[whatwg] When closing the browser

[Bil Corry]

Ian Hickson wrote on 12/12/2008 2:34 PM: 
> If the goal is auto-logout, then what you describe wouldn't help, as it 
> would have false-positives (leaving the site when another tab still has 
> the site open) and false-negatives (a crash wouldn't log out the user).

Well, more thought needs to go into it.  And maybe it isn't practical, I don't know.

 
> Why do session cookies not address this already?

They do to some extent.  You can choose to make the session life shorter, increasing security but potentially logging the user out before they're ready OR you can choose to make the session life longer, decreasing security but allowing the user more time.

What I see banks do is make the session life short and prompt the user to renew their session before it expires.  It could be that's the ideal way to handle it.  Or maybe it'd be better if non-persistent cookies are removed once the user no longer has an open tab to the site, instead of using a JavaScript-based solution.


- Bil