Re: LYNX-DEV Authentication Problems

[Al Gilman]

to follow up on what address@hidden said:

> I ahve a problem with authentication at the Postmaster site (a freemail
> provider).
> 
> When I go to http://www.postmaster.co.uk/directory.html and "click"
> Registered
> Users Login, Lynx will ask for my username then my password.
> 
> After that, the statusline will tell me that authentication has failed and
> if I
> would like to retry.
> 
> I am using 2.7.1 ac-108 on a Windows 95 machine. Does Lynx support
> authentication?

There is a basic security function in HTTP that Lynx supports.
Most likely this is the protocol that the postmaster site is
trying to use.  If this is the case, the likely causes of failure
are that you are sending your username and password with
case-errors to the webserver, or that the webserver is not
implementing the HTTP exchange correctly.

There is also the possibility that the site is using some other
form of authentication that Lynx does not support.

For HTTP errors it is usually necessary (often helpful) to use
the trace mode in Lynx to get a sharable record of the steps
leading up to the point of failure.  I would actually suggest
that you send this problem to the support address at the
postmaster site next (with or without trace) and see what they
say.

Al Gilman