Website Login issues

[Rumpy]

Ok, so there's this private medical firm that does blood work and such, and they have a feature where you can log in to their website to see your results. Here's the issue:

Trying to log in does nothing. Multiple browsers and PCs, Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer, they all have the same result. Clicking on the log in button doesn't seem to do anything. It's supposed to open a new window. At some point it does do something in the background, because trying again will lock you out while saying you're already logged in. So, I'm really not sure what's happening. Their tech support is unhelpful and only making my parents stressed. It's making me feel like as a tech literate person, if I can't figure it out, I don't hold out much hope for those that aren't, and I imagine we're not the only ones really puzzled about this one.

My only thought at this point is, could the firewall be interfering? If so, it's the only site I've ever experienced to have this problem. Or is it just really crappy coding on their part? I'm leaning towards the latter.

[Kasey Chang]

Try incognito mode? That'll disable almost all extensions and whatnot to see any of that is interfering.

[Rumpy]

They don't really browse with any extensions, but sure, will try that next.

[gilraen]

Most browsers these days block pop-ups by default. If the website is trying to launch a pop-up window as a mandatory step in the login process, and the browser is blocking it, that could be the problem.

(and yes, that's would be pretty stupid website design)

[Rumpy]

That's a thought. I'll check into that and see if I can whitelist the site. Well, I don't really know if it's trying to launch a window. But hovering on the login button shows it's trying to refer to something with a hash tag #, which is normally an anchor point to refer to something specific from within a page, so in this case, a particular page it's trying to access that for whatever reason is not showing up. I'm leaning towards some bad javascript coding, particularly if it's happening across multiple browsers.

[Punisher]

Try making sure Java and Flash are updated in case they use it. (Their helpdesk may no be aware if they use it or not)

Can you try it from a computer outside the home?

and yes, it could be a firewall issue if the firewall software thinks the site is bad.

can you post the site's address (without any login info) so I can see what happens if I click the login button without putting any info in?

[Rumpy]

It's one of those websites that disable the button until something is put into the username and password fields. But sure, I'll send you a message with the link.

[Rumpy]

Ok, so here's an update. I tracked it down to its most probable cause, my Dad's habit of double-clicking. It's a holdover from the DOS days. The website would tell him he was already logged in when trying to and would lock his account , so we had a password reset sent. I figured that at the very least, I could see what exactly he's doing when trying to log in. Well, he double-clicked on the link in the email, and I told him it wasn't necessary to double-click. So, we went through the whole process of unlocking his account, answering security questions, etc, and I emphasized the one-click of buttons. Everything seemed to be going well at this point, and lo and behold, we finally end up logging in, much to my relief.

From what I can understand, the server was catching two login attempts in quick succession and locking his account, thus preventing him from accessing the next screen. But there was no feedback from this until the next time he'd try, giving him that locked account message.

[GreenGoo]

Thanks for letting us know.

That's a weird one. Not so much the locking, but after 2 attempts? That seems strangely too few.

[Rumpy]

Yeah, I know what you mean, which made it all the more frustrating. But it's a medical website, and maybe they're trying to be ultra sure. Still, it's the two attempts combined with the double-clicking that made sure the next screen wasn't being seen.