What is Single Sign On?

Single Sign On is a method of allowing you to securely access multiple different web sites (or mobile apps) without having to login to each one. Each service (in our case Google, Online Services, Moodle, etc) will query the single sign on service to see if you are already logged in. If so, you will be immediately granted access to your account. Otherwise, you will be prompted to perform that initial login. Once you have logged in accessing one service (e.g. Google Mail) you will be able to access others (e.g. Online Services) without logging in again.

When you try to access either of these services, you will be taken to a unified login page that is different from the one you may be used to. Instead of the traditional login pages for each service, your login request will be redirected back to our Single Sign On service and logged in there. After a successful login, you will be forwarded on to the site or app you originally requested.

The single sign on screen looks like the following image.

Security Notes:

With the heightened awareness of phishing attacks and other web security dangers, it is important to be attentive any time you are entering your username and password on a website.  Here are a few keys to help you identify a legitimate Concordia login page.

• The Concordia single sign on login page will always have an address starting with https://identity.concordia.ab.ca as in the image above.
• That address bar will also contain a padlock, indicating that the site is who it claims to be.
• If your web browser shows an address that’s different in any way, including failing to show “https” at the start of the address, it is not legitimate.
• It is also worth reminding that Concordia IT Services does not (and will not) ask for your username and password over email.