Seamless cross-site user authentication status detection and automatic login

Abstract

A system and method for determining in a global network the user network authentication status as the user goes from site to site within the network is provided. Additionally, the system and method provides for transparent or implicit multi-site logon functionality, including automatic introduction from one site to the other using a baseline authentication agency (102). The system and method provides an architecture for a core global network (100) (referred to herein as NET) that incorporates some or all of the following features and components: a set of baseline authentication agencies responsible for the core global network (NET) services, such as login and user-selected service-provider lookup; a shared NET domain and associated DNS records (106) used for cookie (110) sharing, login routing, and the like; and a collection of partner sites (108) accessible via the NET.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The invention relates generally to online user network authentication status detection. More particularly, the invention relates to a system and method for determining in a global network the user network authentication status as the user goes from site to site, and providing a transparent/implicit multi-site logon including automatic introduction from one site to the other.

2. Description of the Prior Art

In the world of computer networks and computer network systems, for executing applications on a computer, the application often requires users to authenticate themselves prior to performing any actions to prevent unauthorized access. Typically, a user provides identification by a user name and password combination, and may have to supply other information such that the user can create and later access a private account on a merchant's site.

Prior art mechanisms for cross-network single sign-on, such as Microsoft Passport (www.passport.com) and AOL Screen Name Service (my.screenname.aol.com), require partner sites in the network to direct the user's browser to the central authentication Web site in order to obtain the user's network authentication status. In a global network including partner sites and non-partner sites, it would be advantageous to provide a secure and efficient apparatus and process for partner sites to automatically and independently determine if a user has signed into the global network without the user's browser having to interact with the central authentication site.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system and method for determining in a global network the user status as the user goes from site to site within the network is provided. Additionally, the system and method provides for transparent or implicit multi-site logon functionality, including automatic introduction from one site to the other using a baseline authentication agency. The system and method provides an architecture for a core global network (referred to herein as NET) that incorporates some or all of the following features and components: a set of baseline authentication agencies responsible for the core global network (NET) services, such as login and user-selected service-provider lookup; a NET and associated DNS records used for cookie sharing, login routing, and the like; and a collection of partner sites accessible via the NET.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the baseline authentication agency (referred to herein as BM) manages a subset of the NET user namespace and provides core NET services such as authentication for NET users. The baseline authentication agency supports authentication of NET id's via corresponding passwords or other authentication credentials. After authenticating a user, the baseline authentication agency writes its BAA identification (BAA id) along with an authenticated status of true into a cookie that it sets in a shared domain that can be accessed by NET partner sites.

When an authenticated NET user visits a NET partner site, the NET partner site accesses the shared domain cookie to determine the user's network authentication status and baseline authentication agency. If the user is already authenticated into the network, the NET partner site may then redirect the user's browser to the authentication agency's Web site to request NET id information for the user. The baseline authentication agency distinguishes between sites that have been linked and that have a trust relationship with the user and ones that have not been linked. The baseline authentication agency returns the user's NET id information to the partner site if it's a linked site, thereby performing a seamless authentication. If the site is not linked, the baseline authentication agency returns an authentication error indication.

When a NET user logs out of NET, the user's baseline authentication agency resets the user's authenticated status to false in the shared domain cookie.

When an unauthenticated NET user visits a'NET partner site, the NET partner site attempts to access the shared domain cookie and either does not find the cookie at all, or sees that the authenticated status is false. In either case, the NET partner site sees that the user is not authenticated into NET and thus does not allow access.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the components and their respective relationships of an architecture for a core global network for detecting user status according to the invention;

FIG. 2 a is a flow diagram of a realized NET partner site seamless user authentication detection and automatic login according to the invention;

FIG. 2 b is a flow diagram of a realized NET partner site seamless user authentication detection and automatic login according to the invention; and

FIG. 3 is global network architecture component interaction diagram according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A system and method for determining in a global network the user status as the user goes from site to site within the network is provided, and can be described with reference to FIG. 1. Additionally, the system and method provides for transparent or implicit multi-site logon functionality, including automatic introduction from one site to the other using a baseline authentication agency. The system and method provides an architecture for a core global network 100 (referred to herein as NET) that incorporates some or all of the following features and components: a set of baseline authentication agencies 102 responsible for the core global network (NET) services, such as login and user-selected service-provider lookup; a NET domain 104 and associated DNS records 106 used for cookie sharing, login routing, and the like; and a collection of partner sites 108 accessible via the 104 NET domain.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the baseline authentication agency 102 (referred to herein as BAA) manages a subset of the NET user namespace and provides core NET services for NET users. The baseline authentication agency 102 supports authentication of NET id's via corresponding passwords or other authentication credentials. After authenticating the credentials, the baseline authentication agency 102 writes its BAA identification (BAA id) along with an authenticated status of true into a cookie 110 of the shared domain 104 that is accessed by NET partner sites 108. It should be appreciated that both partner sites and BAAs have unique NET identifiers. For example, such identifiers can be referred to uniformly as “NET ids”, or as “partner NET ids” and “BAA NET ids”, respectively.

When an authenticated NET user visits a NET partner site 108, the NET partner site 108 accesses the shared domain cookie 110 to determine the user's baseline authentication agency 102. The NET partner site 108 then redirects the user's browser to the authentication agency's Web site 102 to request NET.id information for the user. The baseline authentication agency 102 distinguishes between sites that have been linked and that have a trust relationship with the user and ones that have not been linked. The baseline authentication agency 102 returns the users NET id information to the partner site 108 if it's a linked site, thereby performing a seamless authentication. If the site is not linked, the baseline authentication agency 102 returns an authentication error indication.

When a NET user logs out of NET, the user's baseline authentication agency 102 resets the user's authenticated status to false in the shared domain cookie 110.

When an unauthenticated NET user visits a NET partner site 108, the NET partner site 108 attempts to access the shared domain cookie 110 and either does not find the cookie at all, or sees that the authenticated status is false. In either case, the NET partner site 108 sees that the user is not authenticated into NET and thus does not allow access.

Design Goals

In this section is a discussion of some of the design goals considered for the preferred embodiment of the invention.

The preferred embodiment of the invention provides an architecture for a system that is sufficiently decentralized to enable a global network (also referred to herein as NET) to assemble a strong partnership of large namespace-owning companies, or baseline authentication agencies (BAAs).

The preferred embodiment of the invention provides means for minimizing barriers to adoption, and routine use of NET's services, by:

• • existing users of NET's membership company products;
  • enabling a seamless membership of interoperable authentication agencies and their associated user bases;
  • users without existing NET partnership company ties; and
  • potential global network affiliates, such as companies operating Web sites and Web services.

The preferred embodiment of the invention provides means for providing user flexibility in privacy controls.

Strategy and Key Concepts

The preferred embodiment of the invention provides the following architectural strategy for achieving the above goals by using the following elements, each element discussed in a section by the same name herein below: NET Accounts and GUIDs, Baseline Authentication Agencies, and Decentralization of Core NET Functionality

NET Accounts and GUIDs

The strategy for addressing the “frictionless service portability” goal, which also provides privacy of the NET login ids (communication addresses), provides a globally unique identifier (GUID) for each NET user account. Such id is essentially a global network account number that will be largely or fully unknown to a user.

It should be appreciated that a GUID may have more than one associated global network login id.

Also, this GUID, and not the user NET LID, is the primary key with which the global network user data records are indexed. With such approach, users are free to change their respective NET LIDs. For example, a user can switch from a first ISP's email LID to a second ISP's LID for authentication and communication services (foo@baa1.com ->foo@baa2.com) without losing their respective global network account and everything associated with it throughout the global network.

For privacy reasons, only the GUID and the name of the authenticating agency are shared with third party sites unless the user opts-in to distributing the global network LID. In general, unless a user has established a trust relationship or linkage with a third party site, not even the GUID is made available to the site.

Decentralization of Core Global Network (NET) Functionality

It is undesirable to a candidate global network BAA for the global network architecture to have a significant centralization of authentication, wherein global network servers operated by other global network BAAs would have to be depended on and/or are able to track logins to a given global network BAA, such as the candidate global network BAA.

It is also undesirable to a candidate partner site for the global network to depend on interaction with a global network server to determine the network authentication status of users who visit the candidate site. Hence a decentralization requirement imposed on the architecture is to enable partner sites in the network to autonomously determine the network authentication status of users who visit, without having to direct users to a global network server in order to accomplish this.

The design strategy for addressing such requirements according to the preferred embodiment of the invention is as follows:

• • Propagate selected global network user information to global network partner sites by setting cookies on a global network domain, e.g. partners.net.org, for which each partner has an entry, e.g. books.com.partners.net.org, such that partners can fetch such data without hitting any centralized global network server, e.g. a server operated by one of the BAAs.
  • Store baseline global network user account data at the user's owning BAA, vs. at a central global network location. Architecture Components

The global network architecture includes the following components:

• • A set of baseline authentication agencies (BAAs) that are responsible for core global network services, such as user authentication and user-selected service-provider lookup.
  • A global network domain, e.g. net.org, and associated DNS records for use in cookie sharing, login routing, etc.
  • A collection of partner sites, also known as consumer services, accessible via the global network.

These components of the global network architecture are further described in detail herein below

Baseline Authentication Agencies (BAAs)

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, BAAs are the backbone of the global network. They collectively manage the global network namespace and provide core global network services, such as basic login, account maintenance, service subscription management and lookup, etc. for global network users. Following is an example of a BAA's responsibilities.

The baseline authentication agency supports authentication of global network ids via corresponding passwords or other authentication credentials. After authenticating the user, the BAA creates and signs authentication credentials for a given user, and deposits such credentials in a centralized domain.

• • Underlying data: The BAA has, at a minimum, one record per-global network id, the record containing a) the global network login id (NET LID); b) a corresponding global network GUID; c) privacy option regarding sharing global network login id with a linked site, such as a partner site; and d) information sufficient to authenticate the user, e.g. a hashed copy of the user's password.

The BAA needs to be able to distinguish between a partner site that has been linked, i.e. established a trust relationship with the user, and one that has not yet been linked. For linked sites, the global network id information for a logged in user is implicitly shared as the user visits or surfs to the partner site. For an unlinked site, the user is anonymous relative to the global network when visiting the site.

• • Underlying data: on a per global network id basis, the BAA maintains a list of all partner sites that have been linked by the user to the global network id. Global Network Domain

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the global network owns and operates an Internet domain, i.e. the NET domain, such as net.org. This NET domain is used as the destination domain for cookies that need to be shared among global network BAAs and/or shared among global network partner sites. The login model herein discussed calls for a cookie to be made available to all global network partners by being set on the NET domain or a subdomain thereof, e.g. partners.net.org, and giving each partner a DNS entry on a subdomain thereof, e.g. aol.com.partners.net.org.

The NET domain is also used to facilitate routing of login credential submissions to the proper BAA for the user, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/086,104, filed Feb. 26, 2002.

Example Implementation

This section describes in detail an example implementation according to the preferred embodiment of the invention. It should be appreciated that the particular implementation is by example only, and that other implementations are possible and within the spirit and scope of the invention. The sample implementation can be described with reference to FIGS. 2a and 2b, a flow diagram of a realized NET partner site seamless user authentication detection and automatic login.

• • Step 1. User navigates to NET partner site abc123.com's home page, which the user's browser requests (200).
  • Step 2. abc123.com's server returns abc123.com's home page, which contains an JavaScript tag that instructs the browser to fetch abc123.com's seamless NET login JavaScript page from abc123.com's subdomain on the shared NET domain and to subsequently detect and process auto-generated login ticket returned by user's BAA. (201)
  • Step. 3 Browser requests abc123.com's seamless NET login JavaScript page, and passes along the user's shared NET login cookie, if any. (202)
  • Step 4. abc123.com's server examines the browser request to see if a NET login cookie is available. (203)
  • Step 5. abc123.com's server examines the user's NET login cookie to see if the user's login status is “true”, i.e., the user is currently logged in.(204)
  • Step 6. abc123.com server returns an HTTP redirect to the ticket-generating URL configured for the user's BAA, as indicated in the NET login cookie. (205)
  • Step 7. Browser follows redirect and requests BAA's ticket-generating URL, passing along abc123.com's NET id and user's BAA login cookies. (206)
  • Step 8. BAA's server inspects users BAA login cookies to ensure they're valid, e.g., by checking their timestamp, checksum values, etc. (207)
  • Step 9. BAA's server checks its database records to see if user has previously authorized seamless login to abc123.com. (208)
  • Step 10. BAA generates abc123.com login ticket for user and returns JavaScript code containing the ticket. (209)
  • Step 11. JavaScript code returned to browser in step 201 detects the login ticket, assigns the ticket value to a hidden form field in abc123.com's home page, and autosubmits the form to continue the seamless login. (210)
  • Step 12. abc123.com server receives the ticket from the browser and issues a server-to-server request to BAA's ticket-validating URL. (211)
  • Step 13. BAA server validates the ticket, e.g., by checking its embedded timestamp, checksum values, etc. (212)
  • Step 14. BAA server returns the user's NET GUID. (213)
  • Step 15. abc123.com server receives the user's NET GUID and looks it up in its database to find the user's corresponding abc123.com user id, then logs the user in as that abc123.com user id. (214)
  • Step 16. abc123.com server returns JavaScript in which the partner ticket variable is set to “0” to indicate that no ticket is available. (215)
  • Step 17. BAA server returns JavaScript in which the partner ticket variable is set to “0” to indicate that no ticket is available. (216)
  • Step 18. Browser detects that no partner ticket has been returned, hence aborts the seamless NET login processing and leaves abc123.com's home page (returned in step 201) displayed to the user. (217)

The example partner site implementation consists of the following files, the contents of which are listed below.

• • abcHomePage.htm—an example partner site home page that implements seamless user status detection and auto-login.
  • statusDetect.jsp—an example partner site dynamic server page, written in JavaServerPages syntax, that detects and acts upon user's login status based on NET login status cookie.

Table A below shows an example html file for the home page of the partner site according to the invention.

TABLE A
abcHomePage.htm:
1  <html>
2  <head>
3  <title>abc123.com home page</title>
4
5  <script>
6  var partnerTicket=0;
7  // Function to be invoked after page, incl. embedded JavaScript file,
   loads
8  function onLoad( ) {
9  // Got ticket?
10 if (partnerTicket != 0) {
11 // Yes -- auto-submit to abc123.com's seamless login handler
12 document.forms.autologin.ticket.value = partnerTicket;
13 document.forms.autologin.submit( );
14 }
15 }
16 </script>
17 </head>
18
19 <body onLoad=“onLoad( ); return false;”>
20 Welcome to abc123.com!
21
22 <p>Guest, please <a href=“loginForm.jsp”>login</a>
23
24 <script src=“http://abc123.com.partner.net.org/
   statusDetect.jsp”></script>
25
26 <form name=“autologin” action=“autoLogin.htm”>
27 <input type=“hidden” name=“ticket” value=“0”>
28 </form>
29
30 </body>
31
32 </html>

Table B below shows an example JavaScript program segment for detecting a user's status according to the invention.

TABLE B
statusDetect.jsp:
1  <%@ page language=“java”
2  import=“java.net.*,java.io.*,java.util.*,javax.servlet.http.*”
3  %>
4
5  <%
6  // Find netLoginStatus cookie value, if any
7  Cookie cookies[] = request.getCookies( );
8  boolean found = false;
9  String status = null;
10 String baaId = null;
11
12 for (int i=0; (i<cookies.length) && !found; i++) {
13 found = cookies[i].getName( ).equals(“netLoginStatus”);
14 if (found) {
15 // Value is of form <status>-<BAAId>
16 String val = cookies[i].getValue( );
17 int sepPos = val.indexOf (“-”);
18 status = val.substring(0, sepPos);
19 baaId = val.substring(sepPos+1);
20 }
21 }
22
23 // Found cookie and user logged in?
24 if (found && status.equals(“true”)) {
25 // Yes
26
27 // Lookup BAA's ticket-generating URL
28 String baaUrl = “”;
29 if (baaId.equals(“baa1”)) {
30
31 baaUrl = “http: //login.baa1.partner.net.org/
   ticketGen?siteId=abc123.com”;
32 } else if (baaId.equals(“baa2”)) {
33 baaUrl = “http: //auth.baa2.partner.net.org/
   tg?siteId=abc123.com”;
34 } // ...
35
36 // Redirect to BAA's ticket-generating URL
37 response.sendRedirect(baaUrl)
38 } else {
39 // No -- render login button
40 out.println(“<a href=\“loginForm.jsp\”>Login</a>”);
41 }

Seamless Login Example

This section illustrates interactions when the user visits a global network partner site after previously logging into the global network during the same session, and can be described with reference to FIG. 3, a global network architecture component interaction diagram.

The following steps are meant by example only, and other ways of achieving the same results are within the scope and spirit of the invention.

• • Step 1. User clicks on a site that has been bookmarked, such as “auction123.com”, and the browser requests the auction123.com home page. (301)

The returned auction123.com home page (302) includes a JavaScript SRC=tag which tells the browser to fetch an auction123.com-served JavaScript file from auction123.com.partners.net.org as well as other JavaScript code that is used herein below. (303)

• • Step 2. The auction123.com server on partners.net.org gets a NET_BAA cookie and thus knows that a seamless global network login for such user is possible, i.e. if they have previously linked their auction123.com/global network accounts and opted into the auto-login feature. (303)
  • Step 3. The auction123.com server uses the baseline authentication agency domain from the NET_BAA cookie, aol.com.auth.net.org in this case, to formulate the URL to the BAA's login token-generation service, and returns an HTTP redirect to this URL. (304)
  • Step 4. The browser fetches aol.com's login token generation service URL, passing auction123.com's global network site id. (305)
  • Step 5. The BAA (aol.com) server receives the token-generation request including site id, as well as the user's NET credential cookies previously sent to the browser.

It checks to see if 1) the site id is known or valid; 2) the user's credentials are valid; and 3) the user has authorized seamless login to that site. Because all conditions are true in this case, it generates and returns a JavaScript snippet containing a short-lived, auction123.com specific, encrypted global network login token bound to a JavaScript variable, such as “netLoginTok”. (306)

• • Step 6. The auction123.com's, original page served in Step 1 above, includes JavaScript that sees if the JavaScript variable, netLoginTok has a value. When the step fails, then netLoginTok has no value.

In the case netLoginTok has a value, then the auction123.com JavaScript code proceeds with the seamless global network login processing as follows:

The JavaScript code writes out an HTML form that includes the global network login token as a hidden field and the auction123.com global network login handler as the action (target URL). It then auto-submits the form such that the browser POSTS the form to the auction123.com global network login handler URL on auction123.com. (307)

• • Step 7. The auction123.com server requests mapping of login token->account number. (308)

The aol.com (BAA) server decrypts the login token and performs a series of validation checks on it, such as: not expired and if the IP of requesting auction123.com server is in allowed list for site id=auction123.com.

The validation checks pass and the aol.com server returns the user's global network account number to the auction123.com server. (309)

• • Step 8. The auction123.com server maps user's global network account number to their auction123.com record, and proceeds to log user in as usual, setting auction123.com cookies, etc., and returns a personalized welcome page. (310)

Accordingly, although the invention has been described in detail with reference to particular preferred embodiments, persons possessing ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains will appreciate that various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims that follow.

Claims

1. An apparatus for determining in a global network the user status as the user goes from site to site within said network, said apparatus comprising: a set of baseline authentication agencies responsible for core global network authentication services; a global network domain and associated DNS records used for cookie sharing, login routing, and the like; and a collection of partner sites with access to cookies shared via said global network domain.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a baseline authentication agency of said set of baseline authentication agencies: provides authentication services for a subset of the users of the global network after authenticating a user, writes a site identification along with an authenticated status of true into a cookie of said global network domain shared and accessible by said collection of partner sites; and when a global network user logs out of said global network, resets the user's authenticated status to false in said shared domain cookie.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising means for when an authenticated global network user using a browser visits a partner site of said collection of partner sites, said partner site accessing said shared domain cookie to determine the user's baseline authentication agency; means for said partner site redirecting said user's browser to said baseline authentication agency to request global network id informational of the user; wherein said baseline authentication agency distinguishes between sites that have been linked and that have a trust relationship with the user and ones that have not been linked; and means for said baseline authentication agency returning said global network id informational of the user to said partner site if if's a linked site, thereby performing a seamless authentication, and if said site is not linked, said baseline authentication agency returning an authentication error indication.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising:. means for when an unauthenticated global network user visits a global partner site, said global network partner site attempting to access said shared domain cookie and either not finding said cookie at all, or determining that said authenticated status is false; and wherein in either case, said global network partner site determining that a user is not authenticated into the global network and thus not allowing access for said user.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a globally unique identifier for each global network user account, wherein said globally unique identifier is a primary key with which global network user data records are indexed, and wherein for privacy reasons, only said globally unique identifier and a name of an associated baseline authenticating agency are shared with third party sites unless a user opts-in to distributing said global network login id.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising means for decentralizing core global network functionality, said means for decentralizing further comprising: means for propagating selected global network user information to global network partner sites by setting cookies on a global network domain for which each partner has an entry, such that partners can fetch said data without hitting any centralized global network server.

7. A method for an existing global network user using a browser and having a global network account logging onto a global network partner site without preexisting authentication, said user having an account on said partner site, wherein said user account has an account number, and wherein said user previously authorized said global network to seamlessly log said user into said partner site, said method comprising the steps of: said user authenticating itself to a baseline authentication agency associated with the user, via any suitable method allowed by said baseline authentication agency and said global network; said baseline authentication agency setting values of a plurality of shared cookies, said plurality of cookies set on a partner-site-accessible subdomain of a global network domain, thereby readable by said baseline authentication agency and all global network partner sites, said plurality of shared cookies comprising, but not limited to: a shared network login status cookie containing both the user's global network login status, and the network id of the user's baseline authentication agency; said baseline authentication agency setting values of a plurality of private cookies, set on a private domain only accessible by said baseline authentication agency, said plurality of private cookies comprising, but not limited to: one or more global network credential cookies; said baseline authentication agency generating a short-lived, partner-specific, encrypted login token and returning it to the browser as a hidden input field in an auto-submitting input form; said browser processing said auto-submitting input form returned by said baseline authentication agency and submitting sad login token to a partner site's login handler; said partner site performing a server to server token validation request to said baseline authentication agency by passing said login token; said baseline authentication agency validating said login token and returning the user's global network account number to the partner site; and said partner site mapping the user's global network account number to a corresponding login id on said partner site, proceeding to log in, setting corresponding cookies on said partner site, and returning a personalized welcome page to said browser.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein at least one cookie of said plurality of cookies serves as a flag to said partner sites indicating that the user is logged into the global network.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein said global network server generates a short-lived, partner site-specific, encrypted global network login token, and wherein a response of said global network server comprises a redirect instruction to said partner site global for a network login handler, and wherein said redirect instruction comprises said global network login token.

10. A method for a user on a global network using a browser visiting a partner Web site, wherein said partner Web site is a linked and seamlessly login enabling global network site, during an ongoing session, said method comprising the steps of: said user selecting said partner Web site and said browser requesting a home page of said partner Web site, wherein said home page of said partner Web site comprises a JavaScript tag telling said browser to fetch a partner site-served JavaScript file from said partner site server, as well as fetch other relevant JavaScript code; said partner Web site server obtains a network login status cookie on a global network domain, thereby determining said user's global network login status and BAA; said partner Web site using a BAA id from said network login status cookie for formulating a URL to a login token-generation service of said associated authentication agency domain, and returning an HTTP redirect to said URL; said browser fetching said URL, and passing a global network site id of said partner Web site; said associated authentication agency domain receiving said token-generation request including said site id, as well as any corresponding user global network credential cookie previously sent to the browser; said partner Web site's home page comprising a particular JavaScript code and using said particular JavaScript code for determining a JavaScript login-token variable has a value, wherein if said login-token variable has said value, then said proceeds with a seamless global network login processing; said partner Web site requesting mapping of said login-token variable to an user global network account number; said global network server decrypting said login-token variable and performing validation checks on said login-token variable, said checks comprising, but not limited to: not expired and if an associated IP of said requesting partner Web site is in an allowed list, and if said validation checks pass, then said global network server returning said global network account number to said partner Web site; and said partner Web site mapping said user's global network account number to a corresponding partner Web site record, logging user in, setting cookies of said partner Web site, and returning a personalized welcome page.

11. The method of claim of 10 further comprising the steps of: said associated authentication agency domain checking if the site id is known or valid, if said user's credentials are valid, and if the user has authorized seamless login to said partner Web site.

12. The method of claim of 10, said seamless global network login processing further comprising the steps of: said JavaScript code writing out an HTML form comprising said global network login token as a hidden field and writing out a partner Web site global network login handler as an action URL, and auto-submitting said form such that said browser posts said form to said partner Web site global network login handler URL on said partner Web site.