ASP.NET Login Control cookies, how does it work?

Question

I have a login control set up on the site I'm creating and it works okay. I can query my database and it will login a user if the details match the database or fail otherwise.

Here's my code:

private bool UserLoginConnection(string user, string password)
    {
        SqlConnection sqlConnection = new SqlConnection(connectionString);
        SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand("Select userEmail from Users where userEmail = @user and userPassword = @password", sqlConnection);
        cmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("@user", user);
        cmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("@password", password);
        sqlConnection.Open();

        string result = Convert.ToString(cmd.ExecuteScalar());
        sqlConnection.Close();
        if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(result))
        {
            return false;
        }
        return true;

    }

    protected void UserLogin_Authenticate(object sender, AuthenticateEventArgs e)
    {
        string user = UserLogin.UserName;
        string password = UserLogin.Password;
        bool result = UserLoginConnection(user, password);

        if (result)
        {
            e.Authenticated = true;
            Session["username"] = user;
        }
        else
        {
            e.Authenticated = false;
        }
    }

My question is to do with cookies. My understanding is that if I check the remember me box (provided by the login control) the form authentication module creates a persistent cookie.

I'd like to know if my understanding of how it works is correct? I'm happy enough with the solution as it is, provided it works the way I think it does.

Note: I know my code might not be the best but I'm a beginner and I'm learning every day!

Answer 1

Yes, your assumption is correct.

After Authenticate event is fired, it looks at the returns value of Authenticated .

If it is true, it creates Form Authentication Cookie -

FormsAuthentication.SetAuthCookie(UserNameInternal, RememberMeSet); 

AttemptLogin method of Login control

private void AttemptLogin() { 
    // ... removed for brevity...

    AuthenticateEventArgs authenticateEventArgs = new AuthenticateEventArgs();
    OnAuthenticate(authenticateEventArgs);

    if (authenticateEventArgs.Authenticated) {
        FormsAuthentication.SetAuthCookie(UserNameInternal, RememberMeSet); 

        OnLoggedIn(EventArgs.Empty);

        Page.Response.Redirect(GetRedirectUrl(), false);
    }
    else {
        // ... removed for brevity...
    }
} 

Other Thoughts

You do not need Session["username"] = user; . If you use Form Authentication , you can use User.Identity.Name to get username from Thread's Current Principal .

For example,

string username = User.Identity.Name;