IB TWS security token asked after disconnection

That's it. I just came home, and I found "78 reconnection attempts..." and the usual token prompt. I wasted a whole day of automated trading (with profitable trades missed). My connection has always been totally fine for years. Now, with this change in their software, they're forcing me, like many other customers before me, to give up on the "Secure Login System", and to sign a waiver that sounds very unfair. I am forced to sign it, because otherwise I cannot keep doing any automated trading. I've already reported the problem to IB, and to the IB representatives on this forum. It seems very unfair.

As brocklanders said, concisely summing up the whole thread: "It is not reasonable to ask traders to disable the tokens if there is something that can be addressed in the software".
 
I think before it did not need the security token to reconnect - it just did it automatically. I saw it reconnect after a glitch without asking for the token on many occasions before.

Probably this change is a "security enhancement."
 
Quote from travis:

In some cases (rarely but it is definitely a problem) I start my automated trading and, a few hours later, within the same session (within those 24 hours that do not have the forced disconnection), presumably after a disconnection, I get asked again for the login code from the IB security code card authentication.

What happens is I connect to my server, and see the popup window asking for the security codes, and since my trading is automated, this also means that the DDE data feed to excel has stopped (sometimes for hours) and my daily automated trading session has been compromised.

This has been happening for the past two months, at the frequency of once every two weeks, so it has happened already four times. Does anyone (from IB or forum users) know what I could do to fix this problem, which is not just my problem presumably? This is a very recent problem and before this, disconnections did not cause it, and IB TWS could get reconnected without the need for me to fill in the security codes again.
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i pointed out this several times and also sent a personal email to the person in charge about that. See for instance:

http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=3442947#post3442947

They think they know how to code and do not listen to users.


my email to AN:


"Hi ... ,

this has already been outlined in the previous suggestions. But let me expand this point for you, because crucial.

Motivation:
===========

Fully automated traders with good capital are clearly the the best clients for IB, as the bot generates automatically a lot of daily commissions (depending on the strategy chosen)

It is essential that operations for automated users be smooth, as any permanent interruption - that is not due to normal maintenance or market close - will have the following consequences:


- You lose commissions
- Disrupt strategies, with potential losses for the client, which may have his capability to trade reduced
- irritate clients


A bot tries to stay connected with an IB application (TWS/Gateway) all the time, clearly to ensure continuity to the trading operations.
You will have your periods of maintenance, market will closed and so on, but that is irrelevant and perfectly fine.

What is important is that, once an user starts up the TWS or the GATEWAY and the system challenges him, no matter what,
it should NEVER challenge the user again, as long as the application STAYS UP ON HIS COMPUTER. (Clearly, if, instead, the user shuts down the application, it is right to challenge him).

This is crucial. Imagine the common scenario where you have a good investors trading robotically and he leaves for 2-3 weeks (this happens all the time) leaving the bot working. What he can find at his return is that the Gateway after a disconnection is asking for credential (this happens!).
This would mean terrible losses for both the trader but also IB (which would lose a boatload of commissions.)
You would probably loose the client too, if this keeps happening.

Correction:

Place a (nonserializable) boolean flag ("userChallenged") in both TWS and Gateway and just initialize it to true at start up, after the very first challenge.
When the flag is true the user should never ever be challenged: simply reconnect to IB using the stored good credentials (if system is on) or keep looping reconnection attempts (if IB system in maintenance or down).

Tom

PS. See screenshot attached.
Disconnections are normal and fine, but do not rechallenge! (occasionally it does, as it is now)

Blocking a trading machine with the challenge means that you lose commissions and the client gets very angry because of disruption of operations.
"


The only reactions i got are excuses and "explanations" which are much more insulting than direct offenses. Looks like that making up excuses is easier than making a 5 mins change.

But they do have time to add "features" nobody asked for ...

T
 
Totally agree with comintel, on the "security enhancement" concept, which is true and grotesque - in fact they should change the name from "secure login system" to "secure logout system". It might not work for hackers, but it effectively keeps the customer logged out.

And of course I extend my condolences to fullautotrading, for his meticulous work and well thought out message to IB, which was written in vain, unfortunately. He even went as far as telling them how to technically solve this problem and was ignored.

At this point I am starting to think that the whole point of this "security enhancement" is to get everyone to give up their rights by signing the waiver "I acknowledge that I will not be entitled to compensation in case anything goes wrong", as I just did a few hours ago, since it was the only for me to continue my automated trading. After years of dedication, I can't be stopped by their endless token prompts and come home to find "78 reconnection attempts".

Let's hope someone from IB reads this thread (or the dozens of other similar threads on the web), and solves this problem. Provided they care to solve it.
 
As I think back, what used to often happen on a momentary communications glitch is that I would see a new logon prompt, and IBController (which I run) would instantaneously intercept it and log on again. There was no prompt for the security token in this case. I did notice that and thought that it was nice. I used to run TWS for a week at a time without signing on again manually.

Perhaps someone discovered that there was no security token prompt in this case and decided that this was a "bug" and "fixed" it as a "security enhancement" as we have discussed.

Another equally likely possibility is that it was designed to work the way it originally did, with no token prompt on a temporary loss of connectivity, and that some random code change has accidentally forced the token prompt in all cases.
 
Quote from travis:

Totally agree with comintel, on the "security enhancement" concept, which is true and grotesque - in fact they should change the name from "secure login system" to "secure logout system". It might not work for hackers, but it effectively keeps the customer logged out.

And of course I extend my condolences to fullautotrading, for his meticulous work and well thought out message to IB, which was written in vain, unfortunately. He even went as far as telling them how to technically solve this problem and was ignored.

At this point I am starting to think that the whole point of this "security enhancement" is to get everyone to give up their rights by signing the waiver "I acknowledge that I will not be entitled to compensation in case anything goes wrong", as I just did a few hours ago, since it was the only for me to continue my automated trading. After years of dedication, I can't be stopped by their endless token prompts and come home to find "78 reconnection attempts".

Let's hope someone from IB reads this thread (or the dozens of other similar threads on the web), and solves this problem. Provided they care to solve it.
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Now the system is so "secure" that people must give up completely security and login gateway or tws without devices.
So if your $$$ disappears from the acct it's your fault (i know it wont).

As i already noted in my latest review of IB, i think there is clearly a "genious" now at work, whose arrogance probably exceeds competence.

We can see clear expressions of that. I hope that the great Thomas P. sooner or later realizes what is going on and that this is and will continue hurting his great lifetime creation ...


T
 
Quote from fullautotrading:

Now the system is so "secure" that people must give up completely security and login gateway or tws without credentials.
So if your $$$ disappears from the acct it's your fault (it know it wont).

As i already noted in my latest review of IB, i think there is clearly a "genious" now at work, whose arrogance probably exceeds competence.

We can see clear expressions of that. I hope that the great Thomas P. sooner or later realizes what is going on and that this is and will continue hurting his great lifetime creation ...


T
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It is possible, but there is an old saying: "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity."

It is still possible that it is just a bug.

Even if not, the most graceful way for them to backtrack (or to browbeat their developers into submission on this issue) maybe be to use that excuse, so we might as well offer it to them.

By the way, I do not think that their disclaimer would hold up anyway in court......
 
This re-login popup token challenge is not something I am willing to accept. I have been with IB for 12 years but I am now looking for where I should move the cash in my IB account. Internet service providers can have momentary breaks in their connections and I expect TWS to be able to reestablish a break in the TWS connection.
 
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