A security error page will have the title, Invalid User Security. There are a number of situations that can cause a security violation.
There is a limit on the amount of time that you can remain logged into OWL and not be actively using the system. The time varies depending on the installation, but it is usually 8 hours. So if you are working on an assignment one night, leave OWL and your browser up and running, and then try to return to work on the assignment the next day, you’ll get a security violation. The simple solution is just to log in again. You won’t loose any work. The exception is if you’ve only done some of the questions in a unit of a QuestionPool type assignment. In this case, you’ll have to start the unit again.
OWL provides all the links and menu bar buttons that you need to navigate through the system. It also keeps track of exactly where you are and what you are going. So you cannot use your browser’s navigation buttons to move through the OWL pages. You also cannot bookmark a spot in OWL and then use that bookmark to return to that place. Doing either of these things will generate a security violation.
You can only log into OWL in one browser window at a time. So if you log in, then open a new browser window and log in again, you cannot return to the first browser window and try to work in OWL. If you do, you’ll get a security violation in that window. You can only do work in the most recently logged in window. This also means that only one person at a time can use a particular login and password. If you are working in OWL and then someone else logs in using your login and password, you will get a security violation the next time to you click on something in OWL.
If you are stuck with a security violation and can’t figure out what caused it or how to get out of it, the best thing to do is to start clean.
1. Close all your browser windows.
2. Restart your browser.
3. Log back into OWL
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