Monday, January 22. 2007Hello. Is There Anybody in There?
Recently I have wondered whether using InfoCards can help reduce the amount of comment spam. Granted, I am fully aware they are not meant to solve the spam problem, but I was still curious about their effectiveness. Comment spam is a constant nuisance for both bloggers and forum owners. It is so bad that typically either the ability to leave comments is turned off or user registration to the site is required. In InfoCard terms, I will be using self-issued cards (probably the most common type that will be seen for this use) as the means of authentication. Unlike managed cards where the blog or forum site would trust a third party to validate claims, the site would simply be trusting the claims made by the end user. This is really no different than current registration schemes where the user just types in their information.
In addition to the requested user information, the site generally verifies the email address provided to insure that the submitting user controls the particular address. This holds true whether an InfoCard or traditional method is used. Email verification is usually performed by the site sending an email to the submitted address with a link, containing some identifier, that the user must click on or navigate to to verify their address. Once this is done, the site has verified the user's registration and allows the user to now login and add comments or post to the forum. This past weekend, I wondered how easy it would be to automate this process (of course using PHP) with InfoCards and let me create comment spam. Needless to say that I found it quite easy and realized how important that the human factor must be taken into account. This means that I need to make sure I am verifying the registration of a LIVE person and not some automated routine. With the traditional method of user registration (you know where you actually have to type in all your information), it is common to have some form of captcha, making it very difficult create an automated process that is able to create a registration. Using InfoCards, there is no typing. Simply click on an image, select your card within the selector and the selector automatically submits it. Continue reading "Hello. Is There Anybody in There?" Wednesday, January 17. 2007Identity and client sided protection
I have recently been reading the discussions between Kim Cameron and Dick Hardt, not to mention the outside commentary as well, concerning the use of client sided security and where it fits in. I found this very interesting due to the fact that when I initially began playing with InfoCards, this was one of the features that drew me in. I am neither an identity nor security expert, nor have I had much time to play around with OpenID (that will be changing soon), so I am going to assume my final understanding of what I read is correct and that OpenID currently needs an additional third-party plug-in to perform the same client sided security as InfoCards. If I am incorrect in this assumption, someone please correct me.
If this really is the identity revolution, power to the people and all that jazz, then it really needs to be done correctly from the start. Personally, how it all works or what protocols are used is of much lesser concern to me than what will happen when the technology gets in the hands of my Dad. You can all stop wondering WTF I am talking about as I'll elaborate on that. Continue reading "Identity and client sided protection"
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