So What is SSO?

Keeping track of multiple accounts can be a real inconvenience for a lot of us. If you’re trying to operate a business or keep track of client’s credentials, there’s probably a lot of usernames and passwords you have to remember. Sometimes it’s tough to stay organized with all these accounts, which is why you might be seeing a lot of talk about SSO lately, but what is SSO?

Don’t worry, we got you covered. Let’s jump into what exactly this means.

What is Single Sign-On?

Let’s start with the basics. SSO stands for Single Sign-On. So what is Single Sign-On? SSO is an authentication service that allows a user to use one set of login credentials, such as email and password, to access multiple applications. In other words, a user only has to establish their identity once, and then they can login to multiple applications, like social media, without needing to input their information each time.

Think of your smartphone as like a Single Sign-On device. Once you’ve entered your password, you can access your social media, documents, links, texts and more without the need to enter your account information each time you want to look at one of these apps. That’s essentially what SSO does.

How Does it Work?

So let’s break it down even further. Whenever a user signs into an SSO service, it creates an authentication token, which acts as a temporary ID that acknowledges that the user is verified. Now any application or website that the user accesses from this point will be checked by the SSO service. The SSO service then passes the user's authentication token to the app to verify the user. If the user hasn’t signed in by this point, the SSO service will recognize this and then ask the user to enter their information before entering the application.

So now that we know what SSO is, why do we need it?

Why We Use SSO

There are lots of benefits to using SSO, whether it be for personal uses or business.

• No Forgotten Passwords: There’s no need to remember a dozen different passwords for your accounts anymore (although you should still keep those passwords handy just in case). With one single login credential, you’ll have access to all of your content and software.
• Single Point for Password Re-Entry: Usually administrators can force users to re-enter credentials after a certain amount of time. This ensures that users are still active on signed-in devices. With SSO, administrators have a central place to do this for all internal apps, rather than having to enforce it across multiple different apps.
• Fewer Complaints to IT: Since users will only have to remember to use one strong password, this leads to fewer complaints to IT about forgotten passwords.
• Internal Credential Management: User passwords are typically stored remotely (most times unorganized). With SSO, however, they are stored internally in an environment that departments like IT have more control and flexibility over.
• Security: Single Sign-On offers most users an extra level of security, since there is only one point of risk. Extra security can also be applied by adding multi-factor authentication, which allows a user to add a second form of identity authentication.

Does Desktop.com Support SSO?

We’re glad you asked! Lucky for you, Desktop.com does have an SSO feature for Pro-plan users. You can work on projects and manage tasks efficiently, with no worry on wasting time entering account information.

Get started with Desktop.com today, and begin your new organized digital life.

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