Custom login?

Rodrigo · 2014-02-21, 07:19

The revamped GIMPS mersenne.org login page for looks nicer than before, but I would like to make a suggestion.

Before the revamp, IIRC whenever I logged in I would be taken straight to my stats page (with the total throughput, percentile rank, etc.) This is the first thing I'm interested in seeing when I go into my account.

Under the new system, however, when I log in I'm presented with a basically blank page (showing no information); the only indication that I successfully logged in is that it tells me up on the left that I'm logged in. More importantly, though, in order then to see my stats info, I have to first click on Summary on the menu at left, which this merely takes me to a box that tells me what my login ID is, when I created the account, and whether I've signed up for the e-mail newsletter. In order to see my stats, I have to click again on "Show detailed stats for my account."

So, whereas seeing the statistics for my account used to take simply logging in, now it requires logging in plus a pair of clicks. Is there any way to tweak my settings so that I can log in straight to the stats page, as before? And if there isn't, then I respectfully request such a feature.

Thanks for listening.

Rodrigo

P.S. I also miss the bar graphs showing the percentiles I've reached on the various types of work my computers contribute. But this isn't as important to me as the above...

LaurV · 2014-02-21, 12:22

Actually what you ask, is how it was before, and we "fought" to change it. The problem is that showing your stats need access to the database, which "exhaust" the server resources and it is slow. Every time when I was accessed the page to report TF results, for example, which is the most frequent type of access (many times per day, for GPU owners), it took seconds (ages! in terms of reporting results) to log in and show the page. Than you would have to give few more clicks to go to the reports. The most of the people DO NOT access their status 100 times per day. What for? It makes no sense..

As it is now, you access the page, and if the username and password are right in the cookies, you just log in. Where do you want to go from here, depends on you. If you want to see the detailed report (like before), you re just a single click away from that! (click on the "details" link). Of course, you can bookmark the details link, if you are lazy to click the mouse once.

Advantage: speed. The new page is about 200 times faster when we access it to report results, to check milestones, to see lifetime tops (because we have a bookmarked link which says "from position 50 to 70", as we are currently on position 60, for example), and so on. So, click that link and shut up! yarrr

Rodrigo · 2014-02-21, 17:26

I will ignore the request to "shut up"

and proceed to inquire how to do what you described.

Quote:

As it is now, you access the page, and if the username and password are right in the cookies, you just log in. Where do you want to go from here, depends on you. If you want to see the detailed report (like before), you re just a single click away from that! (click on the "details" link).

Actually, I am TWO clicks away. As I reported, the first screen after login shows nothing other than the menu in the left panel. The right panel where the information goes is completely blank. I have to click on Summary first, and THEN on "detailed stats."

Quote:

Of course, you can bookmark the details link, if you are lazy to click the mouse once.

Tried that (adding the stats page to my Favorites). Didn't work -- I still had to log back in.

Now, I could refrain from logging out when I'm done (which is typically to submit a TF report... and yes, I do take the opportunity to check out how I'm doing and how I compare to others). If there are no security issues involved with that, I can adopt this practice.

Rodrigo

P.S. Concerning the showing of Top Producers, I am not sure that, for me, things are any better than before. On one browser in PC "A", the display is jerky while the list is getting populated (it wasn't before); it doesn't seem to reach stability any faster than previously it finished loading the list. Meanwhile, on PC "B" the browser actually crashes when I try to go into the Overall leaders (it didn't use to crash before) and I have to reload the tab. Never actually get to the Overall Producers list.

chalsall · 2014-02-21, 17:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rodrigo

I will ignore the request to "shut up"

and proceed to inquire how to do what you described.

Don't worry about LaurV's "rudeness" Rodrigo. It was not actually meant to insult (I don't think).

English is not his first language, and it is actually impressive (at least in my mind) how well he does with English.

We're all (or at least, mostly) "geeks" / "nerds" here -- we push each other as much as we can, while actually respecting those who push back....

Rodrigo · 2014-02-21, 17:56

I'm cool with that.

Thanks for the info, chalsall. Much appreciated!

Rodrigo

LaurV · 2014-02-22, 03:58

Sorry man, Chris is right, that was meant like a joke, and not like an insult. Of course you have to report bugs or things that bother you; this is how the progress come.

You are right about being "two clicks away", I just rechecked and it is the same here. Depending on your previous settings, you might be even 3 clicks away, when you just type "www.mersenne.org" in the address bar (firefox, win7, you need one click on "my account" to expand it, one on "sumary" and the third on "details"). If you bookmark the "detail=1" link, you may need one additional click, or two, depending on your browser settings (how it stores/remembers passwords, if you have a master password or not, etc.)

However, this has an explanation too. Before, the username and password were sent in clear over the link (in the URL text), so anybody who spies on the line (like your net admin, your ISP, etc, or anybody who can see the links you visited, remotely or having local access to your keyboard, like your roommate, and being able to look into the history) could see them. Now, there is an entire argument if one could use them for anything or not (to clarify: I am in the group of the users who considers that I could make my username and password public, anyhow some jerk can't do anything with them, beside reporting work for me, hehe). Some people felt bad about letting their passwords to be seen, so now the passwords are sent encrypted. The drawback is that you can't send them directly in the link, therefore you can't login "at the first try", i.e. you can't type "some address" and be are already logged in. You must first contact the page and establish the "key", then send the user/password and log in. This still can be managed with a small script for your browser, if you enable scripts and/or cookies.

But all in all, these are small things, the new page looks much better, I personally am quite happy with it, and the speed increase is real, at least on this side of the world. If you don't "feel it", maybe you may need to clear you browser cache, or whatever things may cause it to try accessing legacy (slow) (sub)pages (?!?! this may be totally gibberish, but I have no other explanation).

retina · 2014-02-22, 04:21

Using a self-signed cert would have solved the problem of unencrypted name-password pairs and still allow for bookmarks to work and autolog you in. Or even getting a publicly signed cert for some $ would work too but might be too expensive to be worthwhile. Self-signed certs (usually) require adding an exception to the browser but as long as everyone knows the cert details there is no need for alarm. In fact the current public "authorities" only offer one source of assurance (which could have already been subverted by the NSA anyway) and self-signed certs with multiple people seeing the same cert are more secure IMO. Who went off topic here? Anyhow there was a project called convergence that was suggesting to drop all the current signing authorities and go to full self-signed mode with a majority agreement scheme that could detect if someone was changing certs on you. [/LaurV mode]

kladner · 2014-02-22, 04:47

Just an FYI on a way to land directly on the Manual Results page. (I have Firefox remember the password, so I only have to click to 'Login.'

Before the changes in PrimeNet, I was using an address line in MISFIT's 'Results URL' which took me, logged in, to the Manual Results page. This no longer logs me in, though I arrive on the correct page and only have to remember to click. I have now truncated the address line to use only my username without the password part.

The URL is-
hiip://www.mersenne.org/manual_result/?user_login=your_name

Of course, it really begins with 'http' but as a link, it kept getting part of the text excised.

Previously, it was-

Code:

http://www.mersenne.org/manual_result/?user_login=your_name&user_password=your_password

Xyzzy · 2014-02-22, 05:26

Quote:

Of course, it really begins with 'http' but as a link, it kept getting part of the text excised.

http://www.mersenne.org/manual_result/?user_login=your_name&user_password=your_password

When you post, uncheck the box that is labeled "Automatically parse links in text".

Rodrigo · 2014-02-22, 05:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaurV

Sorry man, Chris is right, that was meant like a joke, and not like an insult. Of course you have to report bugs or things that bother you; this is how the progress come.

You are right about being "two clicks away", I just rechecked and it is the same here. Depending on your previous settings, you might be even 3 clicks away, when you just type "www.mersenne.org" in the address bar (firefox, win7, you need one click on "my account" to expand it, one on "sumary" and the third on "details"). If you bookmark the "detail=1" link, you may need one additional click, or two, depending on your browser settings (how it stores/remembers passwords, if you have a master password or not, etc.)

However, this has an explanation too. Before, the username and password were sent in clear over the link (in the URL text), so anybody who spies on the line (like your net admin, your ISP, etc, or anybody who can see the links you visited, remotely or having local access to your keyboard, like your roommate, and being able to look into the history) could see them. Now, there is an entire argument if one could use them for anything or not (to clarify: I am in the group of the users who considers that I could make my username and password public, anyhow some jerk can't do anything with them, beside reporting work for me, hehe). Some people felt bad about letting their passwords to be seen, so now the passwords are sent encrypted. The drawback is that you can't send them directly in the link, therefore you can't login "at the first try", i.e. you can't type "some address" and be are already logged in. You must first contact the page and establish the "key", then send the user/password and log in. This still can be managed with a small script for your browser, if you enable scripts and/or cookies.

But all in all, these are small things, the new page looks much better, I personally am quite happy with it, and the speed increase is real, at least on this side of the world. If you don't "feel it", maybe you may need to clear you browser cache, or whatever things may cause it to try accessing legacy (slow) (sub)pages (?!?! this may be totally gibberish, but I have no other explanation).

No problem about the joke, I did misunderstand, sorry.

About the username and password formerly being sent in the clear: I remember discovering that in my browser history a couple of years ago, and realizing that I could simply click on it and land on the Details page, already logged in. That was great.

Too bad they eliminated that capability, but I do understand that it was a risk.

For the time being, I have found a kind of solution -- bookmark the Details page (http://mersenne.org/account/default.php?details=1) and stay logged in (just close the tab or window without logging out). I was hesitant to do that for security reasons, but after spending some time researching the question it looks like it should be OK to do it unless someone else locally accesses my computer (not likely). It's three mouse actions (open Favorites; scroll down to the item; click on it) but it saves having to enter the username and password, so it's well worth it in terms of effort.

And I wouldn't have gone looking for this solution if George hadn't changed the process and added a couple of clicks to my login.

Rodrigo

kladner · 2014-02-22, 16:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

http://www.mersenne.org/manual_result/?user_login=your_name&user_password=your_password

When you post, uncheck the box that is labeled "Automatically parse links in text".

Well DUH!

Many thanks, Mike!

2014-02-21, 07:19	#1
Rodrigo Jun 2010 Pennsylvania 3³·5·7 Posts	Custom login? The revamped GIMPS mersenne.org login page for looks nicer than before, but I would like to make a suggestion. Before the revamp, IIRC whenever I logged in I would be taken straight to my stats page (with the total throughput, percentile rank, etc.) This is the first thing I'm interested in seeing when I go into my account. Under the new system, however, when I log in I'm presented with a basically blank page (showing no information); the only indication that I successfully logged in is that it tells me up on the left that I'm logged in. More importantly, though, in order then to see my stats info, I have to first click on Summary on the menu at left, which this merely takes me to a box that tells me what my login ID is, when I created the account, and whether I've signed up for the e-mail newsletter. In order to see my stats, I have to click again on "Show detailed stats for my account." So, whereas seeing the statistics for my account used to take simply logging in, now it requires logging in plus a pair of clicks. Is there any way to tweak my settings so that I can log in straight to the stats page, as before? And if there isn't, then I respectfully request such a feature. Thanks for listening. Rodrigo P.S. I also miss the bar graphs showing the percentiles I've reached on the various types of work my computers contribute. But this isn't as important to me as the above... Last fiddled with by Rodrigo on 2014-02-21 at 07:24 Reason: add'l info

2014-02-21, 12:22	#2
LaurV Romulan Interpreter "name field" Jun 2011 Thailand 10281₁₀ Posts	Actually what you ask, is how it was before, and we "fought" to change it. The problem is that showing your stats need access to the database, which "exhaust" the server resources and it is slow. Every time when I was accessed the page to report TF results, for example, which is the most frequent type of access (many times per day, for GPU owners), it took seconds (ages! in terms of reporting results) to log in and show the page. Than you would have to give few more clicks to go to the reports. The most of the people DO NOT access their status 100 times per day. What for? It makes no sense.. As it is now, you access the page, and if the username and password are right in the cookies, you just log in. Where do you want to go from here, depends on you. If you want to see the detailed report (like before), you re just a single click away from that! (click on the "details" link). Of course, you can bookmark the details link, if you are lazy to click the mouse once. Advantage: speed. The new page is about 200 times faster when we access it to report results, to check milestones, to see lifetime tops (because we have a bookmarked link which says "from position 50 to 70", as we are currently on position 60, for example), and so on. So, click that link and shut up! yarrr Last fiddled with by LaurV on 2014-02-21 at 12:24

2014-02-22, 03:58	#6
LaurV Romulan Interpreter "name field" Jun 2011 Thailand 3·23·149 Posts	Sorry man, Chris is right, that was meant like a joke, and not like an insult. Of course you have to report bugs or things that bother you; this is how the progress come. You are right about being "two clicks away", I just rechecked and it is the same here. Depending on your previous settings, you might be even 3 clicks away, when you just type "www.mersenne.org" in the address bar (firefox, win7, you need one click on "my account" to expand it, one on "sumary" and the third on "details"). If you bookmark the "detail=1" link, you may need one additional click, or two, depending on your browser settings (how it stores/remembers passwords, if you have a master password or not, etc.) However, this has an explanation too. Before, the username and password were sent in clear over the link (in the URL text), so anybody who spies on the line (like your net admin, your ISP, etc, or anybody who can see the links you visited, remotely or having local access to your keyboard, like your roommate, and being able to look into the history) could see them. Now, there is an entire argument if one could use them for anything or not (to clarify: I am in the group of the users who considers that I could make my username and password public, anyhow some jerk can't do anything with them, beside reporting work for me, hehe). Some people felt bad about letting their passwords to be seen, so now the passwords are sent encrypted. The drawback is that you can't send them directly in the link, therefore you can't login "at the first try", i.e. you can't type "some address" and be are already logged in. You must first contact the page and establish the "key", then send the user/password and log in. This still can be managed with a small script for your browser, if you enable scripts and/or cookies. But all in all, these are small things, the new page looks much better, I personally am quite happy with it, and the speed increase is real, at least on this side of the world. If you don't "feel it", maybe you may need to clear you browser cache, or whatever things may cause it to try accessing legacy (slow) (sub)pages (?!?! this may be totally gibberish, but I have no other explanation). Last fiddled with by LaurV on 2014-02-22 at 04:03 Reason: clarifications

2014-02-22, 04:47	#8
kladner "Kieren" Jul 2011 In My Own Galaxy! 2·3·1,693 Posts	Just an FYI on a way to land directly on the Manual Results page. (I have Firefox remember the password, so I only have to click to 'Login.' Before the changes in PrimeNet, I was using an address line in MISFIT's 'Results URL' which took me, logged in, to the Manual Results page. This no longer logs me in, though I arrive on the correct page and only have to remember to click. I have now truncated the address line to use only my username without the password part. The URL is- hiip://www.mersenne.org/manual_result/?user_login=your_name Of course, it really begins with 'http' but as a link, it kept getting part of the text excised. Previously, it was- Code: http://www.mersenne.org/manual_result/?user_login=your_name&user_password=your_password

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2014-02-21, 17:56	#5
Rodrigo Jun 2010 Pennsylvania 3B1₁₆ Posts	I'm cool with that. Thanks for the info, chalsall. Much appreciated! Rodrigo

2014-02-22, 04:21	#7
retina Undefined "The unspeakable one" Jun 2006 My evil lair 5·7·191 Posts	Using a self-signed cert would have solved the problem of unencrypted name-password pairs and still allow for bookmarks to work and autolog you in. Or even getting a publicly signed cert for some $ would work too but might be too expensive to be worthwhile. Self-signed certs (usually) require adding an exception to the browser but as long as everyone knows the cert details there is no need for alarm. In fact the current public "authorities" only offer one source of assurance (which could have already been subverted by the NSA anyway) and self-signed certs with multiple people seeing the same cert are more secure IMO. Who went off topic here? Anyhow there was a project called convergence that was suggesting to drop all the current signing authorities and go to full self-signed mode with a majority agreement scheme that could detect if someone was changing certs on you. [/LaurV mode]