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Auto Disconnect after No Activity

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by pat_dilling

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We have recently converted a Filemaker Pro Data base to version 5. This new version has the capability to disconnect a user after a specified period of no activity. The time period is adjustable and warns the user that they will be disconnected ifthey do not do something (mouse click, press a key, etc.) We are in favor of implementing this to save server resources and because it would provide a measure of security if users leave their desktop unattended while they were logged in. I am looking for industry best practices, or policies on this issue that we can use to strengthen our position with our users and management on implementing this feature.

Thanks

3 replies

by eperrin

It really depends on your security policies. If you have concerns about unauthorized access at the desktop then this is something you should do. The other issue regarding server resources is one that you may have to examine further. How much of the servers resources are used by leaving a connection that is in an inactive state authenticated.
Is it 0.2%, 2%, 5% etc.

You may also want to examine your policies on local machines, if people are working on say NT, and they have their machine setup to lock after a couple minutes of inactivity, then you have a viable reason to do so on your FileMaker database connections.

If you are dealing with sensitive information that is for the operators eyes only, I would do it. I would first monitor the average "working" inactivity times, and then implement a policy accordingly taking those idle times into accounts. What you don't want to do is set the time so low that people have to re-auth just because they read a record, but not too high asto make your work an exercise in futility.

In the end, you should customize your policy in a way that does not upset your users, and satisfies your security requirements and concerns.

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