Logging out of ASP.NET MVC application with windows authentication and being able to login again with same user

When using Windows authentication in an ASP.NET MVC application, logging out and logging back in with the same user can be a bit tricky since the authentication is handled by the operating system or Active Directory. By default, the application won't prompt the user for credentials again after logging out.

However, you can achieve a "re-login" behavior by clearing the authentication cookies and redirecting the user to the login page explicitly. Here's how you can implement this:

1. Clear Authentication Cookies: In your logout action in the controller, clear the authentication cookies. In Windows authentication, the primary authentication cookie is usually named "ASP.NET_SessionId" or "ASPXAUTH". Make sure to clear both the authentication and session cookies.

   csharpCopy code
   using System.Web;
   
   public class AccountController : Controller
   {
       public ActionResult Logout()
       {
           // Clear authentication cookies
           HttpContext.GetOwinContext().Authentication.SignOut();
   
           // Clear session cookies
           Session.Clear();
   
           return RedirectToAction("Login", "Account");
       }
   }
   

2. Redirect to Login Page: After clearing the authentication and session cookies, redirect the user to the login page using RedirectToAction. This will prompt the user to enter their credentials again.

3. Optional: Disable Automatic Login: In some cases, the browser might automatically log in the user using their Windows credentials. To prevent this behavior, you can add the following attribute to your login action to disable automatic login:

   csharpCopy code
   [AllowAnonymous]
   public ActionResult Login()
   {
       HttpContext.Response.Headers.Add("X-Content-Type-Options", "nosniff");
       HttpContext.Response.Headers.Add("X-Frame-Options", "DENY");
       HttpContext.Response.Headers.Add("Strict-Transport-Security", "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains");
       Response.Cache.SetCacheability(HttpCacheability.NoCache);
       Response.Cache.SetNoStore();
   
       return View();
   }
   

By clearing the authentication cookies and redirecting to the login page, the user will be prompted to enter their credentials again, effectively achieving a "re-login" behavior.

Keep in mind that Windows authentication is primarily managed by the operating system or Active Directory, and the behavior might vary depending on the user's domain settings and browser configurations. It's essential to test this behavior thoroughly in different environments to ensure it works as expected for your specific scenario.