"There was a security error when trying to login" - v1.3.8

johnga:

Well, I just downloaded TextWrangler , because I am a Mac user. But having never used it before, I will have to spend some time learning how to make it work.BBedit can do comparisons too.

johnga:

The mystery is:
What exactly am I looking for? Once I compare my files, am I looking for something that is not in my files that should be, or am I looking for something that is in my files that shouldn't be. Is there an explanation of what this new security feature does and which files it involves so people that don't know a lot about coding stand a chance of finding where they went wrong?

New lines were added to the original files.
In some cases, existing lines were changed.
And, in your customized files, you have made some changes of some sort ... otherwise you wouldn't have copied those files into your custom template folder, right?

When comparing the files, you should see the differences highlighted.

You need to compare the files and integrate the "new" and/or "changed" stuff from the master files ... into your customized files.

One thing that makes it easier is to do a compare of the "old" master file vs your "old" customized file ... so you can clearly see the changes you have made. Then when you're merging the "new" master file contents into your customized file, you'll know whether the changes are affecting one of your intended customizations.

Things that are just "new" from the "new" file can be copied over into your custom file directly.
Things that are changed in the new file but also affect a customization you had made in your custom file, will require some careful re-customizing based on the new file contents.

In some cases (not likely with the files in this particular upgrade) some of your customized files may have to be dumped and the customization redone using the new version of the file. This isn't very common unless huge changes were required in the master file or if you did extensive customizations to the file for your own purposes. In these cases, comparing "old" default vs "old" customized will show you very quickly how you had changed your file, and give you a clue where to start.

You need to do this for all files on your site ... all the default files, as well as all your customized files.

It sounds a whole lot more complicated than it is. It takes a bit of time, but is generally fairly straightforward.

This is largely the same concept described in the upgrade documentation in the /docs/ folder of your site, and also in the FAQ area. Those docs contain a bit more information about the procedure, and also reference how to do the database side, which contains all your product/customer/order data.

And here I am off topic again :(

Thanks for the details- I guess I have my Sunday plans made for me!

Hello absolute beginner here....have read and re-read this thread and have located the files but not sure what to do with them...
I just installed a Zen Cart for the first time and using the Purple Lily Template and am getting the "There was a security error when trying to login" message....located the files but not sure what to do.

Changed templates and the login works...I'll figure it out!

Having the same customer login problem. Just HOW do you perfoerm this "merge"?

hardtokill:

Having the same customer login problem. Just HOW do you perfoerm this "merge"?

If you have installed WinMerge or a similar comparison program, then you can drag the old file into one side of the compare windows, and the new file into the other one, and visually see the differences, and copy the appropriate changes from one to the other, either by copy-and-paste or by telling it to copy an entire line of code, if appropriate, etc.

It's a tool and skill you should have for anything you're doing when changing files on your site, including upgrades and installing of new addons etc.

hi anyone could help me on this.. everytime I logged in to my account in zencart it says "There was a security error when trying to login.".. What happened to this?? please get back to me asap.. I really need to get this fixed immediately..

I've never upgraded my zencart.

I have attached a screenshot..

guysoul:

I've never upgraded my zencart.

I have attached a screenshot..

There is no screenshot, but a URL would be better anyway. What version of Zen Cart are you using? What add-on modules do you have installed?

go to this site.. http://bestmilagechip.com click on login then
username : [email protected]
password : pokemon

Tnx for the quick response. i've never upgraded my zencart.

version is Zen Cart 1.3.8a.. what modules??

I apologize for the posting my queries twice. I posted it in the wrong topic. Again im so sorry.

I tried to switch it back to the default template and it logs me in. But if I use my template it wont log me in.. what do I need to change?

guysoul:

I apologize for the posting my queries twice. I posted it in the wrong topic. Again im so sorry.No problem. Your post count shows that you're new and still finding your way around.

guysoul:

I tried to switch it back to the default template and it logs me in. But if I use my template it wont log me in.. what do I need to change?The news here is not so good. I suspect that you're using a Template Monster template that is not compatible with the security features built into Zen Cart 1.3.8. That's why when you switch back to the default template it works. Your Zen Cart is fine, the template is the problem.

There's a limit to what we can advise here as TM really hack the Zen Cart code badly, so we don't know precisely how their login over-ride is constructed (and don't really want to!). But basically you have three options:

1. Go back to TM and insist on a version of the template that is compatible with the current version of Zen Cart.

2. Try temporarily deleting your template's includes/templates/theme020/templates/tpl_login_default.php file so that you are using the Zen Cart default instead (keep a copy so that you can put it back

3. apply the changes explained earlier in this thread to the above file (don't know how easy this would be to do, as it would depend on what else they've done to the file)

hi.. what do i need to change in the customized template? It says here

If you have customized template "login" files, the new security features need to be merged into your customized template files.

The following files are affected:

• /includes/templates/YOUR_TEMPLATE/templates/tpl_login_default.php
• /includes/templates/YOUR_TEMPLATE/templates/tpl_timeout_default.php

Dont know what to add on those files tpl_login_default.php and tpl_timeout_default.php

Any response will be appreciated.

Thanks.

guysoul:

hi.. what do i need to change in the customized template?Posts 52 and 53 above are responses to a different instance of this problem, but highlight the lines that you are probably missing in your template.

It works man.. Thanks for your help.. :D May the Lord bless you.. :D

thanks - this did the job for me...

Hi, please help as I am very lost and have been trying to fix this for days.
I am unable to login as me test customer, the above message keeps coming up.
I am new to this so have the current version and the only difference is the Cherry Zen upgrade.
This is an extract from my tpl_login_default.php which I thought looked O.K. when compared to what you have suggested here.

<label class="inputLabel" for="login-password"><?php echo ENTRY_PASSWORD; ?></label>

With thanks

Hi DrByte,

How do I compare the remote files using Winmerge? I am experiencing the same login error problem for returning customers. I get the message"there was a security error when trying to login" when I login as a returning customer. Ever since I uploaded my customised header on the newly installed zencart template "Slovak_Classic" I am facing this login error problem. I would really appreciate if you could help me find a solution to this problem. I am stuck because of this.

I downloaded the software Winmerge after reading the forums, but can't figure out how to view the remote files using winmerge as the browse button opens the folders on my PC only.

Indicana

Hi,
Just to clarify, my customer login was fine one day and not the next.
I have done no upgrades because am runnung the latest version, the only thing I did do was the 'Steps in securing your Zen Cart store' , and then customer login stopped working giving me the security error.
I have compared the tpl_time_out & tpl_login_default with an older backup and they look fine, can you suggest somewhere else to look?
PLEASE help!

crisand:

Hi,
Just to clarify, my customer login was fine one day and not the next.
I have done no upgrades because am runnung the latest version, the only thing I did do was the 'Steps in securing your Zen Cart store' , and then customer login stopped working giving me the security error.
I have compared the tpl_time_out & tpl_login_default with an older backup and they look fine, can you suggest somewhere else to look?
PLEASE help!

If you do have a back up of these files (tpl_time_out_default.php & tpl_login_default.php) and at the time those back up files were the good working ones. Try uploading these backup files over the existing files, as sometimes when compared together all the wording can look the same but there may still be a problem with the php.file. I have done this before and it worked for me. It's worth a try. Make sure you always keep copies before you change any files as you may need to put the file back if it doesn’t work.