title: User authentication without Session state in ASP.NET
body: <p>One of the requirements proposed for an ASP.NET application is that we have Session state disabled globally. (This is not negotiable.)</p>
  
  <p>Another requirement is that we have some means for user authentication. I'm thinking of using ASP.NET's membership provider model.</p>
  
  <p>Is it possible to have user authentication without Session State?</p>
  
  <p>The specific user-authentication examples we're looking for are:</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>User goes to website unauthenticated</li>
  <li>User enters registration information (contact fields, etc)</li>
  <li>For the remainder of their session, user has access to certain content thanks to their registered status</li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>Is there a way to do this with cookies?</p>
  
  <p>Can this be done securely, so the cookie can not be easily spoofed?</p>
  
  <p>Is there built-in functionality in ASP.NET to support this, or will we need to roll our own method?</p>