How to Use Authentication in ASP Net

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By Robert Karr
eHow Contributing Writer

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Authentication in ASP.NET refers to the method used to identify Web visitors on your website. During development of ASP.NET pages, it is customary to use the Windows authentication method because the pages are located on your own computer. However, when distributing the ASP.NET pages over the Internet, it is necessary to change this method to a process called "forms-based" authentication. With the latter method, a form prompts each user for his credentials.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

ASP.NET
Microsoft Visual Web Developer

Step 1

Download and install the free Microsoft Visual Web Developer Express 2008 and the free Microsoft .NET Framework Version 3.5 SP1 from the URL listed in Resources below
Step 2

Open Visual Web Developer from the "Start" menu. On the default Start Page, select "Open Web Site" and select the website for which you want to use authentication.
Step 3

Click on the "Website" tab in the main menu and then choose "ASP.NET Configuration" from the drop-down menu.
Step 4

Click on "Select Authentication Type," which will be at the bottom of the Users box that opens. This displays a screen where you can choose how users will be able to access your site.
Step 5

Select "From the Internet" if this website is located on the Internet; select "From a Local Network" if you are hosting the website yourself on a local intranet. Click the "Done" button.

Tips & Warnings

Setting the forms authentication type automatically creates database tables to hold authorized member information. However, the developer then has to create a login and password form to either allow the user to proceed or allow new visitors to create a login name and password. In the former case, the developer adds users to the database directly. This is a different process than the steps required for using authentication in ASP.NET. Additional steps are not necessary on an intranet with Windows authentication because when users log onto the intranet, they are authenticated at that point.
Because the ASP.NET Configuration settings and other tests involve going through the "localhost" port on your PC, depending on your security settings, it may be necessary to override potential access blocks. This will depend on the specific firewall and other security settings on the computer.