I am having trouble logging into a free webmail service. Whenever I enter my username and password, and click ‘Login’, Internet Explorer jumps to the logout page. I can login ok on any other computer except mine! Recently I joined an e-newsletter (accessed via a password) and the same problem occurs. There is no problem with accessing my own ISP based email. I am using Windows ME.

A similar problem was discussed in the bumper edition column on the 3rd December, 2001. In that instance, the user could not access their webmail account as, when attempting to login, the same login page simply reappeared with no details (ie. username and password) filled in. The first port of call for this problem is to empty the Internet Explorer cache and cookies. Open Internet Explorer, go to the ‘Tools’ menu > ‘Internet Options’. In the window that appears, click the ‘General’ tab. Under the ‘Temporary Internet Files’ heading, click ‘Delete Files…’. A message will appear confirming the deletion. Press ‘OK’. Once this has been done, under the ‘History’ heading, click the ‘Clear History’ button. Then click ‘OK’ to close the Internet Options and then close Internet Explorer. Now open the ‘Windows Explorer’ and navigate to C:WINDOWSCOOKIES and delete all of the cookies in this directory. After this, go to the C:WINDOWSTEMPORARY INTERNET FILES directory to see whether there are any cookies in this directory or its sub-directories. There may be one or two files you cannot delete in this directory, this is normal. Now close Windows Explorer.

This problem may also be caused if Internet Explorer has been configured so that it cannot accept cookies. If this is the case, then Internet Explorer can’t verify that you have logged in and therefore it redirects you to the logout page. This could occur if the cookie acceptance option in Internet Explorer is disabled. To check whether this is the case, you need to open Internet Explorer and return to the Internet Options. Click the ‘Security’ tab and ensure that the ‘Medium’ security level is set. If not, click the ‘Default level’ button or move the slider to ‘Medium’. Now, click the ‘Custom Level…’ button and in the ‘Security Settings’ window, ensure that under ‘Cookies’, the ‘Allow cookies that are stored on your computer’ and ‘Allow per-session cookies (not stored)’ are both enabled. Click ‘Ok’ to close the window and then ‘Ok’ again. This will now ensure that cookies can be accepted by your web browser. Another cause of this problem may be a problem with the web browser itself. Try upgrading Internet Explorer to the latest version (Version 6) to see if this will help solve the problem. Probably the best way to obtain IE 6 would be from a CD (to avoid lengthy downloads off the internet). You can find Internet Explorer 6 on the cover CD of most computer magazines at newsagencies.