Can't remember dozen passwords? Say yes to OpenID

How do you carry around so many user Ids?


As a web citizen , sometimes you really feel annoyed when you have to go through another regsiteration process for a new cool web site that you have recently come across, and have to remeber yet another userid/password combo. What are the choices you have?

  • Use browser's Save password feature (its prone to registry hacks), and what if you have to visit this cool at your friend's compouter?
  • Use Some sort of thrid party password utilities , it has same disadvantages as above
  • Use same user ID and password for all web site, well if one password is compromised you have to change it for all of your favorites.

OpenID is the answer to all these problems. You don't have to save it anywhere, you can use it anywhere and best of all it is secure.

So what is OpenID anyway?

It's like a driver's license for the entire Internet. OpenID also simplifies signing in. With OpenID you only have to remember one username and one password. That's because you log into websites with your OpenID, so your OpenID is the only thing you have to make secure. Now, you might already use one username and one password online, but OpenID lets you do this in a secure way. That's because you only give your password to your OpenID provider, and then your provider tells the websites you're visiting that you are who you say you are. No website other than your provider ever sees your password, so you don't have to worry about an insecure website compromising your identity.

Is OpenID secure?

OpenID is no less (or more) secure than what you use right now. Most websites offer a service to e-mail you your password (or a new password) if you've forgotten it, which means that if someone breaks into your e-mail account, they can do just as much as they can if they get your OpenID's username and password. As long as your OpenID accounts are secure (yahoo/hotmail/gmail/facebook etc), your OpenID account is secure.

How do I get an OpenID?

To use OpenID you need an account with an OpenID Provider.

You might already have one

OpenID Providers, that you can use with nextjob.us

Many sites have already given their users an OpenID. You might already have one and not know it. If you don't have an account with one of these six websites (Nextjob.us uses these six for OpenID authentication), you can get one from them.

How do I log in with OpenID?

  1. You click on your choice of openID provider at login page. Your browser then sends you to your OpenID provider to log in.
  2. Log in with your username and password.
  3. Tell your provider that the original website can use your identity. You are then sent back to the Nextjob.us website.
  4. If it is your first visit, Nextjob.us asks confirms your name and email (Some Open ID providers share it with us).
  5. Now you are all set to use nextjob.us
  6. On your subsequent visits , you will simply perform steps 1-3 for authentication.

Please click on following thumbnail to see the slidshow of login process using OpenID.

You can add more than one Provider to your profile

Benefit of doing this are two

  1. If one of your Provider site is down , you can switch to other
  2. If you initially registered with One provider (say Yahoo) and after a month you accidently try to login using gmail as your provider ID , you will end up creating another profile , and then you will wonder where your Resume , Job feeds etc are vanished!

You can simple go to Profile screen after login and add another provider by simply login at the selected provider  from your profile. After you are redirected from your OpenID provider, nextjob.us will link this new provider to your profile and now you can use both Yahoo and Gmail to login to your Nextjob.us account.