GoZync4

Security

Local Files

Authentication (Files on your iPhone or iPad)

It is up to you to decide if you want to require users to authenticate in to your mobile file on their iOS device. Many users will choose to use an auto-enter account and password so local users won't be asked to authenticate each time they open the mobile file. This makes more sense in synced files than others because a) the file often doesn't have any/much data in it, b) you can instruct users to secure the device with strong passwords, instead of securing the file, and c) the local file has no account information (no access) for the hosted files.

If you're concerned about theft of the mobile device, check out the Remote Wipe available here: http://www.apple.com/ipad/built-in-apps/find-my-ipad.html Note that you can also turn off "simple passcodes" in your iPhone or iPad's settings to use longer, more secure device passwords.

If you do choose to require authentication in the local file, users will be asked to authenticate each time they open the file. If you're breaking connections to the served files often, users will also be asked to log in...

After downloading new data from the server.

After downloading a new version of the mobile file.

and After sending a batch of records to the server.

Users will also be asked to authenticate each time they return to an open local file (such as after switching away to another app, or after closing their iPad) unless you use the fmreauthenticate extended privilege to control when users will be required to reauthenticate after not using FileMaker Go for a specified period of time. You'll likely want to add this to the privilege set in effect on your iOS Devices.

Our Recommendations: Your Mobile Files

So here are our recommendations for securing your mobile files (you can do this to GoZyncMobile as well if you wish).

Secure your iOS device with a passcode.

Create an upon opening script in your file that uses Get ( ApplicationVersion ) to test if the user is on FMGo or FMPro. Run this script with Allow User Abort Off.

If they are on Pro, call the relogin script step with NO options so they need an account to use the file.

If they are on Go, call the relogin script step using an account that lets them do their work but is NOT shared with the hosted solution.

Use the fmreauthenticate extended privilege to control when users will be required to reauthenticate after not using FileMaker Go for a specified period of time. The number after fmreauthenticate indicates how long, in minutes, the user can go inactive without having to reauthenticate: fmreauthenticate0 means they would have to reauthenticate every time they come back; fmreauthenticate120 would let them stay away 2 hours before they'd have to log in again. See FileMaker's Go Development Guide for more details.

When users go to sync they will be asked to log in to GoZyncHosted, and will then do so using an accounts shared with the hosted files... (see the next section)

Hosted Files

When it comes to your hosted files, GoZyncMobile will open your hosted solution (your "mothership" files) at the beginning of a sync session. This is when users will be asked to log into your solution.

Our Recommendations: Your Hosted Files

You really don't need to secure your files any differently than you do now: syncing users will be asked to authenticate when they sync begins and if their login fails the sync will abort.

Our Recommendations: GoZyncHosted

GoZyncHosted doesn't have any file references to your hosted solution (your "mothership" files) but it does contain your configuration instructions, so you don't want just any user messing around in there. We've created two privilege sets in GoZyncHosted: "Admin" and "Sync". Admin is a full access privilege set and "Sync" is a lower level access that lets users sync but not change the sync settings. We recommend you default GoZyncHosted to the sync privilege set, and then log in as an admin user when you want to make changes to the sync settings.

To do this, open GoZyncHosted and select File Options from FileMaker's File menu. The under the "Open" tab, enter the default Account and Password for the "Sync" privilege set: both of which are "Sync":

Then, when you need to log in as an admin user, run the "Relogin" script from GoZyncHosted and enter your Admin account and password.

You'll find this "Sync" privilege set in GoZyncMobile as well so if you log GoZyncMobile in using "Sync" in your Upon Opening script AND GoZyncMobile and GoZyncHosted have the same account name and password for the "Sync" privilege set, you can turn off the File Options account in GoZyncHosted. That is idea.

So in this ideal setup it would look like this:

GoZyncMobile (GZM) uses logs into the Sync privilege set via your Upon Opening script when it is opened on iOS.

GZM shares this "Sync" account name and password with GoZyncHosted (GZH) and passes these credentials up to GZH during sync, opening it under "Sync" as well. (You don't have to do anything about this "passing credentials" that is just how FileMaker opens files.)

If GZH is opened by something other than GZM, users will be asked to log in.

If GZM is opened off of an iOS device, users will be asked to log in.

ALL users will be asked to log in to your hosted files at the beginning of the sync.

Changing default Full Access accounts

You'll likely want to switch the default Full Access account fro both GZM and GZH from Admin / blank which is the FileMaker default for admin accounts and a bit easy to guess.

Enterprise customers: MDM

For larger customers, Apple has a suite of Mobile Device Management (MDM) applications to help secure devices, push profile changes, pull applications and monitor password compliance. This can help more thoroughly secure your iOS devices. Learn more here: http://www.apple.com/iphone/business/integration/mdm/