Re: Informix Authentication and ODBC

Hi, The Sujit sugestion to use nonexpired passwords is not very good for security resons. Your users have to change their passowrds at some regular intervals. As I know Informix Server has the CSS (Communication Support Component) that support third party security services. You could try writing your own Communication Support Module, and perform the authentication yourself. At least in some releases of IDS (I think begining with 7.3) there is a GSS API CSM, that supports authentication through DCE. Don't ask me how to use this modules this as I never haven't used them. Best Regards, Octav On Thu, Aug 12, 1999 at 01:50:35PM -0400, Trebor C. Fenstermaker wrote: > Greetings, > > In the ten years I've been using Informix, I've never heard a good solution > of how to address the problem of PC-based users, connecting with ODBC, > authenticating against UNIX-based Informix. > > The problem of course is that Informix--grounded in its glory days of > Unix/Unix client-server--authenticates against UNIX (and not its own > database, like, oh, Oracle, Sybase, etc). In a PC-client environment, > chances are very good your users do not have UNIX accounts. > > Sure, we can create stubbed-out UNIX accounts for them, and then configure > the ODBC drivers to prompt for their login and passwords at run-time. But > how do those users change their passwords? ODBC doesn't have a "password > expired, please change password" message that the driver can respond to. > Either you authenticate, or you don't. > > One hack solution is to provide the user with a desktop procedure and > limited shell access that instructs him to telnet to the UNIX system and > change his password during aging, compromise, etc. This works, and it > stinks, and it's ugly, and I can't believe after all these years, there > isn't something better. > > So educate me, please, anyone who has successfully dealt with this. No > solution is too bold. Third-party software, custom ODBC-driver--these are > all acceptable, if such things exist or can be done. > > I understand that some of you might be tempted to say the BOLDEST solution > is not to use ODBC. I couldn't agree more. But some decisions are not mine > to make, and that's one of them--unless, someone can offer me an > ODBC-alternative, that allows rapid development of two-tier clients in VB > and other leading GUI RAD environments, that does magically solve this > problem. > > Also, how will this work in Informix 9.2 (or IDS-2000 or whatever the new > name)? I've hear rumors that this version will provide its own > authentication mechanism (just like, oh, Oracle, Sybase, etc). That's > great, but does it solve the problem of giving the user a PC-based mechanism > for changing his password? > > > > Thanks for any help any of you can provide. > > Trebor Fenstermaker > BTG Inc > Fairfax VA > > > -- Octav Chiriac Phone: (373) 2 22 99 67 NetInfo S.R.L. Fax: (373) 2 21 36 59 Chisinau (373) 2 22 84 88 Moldova, Republic of mailto:com@netinfo-moldova.com