Single-sign-on vendor Passlogix this week will release an on-demand version of its technology that can be used anywhere and on any machine.

The On-Demand version of v-GO Sign-On does not require software to be formally installed on a client machine, therefore giving users portable enterprise single sign-on (SSO). Users can download the software when it is needed or load the v-GO platform onto a USB memory stick for use on PCs, kiosks and other devices with USB ports.

The portable SSO could be used on home computers, by users who have multiple PCs or need access from a satellite office or kiosk, and by part-time employees, such as contractors.

SSO software stores a user's passwords in a database on the desktop or in a network directory, and offers the credentials when the user needs them for accessing any resource requiring a user name and password.

Although that is a great convenience -- and more secure than writing the passwords on a sticky note -- it means users could have a harder time remembering passwords, because the SSO platform is much like a telephone speed-dial: Once the password is plugged into the system and users no longer are required to type it in each time they access a resource, they could have a hard time remembering their log-on credentials when they log on from some place other than their desktops.

The v-Go Sign-On Platform – On-Demand version is an attempt to solve that issue.

"What we did was change the location of where we put the executable files and our data," says Stephane Fymat, vice president of strategy and product management for Passlogix. "We no longer write to HKLM keys in the registry, and we no longer install our software in the program file folder."

The on-demand version works by copying files in user directories on the machine. That means that users don't have to have administrative rights to load software, which is key for working on kiosks or machines the user or the administrator cannot control.

Administrators set up a hosting server to hold the On-Demand package that includes a couple of XML files to describe the contents of the package and the version number of the software. The package is downloaded from the server when a user clicks on a link in a Web page, much like a Java Applet is downloaded.

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