.NET Security and Cryptography

Windows Authentication

The authentication methods offered by IIS (apart from Anonymous authentication), such as Basic, Digest, Integrated Windows Authentication or its other Forms (NTLM/Kerberos), or Certificates, are employed in the Windows authentication mechanism. This method is very easy to implement because you can implement it with minimal ASP.NET coding, and IIS itself validates the user's credentials. The Windows authentication method is particularly appropriate for intranet applications. Moreover, it works for all content types, not only for ASP.NET resources.

If a user requests the protected resource, the IIS initially authenticates the user and attaches the security token to it. ASP.NET employs the authenticated identities token to ...