Machine Authentication

What Does Machine Authentication Mean?

Machine authentication is the process of general authentication of a machine over wired or wireless networks when the machine is a “supplicant” seeking to access or share information or accomplish some other type of digital interaction. Machine authentication happens in different ways in various IT setups, but generally involves a “digital certificate” such as in the SSL protocol used on the internet.

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Machine authentication is also known simply as machine auth.

Techopedia Explains Machine Authentication

The idea of machine authentication relies on the use of common technologies. For instance, the dominant end user operating system Windows from Microsoft uses Active Directory and other resources to “do machine authentication” a certain way, which has framed what users have come to expect in the case that they actually think about machine authentication at all. Some confuse machine auth with “user auth” and do not understand the process of auth machines, which again, happens differently depending on many factors. The bottom line is that machine authentication is needed for digital security.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…