Captcha

[gustavo5]

I've never been on this forum, but I've become increasingly frustrated with Optus webmail - to the point where I'm thinking of ending my relationship with Optus that stretches back to 1996.

About 2 weeks ago I spoke to someone from Optus support about the introduction of the Captcha feature to the Optus webmail log in page. I was told that once the system changes were fully rolled out the problem would be resolved. 2 weeks later it hasn't.

I have 5 different webmail accounts. When I first try to log into any of the webmail accounts the Captcha box is visible and log in is not a problem. As soon as I log out of one account and try to log into another of my webmail accounts the Captcha box is no longer visible. To bring it up I have to try and log in which invariably brings up the "failed captcha" error message. Only then does the captcha box become visible again. So I have to log in twice to everyone of my webmail accounts, which over the course of a day represents a huge waste of time.

Why is this happening and when is it going to be fixed ?

Also, since the introduction of the Captcha feature my access to webmail using my mobile is virtually useless. Even if I manage to log in, the webpage will try to display my emails, fails to do so, and reverts to the log in page. I can now only access my webmail from my desktop.

[Ness_YC]

Hi @gustavo5, we appreciate you utilising this forum and for sticking with us for 20+ years. I'm sorry for the frustration caused by these Webmail issues. I have marked this as feedback for the relevant teams to review. 

As specified on a similar Yes Crowd Post, Captcha, at present, is a necessary security measure, but our back-end team is working on implementing security to have the captcha no longer required. 

For now, I would recommend turning off any active VPNs (if relevant) as this may contribute to Webmail issues. I would also recommend trying to log in via Incognito Mode or clearing your browser's cache and cookies. 

[YetAnotherAcc]

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@Ness_YC wrote:

For now, I would recommend turning off any active VPNs (if relevant) as this may contribute to Webmail issues. I would also recommend trying to log in via Incognito Mode or clearing your browser's cache and cookies. 

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Can Optus please stop blaming the users for this missing CAPTCHA problem. It has absolutely nothing to do with the users setup but the way Optus manages logouts.

@gustavo5 has provided details of a totally reproducible scenario. Simply put, the problem is that the https://webmail.optusnet.com.au/index.php/mail/auth/logout page you get sent to when you log out of the desktop version does not have a CAPTCHA at all.

When you log in via the normal https://webmail.optusnet.com.au/index.php/mail page, or have to retry a login after a failed login attempt on the  https://webmail.optusnet.com.au/index.php/mail/auth/processlogin you get the CAPTCHA.

So guess which page needs to be fixed?

[gustavo5]

The Captcha problem I referred to still exists. As another contributor commented this has nothing to do with me, it's to do with Optus's mismanagement of the introduction of Captcha. Fix the problem or lose another customer.