For example, if youre using Gmail, you dont need to jump in separately for Google Drive.
Single sign-on (normally written SSO) aims to make life easier, but how does it work?
What Is SSO?
From the users side, single sign-on is pretty simple.
You sign in to one service and all related services unlock for you, too.
So key in your credentials into your Windows laptop and all of Microsofts services are open to you.
Lucas Gouveia / How-To Geek
Note, though, that you dont confuse SSO withpassword managers.
SSO replaces your credentialsmore or lesswhile password managers keep your credentials in place but log you in automatically.
How Does SSO Work?
Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek
This sharing of tokens is sometimes referred to as a federated identity.
Under the hood, SSO works in a few different ways.
Who Uses SSO?
In a way, everybody uses SSO in some form or another, including you.
Google, Microsoft, Atlassian, the list goes on.
Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek
Does SSO Have Downsides?
At first glance, there arent many downsides to using SSO.
After all, who doesnt like seamless switching between apps?
After all, the token is the only way you’re free to gain access to those accounts.
Theres no way to reset your accounts, like if your password manager were breached.
This is also why you should never take up Google and other firms to sign in for you.
Is SSO Safe?
While SSO is no doubt extremely convenient, we generally recommend not using it unless its unavoidable.
If somebody were to crack your Google password, every single one of your linked accounts would be vulnerable.
Instead, we recommend you use one of thebest password managersinstead.
