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Wiktionary
authenticator

n. 1 One who authenticates. 2 A feature that shows something to be authentic.

WordNet
authenticator

n. one who determines authenticity (as of works of art) or who guarantees validity [syn: appraiser]

Wikipedia
Authenticator

An authenticator is a way to prove to a computer system that you really are who you are (called authentication). It is either:

  • A piece of data (often called a token) that you got from the last place where you proved who you are (to save you, or the software, the hassle of logging in again).
  • A program, usually running somewhere on the computer network, that takes care of authentication.

Authenticator tokens are common when one program needs to authenticate itself to a larger server or cloud repeatedly. For instance, you (the human) might sign on to a secure website with your name and password, after which you can surf around inside the secure server, visiting different web pages. Every time you move to a new page, however, the server must believe that you are the same person who originally signed in (otherwise it will refuse). Your browser keeps an authenticator token, which it sends upon every page request (often as a browser cookie), that does this.

More complex situations might involve a program that runs automatically (say, at 4:00am every morning) that similarly requires authentication to get at the data it needs, but there's no human around to log in for them. An authenticator token must be prepared in advance that this program uses. Ultimately, some human must authenticate to create such a token.

  • In INFOSEC, authenticators are means used to confirm the identity or eligibility of a station, originator, or individual.
  • In IEEE 802.1X, an authenticator is an entity at one end of a point-to-point LAN segment that facilitates authentication of the entity attached to the other end of that link. In practice, the authenticator is usually a network switch or wireless access point that serves as the point of connection for computers joining the network. The authenticator receives connection requests from a supplicant on the connecting computer.

Usage examples of "authenticator".

The coded authentications were changed on a random--but regular--basis, and if E607 didn't have an up-to-date authenticator then the fact the little scout an authentic Leaguer ship would have little effect at all.

The coded authentications were changed on a random--but regular--basis, and if E607 didn't have an up-to-date authenticator then the fact that the little scout was an authentic Leaguer ship would have little effect at all.

Between the cruiser and the distant blip that authenticators had recognized as a Yuuzhan Vong warship floated the Queen of Empire, with what appeared to be a seasoned corvette nursing at one of the starliner’s airlocks.

Every military starship in the Universe carried some kind of device to return a properly coded "authenticator" signal when "challenged" by similar equipment aboard another vessel.

Barbousse returned it promptly--his KA'PPA reply was not even complete before the authenticator chimed.

Well, sir," Brim said, "most merchantmen don't carry an authenticator.

See if they saluted as civilian types and then kicked off the authenticator, too.

He shook his head as they moved past the little planet, their authenticator busy answering challenges from all six patrol craft.

Momentarily, the authenticator began to chime with almost constant challenges.

Good K-9 unit, good use of manpower, good rotation procedures, good challenge and response and use of authenticators.

The decoded message contained the launch order, a launch authenticator code for the computer-and a warhead fusing enable code.

The controller then read off a date-time group and a coded authenticator.

Between the cruiser and the distant blip that authenticators had recognized as a Yuuzhan Vong warship floated the Queen of Empire, with what appeared to be a seasoned corvette nursing at one of the starliner's airlocks.

Has anyone tested to see how long an amputated thumb will green-light a comset's fingerprint authenticator?

His thumb slipped easily into the hollow on the side of the unit where the personal authenticator grid was located.