MCTCEZProxy Help Page

After I log in, I get a security warning indicating that I am about to be redirected to a connection that is not secure. Should I be concerned?

No. Just click Yes to continue. EZProxy is set up to use Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology to encrypt your login, providing additional protection during the login process. After you have successfully logged in, EZProxy then connects you with the database resource you selected, which in most cases does not use SSL technology. The browser is just letting you know that the site you are being sent to next is not using this encryption technology.

Before I log in, I get a security warning indicating that "you are about to view pages over a secure connection." What do I do?

Just click Okay to continue. EZProxy is set up to use Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology to encrypt your login, providing additional protection during the login process.

EZProxy accepts my username/password, but I can't get any further.

1. Deleting the Cache in your browser
Your browser might be caching a failed access attempt. If so, you need to delete the offline content stored by your browser, so that it will register your successful login. For example, In Internet Explorer: Go to the Tools menu and choose Internet Options. Click on the Delete Files button. Click OK. Then, refresh/reload your browser (press F5 key or click 'refresh' button, if using Internet Explorer.)

2. Enabling Cookies in your browser
Another possibility is that you need to enable cookies on your browser. Seethe section about cookies. (Please note that enabling cookies involves some risk in terms of internet privacy and security, so you may wish to re-adjust your cookie settings after completing your proxied database searches.)

3. Enabling JavaScript in your browser
If Javascript has been turned off in your browser, it can affect some databases, so you may need to check and make sure JavaScript has been enabled. For example, to enable JavaScript in Internet Explorer browser: go to the Tools menu and choose Internet Option. Click on the Security tab. Click on Internet. Click on the Custom Level button. Scroll down to the Scripting section. Click in the Enable radio button under Active Scripting (if this is not selected, already). Click OK.

4. Database Access - vendor issues
Sometimes the connection will not go through because the database you are trying to access is temporarily unavailable due to vendor maintenance, upgrades, or service outages. You can try again later, or you may want to go back to the libraryarticles pageand click on a link to a different database to use for your research.

EZProxy doesn't function well with my Internet Service Provider (such as AOL or Prodigy).

ISPs that use proprietary versions of browsers, such as AOL or Prodigy, can cause some problems for EZproxy. A simple workaround is to connect to the provider, minimize your AOL session and use your own copy (you can download it) of Internet Exploreror Firefoxfor accessing the library's resources instead of AOL's or Prodigy's proprietary versions of the browser.

Another common problem is that during initial set up of dial-up, cable, or broadband connections, certain browser settings get configured according to AOL's or Prodigy's own preferences, rather than the settings you need for EZProxy. That is yet another reason to minimize your AOL or Prodigy session and instead use your own copy ofFirefox or Internet Explorer when accessing library resources.

I am using Internet Explorer 8. I cannot get into the databases. What do I do?

Version 8 of Internet Explorer may not be fully compatible with EZProxy yet. So, to access databases with Internet Explorer 8, switch to compatibility mode, to revert to IE7 viewing. While in Internet Explorer 8, click on the tiny broken paper icon at the end of the address bar. Or, go to Tools menu and select Compatibility View

I get the Message "Server Not Found" "404 Error"(File Not Found) or "DNS Error" when I try to log into the proxy server.

If you are logging into the proxy server from home, temporarily disable your personal computer's firewall. After you deactivate that software, restart your workstation, and try again. Some commercial firewall programs ( for example, ZoneAlarm) can block your home access to the college's proxy server.

Or, you may add the proxy server address as a "trusted site" to your firewall software's list of trusted sites.

If you are trying to log into the proxy server from work or other commercial location, contact the server administrator at your location to see if access is available to you through their firewall, or if the site can be added as a trusted source.

It also may be that the college network is down temporarily or is very busy. In that case, try again later.

I received an EZProxy Hostname error message (... to work, your EZProxy administrator must first authorize this within the ezproxy.cfg file). What do I do?

You will get a hostname error page when you attempt to access content on a computer host that is not set up for use in EZProxy. In EZProxy, the administrator must specify all the domains and computer hostnames for which EZProxy can be used. Database vendors sometimes change domain names, or pull content from new computer hosts without always informing libraries immediately. So, when a hostname error occurs, EZProxy's configuration must be adjusted to include the new information for proxying. If you receive a hostname error, please write down:

• the name of the database resource you were trying to access
• the hostname line listed on the error page displayed on your computer (Host...etc)

and report it to the library at (606) 759-7141 ext. 66206.

JavaScript does not run properly.

Some anti-virus programs can prevent JavaScripts from executing. If you encounter this problem, temporarily disable your personal computer's antivirus program, restart your workstation, and try again. Also, make sure your browser is set to accept Javascript.

PDF journal articles do not open.

Make sure you have the free Adobe Reader installed on your home computer. It is needed for opening and displaying PDF documents.

Many Adobe Acrobat documents are quite large: their size is often measured in Megabytes (millions of bytes) rather than Kilobytes (thousands of bytes), as is the case with most HTML files. This can cause problems when you are on a slow connection. A common symptom is that nothing happens after you click on a link to an Adobe Acrobat file. The Adobe Acrobat window comes up, but the document remains blank. In such cases, your solution might be to download the file onto your hard drive and view or print it from there. The process is as follows:

• Hold your mouse over the link to the PDF file
• Right click on the link
• Choose Save Target As in the pop-up menu which appears
• Select a location on your hard drive in the Save As dialog box
• Click on the Save button

The file is now saved onto your hard drive. You can open this file just by double-clicking on its icon.

When I am off-campus and I go directly to a database's homepage to log in, rather than using a database link from the library's web pages, my college login/password doesn't work.

You must go through the college's proxy server in order for yourKCTCS username/password to work. The proxied links on the library web pagesare set up to automatically redirect you to the MCTC EZProxy first.

You enter your login/password information, and then you are redirected to the database itself. If you try to bypass the proxy server by going directly to the vendor's site, the database vendor will not recognize that you are a MCTC student, and won't permit access. The MCTC EZProxy server is the "gatekeeper" that checks to see if you are an off-campus MCTC student before you are allowed access.