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As a Single Sign-On implementation, I think OpenID is great. Even so, is it necessarily a good choice for eCommerce? I know it can be used, but should it? Are you risking too much in putting all of one's access details in a single basket?
What's the general opinion out there?
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OpenID allows you to use an existing account to sign in to multiple websites, without needing to create new passwords. You may choose to associate information with your OpenID that can be shared with the websites you visit, such as a name or email address.
The main differentiator between these three players is that OAuth 2.0 is a framework that controls authorization to a protected resource such as an application or a set of files, while OpenID Connect and SAML are both industry standards for federated authentication.
OpenID Connect lets developers authenticate their users across websites and apps without having to own and manage password files. For the app builder, it provides a secure verifiable, answer to the question: “What is the identity of the person currently using the browser or native app that is connected to me?”
In March, MySpace launched their previously announced OpenID provider service, enabling all MySpace users to use their MySpace URL as an OpenID. In May, Facebook launched their relying party functionality, letting users use an automatic login-enabled OpenID account (e.g. Google) to log into Facebook.
When I worked for a large eCommerce company, the company looked at OpenID. Don't get upset by this, but the company rejected OpenID because they didn't like some of the clunkyness of the implementation, and they found that it actually reduced signup rates, when run through sample user community testing (the user community hated it, but they hated alot of things).
Bottom line: you absolutely can use it for a eCommerce site, but I would have the database built to allow for a switch if necessary, and have a way to determine if it is gaining or costing customers.
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