Automatic User Login

Automatic User Login

CONTENTS

Introduction
Logging In
Configuration

IP Addresses

Diagnostics

INTRODUCTION
Classification Web can be configured so that any access from a specific IP (Internet Protocol) address or range of addresses will automatically log that computer into a particular account. In order to do this, the IP (Internet Protocol) address of either the end-user's computer or the network it is attached to must always be the same (static) and this value must be assigned to either that user or their institution. It is the end-users's responsibility to properly configure their account so that only authorized users of that account can login in this manner. In general, only educational, government and corporate networks have static IP addresses. Most other users are assigned a different IP address every time they connect to the Internet. Users should check in with their technical services department or Internet Service Provider (ISP) to determine if they have a static IP address and for assistance in configuring this information in Classification Web.

LOGGING IN
Once you have associated one or more IP addresses with your account, you must use the Classification Web auto login menu when starting your session in order to log in automatically. Any time you start a session in this manner, you will be restricted to read-only access to your account. If you need the ability to edit your local notes and change your preferences, you must start your session from the standard menu, which will not log you in automatically. If you use the standard menu and are not prompted for your user name and password, it means that you are already running a Classification Web session. In this case, log out of Classification Web, return to the standard menu and make your selection again.

CONFIGURATION
To configure your account to allow for automatic user logins, use the Preferences link on the ClassWeb main menu to update your user preferences. In the section called "Automatic Login (Advanced Feature)" there are a series of input boxes for you enter one or more IP addresses. If you need more entry fields than what has been provided, fill in the blank boxes, save your preferences and click on the Preferences menu link again.

IP Addresses
An IP address contains four decimal numbers, separated by periods (i.e. 192.168.1.2). To input a network address (a range of IP addresses), follow the IP address by a slash (/) and a network mask from 8 to 31 that indicates how many bits at the front of the address make up the network address (for example, the value of 192.168.1.2/24 refers a network address of 192.168.1.0, which includes the range of IP addresses from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.254). Please note that any IP addresses you input with network masks will be normalized when you save your preferences so that only the network address will remain. For example, the value of 192.168.1.2/24 will be converted into 192.168.1.0/24.

If your network administrator has given you a network address with asterisks (*) in it, you must convert this value by replacing the asterisks with zeros and appending a network mask (a slash followed by a number) as follows:

Asterisks	Network Mask	Example
One	/24	192.168.1.* becomes 192.168.1.0/24
Two	/16	192.168.. becomes 192.168.0.0/16
Three	/8	192...* becomes 192.0.0.0/8

DIAGNOSTICS
You can tell if the auto-login feature is working by accessing Classification Web through the auto login menu. If you can start a new ClassWeb session without having to log in, everything is working properly (make sure you weren't already logged in by clicking on the "Log Out" link first). If you get a login screen, something has been misconfigured. The most likely reason is that the computer you are using to access ClassWeb is not at the IP address you expected. There is a ClassWeb diagnostics page to help you track down these types of problems (you don't have to be logged into ClassWeb to use it). This page returns the web browser version, domain name and IP address of the computer making the request.

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