Auto-Login Failing
Lemur
words, once you login, you are logged in until you choose to log out,
any time you open your browser. I have Firefox 2.0.0.3 (and all the
same extensions) installed on my home laptop, home desktop and work
laptop. On both laptops, this functionality works correctly. However,
on my home desktop, approximately every 36-48 hours, when I return to
a site, I'm presented with a login page (as though I'd not been to the
site before).
Once I enter my user name, the password auto-fills in (and, on some
sites, both the user name and password are already filled in) -- all
that I need to do then is hit the "login" button. Obviously, this is
not a password manager issue.
Even still, this only happens on my home desktop - both laptops do not
have this problem. I'm auto-logged into the sites with no prompting.
I run Windows XP...In fact, both my home laptop and home desktop
(where the problem occurs) use exactly the same setup -- same
programs, same security settings, etc.
The cookies don't empty once I close the browser - it seems to hold
cookies for about 24-36 hours.
However, my laptop holds cookies indefinitely -- I can not even turn
my laptop on for a week, and when I go to one of these sites, I'm
signed in already. On my desktop, I need to sign in every day (or
every other day) - but, once I've signed in, if I close the browser
and go back, I'm still signed in...
The cookies are set to be kept until they expire, and clearing private
data does NOT include the cookies.
For example, on my desktop these are the cookies I found for one site:
libogroup
SMFCookie11 - expires May 15. 2013
PHPSESSID - expires at end of session
However, on my laptop, when I go to "show cookies" for this site,
there are MANY more listed.
I went through and deleted EVERY program that I didn't know in my Add/
Change programs setup. Still no change. The problem persists.
I am unsure if this is a Firefox Problem, or a Windows problem. Please
help! :)
Chris
Kent W. England
> There are a number of sites that offer auto-login features. In other
> words, once you login, you are logged in until you choose to log out,
> any time you open your browser. I have Firefox 2.0.0.3 (and all the
> same extensions) installed on my home laptop, home desktop and work
> laptop. On both laptops, this functionality works correctly. However,
> on my home desktop, approximately every 36-48 hours, when I return to
> a site, I'm presented with a login page (as though I'd not been to the
> site before).
>
> I am unsure if this is a Firefox Problem, or a Windows problem. Please
> help! :)
I'm not sure it's a problem. Whenever I switch from my desktop to my
laptop on a different network, I have to logon to some auto-logon web
sites. The web sites recognize the change of IP address and require a
logon switch for security purposes or to keep data synchronized. Those
web sites that don't force a relogon sometimes show me inconsistent
data, mixing interactions between two different sessions. From the
designer's point of view, it's a mixed bag, but the conservative will
require a logon both for security and to keep data in sync.
If you logon to an autologon web site on your desktop and refrain from
logging in from your laptop, will you stay autologged on? If so, I think
this is your situation.
Otherwise, I think it has to be a cookie problem, since that is how
autolgon web sites keep track of your status between sessions.
--
Kent
Lemur
wrote:
>
> I'm not sure it's a problem. Whenever I switch from my desktop to my
> laptop on a different network, I have to logon to some auto-logon web
> sites. The web sites recognize the change of IP address and require a
> logon switch for security purposes or to keep data synchronized. Those
> web sites that don't force a relogon sometimes show me inconsistent
> data, mixing interactions between two different sessions. From the
> designer's point of view, it's a mixed bag, but the conservative will
> require a logon both for security and to keep data in sync.
>
> If you logon to an autologon web site on your desktop and refrain from
> logging in from your laptop, will you stay autologged on? If so, I think
> this is your situation.
>
> Otherwise, I think it has to be a cookie problem, since that is how
> autolgon web sites keep track of your status between sessions.
Hi Kent,
Thanks for responding. No, whether I sign onto the autologon website
from my laptop or not, I still lose the cookie on my desktop in 24-36
hours.
Conversely, if I logon from my laptop, then, log on 2-3 times from my
desktop, and don't use my laptop for, say, 10 days. Then, I go back to
my laptop, I'll autologon without a problem.
It's definitely a problem with the desktop.
Chris
Nir
> Thanks for responding. No, whether I sign onto the autologon website
> from my laptop or not, I still lose the cookie on my desktop in 24-36
> hours.
>
> Conversely, if I logon from my laptop, then, log on 2-3 times from my
> desktop, and don't use my laptop for, say, 10 days. Then, I go back
> to my laptop, I'll autologon without a problem.
>
> It's definitely a problem with the desktop.
>
From your Desktop , using Firefox , login to that site .
Now goto Tools>Options>Privacy>Show cookies.
Search for the cookies corresponding to that site. Look at 'Expires:' .
Does it set to 24-36 hours ?
Lemur
Hi Nir,
As I mentioned in my first post - for one of my sites (libogroup.com),
my desktop lists two cookies for the site:
libogroup
SMFCookie11 - expires May 15, 2013
PHPSESSID - expires at end of session
However, on my laptops, I have several OTHER cookies -- for example,
here are my cookies on my work laptop for that same site:
SMFCookie10 - expires October 3, 2012
phpbb2mysql_data - expires September 20, 2007
SMFCookie11 - expires May 14, 2013
_utmz - expires October 26, 2007
PHPSESSID - expires at end of session
_utma - expires January 17, 2038
Chris
Lemur
This has been resolved - kinda.
I began tracking when the cookies.txt file was changed. I found that
it typically was changed every other evening around 4am. Not
coincidentally, that was the time my Norton SystemWorks runs. I have
unchecked the option to "remove unwanted cookies" during the
SystemWorks cleanup, and - so far - the problem has not continued.
What makes this very interesting is that I also run SystemWorks on my
laptop, with the "unwanted cookies" checked, and it does not affect my
cookies.txt file at all. So, in the end, the problem is not solved --
I still don't know why SystemWorks affects the cookies on one machine
and not the other -- but it is hidden, and thus, resolved.
Thanks for all your help!
Chris