Methods, systems, and media to authenticate a user for interaction with applications on a server are disclosed. Embodiments include hardware in and/or software on a server adapted to generate a unique, session identification like a random number to identify a user's login session. The identification is stored in memory that will not be de-allocated upon termination of applications on the server and is transmitted via, e.g., a cookie to the user's browser, or the like. Subsequent user accesses can be verified by comparing the session identification from the web browser with the corresponding entry in the memory. Once the user's identification is verified, the user is authorized to access to applications associated with the user's login session, providing independence from the architecture of the applications executed by the server. Further embodiments include additional session information with the identification in the memory. Some embodiments monitor login sessions for expiration.