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Microsoft Passport is a "universal-login" service provided by Microsoft that allows users to log in to many websites using one account. Many of these websites include Microsoft services such as Hotmail, the .NET Messenger Service or MSN subscriptions, but there are also several other companies affiliated with Microsoft that use it, such as RadioShack. Users of Hotmail or MSN automatically have a Microsoft Passport that corresponds to their accounts.
Microsoft has recently stated that they will stop usage of Passport for entities outside of Microsoft's operations. They have also said that they are going to stop development, in what appears to be a phasing-out of the technology.
Passport was criticised by EFF's staff attorney Deborah Pierce as a potential threat to privacy after it was revealed that Microsoft would have full access and usage to customer information. [1] (http://news.com.com/Privacy+terms+revised+for+Microsoft+Passport/2100-1023_3-255310.html?tag=bplst) These terms were quickly updated by Microsoft to allay customer's privacy fears.
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