Microsoft to beef up Windows identity security

Microsoft will build software for managing identities into Windows in order to beef up security by giving users more control over their personal information.

The ID technology called "info-cards" would give users more control over their own personal information in order to shop and access services online, said Michael Stephenson, a director in Microsoft's Windows Server division.

The proposal is reminiscent of two software tools detailed by Microsoft in 2001 called Passport and Hailstorm.

Hailstorm was quietly shelved after privacy advocates said it put too much sensitive information into the hands of a single company and partners expressed similar reservations.

Passport, used to provide a single log-in for multiple websites and store basic personal information, did not gain the wide audience that Microsoft had expected.