website forgets password

spiralofhope · 07-31-12, 05:30 PM

The website regularly refuses my login. I can copy-paste it directly from firefox's saved passwords list.

I am forced to use the forgot password feature. I copy-paste to reset it to exactly what it's always been. I can then log in with that password -- for a while.

Is this a known issue?

***Cairenn*** · 07-31-12, 07:42 PM

It's the first that I have heard of, but obviously we want to look into it with you. You said you are using FF. What OS are you running? Are you using any blocking software with FF (ie NoScript, AdBlock, some sort of grease monkey script, etc)? When did this start, or has it been that way for the entire time you've had your account on here?

Phanx · 07-31-12, 11:29 PM

This has happened to me several times, but not often. I'd say it happens once every 6 months on average.

At home I use Opera on Windows 7, and log in automatically with Opera's Wand (auto-login) feature. I am on a home network behind a router, and run Microsoft Security Essentials on my computer.

At work I use Opera, Firefox, or IE on either Windows 7 or Windows XP -- it all depends on which computer I'm using -- and log in by typing my username and password by hand. I can't remember it ever happening while using IE, but it's definitely happened with Opera and Firefox. At work, I am on a network behind several switches, at least one router, and sometimes a proxy (again, depending on which computer I'm using), and there is no security software installed on the computers, and no blocking features/plugins enabled in the browsers.

***Cairenn*** · 08-01-12, 12:27 AM

Thanks for your info Phanx, that may help Dolby track down if there is something odd going on.

zork · 08-01-12, 12:55 AM

How long is the cookie timer?
If it is 6months then it's obvious.

If you need to log in more often you have anything that resets your cookie. Maybe you just clean your private files and kill your cookie aswell.

Phanx · 08-01-12, 01:28 AM

My browser at home is set to delete cookies on exit, and I exit all programs and shut down my computer at night. I have to log in every time I visit the site; this is expected. The problem is that sometimes I can't log in without resetting my password, even when logging in with my browser's auto-login feature, or if I type my password somewhere else (where it's visible in plaintext) and copy/paste it into the password field.

Most of the computers at work nuke the whole Windows user folder back to defaults and restart after the user logs out, though I am sometimes running my personal copy of Opera over the network, and that only deletes cookies on exit.

Also, I say "on average" because sometimes it happens twice in a month, and then won't happen for 9 months or so.

I also don't remember it ever happening until the last 2-3 years, so if anything changed with the login system in that time, the issue may lie there.

***Dolby*** · 08-01-12, 03:09 PM

Hi spiralofhope,

Looking at your account it looks like you are on the global login system so your account here was tied to your wowhead account via your email address. If you change your password on wowhead it will be changed here. There is a bug on wowhead that will allow you to login via your old password and once you do that it will then change the password on the global login system to your old one. So best to make sure both passwords are the same. This bug will be fixed soon(tm).

spiralofhope · 08-07-12, 01:53 AM

[edit] Since this is a password sync issue between here and wowhead, I'll get my passwords updated to solve this problem. I'll leave this particular post for random interest..

---

Originally Posted by Cairenn

It's the first that I have heard of, but obviously we want to look into it with you. You said you are using FF. What OS are you running? Are you using any blocking software with FF (ie NoScript, AdBlock, some sort of grease monkey script, etc)? When did this start, or has it been that way for the entire time you've had your account on here?

I'm running Linux (Ubuntu, - well, Lubuntu - updated). (Also, the latest Firefox)

I'm using NoScript, Adblock Plus, Greasemonkey, Ghostery[1].

General preferences: I allow third party cookies. Cookies are deleted when I close Firefox.

NoScript allows wowinterface, mmoui, cloudfront, zamimg, wowhead.
Greasemonkey does not change anything related to this site.
Ghostery and Adblock Plus use default settings.

This issue is extremely frequent. It feels like it occurs every time I restart the browser, but I'm not certain.
- If I keep the browser open and suspend/resume my computer over hours and days then it will keep me logged in.- I can manually log out and be able to log in.
- If I quit the browser and come back a couple of days later, my login will no longer (never?) work - the password, even if copy-pasted from the saved passwords list, will not work.

--

[1] Btw, links don't usually work when editing a message. Right now, highlighting text and then clicking the link icon in the editor does not show a popup. Editing this post, I seem to have no way to add text to the end without it becoming part of that link. Hmm, all editor icons aren't work. I've also got issues with my post getting double-spaced. I end up editing my post, delete bunches of blank lines and use shift-enter to force single spaces. I wonder if any of these things could be related.

http://www.ghostery.com/

spiralofhope · 08-07-12, 01:58 AM

Originally Posted by Dolby

Hi spiralofhope,

Looking at your account it looks like you are on the global login system so your account here was tied to your wowhead account via your email address. If you change your password on wowhead it will be changed here. There is a bug on wowhead that will allow you to login via your old password and once you do that it will then change the password on the global login system to your old one. So best to make sure both passwords are the same. This bug will be fixed soon(tm).

Aha, I figured it was something like this.

Alright, I'll look into syncing up the passwords then - when this issue next bites me.