Simple Machines Community Forum

SMF Development => Feature Requests => Applied or Declined Requests => Topic started by: KensonPlays on October 31, 2012, 04:30:06 PM

Title: Advanced Mobile Administration Interface
Post by: KensonPlays on October 31, 2012, 04:30:06 PM
I'd love to see something like this, more administration controls over mobile devices. They are becoming SO popular this would be another reason to use SMF. More Users, possibly more donations/charters :P.


Anyway I'd be willing to donate if you can add something like this. Since I use my Android phone a ton, this would be SO helpful to me. Currently I have to use an FTP app to upload to the /Packages directory and then browse via android Browser. This is cumbersome. I'd love to have either an App (android/iOS) or a mobile web interface! I'm sure others would too, I was even talking with someone via GTalk and they thought it sounded good!
Title: Re: Advanced Mobile Administration Interface
Post by: Arantor on October 31, 2012, 04:36:05 PM
QuoteCurrently I have to use an FTP app to upload to the /Packages directory and then browse via android Browser

It's also more secure to do it that way, but never mind.
Title: Re: Advanced Mobile Administration Interface
Post by: KensonPlays on October 31, 2012, 04:38:45 PM
Quote from: Arantor on October 31, 2012, 04:36:05 PM
QuoteCurrently I have to use an FTP app to upload to the /Packages directory and then browse via android Browser

It's also more secure to do it that way, but never mind.
I didn't want this to turn into an arguement, but I'd still like to see this and the other SMF friend I talked to said it sounded good.
Title: Re: Advanced Mobile Administration Interface
Post by: Arantor on October 31, 2012, 05:39:08 PM
Just like every other time you've said before how wonderful it would be and your main line of argument in favour of getting things written is 'because I'd use it' or because you know someone who would.

The thing is, most mobiles don't allow uploading of files from the phone - and if you're getting a mod, you can just give it a URL for the forum to download it itself... not that that's any better.

See, here's the problem: you're quite happy to have convenience but you'll be the first to complain when you've been hacked. Virtually every single case of 'I've been hacked' that's EVER been reported is because of the package manager doing what you're asking of it.
Title: Re: Advanced Mobile Administration Interface
Post by: KensonPlays on October 31, 2012, 06:22:52 PM
Quote from: Arantor on October 31, 2012, 05:39:08 PM
Just like every other time you've said before how wonderful it would be and your main line of argument in favour of getting things written is 'because I'd use it' or because you know someone who would.

The thing is, most mobiles don't allow uploading of files from the phone - and if you're getting a mod, you can just give it a URL for the forum to download it itself... not that that's any better.

See, here's the problem: you're quite happy to have convenience but you'll be the first to complain when you've been hacked. Virtually every single case of 'I've been hacked' that's EVER been reported is because of the package manager doing what you're asking of it.
I talked to someone they said android 2.3+ supposedly supports it.
Title: Re: Advanced Mobile Administration Interface
Post by: Arantor on October 31, 2012, 06:24:48 PM
Well, your device (still got that Android 1.5 device?) doesn't by your own admission, oh and that little known, not very popular iOS doesn't. Nor does Symbian as far as I can tell, though that genuinely is a minor case.

Well done for confirming what I said: you care more about convenience than you do about the security of your site.
Title: Re: Advanced Mobile Administration Interface
Post by: Kindred on November 01, 2012, 10:11:17 AM
I would be against this....   seriously. You should be doing major admin of your site from a secure computer... not from an easily intercepted and spoofed mobile device.
Title: Re: Advanced Mobile Administration Interface
Post by: KensonPlays on November 01, 2012, 10:16:05 AM
@kindred i have a 15+ letter pw with letters upper and lower, numbers, AND special characters its gonna be hard to figure out my pw... lol
Title: Re: Advanced Mobile Administration Interface
Post by: Kindred on November 01, 2012, 10:39:05 AM
not if I capture your wireless session.
Title: Re: Advanced Mobile Administration Interface
Post by: KensonPlays on November 01, 2012, 11:06:22 AM
Quote from: Kindred on November 01, 2012, 10:39:05 AM
not if I capture your wireless session.
But I never have my phone away from my hand/coat pocket so I always have it with me, plus I log out after use on my android Browser.
Title: Re: Advanced Mobile Administration Interface
Post by: Kindred on November 01, 2012, 11:21:01 AM
ummm.... you missed the point. This has nothing to do with losing your physical phone or even logging out.

Every time you USE your phone, your signal is EASILY captured... especially over the cell-network. There are people out there who just set up a capture point in places like malls, etc and just grab everything and then sort through for any interesting tidbits.
Title: Re: Advanced Mobile Administration Interface
Post by: KensonPlays on November 01, 2012, 11:47:11 AM
Quote from: Kindred on November 01, 2012, 11:21:01 AM
ummm.... you missed the point. This has nothing to do with losing your physical phone or even logging out.

Every time you USE your phone, your signal is EASILY captured... especially over the cell-network. There are people out there who just set up a capture point in places like malls, etc and just grab everything and then sort through for any interesting tidbits.

Lets get back on topic.. Is this possible?
Title: Re: Advanced Mobile Administration Interface
Post by: Kindred on November 01, 2012, 11:50:39 AM
this IS on topic.

You suggestion is fraught with all sorts of dangers that are unnecessary and leads to many more possible security issues with Mobile devices... for a minimal benefit to a minimal number of admins.

I don't make the final decisions...  but my recommendation to the devs is to say NO to this as a "feature"
Title: Re: Advanced Mobile Administration Interface
Post by: IchBin™ on November 01, 2012, 01:59:48 PM
I've been working on a jquery mobile theme for SMF 2.1. I've stripped out the admin stuff from this, because a mobile device should not be used to do administration. There's a reason Arantor, and most if you really ask around, believe you shouldn't do this stuff on a wireless device.  Security is paramount to convenience in most cases. If you want something like this done, I'd suggest you get someone to do a mod/theme for it. Not something I would consider worthy to be default in the SMF product.
Title: Re: Advanced Mobile Administration Interface
Post by: 青山 素子 on November 02, 2012, 01:18:41 AM
Quote from: Kcmartz on November 01, 2012, 11:06:22 AM
But I never have my phone away from my hand/coat pocket so I always have it with me, plus I log out after use on my android Browser.

Doesn't matter if I capture your username/password on my open hotspot that you connected to in an open area. Most SMF sites don't use any SSL encryption, so it's trivially easy for me to grab your account details if I control the connection you are using. Heck, even if I don't there are other techniques. Look at Firesheep (http://codebutler.com/firesheep/) for an interesting attack method that doesn't even rely on knowing the password.

I can see an argument for some basic functionality to do emergency management, but encouraging full admin actions from such a small form-factor is potentially dangerous.


Yes, yes, you could use a laptop connected to my rogue wireless access point, not just a phone. However, how much more likely are you to just connect without thinking when it's just your mobile device? If you wouldn't care either way, then security of your site obviously means very little to you.
Title: Re: Advanced Mobile Administration Interface
Post by: KensonPlays on November 02, 2012, 02:29:43 AM
Yea stuff like mobile warning/banning users would be a nice addition etc... stuffs like that
Title: Re: Advanced Mobile Administration Interface
Post by: MrPhil on November 02, 2012, 09:41:16 AM
Quote from: Kcmartz on November 02, 2012, 02:29:43 AM
Yea stuff like mobile warning/banning users would be a nice addition etc... stuffs like that

OK, maybe it would be reasonable to have some very limited admin functions on mobile, perhaps under a separate account/password than regular admin tasks? Things like warning and banning that are easily reversible, should a bad guy break in and steal the account password. Would that satisfy both sides of this pissing contest?
Title: Re: Advanced Mobile Administration Interface
Post by: Allstar12345 on November 02, 2012, 09:56:10 AM
Well, whats wrong with the devices normal browser or a simple 3rd party one like Opera mini ?


at least 80% of my forums admin functions work from my mobile using the normal PC theme.
Title: Re: Advanced Mobile Administration Interface
Post by: KensonPlays on November 02, 2012, 10:15:29 AM
Thing is i have prepaid sprint, and sprint is consid.ered the worst in terms of steady connection/3g speed for my city "cluster".
Title: Re: Advanced Mobile Administration Interface
Post by: Allstar12345 on November 03, 2012, 08:42:44 AM
Quote from: Kcmartz on November 02, 2012, 10:15:29 AM
Thing is i have prepaid sprint, and sprint is consid.ered the worst in terms of steady connection/3g speed for my city "cluster".
I struggle to even get over 10 KBPs
My damn operator over here is crap
Title: Re: Advanced Mobile Administration Interface
Post by: Arantor on November 25, 2013, 10:44:12 PM
Given the arguments above I'm not prepared to get into the whole admin-working-on-mobile thing at this time.