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Authentication Methods
Authentication is essentially the process of when a user confirms their identity before gaining access to a computer system. In a network, this is often done through inputting a username and password.
There are broadly three categories of factors of authentication:
- something you are - username, bank account number, or anything that identifies the user uniquely
- something you know - password, pin, secret answer to a question
- something you have - swipe card, biometrics, any other physical identifying device
Multi-factor authentication explained
Additional Reading
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zb33rwx/revision/7
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z4jqmsg/revision/1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_authentication
Advanced: Web authentication methods explained (you'll find this information useful if you are building a complex website which uses sessions and tokens)