From the EZproxy mailing list, I learned about a trick that can help with the periodic access issues users are reporting with S&P NetAdvantage: clearing the browser cache.
- Before assuming that the reported issue is just with S&P NetAdvantage, check whether they are able to get into any of our other databases that are hidden behind our “Remote Authentication” page (the links for these always begin with https://remote.baruch.cuny.edu). Ask them to try connecting to another database from EBSCO or ProQuest. If they can’t get into an EBSCO or ProQuest database either, it’s a problem with their username and password, not a S&P NetAdvantage problem.
- If their username and password do seem to work on our Remote Authentication page, ask them if they see a message like this when they try to go to S&P NetAdvantage:
Bad Request
Your browser sent a request that this server could not understand.
Size of a request header field exceeds server limit.
- If they are seeing that message or something similar (different browsers may word the same error message differently), ask them to clear the cookies and cache for their browser and then try reconnecting to the database via the link on our databases page.
In a new page in the Library Services Wiki titled “Database Troubleshooting: Clearing Browser Cookies and Cache,” I added this list of links to instructions for each of the major browsers:
Chrome( Google)
https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/32050
Edge (Microsoft)
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4027947/microsoft-edge-delete-cookies
Firefox (Mozilla)
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/clear-cookies-and-site-data-firefox
Internet Explorer (Microsoft)
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/278835/how-to-delete-cookie-files-in-internet-explorer
Safari (Apple)
https://support.apple.com/guide/safari/clear-your-browsing-history-sfri47acf5d6/mac