Security and Authentication

DirectPlay security allows an application running on a server to authenticate users against a database of known users before allowing them to join a session. Once a user has been authenticated, all communications between the client and server can be done securely either by digitally signing messages (to verify the identity of the sender) or by encrypting the messages.

For an architectural overview, see Security.

More information is contained in the following topics:

• User and Message Authentication
• Message Encryption
• Firewall Support
• Secure Sessions