Scheduler Password Bug

When creating a scheduled task in ATi Home 9, one of the last steps is giventhe user name and password to run the task on the machine. When I type in the 9-character password, 9 dots show in place of characters. If come back later to edit the file, when I get to the password entry screen, only 8-dots show. Can't tell if it's storing passwords correctly or not. Does it have an 8 character limit? If so, why?

Btw, the scheduled tasks don't run unless you start them manually but that's a whole other thread.

sh

 

Those dots should just be place holders to show that something's there. My password is 9 characters, but 8 dots show up. Actually, I like the idea of TI not showing exactly how long my password is.

 

hmm, don't mean to offend but it sounds silly to me. Why show dots at all? When you have a password to secure a backup image, the dots reflect the number of chars. I would at least expect consistent behavior, whatever the behavior. That's the least one can expect for undecumented behavior.

 

I have scheduled tasks with no password. When editing, the field is blank.
If you've provided a password, the dots indicate this (again, I do not want it to show how many characters). If you did not supply a password, since not all users have them, this is indicated by a blank field.

 

I suspect that this may be a Windows issue as I've noticed the constant 8 black dots in other non-Acronis products under XP (Home).

What is an Acronis issue is that when creating a scheduled task (I can't speak for other areas as I've only started with TI9) you're not asked to confirm the password. This is very dangerous as a simple "invisible" keying error will make subsequent backups unusable.

Regards,
Brian.

 

What version are you running? I get asked to confirm the password in 3567.

 

TheWeaz,

My version is aslo 3567.

Sequence is
- Click on icon to create and schedule.
- "Next" in welcome screen.
- "Entire Disk" + "Next".
- C partition (i.e. partition, not disk) is already selected so hit "Next".
- Happy with file and folder so hit "Next".
- "Create differential" +"Next".
- One password box is displayed. I enter a password and hit "Next".
- Next screen displayed is "Choose Backup Options".

Regards,
Brian.

 

Ah … That only happens when you select INC or DIFF, not FULL.
Since an INC or a DIFF assumes you are adding to an existing image that MAY have been password protected, TI is asking for that password (if it exists). You’re not setting a password; you are verifying an existing one set when the FULL task was run.

 

TheWeaz,

Thank you for that, you've taken this a step forward. However ....

The file name used did not already exist, so the first time the task ran, it was going to create a Full backup. (Lo and behold that backup does indeed have the single-entered password.)

So there is a real danger of having unusable backups.

Regards,
Brian.

 

Interesting. The Backup wizard will not let you continue with an INC/DIFF backup if a FULL does not exist. The Create and Schedule, however does.

 

... which,makes sense. Otherwise, a regular Differential run would be a nightmare to schedule as every time you wanted a full run you'd not only have to delete/rename the old Full backup but also have to do a one-off run to re-create it. Uugh!

Similarly, if makes sense to give an error message if you as TI to now do an Incremental/Differential run when the full backup you've specified doesn't exist.

No, I'm happy with IT's logic - as long as it asks me to confirm any password which will be used at a later stage (i.e. which won't immediately give an error if it's wrong).

Regards,
Brian.

 

If you type in a shorter password, the number of dots equals the number of characters. This suggests that the the diff with longer passwords is probably not an intended security feature.

 

Hello shieber,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

If you want us to change the behaviour of Acronis True Image in any way or add some new features to this product, please feel free to post any of your suggestions in Acronis True Image WISH-LIST thread.

Thank you.
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Aleksandr Isakov