Security
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How Web Authentication Works
Web authentication is a communication between the browser and the server, involving a small number of HTTP headers and error messages.
The flow of communication is:
- The Web browser makes a request (for example, an HTTP GET).
- The Web server performs an authentication check. If this fails because authentication is required, then the server sends back an error message (usually a 401—Access Denied), along with information so that the Web browser can resubmit the request as an authenticated request.
- The Web browser uses the server’s response to construct a new request that contains authentication information.
- The Web server performs an authentication check. If the check is successful, the server sends the data that was initially requested back to the Web browser.
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