What Is The Security Admin Timeout And How Does It Work?

After you have enabled the Security Admin system, going forward you will be prompted to enter your Security Admin PIN (that you specified when you enabled the option).

From the moment you supply the PIN to 'unlock' admin access to the plugin, a countdown timer will begin after which you will be locked-out again.

Any further access to the plugin admin will prompt you to enter your security PIN.

So, the Security Admin Timeout is how long that countdown timer will last. 

Note: This does not apply until you enter your PIN again.

How does the Security Admin Timeout work?

The Security Admin Timeout allows you to set an automatic timeout interval for Security Admin access.

To specify this interval, go to the main Security Zones menu > Security Admin > Security Admin Protection component, and enter how long you want countdown time will last. Default: 30 minutes. (see screenshot below)

Example: Timeout Interval set to 30min

When the Security Admin timeout (session) is about to expire, you'll be notified as shown in the screenshot below.

This is just a reminder that you'll need to re-enter your security PIN soon.

Once the session expires, Shield will prompt you. (see screenshot below)

You can simply click "OK," and Shield will display a new window where you can re-authorise (re-enter) with your security PIN.

Security Admin authorisation window

How to end Security Admin session

If you don't want to wait for the session timeout to expire and want to end the Security Admin session immediately, you can do so anywhere within the Shield admin area.

Example

What If I Forget My Security Admin PIN?

If you happen to have lost or forgotten your PIN, please follow the guide outlined in this article here.

Note: You can also use the Persistent Security Admins option to specify/whitelist security admins that do not need to authenticate with the security PIN.

For more background on the Security Admin system, read our blog article here.