Option for not sending out passwords

Hello,

I am reading about how it is a security risk to email out passwords in plain text. I believe we are currently doing this with our registration email and our password reset email.

Is there another option that aMember has to offer in this area in order to improve security?

Hi Caesar,

We use Infusionsoft to front-end our purchases with the API passing new signups into aMember.

Up until now upon setup, signup emails were sent containing the username & password in plain text to the newly signed up member. My thinking was as we don't use aMember's built-in signup sequence this is what had to do.

Is there a way when a new customer is created via Infusionsoft's API that I could send a signup email prompting the member to create their own password? This would definitely be a more secure way to do things.

Thank you.

Aly

Hi Caesar,

Thank you for offering the customization option.

After discussing this with my business partner we are going to look at this sometime in the future but keep things as they are for now. Too much going on right now business wise.

Aly

Maybe just edit the email template that gets sent out as a user registers so that the password is not included?

------------------
Thank you for requesting an account on %site_title% !

Your User ID: %user.login%

Your account has been approved by the system administrators, you can now log-on at: %root_url% /member

--

Kind Regards,
%site_title% %root_url%
------------------


That should do the trick, surely?

Hi @halmaclean,

Thank you for the consideration and suggested solution, I appreciate your thought and time to help me.

The problem I am seeing with the suggested solution is since the password has already been created, when Infusionsoft API passed the contact's information over the aMember, the customer would not have the opportunity to create the password, not knowing what it is (if no email was sent telling them).

The only way I could see it the suggested solution working is if the customer could be sent directly to the "Lost Password" screen with the "Reset Password" button already showing.

However there is no unique URL to drop a customer on that screen. The standard login URL drops them on the standard login screen asking for username and password. Then you have to click the link that switches them over to Lost Password, this is an interactive click and not a unique login URL.

Aly

Just about to send the same message, Caesar

The sendpass URL can be added to the email you send out so that in the event the user cannot remember the password they have only just created, they can at least reset it.

Sendpass allows the user to reset the password by sending a link via email to the user.

One alternative might be to immediately log the user in to the system and forget the welcome email, but force a password change immediately. Alternatively, force a password change when they next login - possibly using force-I-agree plugin. Another idea would be to set up MFA, and add to the overall security that way (although this itself is a user choice). You could pretty easily send messages to the user's cell phone instead of by email - that would require some coding for a plugin, but it's certainly possible.

I generally agree that passwords in plain text via email is not ideal. But what would you suggest is the best way to notify a user that they have created an account, and have set a specific password?

If I am seeing it correctly, the initial password the user sets when registering in aMember is only able to be sent in plain text because it is not yet encrypted - not yet committed to the database. The moment the email is sent out the account is confirmed and the encryption is applied. From there on only password reset is possible, but yes, sending plain text passwords (that are not 'one-time') via email which is not using PGP is not a terribly good idea... but what are the options?

Thanks @halmaclean & @caesar for the good ideas to make this work.

Aly