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Securing Your FileMaker 7+ Database

For brevity and focus, this document assumes you’ve designed a secure database using FileMaker’s
Accounts & Privileges. For more information on designing a secure FileMaker database, consult
FileMaker support documentation or hire a certified FileMaker Developer/Consultant. The
following items should be considered absolute minimum procedures for any FileMaker file (hosted
or otherwise).

 Secure the Admin account with a password.

 Disable the Guest account.
 Disable the “Login Using Account” File Option.

Secure the Admin account with a password

By default, each new FileMaker database is created with an ‘Admin’ account. This automatically
generated ‘Admin’ account will have full access to the database and will not have a password. At a
minimum, you must give this account a secure password.

1. Open Accounts & Privileges

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2. Open the Admin account.

2.1. Double click the Admin account.

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3. Enter a Password

3.1. For optimal security, adhere to as many of the following criteria as possible:
 the use of both upper- and lower-case letters (case sensitivity)
 inclusion of one or more numerical digits
 inclusion of special characters
 prohibition of words found in a dictionary or the user's personal information
 prohibition of passwords that match the format of calendar dates, license plate numbers, or other
common numbers

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3.2. Click ‘OK’.

4. Close Accounts & Privileges

4.1. On the ‘Manage Accounts & Privileges’ dialog, click ‘OK’

4.2. Verify that you know the Master Password by re-entering the Admin password & clicking ‘OK’.

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Disable the Guest account

By default, the ‘Guest’ account is usually disabled; unless you’ve designed your permission structure
to use the ‘Guest’ account, it’s always a good idea to verify the ‘Guest’ account before hosting your
FileMaker database.

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1. Open Accounts & Privileges

5. De-activate the ‘Guest’ Account.

5.1. Here the ‘Guest’ account is enabled.

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5.2. Disable the ‘Guest’ account by unchecking the box in the ‘Active’ column.

6. Close ‘Manage Accounts & Privileges’

6.1. On the ‘Manage Accounts & Privileges’ dialog, click ‘OK’

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6.2. Verify that you know the Master Password by re-entering the Admin password & clicking ‘OK’.

Disable the “Login Using Account” File Option.

A file should only automatically open with a ‘limited access’ account when all security risks have
been considered and accounted for. The steps below show how to deactivate the ‘Log in using’
feature.

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1. Open File Options

7. Disable the ‘Log in Using Account’ settings.

7.1. In this case, the file has been defined to open with a default Account/Password. NOTE: this is not a
recommended practice for local or hosted databases.

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7.2. Secure the database by clearing the “Log in using’ checkbox and then click ‘OK’.

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