Interactive Brokers to disable TWS version that Ninjatrader Recommends to use

[Cshooter]

I was getting along fine with NT7 and the newest version of TWS until I bought a new laptop and I decided to upgrade to NT8. I found that it would not update any charts with this "unsupported" version on TWS. This version of TWS is far superior as it updates automatically to fix security leaks. So, I downgraded to the officially supported version of TWS in order to use NT8. Now I have received the same email as the rest of you, saying I won't be able to log in to TWS is a few short days. If NT support doesn't fix this we will have to downgrade to NT7 to log in until it is fixed.

[timko]

Thanks to timko I realized the 981.3c was not the latest so installed the 10.12.2d and ran some tests this morning and all seems to work fine with my strategy. I will keep an eye on it over the next week or so but the latest Gateway seems to work fine. The only issues is the overnight restarts IB introduced in these later versions but there doesn't seem to be a way around this.

scalp Thanks for the input! Yeah, without further waiting, I managed to upgrade the ninjatrader to 8.0.25.0 and gateway to 10.12.2c
So far, so good! I will report back if anything undesirable happens. cheers mate!

[pmn100]

I've been in contact with IB and apparently their "time tested" version of TWS (981.3g) found here has been patched for the security issue. This is a version even older than the one NT insists on using (currently 985.1g). I believe I've tried this in the past and it was working. I'll be trying to test this version as soon as I can but anyone else might want to try it out if 10.12.2d isn't working.

Here's the email from IB:

Thank you for contacting Interactive Brokers.

Please note that we have already patched 981.3g with latest security fixes and you can continue using it even after 29th December, 2021.

Both ONLINE and OFFLINE TWS builds i.e. 981.3g will continue working without any issue.

[pmn100]

hopefully NT is fast on this issue

Now NT reps are awake hopefully they can state here what their nexts steps are in finding a solution for us in the next few days.

[NinjaTrader_Melissa]

Hello everyone,

We do not currently have an update on this item. I will certainly update this forum thread as soon as we do.

Unfortunately at this time we would not have a resolution for this item, except to use the supported version, TWS 985.1g, until the discontinuation date next week. Our development team is working with Interactive Brokers to come up with a solution as soon as possible.

Thank you for your patience as we investigate this item.

[pmn100]

Hello everyone,

We do not currently have an update on this item. I will certainly update this forum thread as soon as we do.

Unfortunately at this time we would not have a resolution for this item, except to use the supported version, TWS 985.1g, until the discontinuation date next week. Our development team is working with Interactive Brokers to come up with a solution as soon as possible.

Thank you for your patience as we investigate this item.

Thank you for the update.

Just to reiterate the gravity of this, the current TWS and Gateway versions recommended and (I suspect) in use by most NT/IB users will cease to operate on the 29th. Its totally irresponsible on the part of Interactive Brokers to spring this on Ninjatrader Devs with such a tight deadline and over the Xmas period no less. However, we need some sort of working solution between now and the 29th, just not supporting IB beyond the 29th isn't acceptable. I'll be looking for my own solutions and work arounds when I can and will post here what I find.

[rc5781]

I've been in contact with IB and apparently their "time tested" version of TWS (981.3g) found here has been patched for the security issue. This is a version even older than the one NT insists on using (currently 985.1g). I believe I've tried this in the past and it was working. I'll be trying to test this version as soon as I can but anyone else might want to try it out if 10.12.2d isn't working.

Here's the email from IB:

pmn100 So 981.3g IS patched and safe to use? This is what I've been using all along and this morning I get the email stating I logged onto their systems with an unpatched version of tws. So the email was sent in error? I downloaded the tws "latest" and it's full of bugs and does not work with NT8.

[pmn100]

pmn100 So 981.3g IS patched and safe to use? This is what I've been using all along and this morning I get the email stating I logged onto their systems with an unpatched version of tws. So the email was sent in error? I downloaded the tws "latest" and it's full of bugs and does not work with NT8.

The reply I got from them is in the post which would suggest 981.3g will work beyond the 29th. Would you be able to contact them via secure message in your IB Portal account and get confirmation from them on this?

[RT001]

IB is directing us to this page with the latest version being TWS 10.12.2c.

I would advise against using the "Latest Version" and rather use the latest OFFLINE version, which is downloadable here:

https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/index.php?f=16044

the latest version will auto-update itself, and NT will never support that.

[pmn100]

I would advise against using the "Latest Version" and rather use the latest OFFLINE version, which is downloadable here:

https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/index.php?f=16044

the latest version will auto-update itself, and NT will never support that.

The bigger problem is NT doesn't work with the latest version at the moment, whether it be offline or not. We're going to need another working version. But thanks for the link.

[rc5781]

The reply I got from them is in the post which would suggest 981.3g will work beyond the 29th. Would you be able to contact them via secure message in your IB Portal account and get confirmation from them on this?

Now that I think about it I may have been using an older version of 981.3g uploaded before Dec 16, 2021 (the upload date of current tws offline "time tested") and was correctly sent the email. I just opened a ticket asking if 981.3g Dec16, 2021 is patched and if it will work after Dec 29. I'll let ya'll know if they confirm.

BTW, tws latest seems to ALWAYS have annoying bugs. I never use it. I've always used the offline "time tested" tws and even it has bugs, but nothing huge.

[pmn100]

Now that I think about it I may have been using an older version of 981.3g uploaded before Dec 16, 2021 (the upload date of current tws offline "time tested") and was correctly sent the email. I just opened a ticket asking if 981.3g Dec16, 2021 is patched and if it will work after Dec 29. I'll let ya'll know if they confirm.

Thanks. I've also sent another ticket asking if 981.3g is patched against this specific threat rather than just general security risks, which their email response could suggest. I'll post what I get back.

[NinjaTrader_Melissa]

Hello All,

Regarding the latest conversation about using version 981.3g, our development team is testing this as a potential option, but we have not confirmed yet if this will be the solution that works best.

We will update this forum thread as soon as we have a solution.

Thank you for your patience as we investigate this item.

[RT001]

Its totally irresponsible on the part of Interactive Brokers to spring this on Ninjatrader Devs with such a tight deadline

I understand your point, but they have discovered a "global vulnerability" in the software. It is incredibly critical to stop the usage of that version, as hackers could log into IBKR accounts with that vulnerability from what I understand. I might be wrong, but here is the vulnerability in question. Imo JAVA is a little bit crappy and surely outdated, as is the TWS GUI built with it:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/12/20/log4j-hack-vulnerability-java/

[RT001]

For what it's worth, everything is working correctly on my side with the latest offline version 10.12.2d

https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/index.php?f=16044

Be aware that in my case I had to re-activate all the API settings in TWS, as this new version does not install in the same folder as the prior 98x versions - your preferences will not be carried over. Probably you could export from TWS 985 your layout / preferences settings and re-import them correctly.

But here, with the correct tws settings, I am able to display charts, send orders etc, anything that I normally do from NT8. I have used only the TWS data feed for testing purposes (I normally use Kinetick). I guess you guys know what settings to activate in TWS, but just in case:

https://ninjatrader.com/ConnectionGuides/Interactive-Brokers-Connection-Guide