Bunneh's Guide to Multiple Accounts
a.k.a.
SHORT GUIDE NAME IS SHRT!
A lot of people have mules on sites like Gaia. Sometimes, there are items on your mules that you want moved to your main. I remember a time when I would have to log into my mule, start a trade, log out, log into my main, accept the trade, log out of my main, log into my mule, complete the trade, log out of my mule, log into my main, and finally enjoy my item.
That's a lot of work.
Well, is there an easier way to manage all of this account switching?
As it turns out, there is.
When you go on a website and log in, your information is stored on something called a cookie. When you log out and terminate your session, you basically stop using that cookie and switch to a new one. It's a bit like having three locked rooms; when you leave one room and lock it behind you, you put away the key and take out a different key to get into the other rooms.
So what we need is a computer keychain of sorts. Well it turns out there are a few ways to mange it so that you can either be logged in on a couple different accounts at once or you can switch with the click of a button.
We'll start on the easy ones.
Technique #1: Multiple Browsers
Windows computers come with Internet Explorer by default. Macintosh computers come with Safari. Let's say that you prefer to use the Firefox internet browser when you get online. So you can log into your main account in Firefox and then open IE or Safari, log into your mule, and start your trade. Then, just refresh the page each time you take a new step.
This is a fairly easy way to do this. But that takes a lot of window switching. Is there an even easier way?
Technique #2: Playing With Cookies
Here's where that "virtual keychain" comes in.
For this technique, which is the most convenient, you'll need Firefox.
Firefox allows users to program special functions for the browser called add-ons. Firefox Addons have a huge range of uses. It turns out that there is an addon for account switching called CookieSwap.
First, download and install Firefox.
Firefox web browser | Faster, more secure, & customizable
Open Firefox. You might want to set it as your default browser.
Then, download and install CookieSwap.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3255
Restart Firefox.
Now, open Firefox again. You will see a new icon in the lower right part of your screen. Set up your profile for CookieSwap. Then, whenever you want to check an account, open a new window/tab, select that profile by clicking the CookieSwap icon, and then visit the site.
Ta da.
Technique #3: For Masochists Who Hate Firefox Addons
If you hate Firefox addons or don't want to use Firefox, you can also try running multiple instances of a program.
What does that mean?
Basically, most programs can only be opened once. You open it, and then it's open. You can't open it again without closing it first.
Think of the program as an automatic door. Once you make the door open, you can't open it more until you allow it to close.
So we need a way of making multiple doors.
It just so happens that you can do just that.
In Mac OS X, you can simply copy and paste the desired program, and then use Terminal to open the multiple copies.
In Windows, you use Run As. Set up multiple accounts on your Windows machine. Then, right click the browser and select Run As and that user. This saves the cookies to the different user profiles.
Honestly, I prefer method #2. Method #3 is the hardest, and should only be done if you don't like Firefox addons.
+REP IF YOU READ THIS! LAWL.