For those unable to access the Memberzone

There has been a widespread problem with signing in to the Memberzone by members who are using Internet Explorer 7. There have been no changes made to the website password program, and the vast majority of members have been able to access the Memberzone without any problems. Having refused the option of "improving" (oh yeah! - right!) my web surfing experience by updating to IE7, I have continually spurned this option due to the legions of horror stories I have heard about problems caused by the paranoid level of security settings used as standard by Microsoft, and stayed with IE6. However, I have myself recently bitten the bullet and updated from IE6 (which has worked reliably and without problems) to the Beta version of IE8, which is now available to download from the Microsoft website.

Immediately, I ran into the same issues faced by a number of members when trying to access the Memberzone, and which is ENTIRELY related to the users individual settings, and NOT to the website or the password protection itself. Not being in a position previously to personally check out what differences changes to settings made in IE7, I could only rely on 3rd party recommendations, but having now had the chance to explore the problem personally, I can now (at long last I hear you say) offer a solution that I know works.

So, in order to help those suffering under the curse of Microsoft, I can offer the following fix.

It's the user's browser settings that cause the problems, Internet Explorer 6 works ok, as does Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome without any system changes. I can't say if Netscape works though. IE7 is often ok, but I am aware of many access problems using this browser. There is no one isolated issue, so it may be specific to your computer. Try this simple stuff first. This first option is what I used, and it works. It will take two minutes if you know what you are doing, and no more than five even if you haven't a clue. Just follow these instructions to make safe changes.

Having opened Internet Explorer, click "Tools" at the top of the page, then "Internet Options" (last item) then the "Security" tab. This opens a dialogue box, one option of which is a big green tick opening the trusted zone. Enter www.docgb.org in the trusted sites list, make sure the https option is NOT ticked, and close that window. Then towards the bottom of the dialogue box you will see a "Custom level" box. Scroll down the list until you come to the "Scripting" section. Ensure that the "Active Scripting" choice is set to Enable (or Prompt if you still don't trust it). Now, AND THIS IS THE REALLY IMPORTANT BIT, ensure that the "Allow websites to prompt for scripted information" line is set to "Enable". Click "OK", then "Apply" and "OK", and restart Internet Explorer. Hey Presto, you SHOULD have access to the Memberzone password prompt, and then the memberzone itself. The screenshot below shows the two dialogue boxes for easy reference. Click to see it full size.

Also, the default setting for both IE7 and IE8 is "Medium/High". Set the General Settings box to "Medium", and this will certainly help without causing undue security problems.

If the password dialogue box still does not open, try the usual Microsoft trick of holding down the "Control" and "Alt" keys while clicking the "Memberzone" link. That should force windows to display the password box even if your security settings tell it not to.

You could also try clicking the "Compatibility View"option to make IE7 or 8 see the site as if it was IE6.

That should do it, and if you have previously had problems, and find this works OK, I would be very much obliged if you would drop me a short email to confirm it, or any other settings change you have found effective.

If this still does not work, a variety of alternative fixes can be found by clicking here to download a word document with further help suggestions.

Thank you and goodnight.

Spaggy - Webmaster