NetBadge: How To Log In

When the U.Va. NetBadge service asks you to log in, you have two ways of accomplishing this. If you have downloaded and installed a U.Va. Personal Certificate on the computer you are using, you can simply click that option and you will be automatically logged in to NetBadge. Otherwise, you can log in to NetBadge with your U.Va. computing ID and your password on one of the listed systems. Once logged in, the service will remember your identity for up to 9 hours. During that time, you may browse to other NetBadge-enabled Web sites without having to re-enter your certificate or password - so be sure to log out when you are finished browsing.

picture of login form

How to log in, step by step:

  1. Before entering your U.Va. computing ID and password, always verify that the login page comes from the NetBadge service. The address should be https://netbadge.virginia.edu. This is the only Web site address you should trust with your password.
  2. If you have downloaded and installed a U.Va. Personal Certificate on the computer you are using, you can simply click that option and you will be logged in automatically to NetBadge. Otherwise, enter your U.Va. Computing ID and your password on one of the listed systems and click the "Log in" button. Note: the personal certificate must be installed in the browser you are using to log in.
  3. If login succeeds, the service automatically redirects you back to the initial U.Va. Web site that needed to know your identity. It receives your U.Va. NetBadge (but not your password) as proof of who you are and then decides what to do from there.
  4. If NetBadge login fails, make sure your Caps Lock key is off and your Num Lock key is on. Also, if you have changed the way your browser handles cookies, you may have to reset cookie-handling back to the browser's default behavior. After making the necessary changes, try again. (For more information on cookie configuration and its effect on NetBadge, please see "I changed the way my browser handles cookies, and now NetBadge doesn't work" on our Frequently-Asked Questions page.
  5. The next time a U.Va. Web site needs to know your identity, it once again redirects your browser to the NetBadge service. This time, however, you may be spared the effort of logging in. NetBadge detects that you have already logged in, so you can be reauthenticated without having to enter your U.Va. NetBadge user ID and password again. This feature is known as "single sign-on" and the service uses it in most circumstances. Single sign-on reduces the number of times you have to log in during a single browsing session and simplifies the process of logging into multiple Web sites over a short period of time.
  6. The standard lifetime for this single sign-on period is 9 hours or until you log out, whichever comes first. During this period you may not even notice return trips to the NetBadge service, since they are designed to happen "behind the scenes"; if you watch closely, though, brief indications may appear in your browser's status bar.
  7. To protect your privacy, remember to exit your browser completely when you are finished browsing. Exiting your browser deletes the cookies the NetBadge service and other U.Va. Web sites create on your machine to remember that you are logged in. To learn more, review how to log out.

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