Tech: How to I keep signed in?

Subject: Tech: How to I keep signed in?
From: Joe G
Date: 21 Sep 08 - 04:47 PM

Everytime I come back to Mudcat (and other sites eg BBC MB) I am signed out - even though I tick the box to stay signed in. Presumably something in my security settings is signing me out. Any advice how to stop this happening? I realise it is probably something obvious but any help gratefully received!

Subject: RE: Tech: How to I keep signed in?
From: Peace
Date: 21 Sep 08 - 04:49 PM

Better let the tech folks know what system you're running and on what type of computer.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to I keep signed in?
From: Joe G
Date: 21 Sep 08 - 04:57 PM

Oh yes - I meant to say I'm running Vista Home Premium on a Toshiba Laptop with Virgin PC Guard and Adaware (free version where I run scans). It doesn't stay signed in even when I do not run a scan and delete tracking cookies.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to I keep signed in?
From: katlaughing
Date: 21 Sep 08 - 05:01 PM

Your security system may have been set to refuse "cookies." If that's the case, you will need to tell it you approve of Mudcat and it can accept cookies.

It helps to empty your cache, i.e. all of your browsing history, cookies, passwords, etc. This is in your browser under Tools and then, Options or something like that.

Please let us now what browser you are using and we can help.

Welcome to the Mudcat!

kat

Subject: RE: Tech: How to I keep signed in?
From: Peace
Date: 21 Sep 08 - 05:02 PM

Wish I knew enough to help, Joe. But there's a good half dozen Mudcat folks who know LOTS, and I'd say from their postings at various times that you can count on someone being able to assist you.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to I keep signed in?
From: katlaughing
Date: 21 Sep 08 - 05:02 PM

Oops. cross-posted. Probably in your browser options.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to I keep signed in?
From: Joe G
Date: 21 Sep 08 - 05:05 PM

Thanks

I'm using Internet Explorer

Subject: RE: Tech: How to I keep signed in?
From: katlaughing
Date: 21 Sep 08 - 05:31 PM

Okay. At the top of your browser window, click on the following prompts: Tools > Internet Options > Privacy. Under Privacy, you will see a slide bar for Settings with an explanation of what each level does. If you click on Sites, then you will see how to designate which sites are allowed to set cookies and which you do not want to allow.

If that doesn't work, let us know. There are lots of people on here who know a lot more about it than I do. I don't use IE, but used to.:-)

Good luck!

Subject: RE: Tech: How to I keep signed in?
From: GUEST,Joe G
Date: 21 Sep 08 - 05:46 PM

Thanks Kat

Did that but it still doesn't remember me here or at BBC. Privacy setting is medium but presumably that should not make any difference if I always allow these sites to retain cookies which is what I have done now?

Any further advice appreciated!

Subject: RE: Tech: How to I keep signed in?
From: Bill D
Date: 21 Sep 08 - 06:53 PM

Do you have any setting that empties your cache? Or that limits its size? That can do it, but it IS usually a setting that limits cookies somehow.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to I keep signed in?
From: bobad
Date: 21 Sep 08 - 07:05 PM

Joe, did the same thing happen before you had Vista? If not then there may be a setting in Vista that clears cookies after browsing.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to I keep signed in?
From: katlaughing
Date: 21 Sep 08 - 07:07 PM

I'll bet that's it, bobad. I have Firefox set to prompt me each time I log off of the internet. The prompt asks me if I want to delete all private data. If I didn't have it set to prompt me, it would do it automatically.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to I keep signed in?
From: Joe G
Date: 22 Sep 08 - 07:54 AM

Hi

Thanks for the further advice - I will investigate further when I get the chance. I didn't have the net at home previously so only been on it using Vista.

Where would I find the settings for emptying my cache or controlling its size?

Subject: RE: Tech: How to I keep signed in?
From: Bill D
Date: 22 Sep 08 - 08:41 AM

I do everything in Opera or Firefox and almost never open IE, so let's keep this refreshed and see if someone knows details about IE.....

(if you just poke among the menus, you can often find all the little preferences...that's all I do)

Subject: RE: Tech: How to I keep signed in?
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 22 Sep 08 - 08:54 AM

Like most programs, IE has extensive help files, though many people never bother to look at them. Everything you need to know can be found very easily under 'cookies'.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to I keep signed in?
From: MMario
Date: 22 Sep 08 - 08:56 AM

Please Note: some sites will log you out REGARDLESS of your cookie settings or computer settings.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to I keep signed in?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 22 Sep 08 - 02:29 PM

In Internet Explorer: Tools | Internet Options | Privacy Tab | Sites Button.

In the box where it says "address of website" type "mudcat.org" (without quotes). Click "Allow."

This makes mudcat a "trusted site" which overrides virtually any settings in any "security program," (except those set up by extremely paranoid users) and allows your computer to receive and retain a permanent cookie.

Sites that have a current and verifiable "security certificate" generally will be allowed to give you cookies. Mudcat does not have (and doesn't really need) a "certificate."

You can do the same kind of entry for any site whose cookie is not received and retained.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: How to I keep signed in?
From: Sandy Mc Lean
Date: 22 Sep 08 - 04:42 PM

Well Joe, i used to have a similar problem because I use high security settings and cookie cleaners. I don't like or often use IE but use Firefox as my main browser. However this is what I do with the Mudcat:
There are scores of free browsers in cyberspace that can be easily downloaded. For Mudcat I use Opera and I use that browser for nothing else. I allow it to store Mudcat's cookie but nothing else. I set Mudcat as the homepage, with a desktop icon. In that way as soon as I click on the Opera browser Mudcat is there right away.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to I keep signed in?
From: Joe G
Date: 22 Sep 08 - 06:52 PM

Thanks again

John, Kat suggested that but it has not cured the problem unfortunately. I'd prefer to keep using IE just out of familiarity.

I'll keep trying to find a solution.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to I keep signed in?
From: Sorcha
Date: 22 Sep 08 - 10:04 PM

Joe, I use Firefox browser with WinME as an OS. I go to My Computer, Drive C, Windows, Temporary Internet files, select all, delete, then go BACK to the cookies folder (still in Windows) and check to see if ALL the cookies got deleted.

I've never had ANY problem on Mudcat (any where else either) with Firefox, but I gather some people do.

Subject: RE: Tech: How to I keep signed in?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 23 Sep 08 - 05:52 AM

In Vista Home Premium there is no "cookies" folder that the typical user can access directly for any useful purpose. You cannot "go to the cookies folder and delete everything."

Anyone using Vista and Internet Explorer should be using Internet Explorer version 7. It is unlikely that most people would find a way to have an earlier version of IE on a machine running Vista, but it can be done. In IE, "Help|About Internet Explorer" will show what version you have, and if it's not Version 7.0.6001.18000 now you should visit the Microsoft update site and get current.

Users of older versions may find some functions hidden in strange places. It may be helpful to know that you can click the "Tools" button and click to put a check mark by "Menu Bar" to display the more familiar File/Edit/View/Favorites/Tools/Help bar you know from earlier versions.

In IE, at Tools|Internet Options on the Privacy tab, if the "slider" is set at maximum all cookies are blocked regardless of any other settings. If the slider is set at minimum, all cookies are accepted regardless of any other settings.

If the Privacy slider is at any intermediate point IE will follow whatever instructions you set.

The most common setting for the slider is at "Medium," and this is the setting recommended by most knowledgeable (and mostly rational) advisors as the least secure setting that still gives reasonable security. A lower setting does expose you to some cookie types that can be harmful and/or "unacceptably annoying," and a higher setting may interfere with access to some sites.

If the privacy slider is set to "Medium" and the "Sites" button shows "mudcat.org - Always allow," then it is unlikely that IE is at fault if your cookie gets lost, although the cookie itself can be at fault.

It is possible to have a "corrupted cookie" that is retained but doesn't work right. Usually such a cookie can be cleared simply by "Logging Out" at the site, verifying/setting the "always allow" property for the site, and then logging back in.

You may, of course, have to "Log In" in order to "Log Out," but the log out step should clear all cookies from that site that contain "identity" information (correct or incorrect) for you.

Regardless of the settings in IE, other programs that you may have on your computer may block and/or remove cookies. One example that may not be obvious is the Google toolbar. If you have other programs that provide satisfactory security (i.e. a real AntiVirus/AntiPhishing/AntiSpyware program) turning off the "security helps" in the Google Toolbar (Settings|Options|More) - especially the Google "Popup Blocker" - may help. Vista itself incorporates a "mostly satisfactory" popup blocker, and most reasonably capable "AntiMalware" programs already add other layers of "protection" that you can more easily control. There is no good reason to have additional redundant layers of the same "features" in multiple other programs.

I have Vista Home Premium and Internet Explorer ver 7 running on a laptop, and have not had problems similar to yours. I've seen no indication that either Vista or IE7 have produced any such difficulties in reports from credible users.

My Norton Internet Security does a satisfactory job of cleaning out questionable cookies, so I rarely bother to run AdAware. It (the free version) has not caused loss of cookies for which I've set permissions in IE on the rare occasions when I've run it on either of my Vista machines.

I haven't seen (that I recall) any information on Virgin PC Guard. It has not appeared in reviews of security programs (free and other) in sources I've consulted and (mostly) trust. This in itself doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it, but you're on your own with whether it might be part of your problem.

Some "free toolbars" and "free security programs" (often found via "popups" on the net) are themselves common sources of infection. You can get free "remote scans" of your computer from numerous reliable and well-credentialled AV suppliers' web sites if there's any question about the capabilities of what you're using. No "security program" is infallible, so it is sometimes a good idea to get a scan from a different source if "mysterious problems" crop up.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: How to I keep signed in?
From: Joe G
Date: 23 Sep 08 - 07:54 AM

Thanks John for your very thorough response. My cookie privacy setting is set at medium.

I'll check what is set on the Google toolbar

What I haven't quite understood from previous posts is why deleteing everything from the Cookie folder would help - does it get too full? (John mentions that you cannot access this folder but I have noticed some guidance on other forums on how you can do this - though I am reluctant to start messing about in the bowels of Vista for what is a minor irritation rather than a major problem)

Subject: RE: Tech: How to I keep signed in?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 23 Sep 08 - 01:53 PM

Joe G -

In earlier Windows versions, the Temporary Internet Files folder could get "too full" and would interfere with IE (and other browsers). "Disk Cleanup" was the usual tool for clearing the junk. Vista, with default settings, automatically "cleans up" at scheduled times and/or when folder size increases too much. (Scheduled defrags etc also are done by Vista.)

The cookie folder seldom ran into problems with excessive size, but most of the cookies that you pick up while browsing are "annoying" if not invasive, and with too many cookies it becomes difficult to selectively remove the ones you don't want while keeping the few good ones, so some people chose just to delete them all and then get new ones for the sites where they need them.

With Vista, it's easier and more appropriate to use the cookie clearing features of your security programs and/or more specialized programs like AdAware. Vista should get Microsoft's "Malware Remover" with auto updates, and it will run regularly to detect and remove the most common malware/adware that might cause problems. Most "AV" programs now have added the ability to remove any "dangerous" cookies. With Vista and a reasonably good security program you should not normally need to manually clean out your cookies. Just let the system take care of them.

A security program that's set up to "be aggressive" about cookies could remove ones you actually want to keep, although I haven't seen reports of this being common with programs "with good reputations" or ones commonly approved/recommended by capable reviewing sites.

Popup ads warning that "Your computer may be infected" and "You must download our program or your computer will die" are all over the internet. In nearly all such cases the program installed if you click the link is itself malware that can allow someone to take control of your computer. Don't be afraid, and DON'T EVER CLICK. Get a good program from a known/trusted provider.

Symantec Security Check is one of several places where you can get your computer scanned for existing infections and/or for security vulnerabilities in your present setup. This would be a suggested "good thing to do" almost any time "strange things are happening." (You will need to "allow popups" and may have to allow installation of a jscript "manager" or other utility to run the scans.) This site does "suggest" Norton products you might use, but isn't "pushy" about it.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: How to I keep signed in?
From: Joe G
Date: 24 Sep 08 - 08:40 AM

Thanks John for the explanation