Log-in, over and over

[David Bostedo]

I took a quick look at this forum and didn't see a thread for this, so I'm posting it - sorry if it's been mentioned.

I find myself being asked to log-in to BPN whenever I do almost anything. If I open a link in a new tab, use the back button in the forums after a minute or so, or just wait a few minutes, then click on a link.

If I click a forum item, then use the back button within a few seconds, it seems fine.

I see this operation in Netscape 8 (in both Firefox and IE emulation) and in IE 7.

Thanks....

Dave

[JH Tugs]

Assuming your browsers are both set to accept cookies (check?) do you have any antivirus or toolbars (e.g. Google Toolbar I think can do this) that block cookies by default? This forum sets a whole bunch that are the ones that remember that you are logged in.

By the way - one of the cookies is called "bbpassword", so it could be an over-zealous privacy module in one of the above trying to "protect" you.

Just a thought - hope it's helpful.

[James Shadle]

Did you click-remeber me?
James

[Chris Ober]

Cookies would do it. Check the privacy and security settings in IE. IE has a habit of putting things where it wants them by default.

Other steps you can do would be clear the temporary internet files or cache.

[David Bostedo]

OK here's an update. This is happening in Windows in Netscape 8.1.3 (in any mode) and in IE 7. (I also have the scroll to the right problem in Netscape Firefox mode that others are experiencing) :
1) I don't think I should have to use "remember me". I think that's for auto-login when you return to the site. At least, I've never used it on any other site and haven't had a problem.
2) I tried clearing the cache and cookies, and changing the cookie setting to "keep". (I usually delete them on browser close.)
3) I checked the cookies, and I never see bbpasswd. I DO see bblastactivity and bblastvisit.
4) Here is one sequence that always forces me to login again, regardless of time :
a) Go to http://www.birdphotographers.net
b) Click on forums
c) Log-in and get redirected back to the page, with all forums now visible
d) Click on Digital Photography Workflow
e) Click on Fabs item that starts with "Fixing the whites..."
f) Right click either link that Fabs posted, and select "Open in new Tab"
g) The new tab opens, asking me to log in again
Any other ideas? The only thing I can think of that I do that most might not is log in as a regular user. I'm NOT logged in as an administrator.

Finally, this whole thing got lost when typing because at times, the Backspace key goes back a page rather than just backspacing in the text box. I don't know if this is because the cursor occasionally leaves the text box, or some other error. So this was typed twice.

[JH Tugs]

The links Fabs posted have a different url. Change "birdphotographers.net" in the link to "www.birdphotographers.net" and they should work without authentication. I posted on this issue further down that thread,

Does that help?

[David Bostedo]

Thanks for the attempt JH, but it doesn't seem to help. The more I play with it, the more I wonder if it's because the cookie isn't being stored. If I browse my cookies in Netscape, I never see bbpassword, even right after logging in. Anyone know if that should be showing up for sure? Or if it's hidden somehow?

[JH Tugs]

If it's of use - and I do use the "Remember Me" option on my machine, here are the cookies that I have listed in Firefox:

989

[David Bostedo]

Thanks JH. I never see any of those except bblastactivity, bblastvisit, bbforum_view, and bbthread_lastview. I've never gotten any of the others. However, I WAS able to open your image just fine by right-clicking and selecting "open in new tab". So it can work for me. Hmm...

By the way, in the middle of posting this, apparently I was logged out, so I had to refresh, retype (well, I remembered to paste this into something else, in case) and resubmit.

[JH Tugs]

Here's a really stupid thought - are the date/time and timezone set correctly on your computer - definitely not set to 2009? Unlikely I know, but just wondering if maybe your computer is aging out session cookies before they're really due to be killed off or something... (clutching at straws here ;-)

Do you use google toolbar or anything like that, that could be grabbing cookies? Or Norton InternetSecurity / ZoneAlarm or similar? Are there any logs you can view to see if you're receiving them?

[David Bostedo]

Everything else seems to be set correctly. And I don't have anything additional installed - nothing like google toolbar, or anything. Netscape does have its own security features, but I've added BPN to the "trusted" list (with and without the www), and tried just about every setting imaginable.

I do use Norton, and have tried disabling it, but that doesn't seem to work, either.

[David Bostedo]

UPDATE - Everything seems to be working now, except for the problem you mentioned before JH, with the missing "www".

The weird part is that I'm not sure what's changed. I put everything back to my original settings, and it seems to be working now. Maybe something on the site updated? I still don't see bbpassword, but I do see bbsessionhash. Weird.

[JH Tugs]

Don't you just hate when that happens? :-) Glad it's working though!