and project capacity needs based on traffic and resources. Server farm system information is collected for managing the server farm by identifying a list of servers in the server farm. Performance metrics are collected from identified servers and stored in a collection database. The stored performance metrics are analyzed in accordance with a server farm management request.

Abstract: An identity and authentication platform utilizes a data model that enables multiple identities such as e-mail addresses, mobile phone numbers, nicknames, gaming IDs, and other user IDs to be utilized as aliases which are unique sub-identities of a main account name. A user may utilize the aliases supported by the platform to project multiple different on-line identities while using the authentication credentials of the main account. The platform is configured to expose the aliases to various client applications and Internet-accessible sites and services such as e-mail, instant messaging, media sharing, gaming and social networks, and the like, to enable the implementation of a variety of usage scenarios that employ aliases.

Abstract: A device identifier (ID) is used across enterprise boundaries. A user can use the device ID to publish a device for sharing with other remote users. The remote users can discover devices that are shared by other users based on device IDs, connect to a selected device, and then verify that they have connected to the correct device based on its device ID. An account authority service may be used to manage the publication and/or discovery of the shared devices and their device IDs.

Abstract: An authentication system combines device credential verification with user credential verification to provide a more robust authentication mechanism that is convenient to the user and effective across enterprise boundaries. In one implementation, user credential verification and device credential verification are combined to provide a convenient two-factor authentication. In this manner, an account authority service or other authentication provider verify both factors and provide a security token in accordance with the security policy of the account network resource the user is intending to access. The level of privilege granted by the target account network resource can vary depending on the number and type of factors verified by the account authority service.

Abstract: A centralized account reputation system differentiates between illegitimate users and legitimate users using reputation scores associated with the users' online accounts. The system restricts the access of illegitimate users to certain network services while minimizing its negative effects on legitimate users. The system can manage the life cycle of an online account, considering data about the account that is obtained throughout the account network to compute the online account reputation score and allocating access to network services based on the online account reputation score. For example, a reputation score may be embedded in a security token that can be accessed by multiple services on the account network, so that each service can determine the appropriate level of access to be granted to the associated user account based on the reputation score. Various types of online account behavior over time can improve or diminish the online account's reputation.