Hello:
We have a Joomla install for a client where certain AOL & IE (not all as far as we know) are not able to login. They are able to register successfully, but the login does not work. It does work when I try, as I am unable to reproduce the problem locally (non-AOL, Firefox user). One of the users did state success when he used Firefox. I had the same user register and test login on another Joomla install on the same server and configured similarly, and he was able to login OK.
We are running out of ideas on what the problem could be. It does seem cookie-related, though not security settings on the users local machine since he was able to login with another site where the security settings would be the same. What can we test or what troubleshootings steps can we take to identify this problem? The problematic site is www.leadtackle.com.
Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide.
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AOL & IE users unable to login
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- Joomla! Fledgling
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- Joomla! Fledgling
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Tue Apr 21, 2009 8:38 pm
Re: AOL & IE users unable to login
There is more information regarding this problem, and I'm not longer convinced it's a AOL-related problem. The user started using a Mac (no AOL), and he continues to experience the same problem. Further, I had him track the IP address that he used when he did use AOL over the course of several days, and he maybe got 1 new IP a day, which is not consistent with the problem of the IP address changing in mid-session. What else could be causing the problem?
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- Joomla! Enthusiast
- Posts: 198
- Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 11:09 am
Re: AOL & IE users unable to login
It's not just a Joomla problem. My ZenCart application, too. My users just tell me "It doesn't work." Gosh, that phrase annoys me. Anyway, that's what they are telling me. And it's Joomla and ZenCart both. My ZenCart is not on my Joomla site.
So I did some checking and AOL is in the process of releasing a new version 9.5 I suspect they released it in the past week, because that's when all the complaints started.
I googled it, and one tech support person advised the AOL user to uninstall and go back to version 9.1 which is considered more stable or something. I didn't read it all.
I really don't like AOL. I've had problems with them with every website I've ever had, and my sites are fairly plain vanilla. Nothing weird about my sites. I don't do anything flashy with javascript or anything. So I don't see any good reason for persistent bugginess - no matter what kind of site I've got.
I've been telling all my users to load up Internet Explorer or Firefox instead. That's basically the only workaround for AOL that I know of.
The IE login problem could be something entirely different. I had a problem where some people (not everybody) could not log on at all. I found out it was a javascript error. I don't have any javascript on my template anymore because it seems there's always a conflict that pops up somewhere.
There's also some interesting advice on logins, on this thread:
http://forum.joomla.org/viewtopic.php?f=404&t=265868
That thread discusses login problems from several different angles. The last post is especially interesting.
So I did some checking and AOL is in the process of releasing a new version 9.5 I suspect they released it in the past week, because that's when all the complaints started.
I googled it, and one tech support person advised the AOL user to uninstall and go back to version 9.1 which is considered more stable or something. I didn't read it all.
I really don't like AOL. I've had problems with them with every website I've ever had, and my sites are fairly plain vanilla. Nothing weird about my sites. I don't do anything flashy with javascript or anything. So I don't see any good reason for persistent bugginess - no matter what kind of site I've got.
I've been telling all my users to load up Internet Explorer or Firefox instead. That's basically the only workaround for AOL that I know of.
The IE login problem could be something entirely different. I had a problem where some people (not everybody) could not log on at all. I found out it was a javascript error. I don't have any javascript on my template anymore because it seems there's always a conflict that pops up somewhere.
There's also some interesting advice on logins, on this thread:
http://forum.joomla.org/viewtopic.php?f=404&t=265868
That thread discusses login problems from several different angles. The last post is especially interesting.
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- Joomla! Enthusiast
- Posts: 198
- Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 11:09 am
Re: AOL & IE users unable to login
I've been trying to find out what others online have done about AOL problems, and it seems the standard advice from Techies everywhere is: DON'T USE THE AOL BROWSER. This same advice has been the standard since the last century. Their browser has always been a problem. (This might be because it was based on Netscape, which also had compatibility problems.)
Comcast and WMConnect are related to AOL somehow. They also use the AOL browser, I believe.
Here is a list I found on a Library website. It's the best list I've ever seen for telling users how to work through their browser problems:
http://www.poudrelibraries.org/help/com ... ml#support
Comcast and WMConnect are related to AOL somehow. They also use the AOL browser, I believe.
Here is a list I found on a Library website. It's the best list I've ever seen for telling users how to work through their browser problems:
http://www.poudrelibraries.org/help/com ... ml#support
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- Joomla! Apprentice
- Posts: 21
- Joined: Sun Jul 01, 2007 8:28 am
Re: AOL & IE users unable to login
From my experience the issue is that the AOL browser changes the users IP address just about every time they click on a page link. That makes it impossible for them to access the back end because their IP changes between the login page and the first page of the admin panel.
If you monitor the Users Online feature while a AOL user is browsing your site you will see the number goes up with each click. The system thinks each click is their first visit.
If you monitor the Users Online feature while a AOL user is browsing your site you will see the number goes up with each click. The system thinks each click is their first visit.
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- Joomla! Enthusiast
- Posts: 198
- Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 11:09 am
Re: AOL & IE users unable to login
Thank you, that did lead us in a new direction. Apparently our firewall (on the server) is blocking AOL and Comcast.
I called Comcast tech support and it's not being blocked at their end. He told me they don't block websites (they do block emails.) He tried to get on my site and couldn't, so then he did a Search and was able to get on my site if he clicked on the search results but not if he tried to access the site directly. Weird.
So our Server guy is working on it. I found this link which explains the AOL proxy system:
http://webmaster.info.aol.com/proxyinfo.html
I think it's very cheeky that AOL expects all servers/firewalls to comply with THEIR system, rather than design a system that is compatible and doesn't need special handling.
I noticed, too, that AOL is offering their own version of IE8. Did they abandon Netscape? I haven't checked up on them in a long time, I'd rather not unless I have to. So I didn't know they were using IE. Apparently this happened awhile back?
I called Comcast tech support and it's not being blocked at their end. He told me they don't block websites (they do block emails.) He tried to get on my site and couldn't, so then he did a Search and was able to get on my site if he clicked on the search results but not if he tried to access the site directly. Weird.
So our Server guy is working on it. I found this link which explains the AOL proxy system:
http://webmaster.info.aol.com/proxyinfo.html
I think it's very cheeky that AOL expects all servers/firewalls to comply with THEIR system, rather than design a system that is compatible and doesn't need special handling.
I noticed, too, that AOL is offering their own version of IE8. Did they abandon Netscape? I haven't checked up on them in a long time, I'd rather not unless I have to. So I didn't know they were using IE. Apparently this happened awhile back?
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