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authentication
Sign in to savethumb|ATM user authenticating himself Authentication (from authentikos, "real, genuine", from αὐθέντης authentes, "author") is the act of proving an assertion, such as the identity of a computer system user. In contrast with identification, the act of indicating a person or thing's identity, authentication is the process of verifying that identity.
Authentication is the process of verifying that someone or something is genuinely who or what they claim to be, rather than just stating an identity. It matters because it allows systems like banks and computers to confirm your identity before granting you access to sensitive information or services.
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Wikidata facts
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- Stack Exchange tag
- stackoverflow.com/tags/authentication
- ACM Classification Code (2012)
- 10002992
- P8168
- Longnes
- Commons category
- Authentication
- native label
- αὐθεντικός
- P13411
- Witterschlick
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~21 min read
Article
15 sectionsContents
- In art, antiques and anthropology
- In commercial products
- Packaging
- In literature
- In computer science
- Authentication factors
- Single-factor authentication
- Multi-factor authentication
- Authentication types
- Strong authentication
- Continuous authentication
- Digital authentication
- See also
- References
- External links
thumb|ATM user authenticating himself Authentication (from authentikos, "real, genuine", from αὐθέντης authentes, "author") is the act of proving an assertion, such as the identity of a computer system user. In contrast with identification, the act of indicating a person or thing's identity, authentication is the process of verifying that identity.
Authentication is relevant to multiple fields. In art, antiques, and anthropology, a common problem is verifying that a given artifact was produced by a certain person, or in a certain place (i.e. to assert that it is not counterfeit), or in a given period of history (e.g. by determining the age via carbon dating). In computer science, verifying a user's identity is often required to allow access to confidential data or systems. It might involve validating personal identity documents.