External access to licensed material

• Were you able to complete the set-up? If you have installed certain add-ons (extensions) in your browser, these may prevent you from using access. In such a case, you must remove this add-on in order to be able to set up access permanently. Alternatively, you could switch to a different browser.
• Does a window appear for entering the login data? As soon as you call up licensed material, a window should appear in which you must enter your access data. If this window does not appear, the proxy file is not being recognised by your browser. Check the address you entered during setup again to make sure it is correct. In most cases, an error has simply crept into this address. It is important that this address is entered exactly as specified (it must not be followed by any characters): www.bibliothek.thws.de/proxy.pac
• The window for entering the login data appears again and again? In this case, your browser will recognise the configuration file, but authentication on our server will fail. Please check that you enter the access data exactly as described in the e-mail. Capitalisation is particularly important here. There must also be no invisible characters (spaces, line breaks etc.). It is also easy to enter the wrong character, e.g. a 1 instead of a capital I. We recommend that you select the password and then copy it with Ctrl+C and paste it into the login window with Ctrl+V.
• Is the network port 8080 open? The proxy works via port 8080 (TCP). This must be open, i.e. it must not be blocked by a firewall. This is hardly ever a problem in a home network, but if you are in a company, this port could be blocked. You can find out more about this from your administrator.
• Special case MacOS: If an incorrect password has been saved for external access, it cannot be changed in the "normal" passwords, but must be deleted from the keychain management (can be found e.g. via the Spotlight search using Cmd+Space).
  • Search for www.bibliothek.thws.de AND www.bibliothek.fhws.de in the keychain management and delete the entries from the standard and the system keychain management.
  • Caution: Shut down the computer afterwards and restart it!
  • As soon as a licenced database or e-book is then opened, the login window for external access appears again. Now enter the k-number and the correct password that you received in the e-mail when you registered.

If this did not help, you are welcome to contact us via this link.

• Can the library analyse my surfing behaviour? No. Although we know from the proxy server's log files (see data protection) when materials licensed by the library have been accessed via the proxy, the library is not informed of this for all other domains. The check as to when the proxy is to be used takes place locally on your computer before a request is sent via the Internet.
• What about data protection? The proxy and the web server log the following information when used:
  • Timestamp
  • IP of the retrieving system
  • Targeted URL
  • User name
  • Data volume
  This is standard information. We do not pass this data on to third parties (except in cases of misuse). We use the data in anonymised form to statistically record the use of our services.
• How does the external access work in detail? We use a so-called proxy for access from outside our university. This is an "intermediary" in a computer network. When you call up a website in your browser, the following happens:
  1. Your browser downloads the current proxy configuration file from our server. This is the file that you specified in the browser configuration during setup (proxy.pac).   
  2. This file contains information on which domains (=Internet addresses) your browser should connect to via the proxy and which should not. Your browser now analyses the page you want and proceeds in one of the following ways, depending on the domain:
     • If your browser recognises that you are accessing a domain from which the library has licensed materials, your browser connects to our proxy and from there to the desired website. The proxy is therefore interposed. As the proxy is located in our university network, you will receive the licenced access as if you were at the university.
       Your browser may ask you for your access data for the proxy. Then enter your access data.
     OR
     
     • The library has not licensed any materials for the domain called up. In this case, your browser calls up the page directly, i.e. connects to the target page without the diversions via the proxy.
     You can see which domains our proxy applies to in the proxy.pac file. This is a simple text file that you can download and view in a text editor. It contains simple Javascript that checks for certain domains. If these are not found, no proxy is used. This is ensured by the DIRECT at the very end of the file.
• I no longer want to use external access. Do I have to do something? If you have previously set up access but no longer want to or can no longer use it (e.g. due to de-registration), follow the same instructions as for setting it up. However, remove the address from the respective field and deactivate the use of the script (e.g. under Windows 10, set "Use setup script" to "Off").
• Are there other ways to access library media?
  • Shibboleth: Some publishers offer the option of registering via an institutional login. You will then need your regular THWS ID.
  • VPN: If you are connected via a THWS VPN, some media can also be opened without setting up external access. However, we cannot guarantee this for all media, which is why a VPN does not completely replace external access. The service "vpn.thws.de" does not allow access to library media.