Anonymous authentication is the process of confirming a user's right to access a webpage or other service. Unlike traditional authentication, which may require credentials such as a username and password, anonymous authentication allows users to log in to the system without exposing their actual identity. The most crucial benefit to anonymous authentication is the preservation of personal safety and security when conducting business online. This involves both personal and professional considerations, but the main point is protecting the user's identity on the Internet, along with preventing other individuals from having the ability to track and identify users online.
To understand the importance of anonymous authentication when transmitting information across the Internet, one could consider the example of a web forum intended to allow professionals to ask and answer questions about cutting-edge technology. If each user of the forum was forced to login and identify himself each time he made a post, other users of the forum could easily track his posting habits, collecting information about his questions and using it to determine what types of projects both the individual and his company are currently working on. This could create a severe security breach among development teams in business. With anonymous authentication, each user could not be tracked or identified, protecting both his or her identity and any information that could be gleaned by tracking his or her posting history.
Another good example involves the protection of children surfing online. Keeping a child's identity protected by using anonymous authentication lowers the risk that he or she might attract attention from predatory and other unscrupulous individuals online. By protecting the Internet Protocol (IP) address and avoiding the need to sign in with a username and password, children can browse online with much more safety. Without an identifying feature such as a name, a username, or an IP address to latch onto, online predators will have a much harder time tracking and monitoring any specific child's behavior.
When it comes to implementation, there is no real-world difference between a user that has been authenticated anonymously and one that has not been authenticated at all. Due to this, websites which utilize anonymous authentication can place no real restraints on the individuals who have access to the site. Sites which use this setup are a bit like public masquerades; everyone can gain access, but no one can ever be identified.
