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Re: A problem with Navigator's cache

     I believe Navigator 3.0 has an option to disable caching of pages 
     transferred by S/HTTP. (In fact, I'm sure of it). Don't know about 
     earlier versions of NS though.
     
     Of course, your users could always turn the caching on again...
     
     Cheers... Mike
     
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: A problem with Navigator's cache
Author:  Ian Dunkin <imd1707@ggr.co.uk> at Internet 
Date:    22/08/96 14:31
     
     
     
At the risk of interrupting the `uns*bscr*be' messages, here's a little 
problem with local caching:
     
Some of our users share PCs.  Some servers on our internal Web hold 
documents whose access requires authentication. 
     
When a PC Navigator user attempts to access such a page, and 
authenticates successfully, the document is retrieved and displayed, and 
cached to their local disk.  This user now switches the PC off, and 
leaves.  Another user switches the PC back on, and fires up Navigator. 
She attempts to access the same document.  Navigator pulls it back for 
her from the cache, without authentication. 
     
How might this be addressed?
     
(1) Set `Verify Document' to force reauthentication.  However, in the 
meantime the document has been sitting clear and visible on the local 
disk for the second user to access directly. 
     
(2) Get the users to configure Navigator to cache on a protected file 
system.  Here we'd be dependent on them all doing so.  Not feasible. 
     
(3) Have the server pre-expire the document.  Here Navigator would 
require re-authentication before retrieving the document again, but, 
again, in the meantime it has still been sitting clear and visible on 
the local disk for the second user to access directly. 
     
(4) Turn the cache off.  Not feasible.  They'd turn it back on again. 
     
     
Is there any way that the server can tell Navigator that it is not 
allowed to cache a certain document at all? 
     
Would SSL help?  Does Navigator just secure document _transfer_, or, can 
it also be persuaded to encrypt documents in the cache? 
     
     
    Grateful for any thoughts!
     
        Thanks,
     
            I.
     
-- 
Ian Dunkin <imd1707@ggr.co.uk>
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