Everyone,

My thanks to LuAnn Kern and Ryan Lewis for alerting me to this issue.

You may have recently heard that Microsoft is rolling out the most recent
version of its Internet Explorer software. The new version 7 includes a
number of security enhancements and one of them affects access to the
password protected pages on the MoMS website. If a user updates their
Microsoft Internet Explorer browser to version 7, it changes the default
security settings to "Medium-High" rather than the past "Medium". The
"Medium-High" settings cause the computer to skip over the password entry
window and go straight to the "I'm sorry, you must have forgotten your
password" screen.

There are two ways around the problem, and it's really up to the user which
one they would like to choose:

1) To retain the Medium-High security setting, right-click on the Internet
Explorer icon or select "Internet Settings" from the "Tools" icon from
within Internet Explorer 7. Click on the "Security" tab. Click on the green
check mark for "Trusted Sites". Then, click on the button that says "sites."
On the next screen, enter www.museumonmainstreet.org into the "Add this
website to this zone" slot and uncheck the box next to "Require server
verification (https:) for all sites in this zone". Then, click the "add"
button and close to exit the window. Then hit "OK" to close the Internet
Settings box. Close Internet Explorer and then restart it to ensure that the
new settings are present. (Credit goes to LuAnn for finding this fix.)

or

2) To change the overall security setting to "Medium", right-click on the
Internet Explorer icon or select "Internet Settings" from the "Tools" icon
from within Internet Explorer 7. Click on the "Security" tab. Check to be
sure that the globe icon for "Internet" is highlighted. Move the slider
under the blue "Security Level for This Zone" title from Medium-High to
Medium. Hit "OK" to save the settings. Exit the Internet Settings box. Close
Internet Explorer and restart the browser to ensure that the new settings
are active.

Please let me know if you have any trouble with this fix. So far, I've only
heard from LuAnn and one other site that this is an issue, but I have a
feeling that it will be something that many, many users will experience over
the next several weeks. Microsoft is sending this new version to users via
its automatic update system. While many users on business computer systems
will not upgrade, lots of users on their home computers will.

Thanks!
Robbie


Robbie Davis
Project Director
Museum on Main Street
Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES)
P.O. Box 37012 MRC 941
Washington, DC  20013-7012
Tel: 202-633-5335
General MoMS Information: 202-633-5348
Fax: 202-633-5344
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For deliveries:
Museum on Main Street
SITES
470 L'Enfant Plaza East, SW
Suite 7103, MRC 941
Washington, DC 20024