Dear Customer,

We wish to let you know that we’re planning an update to the way we manage passwords in MAX RemoteManagement. We’re aiming to put this live early in the New Year, we’ll advise of the exact date nearer the time. We want to make sure we’re giving you sufficient notice to adjust any operational procedures that may be affected by this change.

The update will introduce the following enhancements to user password management:

• End-User Password Reset: Users will be able to click a “Forgot password” link on the login page to reset their own password (1) (2). The user will receive an email with a temporary password reset link (3)

• Force password reset: Users with access to the “Edit Users” dialog on the Settings dropdown menu can force a password reset for users on their next login (4)

• Reset password on behalf of user: As currently the case, users with access to the “Edit Users” dialog can reset the password instantly for a given user (5)

• Primary Access Key (PAK): PAK is being renamed “Agent Key” (6). The username and password for the Agent Key can be changed just like for a regular user. You’ll be able to log into the Advanced Monitoring Agent with the Agent Key (see next bullet). The Agent Key cannot be deleted but it can be disabled for Dashboard login access (7).

• Logging into the Advanced Monitoring Agent: Users will be able to log into the Agent on a device using the Agent Key (formerly PAK) or their regular Dashboard login credentials (8). It’s no longer the case you can only log into an Agent with the username and password used at the time of the Agent install (i.e. the PAK user). In order to authenticate the username and password when logging into the Agent, the end-point device must be connected to the Internet. This new process will apply to the new Agent version that will be released as part of this update. Older agents will require the previous PAK credentials in order to log in.

• Two-Factor Authentication: The user password enhancements including password reset via the login page will work alongside the 2FA security setting.

• Client view-only logins: Client users who access the Dashboard via the Client View-Only feature will be able to reset their password via the “Forgot password” link. Dashboard administrator users will continue to be able to reset the client view-only password as is currently the case. The Client View-Only login credentials cannot be used to log into the Advanced Monitoring Agent.

• Retiring the Agent’s Alternative Password: The alternative password that can be set on the Agent will continue to work initially but we are planning to remove this option approximately one month after releasing the user password changes, as its original purpose will become redundant with the new login authentication method.

• Minimum password requirements: All passwords will need to meet the existing minimum security criteria: At least 8 characters long, contain a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters, include at least one digit. A password is case sensitive and may contain special characters.

With Best Regards,
The Team @ MAXfocus