The OpenID standard allows you to use just one identifier to access many websites without having to create new passwords for each website.

OpenID combined with LonelyID goes a bit beyond by allowing you to: NEVER have to create or remember a password.

Who owns and controls OpenID?

OpenID was created in the summer of 2005 by an open source community with the goal of finding a solution to a problem which was not easy to solve with the existing technologies at the time.

OpenID is a completely decentralised service that nobody owns. At present, anyone can choose to use OpenID or create his or her own OpenID provider service for free and without needing approval by any specific organization.

The OpenID Foundation was created to help the open source model and provide a legal entity to host OpenID and promote OpenID support and expansion worldwide.

What websites support OpenID?

There are a great number of websites that offer access to their services with OpenID:

• Blogger
• 37 signals (basecamp, highrise, backpack, campfire)
• Daily Motion
• Source Forge
• Get Satisfaction
• Stack Overflow
• ...

You can get a much more complete and up to date list here.

OpenID related links of interest

• http://openid.net - OpenID Foundation Website
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenID - OpenID article on Wikipedia