Can't Login to Influence Database

Created by Martin Parkinson, Modified on Tue, 8 Oct at 2:53 PM by Graeme Orchard

The Guide below explains about logging in to the database, and what to do if you have problems.

The most common issues occur for Influence Direct customers (those whose database is hosted) when their password expires due to security settings, and they are asked to choose a new one to connect to the Server where thier database is hosted.

The most important thing to remember when choosing a password is to follow the Complexity rules;
Always make sure the new password you choose is LONG, and contains a mix of upper case, lower case, numbers and special characters ($%&@ etc.) Never include your name or details in a password.

(It is generally a good idea to keep a NOTE of the password you choose, or make sure you remember it.)

You can use a pass-phrase if you want as these are easy for humans to remember, but hard for computers to crack. e.g. UnbakedAnnuitySnake 2024# [Don't use this one! - Obviously]

Contents Click on an item to jump to that section

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents Click on an item to jump to that section

There are two places where you can have problems logging in.

- Problems connecting to the SERVER
- Problems logging in to the DATABASE

If you cannot login it is important to identify at which stage of this process there is a problem.

If the system stops at THIS screen (see below) - then see the section on Server Login Problems. (Click to jump to that section)

If the system stops at THIS screen (see below) - then see the section on
Database Login Problems. (Click to jump to that section)

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If you see a screen such as the one below, this means that the icon has been unable to connect to the server where your database is hosted.

Server: This is the server where your database is hosted, and should look something like server##.influence##########.uk (example)

Login: This is your login/User on the Server, and will typically look like xxxx-yourname where xxxx is relevant to your company, and yourname is normally your name.

Password: This is the password needed to connect to the server. It is not the same as the password used to login to the database, although you can change the database password to match this is you like.

IMPORTANT: The server connection password is case sensitive so BlueBox is different than Bluebox. The password needs to follow some rules whenever you set or change the server connection password. (The password for the Database itself is different.)

IF YOU DO NOT KNOW THE RULES, PLEASE CONTACT INFLUENCE SUPPORT FOR THE DETAILS.

An example of a valid password would be : H@ppyDr@g0n37 (Do not use this one!!)

IMPORTANT: When choosing a password you must not use your own name or your company name as part of your password - e.g. JohnSmith123! and try to avoid repeated characters such as 12345 or abcde

Service List: This will contain information relating to the particular Service (Database) which you connect to - you do not need to worry about this bit.

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i) The password is incorrect

If the password is incorrect you will see an on-screen message. This means what it says - the password is incorrect - check what you have typed, check you haven't left 'Caps Lock' on, and check you are using the right password (i.e. the Server connection password and not the Database login)

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ii) Unable to Find Host:

If the screen shows the message Unable to find host this means that your PC has been unable to connect to the server.

a) Check that the internet is working on your PC. If not you will need to re-connect. Try stopping/starting the internet or WiFi on your PC and try again.

b) Check the FIREWALL - Perhaps some setting have changed and are now blocking access to this server. You may need to speak to your IT support provider to help you check/edit these settings.

c) The information in the icon may be wrong - you will need to check the Server, Login and Service List. Server and Service List can be compared with a colleague who is working. If you need help checking these settings please contact Influence

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iii) You've clicked the wrong icon

If you have an icon docked in the TOOLBAR in windows, this will not work - You must use the icon on your desktop, which will contain all the credentials shown above.

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Sometimes, when you click the Influence icon on your desktop, the login screen will briefly appear, then vanish.

If this happens there are two possible issues:

Issue 1	The Encyption [ ] option has not been ticked in the icon
Issue 2	There is a problem with the Windows Credentials Manager which stores/manages the passwords on your PC.

(i) To Fix the 'Encryption' problem

Right-click the Influence icon on your desktop, and choose 'Properties'

NB: On Win11 you will need to select Show more options then choose 'Properties'

Win 10 (Properties) Win 11 (Show more options)

Then once the properties window opens, choose the [Connection] tab and tick
Use Encryption [ ]

(ii) To Fix the Credentials Manager issue

1	Right-click on your Influence icon and choose Manage Cached Passwords ...
2	Choose Windows Credentials
3	From the list, select the relevant item, starting KCML/????-yourname...
4	Then click Remove (or EDIT) (see below)

VIDEO

The VIDEO below shows the process (Click link to open video)
https://screenpal.com/watch/c0fVlrVarBe

Example screenshot below.

Click Remove to totally clear the password, the close the credential manager. You can then click the icon as usual and you will be prompted to enter the server connection password.

(Optionally you could Edit so you can then enter the correct password, and save the changes as long as you are sure what the server connection password should be.)

NOTE: The password will typically contain Letters, numbers and symbols, such as Blu3B@sk3ts! or something similar - If you do not know this password, then you will need to contact Influence support and get it re-set, then keep a note of the new password for future.

IMPORTANT:
Any time you are asked to reset the server connection password you must always follow the 'Rules';

IF YOU ARE UNSURE OF THE RULES, PLEASE CONTACT INFLUENCE SUPPORT FOR THE DETAILS.

Make sure you keep a note of the password you set as you will need this the next time you are asked to re-set the server connection password. An example of a valid password would be H@ppyDr@g0n37

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v) Unable to connect to host - The request timed out

Sometimes when you click the Influence icon on your desktop, the login screen will briefly appear and display the message

Unable to Connect to Host. The request timed out

NOTE: You may see this message if you are trying to connect to the server from a non-UK location that has not been allowed.

Please be aware that enhanced security is now in place. In order to protect your data, when accessing from most non-UK locations, you will need to use a VPN that provides a UK-Based IP address. This is to help protect your data from hackers and other threats.

Typical VPN providers include Norton, NORD VPN, Express VPN, Cyberghost, etc. Influence do not endorse or recommend any specific VPN.

If you are located within the UK and still unable to connect, please contact us (Influence) and let us know details of your location so we can assist further, in some cases we may arrange for the Geo-Lock to be removed.

This can also occur when the Encryption option has not been ticked when creating the connection icon. To fix this simply right-click the icon and choose Properties then select the [Connection] tab and tick the relevant option. (See below)

The other reason you can get the message Unable to connect to host - The request timed out is because there is no SERVICE to connect to (See below)

This can happen if you click on the Influence icon that windows creates in your TASK bar, since this does not have the correct 'Service' defined. You must use the icon from your desktop.

To check the icon, right-click on the icon and choose Properties, you can then select the [Connection] tab. Make sure that the Service is listed (See below)

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vi) Failed to discover services. Error

If you click the wrong icon (e.g. the one in the Taskbar) or if the icon has the wrong server, you may get this error.

To Fix the error, click on the correct icon (i.e. the one on the Desktop), and make sure the Server is correct (something like server##.influencecloud########.uk ).
Also make sure that there is a SERVICE specified

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vii) Encrypted Connection Error 14 Failed to read from Raw Socket

If you click the Influence icon and see the screen below when attempting to connect to the server, it has an 'Encrypted Connection' error.

Solution: Unknown? We currently do not know the cause or solution to this error - seem to be related to a poor internet connection, so speak with your ISP to make sure the internet is working correctly from your location when trying to connect.

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viii) Encrypted Connection Error 24 Invalid Server Certificate

If you click the Influence icon and see the message Encrypted connection error 24 Invalid server certificate

then you will need to proceed as below.

Currently - We do not know the cause of this error. Please contact influence for more advice/information.

ix) 'User is already logged on using computer xxxxxx'

The above message can be shown for several reasons:

1) User has not logged off another PC they were using earlier

2) User has a few sessions open and have changed computer network connection in the meantime,

i.e. switching from ethernet/wired connection to a wifi connection. This will use a different network adapter on your machine which has a different MAC address. You can't have one server login used with multiple computer names or MAC addresses.

3) There are two server logins which are 16 characters or longer which both have the same first 16 characters. Influence will only check the first 16 characters of the server login when trying to tell if a server login is already in use on another machine.

If this is the case then Influence will need to redo these user logins to make the first 16 characters different from one another.

example:

influence-offshoreuser1

influence-offshoreuser2

If both users try to login on separate computers, the second to login will see a similar message as the above.

If you see a screen such as the one below, the system has successfully connected the the server and found your database - Hooray !

User ID: This will usually be a 4-character ID based upon your name, eg Fred Jones would normally have a User ID of FRJO

Password: This will be the password to login to your Influence database. It is often something simple and can even be the same as the User ID in some cases. Generally this password is not case sensitive, so FRJO will work just as well as frjo or even FrJo

To Change the Database Password:
If you want to change this database login password you will need to enter the current password then click the Padlock icon, after which you will be prompted for a new password.

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i) The UserID or Password is incorrect

If the password is incorrect you will see an on-screen message (See below). This means what it says - the password

IF either the User ID or Password is incorrect you will see a warning message telling you this.

i) Try re-typing these in case you made a mistake

ii) Check CAPS LOCK - Although the password is not usually case sensitive, for some systems it may be. (This can be enforced)

iii) Try typing the password into something like Word or Notepad, just to make sure that the keyboard settings are correct, and you are typing what you think you are.

If none of the above work, then please contact your system administrator, or Influence. They will be able to login to the database and re-set your User ID/Password, and once done you will be able to login using the new details.

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If you get to the login screen (as below) and the system simply 'hangs' here but will not login - check for pending Windows Updates

If you have any pending Windows Updates then re-start your PC and try again. Once the windows updates have been applied the system should login as normal.

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