a service of Tampa Bay Library Consortium


   If you have an questions or comments about this service please send them to alleycat@tblc.org

 

 

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Trouble Shooting 


 

Authentication Problems 

When you get this screen what should you do?

1. Check to see how the barcode number was entered. Make sure you do NOT include the spaces.

2. Clear out your "Cookies" and Internet files.  In order to authenticate you, we place a cookie on your computer which expires within 20 minutes.  If you authenticate in Alleycat then close the browser without quitting out of Alleycat or use the browser's back button to navigate then try authenticating in Alleycat within a 20 minute period you will get an authentication error. To review how to delete "Cookies" and "Internet Files" see the next section below.

3. Your library card may be expired.  Call your library to make sure you card is current.

4. None of the above works - send an email to alleycat@tblc.org, include the name of the library you are trying to authenticate against and your barcode number.  Alleycat support will investigate the issue and get back to you. 

Deleting Cookies and Internet Files 

To delete cookies:

Internet Explorer 6:
Go to "Tools", select "Internet Options" and click on the "Delete Cookies" button.


Netscape 6:
Go into Tasks > Privacy and Security > Cookie Manager, and you can do anything you like. The most brutal options are available under View Stored Cookies.

To delete Internet Files:

The browser's cache (pronounced "browser cash." ) is a temporary storage area in memory or on your local hard disk that holds the most recently accessed world wide web page files.  When you return to these pages, the copy on your hard disk is reloaded instead of receiving the page over the Internet again. This is much faster than obtaining all documents from the network every time, and is why it may seem that a page loads faster the second time you view it, especially for computers with slow connections such as modems on dialup lines. When you quit the browser session, those pages are stored on  your disk. The Web browser lets you set the amount of space to use and the length of time to hold them.

The problem with this time-saving utility is that you might not be seeing the most current version of a particular page. You can force your browser to retrieve the page from it's original location (instead of the Cache) by clicking the Reload or Refresh button on the Button Bar.

                     

It is a good idea to clear out your cache from time to time to clear out the old files and to free up some memory. You will also need to use this when the images on your screen appear to be 'scrambled' or if the page doesn't load as it should.

The way to do this differs depending on the Browser you are using. For instructions on how to clear the cache, go to your browser type below:

Netscape 3.x  Netscape 4.x Netscape 6.x/7 | Internet Explorer 4.x - 6.x
Be sure and restart your browser for these settings to take effect.

 
To clear the cache in Netscape 3:
1. Open the Option menu. Click on Network Preferences.
2. Go to the Cache tab. Click on Clear Disk Cache Now. Click OK
3. Click OK at the bottom of the window.

 
To clear the cache in Netscape 4:
1. Open the Edit menu. Click on b
2. Click on Advanced, then Cache.
3. Click on Clear Disk Cache. Click OK.
4. Click OK at the bottom of the window.

 

To clear your cache in Netscape 6.x/7.x
1. In Netscape Click Edit->Preferences...
2. In the dialog box click "Advanced"..., then click "Cache"
3.  You should see a dialog box similar to this



4. Click both "Clear Memory Cache" and "Clear Disk Cache"

 
To clear the cache in Internet Explorer 3:
1. Open the View menu. Click on Options.
2. Click on the Advanced tab. Click Settings.
3. Click Empty Folder, then choose Yes.

 
To clear the cache in Internet Explorer 4x - 6x:
1. Open the View menu. Click on Internet Options.
2. Click on the General tab. Go to Temporary Internet Files. Click on Delete Files.
3. Press OK to confirm the deletion

Enabling Java

In this section

Internet Explorer 6.X

American Online

Netscape 6.0 +

For Internet Explorer 6.X

With the browser open 

  • Click Tools / Internet Options /

  • Click on the Advance tab scroll down to the Microsoft VM section

  • Click all three boxes.

  • Click  OK 

For America Online*:

  • Start the AOL program.

  • On the menu bar, click on "Members" or the "My AOL" icon then "Preferences" and the "WWW" icon.

  • A screen similar to below will appear.

  • Click on the upper Security tab, then click the "Enable Java Programs" check box to enable Java applets (see below).

  • Click Apply, then OK to exit options window.

 (*America Online 3.0 (16-bit for Windows 3.1) does not support Java.)

Windows 95 and AOL Settings Screen

 

For Netscape 6.0 for Windows

In the open browser:

  • Select Edit from the menu bar 

  • Click Preferences 

  • Click Advanced

  • Click on the three Enable Java checkboxes. 

  • Click the OK button and your Netscape browser will now be Java enabled.

If your Browser Does Not Have Java

If you are using a browser that does not support Java, you must upgrade to a later browser version. We recommend Internet Explorer 6.0. or Netscape 6.0.

Allowing cookies for the Alleycat Website

If you are using the correct version of the browser then check Privacy settings in the browser. 

For Internet Explorer 6 go to Tools > Internet Options > Privacy tab 

 

 

 

 

Click Edit..

 

 

 

Entered the Alleycat URL - into the Address Of Site box and clicked Allow.  Then click OK

How to find out whether NIS or NPF is blocking a connection to the Internet  

How to scan for Internet-enabled applications in NIS and NPF 2003 (for older versions please visit Symantec.com for support documents).

Situation:
This document describes how to use Norton Internet Security (NIS) or Norton Personal Firewall (NPF) 2003 to find your Internet-enabled applications and automatically add firewall rules for those applications.

Solution:
Norton Internet Security and Norton Personal Firewall 2003 have a Program Scan Wizard that searches your hard drive for Internet-enabled applications and displays these applications in a list. From the list, you can then select the applications that you want to create firewall rules for. These firewall rules configure NIS or NPF to permit or disallow an application to access the Internet.

Symantec recommends running the Program Scan Wizard. If you do not want to run this feature, each time an Internet-enabled application attempts to access the Internet, a security alert will appear on your screen.

Existing application rules
If application rules already exist, as seen in the Program Control screen, you do not need to remove the rules before running the Program Scan. The Program Scan will automatically update any existing application rule with the most current one. For example, if you have an application rule for a specific program and Symantec releases an updated rule for that application, run the Program Scan to apply the latest rule. The old rule will be updated with the new application rule.


You can run the Program Scan Wizard from either the Security Assistant or from the main NIS or NPF interface. To view the instructions, click the triangle that is next to the title:


    Hide details for Scan for Internet-enabled applications through the Security Assistant (Click the arrow to the left of this heaScan for Internet-enabled applications through the Security Assistant (Click the arrow to the left of this heading)

    The Security Assistant Wizard appears only the first time that you restart the computer after installing NIS or NPF. After you close the Security Assistant Wizard, you cannot open it again from NIS or NPF.

    If you do not see the Security Assistant Wizard, then run the application scan from the NIS or NPF interface. See the section Scan for Internet-enabled applications through the NIS or NPF interface.
    1. When the Security Assistant Wizard appears, click Program Scan in the left pane.
    2. Click Automatically scan programs. The Program Scan screen appears.
    3. Place a check mark to identify the drives or partition that you want to scan for Internet-enabled applications.
    4. Click Next. The Program Scan searches your hard drive for Internet-enabled applications.
    5. When the Program Scan is complete, the following screen appears. This screen identifies all Internet-enabled applications that NIS or NPF found during the scan. To select individual applications that you want NIS or NPF to configure, place a check mark in the box to the left of the application name. To see more application names, use the scroll bar located to the right. To select all applications found during the scan, click Check All. A check mark will automatically appear in all the programs that were found. If an application was not found during the scan, click the Add button to add the program manually. When you are done, click Finish.
    6. When the Security Assistant Wizard appears, continue with the setup.

    Hide details for Scan for Internet-enabled applications through the NIS or NPF interface (Click the arrow to the left of this hScan for Internet-enabled applications through the NIS or NPF interface (Click the arrow to the left of this heading)
    1. Open NIS or NPF. The Security Center screen appears.
    2. Click Status & Settings in the left pane.
    3. Double-click Personal Firewall in the right pane. The Personal Firewall screen appears.
    4. Click the Program Control tab.
    5. Click Program Scan to scan for Internet-enabled applications.
    6. Place a check mark to identify the drives or partitions that you want to scan for Internet-enabled applications.
    7. The program scans your hard drive for Internet-enabled applications.
    8. When the Program Scan is complete, the following screen appears. This screen identifies all Internet-enabled applications that NIS or NPF found during the scan. To select individual applications that you want NIS or NPF to configure, place a check mark in the box to the left of the application name. To see more application names, use the scroll bar located to the right. To select all applications found during the scan, click Check All. A check mark will automatically appear in all the programs that were found. If an application was not found during the scan, click the Add button to add the program manually. When you are done, click Finish.
    9. The Program Control screen appears. All the programs you selected appear in the box (circled in red). In almost all cases, you do not need to modify the Internet Access or Category options. If you need to modify these options, click the triangle to the left of the option and select the change.
    10. Click OK to return to the Security Center screen.
More information
When the wizard scans an executable file, it searches through the NIS or NPF internal database of preconfigured firewall rules looking for a match to that specific executable file. If a rule already exists, then a digital fingerprint of the exact location of the application is created. This reduces the chance of any tampering with the specific application.
Separator
Product(s): Norton Internet Security 2003 6.0, Norton Internet Security Professional 2003, Norton Personal Firewall 2003 6.0
Operating System(s): Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Professional Edition
Date Created: 09/17/2002

Situation:
You want to know if Norton Internet Security (NIS) or Norton Personal Firewall (NPF) is stopping your Web browser from accessing the Internet.

Solution:
When NIS or NPF blocks an event, it is recorded in the Event Log. To determine if NIS or NPF blocked access to the Internet, see the section To view the event logs.

NOTE: Rules can be configured to not record specific events. Because of this, the Event Log may not list all blocked events.

To view the event logs:

1. Open Norton Internet Security/Norton Personal Firewall.
2. Click Options.
3. Click Internet Security (or Personal Firewall). This step is not always required.
4. Click View Event Log. Note that if your logs are large, you may want to clear the logs (the steps are below) and then attempt to connect to the Internet again. Otherwise, skip to Step 5.

a. Click Log, and then click "Clear All Tabs."
b. With the event logs cleared, try connecting to the Internet again.
c. Repeat Steps 1 to 4.

5. Examine the Firewall tab to see whether a firewall rule is blocking the connection.
6. Examine the Content Blocking tab to see whether an Ad Blocking rule (or Parental Control) is blocking the connection.  

If the site is being blocked then read How to pass referrer information to a web page.

 

How to pass referrer information to specific Web pages in NIS and NPF 2003

Situation:
 You want Norton Internet Security (NIS) or Norton Personal Firewall (NPF) 2003 to pass referrer information to a specific Web page.

Solution:
Some Web pages require referrer information before allowing you to view their page. If you want to allow referrer information to pass to a particular Web page, you must create a rule for it.
To create a rule:

  1. Open the list of Web sites:
    1. Open NIS or NPF.
    2. Click Options.
    3. Click Internet Security or Personal Firewall. (This step is not always needed.)
    4. Click the Web Content tab.
  2. Add a new Web site:
    1. Click Add Site. A new site/domain box appears.
    2. Enter the name of the site that you want to receive the referrer information and click OK. In this example, it will be www.symantec.com. The site name appears in the left frame of the Options window.
  3. Configure the new Web site:
    1. Click the name of the new site.
    2. Click the Global Settings tab.
    3. In the "Information about visited sites" section, clear "Use default settings".
    4. Click Permit.
  4. Click OK to close the Options window.

For information on how to pass referrer information in NIS or NPF 2002 or earlier, go to Symantec Support.

Technical Information:
How referrer information works
When you click a Web page, your browser notes the current page that you are on and sends that information to the server of the new Web page. This way, the server for the new Web page knows the last Web page that you viewed.

For example, if you are on www.symantec.com and click www.microsoft.com, the browser sends www.microsoft.com the information that you are currently viewing www.symantec.com. If you block referrer information, the server of the page you are requesting to see does not know what page you saw last. By default, Norton Internet Security (NIS) and Norton Personal Firewall (NPF) block this information. Some Web sites require this information before they allow you to see their pages.

Important Notice for Window XP or IE6 Users

These web pages require the use of Java. Users running Windows XP and the IE 6.0 and higher browsers will encounter "Internal Server Error" messages when attempting to load screens that contain java functions (such as the Search Menu screen) unless the Java plug-in is downloaded, installed and enabled on their system. 

If you wish to use this system to request materials you must have Java installed and enabled.

The plug-in can be downloaded for free from Java support at Sun Microsystems. 

Please see the "Enabling Java" link on the left to ensure that your browser has JavaScript enabled.

Important Notice for Netscape Users

The patron authentication software requires the use of Netscape browser 6.0 or higher.  If you are using a version of Netscape below 6.0 then we suggest that you upgrade.  

Please go to www.netscape.com and obtain a newer version of your browser.

 

 

 

Revised: September 26, 2003 .