Ability to customize security aspects of {Registration_buttons} macro (warning message, auto-login behavior) in event announcements emails
Current behavior:
When an event announcement email includes the {Registration_buttons} macro
- buttons has the ability to auto login recipients
- security warning advising against forwarding the email will automatically appear in red at the top
There are some issues with this solution:
- "scary" security warning may reduce attendee engagement
- risks of having autologin link in email might not be clear enough
- there is no customization available (i.e there is no way to switch off autologin functionality and remove message)
Desired behavior:
We need to find proper balance between usability and security here
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Anonymous commented
I would like to be able to edit the warning message. Because the message simply says "links" will only work for 7 days, my attendees are confuse when the online event with associated link may occur later than the 7 day expiration.
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David Schorow commented
THIS IS A SECURITY VULNERABILITY!!!! There should not be an auto-login capability embedded in an email.
I became aware of this issue when an event registration email was forwarded to me, asking if I am attending. There was no warning at the top or in the footer of the message. But this forwarded message gave me the ability to login as the sender and do anything on the Wild Apricot system as him. I could even close my WA pages, get back into them and still be logged in as this other user. This is a severe security vulnerability.
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StayLocal commented
Change the color of this message from red to black. Right now it looks too alarming. I doubt very much that many of these event invitation emails get forwarded in the first place, but making doing so sound like an offensive act is off-putting. "This email contains links that will automatically log you into the {name of organization] site. These links will work for the next 7 days only. Please, don't forward this email to anyone!"
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Steven Jones commented
At present any announcement email for a simple event using the {Registration_buttons} macro will automatically have a warning message appended to the footer of the email (i.e. …Please, don't forward this email to anyone).
We would like to be able to change wording and/or styling of the appended message. -
Anonymous commented
Currently, all event announcement emails are sent out with an auto-login feature to enable club members to register for an event without the need to manually log in to their WA site. This is a serious security flaw. If an adversary gets their hands on a user’s mailbox (this happens frequently) then they can log in to WA and impersonate the user. If this user is an administrator of the given WA site then the attacker can literally destroy all data, modify them or steal identity information not only of a single user but ALL members and contacts. The adversary may also steal PayPal tokens and POS information. The current time constraint on such links is insufficient because reminder emails also contain auto-login links and they are sent out in intervals that give an attacker a large window for compromise.
Auto-login should be optional. Organisations that want to use this feature need to be made aware of the risks.
In particular, I would like to request to make auto-login links in emails to users with administrator privileges optional because of the greater impact of a compromise of such an account and because these users typically log in regularly anyway and have accepted the need for authentication for all their other actions on WA.
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Gary Pendleton commented
We have a good number of events where registration is not required, and the general public is invited. We like a general head count to gauge interest, so we love the {Registration_buttons} feature.
Yet, this "scary" warning reduces the chances someone will invite friends to the event. We've received concerned emails from our members who want to share events, but are warned not to.Is there a way to include an option to permit forwarding an email to others that doesn't include the automatic login to an account?
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Karen Brodersen commented
I think my comment didn't post so I'm going to type it in again. Sorry if I am repeating myself...
I only need ability to switch warning off/on. I can then put my own message in, wherever I want and in my desired color, font, and size. I do not want a big red warning to be the first thing my recipients see. My choice would probably be black, italicized, and small. I would also have a friendlier message -- with a "please"!
As far as auto-logging in part of the warning, I would hope that a forwarded message would bring up the event but not actually permit registration (payment) or viewing profile information without a password. (E.g., Amazon.com lets you browse to your heart's content but it always asks for a password to check out.)