Arcot Systems Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif., has developed an authentication application that uses Adobe Systems Inc.'s Flash software.
The software, ID Flash, is designed to provide online authentication with any browser or operating system, Arcot announced Wednesday.
To the end user, the software resembles the typical username-password authentication system, but the Flash element, typically used to create multimedia Web applications, acts as a "software-based smart card" for strong authentication, Ram Varadarajan, Arcot's co-founder and chief executive, said in an interview. "We are trying to move the world of username-password to something better."
The only change that users might notice is a more rigid authentication process when they enroll with a financial company's Web site. The enrollment process could include such measures as calling the customer to determine if the customer actually is at their computer attempting to log in to the site. Once the user is authenticated, the system will send a Flash program to the user for subsequent sessions.
Unlike "cookies," which store Web settings for frequently-used sites, Arcot's software will not be deleted when users clear their browser settings.
