Windows Live ID -
Today the Windows Live™ ID team released the Delegated Authentication SDK v1.0, which provides a platform-neutral way for Web applications to access customers’ information from Windows Live services while customers remain in firm control of their own data. This release is part of a broader announcement of a whole set of releases from the Windows Live Platform team that are described by our boss David Treadwell in his blog posting today.
Windows Live Delegated Authentication is a feature that gives Windows Live ID customers the ability to consent to the scoped release of their personal information to particular Web sites in a reliable yet flexible manner. Customers grant (or withhold) consent by means of a straightforward user interface, as shown here:
Delegated Authentication is a way to grant access to personal information, but with more precise control over permissions and usage than the current binary decision (that is, fully on or fully off) that comes with the generally bad practice of handing over your account credentials to another Web site.
Simultaneously with the debut of Delegated Authentication, the Windows Live Contacts and Windows Live Photos teams have released updates to their services to use this new feature, enabling customers to permit other Web applications to access their photo albums or their Hotmail® / Messenger contact lists.
This is a big step in delivering real, user-centric data portability—giving Windows Live customers explicit control over releasing their information from Windows Live services and sharing that data with other applications that they want to use. The value of allowing software to access our personal data across multiple Web sites can be huge in terms of:
- Time saved—who wants to keep contact lists up to date manually across a number of different e-mail accounts?
- Possibilities created by combining data from different sources in new and innovative ways—for example, overlaying your friends’ latest home and work addresses with the details of your travel itinerary for an upcoming business trip could allow unexpected opportunities for reunions with people you haven’t seen for many years.
Windows Live Delegated Authentication is the strategic delegation platform for Microsoft Web properties, and is built on the proven, highly scalable technology used by the Windows Live ID authentication service.
Delegated Authentication is an evolution of the earlier prototype Cumulus PGUX Alpha release (a.k.a. Windows Live Data) seen at MIX07. The PGUX system will be phased out during the next six months, and during that time we’ll be working with any developers currently using the PGUX service to help them make the transition to the Windows Live ID Delegated Authentication system.
A white paper is available to provide a high-level overview of how Delegated Authentication works and how it can be implemented and used by Web application providers. More details are provided in the Delegated Authentication SDK documentation on MSDN®.
The SDK release includes sample applications for each of six different programming languages: ASP.NET, Java, Perl, PHP, Python, and Ruby. The use of this SDK is governed by the Windows Live Platform Terms of Service.
Delegated Authentication is the strategic programming model for consent-based data portability for all Windows Live services going forward. More Windows Live services will be releasing support for this feature in the coming months; the Resource Provider Directory shows the current list of Windows Live services that support Delegated Authentication and the status of each release.
Windows Live Delegated Authentication is both a powerful enabler of a new class of user-centered Web services, and also an opportunity for users to take back control of their own personal data and make informed decisions before releasing that data to other parties.
-- Jorgen Thelin, Senior Program Manager, Windows Live Identity Services
Some Typical Scenarios for Windows Live Delegated Authentication
Here are some scenarios that illustrate how Windows Live Delegated Authentication might be used.
Social Networking Address Book – A social network site can synchronize a customer’s Windows Live Contacts list with his or her “friends” lists from other social networking sites, to ensure that the customer can keep e-mail and contact information updated as friends change jobs or move around the country.
Family Photo Album – A family Web-site service could automatically retrieve the latest digital photographs from each individual family member’s personal photo-hosting account, to create an up-to-date snapshot of family activities.
Resources
· Understanding Windows Live Delegated Authentication white paper
· Windows Live ID Delegated Authentication SDK
· Windows Live ID Delegated Authentication SDK documentation
· Windows Live Platform Terms of Service
· Windows Live Delegated Authentication - Resource Provider Directory
· Windows Live ID - Development Support Forum
· Windows Live ID Developer Home Page
· Windows Live Contacts Developer Home Page
· Windows Live Photo APIs Developer Home Page
· David Treadwell’s Windows Live Platform Announcement blog posting
Windows Live ID adopts Extended Validation (EV) SSL Certificates.
Windows Live ID -
Windows Live ID is very committed to the safety of its users. To further protect the users against phishing, Windows Live ID has adopted Extended Validation (EV) SSL Certificates. EV SSL certificates require a company to undergo an extensive vetting process and provide users additional assurance about the identity and authenticity of web sites they visit. Thus when a user visits Live ID in IE7, the address bar will turn green and the identity of the company that owns the website – in this instance ‘Microsoft Corporation [US]’ – is displayed. You can get more information on EV certificates here.
Users of sites (such as Hotmail, Spaces, and Microsoft partner sites) that use Live ID authentication can now enjoy the additional protection and verified identity provided by EV SSL. Remember that in order to enjoy the additional assurance provided by EV SSL, users will have to use a newer browser that supports EV SSL, such as Internet Explorer 7. Windows Live ID is the first large scale authentication service to adopt EV certificates; our over 380 million users can now enjoy the additional protection offered by EV over 1.2 billion times a day when they login.
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Windows Live ID -
Windows CardSpace is a new way to sign in securely and conveniently into websites. And now you can use CardSpace with your Windows Live ID account! Using CardSpace with Windows Live ID means you don’t use a password to sign-in. Instead, just send your Information Card to Live ID to identify you and get signed into Hotmail, Windows Live Spaces or any other site that accepts Windows Live ID. And it is incredibly easy to use CardSpace with your Live ID. Just follow this link (here) to get going in minutes!
If you are using Windows Vista, you are all ready to use CardSpace! If you are on Windows XP or Windows 2003, you will need to get IE 7.0, our newest and coolest browser and .Net 3.0 with CardSpace support (if you don’t already have them). You will also need to add an Information Card to your Live ID account. To install these components and add an Information Card to your Live ID account, visit the Windows Live ID Information Card management page. Also go to that page to make changes to the Information Card added to your Live ID account.
Once you’ve added an Information Card to your Live ID account, sign in using the Information Card. You will be amazed at how easy it is! BTW, that Windows Live ID CardSpace support is still a “Beta”. We are still working on it and know a bunch of things that could be better. But do let us know your wish list; it is always good to get feedback.
Nayna Mutha, Program Manager - LiveID
Rob Franco, Lead Program Manager - Windows CardSpace 
Windows Live ID -
Windows Live ID Web Authentication allows sites who want to integrate with the Windows Live services and platform. We are releasing a set of tools that make this integration easier than ever.
Web Authentication works by sending your users to the Windows Live ID sign-in page by means of a specially formatted link. The service then directs them back to your Web site along with a unique, site-specific identifier that you can use to manage personalized content, assign user rights, and perform other tasks for the authenticated user. Sign-in and account management is performed by Windows Live ID, so you don't have to worry about implementing these details.
Included with the Web Authentication software development kit (SDK) are QuickStart sample applications in the ASP.NET, Java, Perl, PHP, Python, and Ruby programming languages. You can get the sample applications for this SDK from the Web Authentication download page on Microsoft.com.
The benefits of incorporating Windows Live ID into your Web site include:
· The ability to use Windows Live gadgets, APIs and controls to incorporate authenticated Windows Live services into your site.
· An HTTP-based, platform-neutral interface for implementing Windows Live ID authentication in your existing site, even if it is hosted by a third-party.
· Ability to make authentication and Windows Live integration easy for over 380 million consumers.
Try it out! Click here to see the Web Authentication SDK documentation and click here to download the QuickStart sample application for your platform. In minutes, your site will be Windows Live ID enabled!
Your feedback is greatly appreciated and will help us refine this product. Post your comments and questions to the Windows Live ID Discussion Forum.
-- Kyle Young, Lead Program Manager
Windows Live ID -
You can now download the new version of the Windows Live™ ID Client 1.0 SDK, the Client Alpha Refresh. This release includes some software updates, and keeps us on our way to the final 1.0 release by the end of this year. As always, we take your feedback very seriously, so please let us know what you want to see in future releases by posting to our forum.
With the Alpha refresh release, we introduce the Windows Live ID Client 1.0 SDK (more briefly referred to as Client Auth) sample application Shoe Buddy that premiered at the MIX conference. Shoe Buddy demos a real application that would download shoes from different online stores into a smart client, making it easier to search. By pulling together inventory from multiple sources, the shopper has a single purchasing experience (one shopping cart, one transaction) when in reality the products come from multiple vendors. Shoe Buddy also incorporates Client Auth’s functionality to interact with Windows Live Spaces. Not only can shoppers search and purchase their shoes in the application, they can also blog about the shoes directly from the smart client. The purpose of the demo is to show how adding Client Auth to the application increases the value to both the developer and the shopper. By letting the shopper blog about their shoes from within the natural flow of the smart client shopping experience, they can easily share the details of their discoveries with their friends and family. Creating an e-mail or copying the information to IM is much more involved than automatically posting both the picture and the description of the shoes to the shopper’s blog. The shopper is now, in essence, advertising the developer’s Shoe Buddy products to their social network. Both parties win.
So do you want to play around with Shoe Buddy? Live in a Box’s 0.3 Alpha now includes Client Auth and Shoe Buddy. Live in a Box is a project on CodePlex that lets you play with the different Windows Live technologies. Check out our sample application and make sure that you tell us about applications that you build with Client Auth.
- Sarah Faulkner, Program Manager
Windows Live ID -
Windows Live ID is going to be at MIX 07, Microsoft’s conference for the consumer web and the people that make it interesting. We’re going to talk about how you, our developers can integrate with us to build cool new applications that use authenticated user data from Windows Live. (Subject to user control, of course!)
We’ll be featured in the 30 Minute Social Application session Monday afternoon. We’ll also be at the Windows Live Mashup event on Sunday and Monday. What’s more, you can meet us face-to-face at the Windows Live ID open mic chat on Tuesday. Please stop by if you have any questions for us or just want to say hello.
See you there!
-- Neelamadhaba Mahapatro, Arshad Ahmad, Lynn Ayres
Windows Live ID -
You can use this handy link to add our RSS feed to
live.com:
Windows Live ID -
Over the past few weeks, we’ve received a ton of fantastic feedback from everyone on the
Windows Live Sign-in Assistant and how much better our new Windows Live sign-in experience is. Thanks to everyone for the great feedback!
We’ve noticed a steady stream of questions on certain aspects of the Sign-in Assistant so we wanted to answer some questions in a concise manner to clarify any confusion. As always, leave us comments if there is still anything that isn’t clear!
Q: How do I install the Windows Live Sign-in Assistant?
A: Currently, the Windows Live Sign-in Assistant is only available as an option when you install the Live Messenger beta. Previously, the beta was “invite only”, but it was recently opened up to all users. See our
previous blog post on how to get the beta.
During the install process for the Live Messenger client, there is an option that says ‘Install the Windows Live Sign-in Assistant”. Make sure you check that option during install otherwise it won’t install :) Many people have skipped over this option during the Live Messenger install process. We're working with the Messenger team on how to improve the messaging during setup to improve discoverability.
Q: I have the Windows Live Sign-in Assistant installed but I’m not getting multiple users shown on the sign-in screen. How do I fix this?
A: The 2 most common reasons for multiple users not working are:
1)
You are using Firefox. Currently the Windows Live Sign-in Assistant is for Internet Explorer. We are working on full support for Firefox, but unfortunately were not able to get it into V1. We recognize that customers use Windows Live services from multiple devices and computers, so we will continue to do work here to figure out a good solution. I would like to note that our Windows Live Mail team has been doing a bunch of work to get the richer Live Mail experience working with Firefox --
check it out .
2)
You previously installed a Messenger beta. Many people installed an earlier pre-beta version of Live Messenger (older than build 689) which included a version of the Sign-in Assistant. Since this was a pre-release version, it will not work on our sign-in UI. If this applies to you, use “Add/Remove Programs” in the Control Panel and remove BOTH Live Messenger beta and the Windows Live Sign-in Assistant (you have to uninstall both). After that, go to
http://ideas.live.com and re-install the official Live Messenger beta which will install the correct, and working, version of the Windows Live Sign-in Asssitant.
Q: All I see is a blue “buddy” icon on the sign-in screen. How can I get my Messenger or MSN Spaces display picture to show?
A: At this time we don’t support showing your Messenger or MSN Spaces display picture. We are, however, looking to make improvements on this in the future. Stay tuned for some cool work in this area!
