Pluggable Authentication Modules
A Pluggable Authentication Module, or PAM, is a software implementation that allows administrators to significantly change how users log into a server by running a PAM on the server itself. PAMs are used to provide authentication of users as well as perform any tasks that are associated with initializing or terminating the session, such as logging a user into the server, displaying a personalized webpage, and logging the user out of the server when he/she is finished.
How Pluggable Authentication Modules Work
PAMs can be embedded into existing servers to account for all users that have access to the server. The PAM will keep a list of all usernames/email addresses and their associated passwords in order to verify the permissions of a user who is attempting to access the server. When the user has successfully logged in, the PAM will find and display any personalized webpages such as a user profile or account summary or may simply forward the user back to the homepage and allow him/her to choose where to go from there. For more information concerning PAMs, visit this link.
Applications
PAMs are used by many different types of servers to provide authentication of users. For example, online stores often use PAMs to recognize a user and display personal information to the user, such as his/her recent purchases, currently saved products, or recommendations of other products based on what the user has purchased in the past. PAMs are also frequently used by financial institutions for many of the same applications as well as company-related servers for employee-specific data.
|
|
- Active Directory Authentication Types
The two types of authentication are Mutual Authentication and NTLM. Mutual Authentication requires both the server and the client to identify them. NTLM only requires the client to be validated by the server. Two types of authentication are Mutual Authentication and NTLM Authentication. Mutual Authentication Mutual Authentication is a security feature in which a client [...]...
- How Internet Authentication Service (IAS) works
Internet Authentication Service (IAS) is Microsoft's implementation of a RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-in User Service) server and proxy. As a RADIUS server, IAS performs centralized connection authentication, authorization, and accounting for many types of network access, including wireless and VPN (Virtual Private Network) connections. As a RADIUS proxy, IAS forwards authentication and accounting messages to [...]...
- User Authentication in IIS
Authenticating users in IIS is one of the initial steps in securing IIS. When a user attempts to access a website or an FTP site on an IIS machine, authentication is the process that verifies whether the user can indeed access the site. Authentication and permissions are closely coupled. After a user is authenticated, NTFS [...]...
- Authentication Types
What is Authentication Authentication is the process whereby the system identifies legitimate users from unauthorized users. It is the process in which a user identifies his/her self to the system. How effective an authentication process is, is determined by the authentication protocols and mechanisms being used. Windows Server 2003 provides a few different authentication types [...]...
- Understanding and Implementing Smart Card Authentication
An Overview on Authentication and Smart Cards Administrators have to secure the network from attacks launched by hackers, spies, terrorists, thieves and criminals. Security encompasses numerous technologies, protocols, standards, policies, passwords, and secret keys. All these mechanisms typically focus on the following: Authentication Access Control Data Protection Auditing/Accountability Authentication is the process by which an [...]...