Angular Authentication Process with OAUTH

OAuth is an open protocol that allows secure authorization in a simple and standard method from web, mobile and desktop applications. The OAuth 2.0 authorization framework enables a third party application to obtain limited access to HTTP service”. OAuth in angular refers to authentication process for resource owners to authorize third party access to server without sharing their credentials. It is tailor made to work with Hypertext Transfer Protocol and it is commonly used as a way for internet citizens to log into third party accounts using their Microsoft, Google, or Facebook account. Concept of ‘secure delegated access’ differentiates OAuth from other major authentication standards. This open standard for authentication allows access tokens to be issued to third party clients with the server custodian’s prior permission.

Secure Authentication Redefined and Reloaded

Some obvious similarities exist between OAuth and OpenID (an open standard protocol that allows users to be authenticated by third party sites). OAuth 2.0 specification defines OAuth as a delegation protocol which is highly useful for conveying authentication decisions across a network of web enabled applications and APIs. It is a well known fact that OAuth 2.0 is used for providing mechanisms for user authentication. Many web developers and API providers mistakenly refer OAuth as an authorization protocol. This confusion comes from the fact that OAuth is used inside of authentication protocols and newbie web developers reach the wrong conclusion that they can accomplish user authentication by simply using OAuth.

Authentication tells an application who the current user is and whether or not they are present. A full authentication protocol will probably indicate a number of attributes about a user like email address.

OAuth is recognized as the best tool for client authorization and there exists lot of authentication events in OAuth. Some web entities can be used along with OAuth to create an authentication and identity protocol. Even in this situation, the core functionality of OAuth remains intact and the client application turns out to be a sub category of identity API.

One best advantage of angular authentication process with OAuth is that it allows management of end user consent. Needless to say, end user consent is very important in cross domain identity federation at internet scale. It’s another amazing benefit is that a user can delegate access to other protected APIs alongside their identity at the same time using the one and only OAuth. OAUTH 2.0 is the second evolution of OAuth protocol and it is not compatible with OAuth 1.0. analysis of a website New version of OAuth will provide authorization flows for web applications, mobile applications, mobile phones and living room devices.

In OAuth, token as a proof of authentication is designed to be opaque to the client and the client should be able to derive some information from the token in user authentication. Client is the authorized presenter of token and audience is the protected resource in a typical OAuth model.

Boon for Web and Mobile Developers

Since access token can be traded for user attributes in newest versions of OAuth, we may think that possession of a valid access token is the credential to prove that a user is authenticated. Using OAuth, refresh tokens and assertions can be used to get access tokens in the absence of user. Because OAuth is a delegation protocol, the principle “access token is usable along after the user is no longer present” is fundamental to its design. Issue of injection of access tokens in OAuth can be tackled by using the authorization code flow and by only accepting tokens from authorization server’s token end point.

OAuth handles injection of invalid user information by getting the authentication information directly from identity provider and by providing authentication information with verifiable signature.

As OAuth 2.0 is portrayed as a framework than a defined protocol, it is not interoperable with any other OAuth 2.0 implementations. OAuth is pretty popular for its role as an authorizing mechanism to consume secured RSS/ATOM feeds. Amazon, Daily Motion, Deviant Art, Dropbox, Facebook, Flickr, Foursquare, Google, Google App Engine and Instagram are major service providers of OAuth.

Open ID Vs Authentication Using OAuth

In Open ID, the process starts with the application asking user for their identity (In most cases, it will be the login request to which the user provides Open ID rather original login information). As far as OAuth is concerned, the application specifically requests a limited access OAuth token. Application Program Interface provider in OAuth token allows application access because it trusts valet keys. It is an undeniable fact that OAuth has redefined secure authentication in an innovative way. OAuth will be of immense use in building webpage widgets, JavaScript based apps, and browser based apps.