Last week we undertook some upgrades in the three client data centers where our cloud-hosted customer’s MIDAS systems reside.
These data centers are located Atlanta, Georgia (US East Coast Data Center), Seattle, Washington (US West Coast Data Center), and Amsterdam, Netherlands (European Data Center).
When a customer chooses a cloud-hosted edition of MIDAS, they can choose which of these data centers their booking system runs from. (We also offer a self-hosted edition too, for customers wishing to run MIDAS on their own infrastructure)
The upgrades to the sever ‘nodes’ where our cloud-hosted client’s MIDAS systems run include:
Increased CPU cores by 50%
Increased Memory capacity by 50%
Increased port speed by 50%
These upgrades were performed seamlessly without any downtime or impact on customer’s MIDAS operations.
The result of these upgrades is that we can deliver more powerful client nodes, with improved network connections.
In turn, this translates to even more responsive MIDAS booking systems for our customers. It’s all part of the service and commitment we have to our end-users!
Two-Factor Authentication (sometimes referred to as 2FA) is a more secure method of logging into websites or online services.
Traditionally, when you “log in” to a website or online service, you enter your username (typically your email address) and password. Then you click a button, and if the details you enter are valid, you’re logged in.
Unfortunately, many people reuse the same credentials (username / password combination) again and again for multiple websites and online services. The danger of this is that if one of those services gets “hacked” or suffers a data breach where user credentials are exposed, an attacker could potentially then access all other websites and online services that that person uses.
Two-factor authentication combats this. It does so by employing a secondary means of authentication in addition to the traditional username / password combination in order to authenticate a user’s access.
This means that even if a user’s password has been compromised, an attacker couldn’t then this to gain access to someone’s account.
Two Factor Authentication in MIDAS
Since 2015, all MIDAS room booking systems have included optional two-factor authentication. If enabled, this adds an additional layer of account security to our software.
With Two-Factor Authentication enabled, each time a user logins in, a code is sent to their email inbox. The user must then enter this code into MIDAS in order to complete their log in.
But starting with MIDAS v4.38, we’re improving 2FA options and support in our software!
MIDAS v4.38 (and later) now support authenticator apps – including Google Authenticator and Microsoft Authenticator – as an alternative 2FA login option to email.
Per User Two Factor Authentication Settings
Previously, the 2FA option in MIDAS was a ‘global’ setting. This meant that it could be enabled or disabled for all user accounts at once. It was not possible to have ‘per account’ 2FA settings.
We’ve made this more flexible for MIDAS v4.38!
Now, administrators can set whether 2FA is enabled for each individual user account. The 2FA option for each account can also be set.
Available 2FA options are now:
Authenticator App
Email
Enabling 2FA Authenticator App Globally in MIDAS
To globally turn on 2FA for all users, administrators can go to MIDAS Admin Options > Manage MIDAS > Security. In the “Two Factor Authentication (2FA)” section, tick the “Enable Two-Factor Authentication For All Users?” box, and then select the “Authenticator App” option:
Global Two-Factor Authentication Options – now includes authenticator apps
Click “Save Changes” and 2FA via Authenticator Apps will be enabled for all user accounts.
Enabling 2FA Authenticator App For Individual User Accounts
2FA options are also available on a per-user account basis. Administrators can enable, disable, or change the 2FA method on a user account by going to MIDAS Admin Options > Manage Users & Permissions.
Select the user account you wish to enable 2FA for, and choose “Authenticator App” from the “2FA Login” setting:
New per-user Two-Factor Authentication Options
Then click “Save Changes”.
How 2FA via an Authenticator App Works
When 2FA authentication via authenticator apps has been enabled on a user’s account, the next time they login, they’ll be presented with a QR Code to scan with their authenticator app:
Setting up your authenticator app upon first login
If they’re unable to scan the QR Code a ‘secret key’ is also provided which can be manually entered into authenticator apps.
The user’s authenticator app will then generate a 6 digit code which they can enter into MIDAS to complete their login.
The QR Code / Secret Key needs only to be scanned/entered into the user’s authenticator app once upon first use. For subsequent logins, the user will simply need to enter the 6 digit code generated by their authenticator app:
Entering a OTP generated by your authenticator app to complete login
Supported Authenticator Apps
Popular FREE authenticator apps supported by MIDAS include:
Google Authenticator (available for Android and iOS)
Microsoft Authenticator (available for Android and iOS)
However, anyOTP authenticator app which generates Timed One-Time Passwords (TOTP) derived from a shared secret value and the current time should be compatible. TOTP codes are typically six digits long and change every 30 seconds.
Resetting 2FA
If a user looses their authenticator app, an administrative user in a MIDAS system can change the user’s 2FA method, or reset their authenticator token. By resetting a user’s authenticator token, the next time the user logs in, they’ll be presented with a brand new QR Code/Secret Key to enter into their authenticator app.
Availability
2FA login authentication has been available since MIDAS v4.10 (2015). However, this implementation is limited to authentication codes sent to users via email. 2FA could also only be enabled globally (for all user accounts)
2FA login authentication via either email or authenticator apps is available in MIDAS v4.38 or later. These options can be enabled globally, or an a per user account basis.
We have a new update available to our MIDAS booking software. This update includes improvements to custom fields, booking requests, printing, privacy, and more.
Here’s what new and improved in v4.37…
Quickly Process Multiple Booking Requests
Selectively process multiple booking requests in MIDAS v4.37
Until now, booking requests could only be approved one by one, or every request could be “bulk” approved at once. For v4.37, we’ve introduced selective approval which saves time by allowing multiple booking requests to be approved in a single one action – Read more…
Custom Field Improvements
New custom Text Area field options
New custom File Upload field options
Custom “Text Areas” can now have a height set, and be set to be resizable too. Additionally, custom file upload fields can be configured to either view or save/download attached files – Read more…
Invoicing Improvements
Updating an invoice’s internal notes is now recorded in the Recent Activity audit log. Also, manual quotation payments for tentative bookings can now also update the booking’s type – Read more…
Better Support for “Shared” email addresses
If you have individuals using the public booking/request features of your MIDAS system, and they’re making bookings/requests on behalf of multiple organizations but using their personal email address for each, then v4.37 has improved support for such “shared” email addresses – Read more…
Day Notes can now appear on booking printouts
Notes that are attached to specific calendar dates in your booking system can now be set to be included on booking printouts – Read more…
Deprecating some outdated settings
We’ve removed the “SSL Access” setting, and changed the “Allowed IP Range” setting to now only be available in cloud-hosted edition – Read more…
Other Improvements
This latest version of MIDAS also includes stability and performance improvements, theme/UI updates, and fixes for several issues that have been detected or reported since the previous release (v4.36) – View the complete v4.37 changelog….
How To Get MIDAS v4.37…
New to MIDAS?
You can try MIDAS v4.37 for FREE with no obligation to purchase!
We offer a choice of both cloud and self hosted solutions. So if you’re ready to get MIDAS working for your organization, purchase or subscribe today via our secure website.
Simply log in to your MIDAS system and go to MIDAS Admin Options → Manage MIDAS → Update.
We’re currently undertaking a phased roll out of this update rolling out to self-hosted customers. So if there’s no update shown as available to you today, please try again in a few days time.
“Cloud Hosted” Customers:
All our active Cloud-Hosted customers MIDAS systems have already been update to v4.37.
We seamlessly apply software updates for our cloud hosted customers. So you’ll always have access to the latest features, and never need to worry about running outdated software.
The “Date Notes” feature allows you to attach notes to a single date, or a range of dates within your booking system.
Add notes to calendar dates
These notes are then shown to all users who navigate to that date (or to a date within that range).
This can be used to remind other users of special dates, when your closed for public holidays, or other activities or notable events to be aware of on certain dates.
Dates with notes associated with them are also indicated on the Booking Availability screen where they can be quickly viewed before new bookings are added.
MIDAS v4.37 introduces a new setting which now also allows you to include date notes on your booking print outs.
This new setting may be found under MIDAS Admin Options → Manage MIDAS → Print → Include Date Notes on printouts.
