FireFox, Usernames and PWs

[raj_head]

Im having minor, but still very annoying issues with Firefox remembering my usernames and passwords and keeping me logged into certain sites.

 

Previosuly, Firefox would keep me signed in on sites like YouTube and Yahoo Mail, or remember my username on Hotmail. Now it seems to not.

 

Firefox still occasionally remembers my username but still requires me to log in manually instead of keeping me logged in OR doesnt remember my username/password at all.

 

I havnt changed any settings that i can think of that would cause this. I do occasionally 'clear private data' on Tools but Firefox forgets my login prefrences despite of this. This issue did seem to start around the time i changed AntiVirus, though im not sure if thats just a coincidence.

 

Any help would be great.

 

Thanks!

 

Raj

Edited April 16, 2009 by raj_head

[Match]

Hi Raj

 

First thing to check is to open firefox and press click Tools then Options then in the pop up window click the Security Tab.

 

Under Passwords you should have a tick Box for remember my password for sites

 

check that and get back to us

[Guest Wolfeymole]

What version of Firefox do you have Raj?

 

You can check what version by clicking Help, About Mozilla Firefox.

 

The latest version is 3.0.8

[BeeCeeBee]

Raj when you clear private data one of the boxes to tick is for passwords so that even if you have it set to remember it will still clear them all.

 

Once you log in again the password will be remembered until you clear it again. I am not sure that is what has occurred but if that is your only issue with firefox, then it is likely.

[raj_head]

Hi guys

 

The box in the Security Tab is already ticked for remembering passwords. I have the latest version of firefox and when i clear private data, i make sure the box for clearing passwords is not ticked.

[Match]

How about cookies?

 

some sites use them to authenticate you when you log in have you got accept cookies ticked?

[Guest Wolfeymole]

In the Privacy Tab in Firefox do you have in the Cookies section,

 

Accept Cookies from Sites, ticked

 

and also,

 

Accept 3rd Party Cookies and lastly,

 

Until they Expire.

[raj_head]

All cookies are being accepted and not cleared when clearing private data.

 

Its a bit of a mystery!

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Have you tried backing up your bookmarks and uninstalling and then re-installing Firefox?

[raj_head]

Hmm no i hadnt thought of that. Err another question though. How do i back up my bookmarks?

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Click Bookmarks/ Organise Bookmarks/ Import and Backup.

[raj_head]

OK reinstalled Firefox but still the same problem. Maybe it is something to do with using a different AntiVirus?

[Guest Wolfeymole]

What AV did you have and what do you have now?

 

Did you fully uninstall all remnants of the previous AV?

[raj_head]

I had AVG, Avast and Superanti Spyware all running at the same time. In another thread, i asked if this was pointless and after, uninstalled AVG and took Superanti Spyware off online protection.

 

I can really remember if i uninstalled all components of AVG but i would guess that i did.

[raj_head]

Any other ideas? Its still happening!

[Goku]

Sorry for the lapse Raj. Try this. :)

 

-- Goku

[raj_head]

Thanks for the tip Goku. Gave it ago and it does force some sites to ask about remembering passwords but the initial probelm is still there. I dont think i was very good at explaining it!

 

The problem differs from site to site. I want Firefox to remember my username on Hotmail but not my password (which is what it use to) but now remembers nothing. For Youtube, it remembers my username and password but doest keep me signed in permanantly (like it use to). The little boxes saying 'remember me' seem to not work on hotmail and only remember my login details on Youtube. On YahooMail, Firefox remembers nothing at all whereas it use to keep me signed in permanantly.

 

I know this is a very trivial problem and having to sign in to sites is not exactly majorly time consuming. But it was the fact that Firefox use to do all these things automatically and now doesnt!

 

Anyways, thanks for all the help. It seems like this problem is just a bit of a mystery. If you guys come up with anything else, let me know!

 

Cheers

[Goku]

Hello Raj. Don't lose hope yet. Do you, by any chance, have CCleaner or ATF-Cleaner?

 

-- Goku

[raj_head]

Sorry for the late reply. Nope, dont have ATF or CCleaner.

[Goku]

OK, here is one more thing to try.

 

Resetting preferences

 

From my estimate, it should resolve your problem. :)

 

-- Goku

[raj_head]

Sorry to drag this thread up again.

 

Have had a look on about:config on firefox and all the 'signon' preferences are still default. About resetting all preferences, im not quite sure how to do that or what i might lose (like bookmarks?).

 

I found the Firefox profiles folder which has got one profile in it. Can i just delete the whole thing and Firefox will start a new profile automatically without losing my bookmarks? There is a file in the profiles folder called 'formhistory.sqlite'.Can i just delete that and have firefox start a new 'forms history' automatically?

[wellies]

No, you'd need to back up your bookmarks to somewhere outside of the Profiles folder so that they can be imported into a new Profile. Bookmarks can be backed up to a 'bookmarks.html' file for this purpose but read on...

 

Firefox 3.0 doesn't actually use 'bookmarks.html' for the working bookmarks file. Bookmarks found in this file are imported into file called 'places.sqlite'. Once the bookmarks have been imported into 'places.sqlite', Firefox has no further need of 'bookmarks.html. If you have 'bookmarks.html' in the Firefox 3.0 Profiles folder, it can be deleted without causing a loss of bookmarks. 'Places.sqlite' contains not only bookmarks but also browsing history.

 

Since the introduction of 'places.sqlite' in Firefox 3.0, the 'Backup' option should probably be chosen to keep a copy of bookmarks and history instead of using the 'Export HTML' option. Both options are found in 'Bookmarks > Organise Bookmarks'. The 'Backup' option produces a backup file called 'bookmarks(date).json'. This can be be used for importing bookmarks and history into a new Firefox 3.0 Profile.

 

It's best not to just delete a Profile in Windows Explorer. Firefox would create another one on opening but a better practice would be to let the 'Profile Manager' create a new additional Profile You can have as many Profiles as you like). Once the new Profile is working and customised to requirements, remove the faulty (or old) Profile using the Profile Manager. Firefox will keep better track of what's going on if you use the program to handle Profiles. Information here on how to create a new additional Profile. Creating an additional one is a good because if you find it doesn't cure a problem, it is possible to remove it and revert back to using the original Profile. Can't do that if the original Profile has been removed. The newly created additional Profile can be deleted in the Profile Manager if it proves not to cure the trouble.

 

Regarding the problem itself, it may be that a new Profile will cure it. It can be worth quickly creating and trying an additional Profile for test purposes for nearly any Firefox problem. Most Firefox faults originate from there.

 

However, one possibility is that the sites have changed and it's therefore not Firefox at fault at all. A site might stipulate that passwords are not saved for security reasons. I have a Yahoo Mail account where the password isn't remembered permanently. One of the two methods written about in the article Goku linked to in post #16 should help with that ...although if a site has disabled the saving of passwords/usernames for security reasons, it could be best to leave it like that.