What methods do Google and Facebook use to manage user sessions effectively?

I'm looking to incorporate a session in my asp.net application that remains active until the user logs out. I've come across this feature on websites like Google, where the session persists even after a computer restart. How do they achieve this seamless session management?

Answer №1

It's unlikely that Google or Facebook keeps users' sessions active indefinitely. They typically reset the expiration time and extend it as users continue to visit their websites.

Sessions are controlled using Session Cookies, which contain a unique ID for each session and are stored in the user's browser.

Try this little experiment: go to facebook.com, log in to your account, and then enter the following code in the URL Bar and hit enter:

javascript:alert(document.cookie);

Make sure to include the leading javascript: part, as some browsers may omit it when copying and pasting.

You'll see a popup box displaying Facebook's session cookie, which is called presence.

Next, run the following code and then refresh the Facebook page:

javascript:window.execScript("document.cookie=''");

Facebook will prompt you to log in again because you've cleared your Facebook cookie and it no longer recognizes your session.

Unlike some server-side scripting technologies like ASP.NET, most do not keep their session cookies persistent, only storing essential information like login details. If you want to store additional user data, you'll need to create your own cookie and check it in your Login.aspx.cs file.

When saving user information in cookies, consider including the user ID, User Agent, and encrypting the cookie. Including the User Agent or a unique identifier can help prevent Man-In-The-Middle attacks. Some websites even store the IP address in cookies for added security.

For more information on persistent cookies, you can refer to MSDN.

Answer №2

The type of cookie you need is known as a Persistent Cookie.

For more information, check out this related answer: Learn how to create persistent cookies in asp.net.

Answer №3

While I can't guarantee it, it seems likely that they rely on authentication cookies. I stumbled upon a fascinating discussion on this topic here, along with additional sources for further reading. Trust you find it useful.

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