diff --git a/webapp/src/edu/cornell/mannlib/vitro/webapp/controller/authenticate/LoginInProcessFlag.java b/webapp/src/edu/cornell/mannlib/vitro/webapp/controller/authenticate/LoginInProcessFlag.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..04f583a59
--- /dev/null
+++ b/webapp/src/edu/cornell/mannlib/vitro/webapp/controller/authenticate/LoginInProcessFlag.java
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+/* $This file is distributed under the terms of the license in /doc/license.txt$ */
+
+package edu.cornell.mannlib.vitro.webapp.controller.authenticate;
+
+import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
+import javax.servlet.http.HttpSession;
+
+/**
+ * This sits in the session to say that a login is in process.
+ * 
+ * Authenticate sets the flag each time it redirects to the login widget, and
+ * the login widget inspects the flag and resets it.
+ * 
+ * If ever the login widget finds that the flag is already reset, it knows that
+ * the user navigated to the widget directly, rather than coming through
+ * Authenticate, and so it discards any existing LoginProcessBean as obsolete.
+ */
+public class LoginInProcessFlag {
+	private static final String ATTRIBUTE_NAME = LoginInProcessFlag.class
+			.getName();
+
+	/**
+	 * Set the flag, saying that a login session is in process.
+	 */
+	public static void set(HttpServletRequest request) {
+		if (request == null) {
+			throw new NullPointerException("request may not be null.");
+		}
+		
+		request.getSession().setAttribute(ATTRIBUTE_NAME, Boolean.TRUE);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Check to see whether the flag is set. Reset it.
+	 */
+	public static boolean checkAndReset(HttpServletRequest request) {
+		if (request == null) {
+			throw new NullPointerException("request may not be null.");
+		}
+		
+		HttpSession session = request.getSession(false);
+		if (session == null) {
+			return false;
+		}
+		
+		Object flag = session.getAttribute(ATTRIBUTE_NAME);
+		if (flag == null) {
+			return false;
+		}
+
+		session.removeAttribute(ATTRIBUTE_NAME);
+		return true;
+	}
+}
diff --git a/webapp/src/edu/cornell/mannlib/vitro/webapp/controller/edit/Authenticate.java b/webapp/src/edu/cornell/mannlib/vitro/webapp/controller/edit/Authenticate.java
index 9c70bdc71..34913c4c2 100644
--- a/webapp/src/edu/cornell/mannlib/vitro/webapp/controller/edit/Authenticate.java
+++ b/webapp/src/edu/cornell/mannlib/vitro/webapp/controller/edit/Authenticate.java
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ import edu.cornell.mannlib.vitro.webapp.controller.Controllers;
 import edu.cornell.mannlib.vitro.webapp.controller.VitroHttpServlet;
 import edu.cornell.mannlib.vitro.webapp.controller.VitroRequest;
 import edu.cornell.mannlib.vitro.webapp.controller.authenticate.Authenticator;
+import edu.cornell.mannlib.vitro.webapp.controller.authenticate.LoginInProcessFlag;
 import edu.cornell.mannlib.vitro.webapp.controller.authenticate.LoginRedirector;
 import edu.cornell.mannlib.vitro.webapp.controller.login.LoginProcessBean;
 import edu.cornell.mannlib.vitro.webapp.controller.login.LoginProcessBean.Message;
@@ -475,6 +476,8 @@ public class Authenticate extends VitroHttpServlet {
 			throws IOException {
 		log.debug("logging in.");
 
+		LoginInProcessFlag.set(vreq);
+		
 		String loginProcessPage = LoginProcessBean.getBean(vreq)
 				.getLoginPageUrl();
 		response.sendRedirect(loginProcessPage);
diff --git a/webapp/src/edu/cornell/mannlib/vitro/webapp/web/widgets/LoginWidget.java b/webapp/src/edu/cornell/mannlib/vitro/webapp/web/widgets/LoginWidget.java
index 589be80ec..5bd3c0a6c 100644
--- a/webapp/src/edu/cornell/mannlib/vitro/webapp/web/widgets/LoginWidget.java
+++ b/webapp/src/edu/cornell/mannlib/vitro/webapp/web/widgets/LoginWidget.java
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import org.apache.commons.logging.LogFactory;
 
 import edu.cornell.mannlib.vedit.beans.LoginStatusBean;
 import edu.cornell.mannlib.vitro.webapp.ConfigurationProperties;
+import edu.cornell.mannlib.vitro.webapp.controller.authenticate.LoginInProcessFlag;
 import edu.cornell.mannlib.vitro.webapp.controller.freemarker.UrlBuilder;
 import edu.cornell.mannlib.vitro.webapp.controller.freemarker.UrlBuilder.Route;
 import edu.cornell.mannlib.vitro.webapp.controller.login.LoginProcessBean;
@@ -189,47 +190,19 @@ public class LoginWidget extends Widget {
     }
 
 	/**
-	 * A LoginProcessBean is outdated if we have come from a page other than
-	 * this one.
+	 * A LoginProcessBean is outdated unless the the "in-process" flag is set in the
+	 * session. 
 	 * 
-	 * If we can't be certain, assume that the bean is not outdated.
+	 * Each time we hit Authenticate, the flag is set, and each time
+	 * we draw the widget it is reset.
 	 */
 	private boolean isOutdatedLoginProcessBean(HttpServletRequest request) {
-		// If there is no bean, it is not outdated.
-		if (!LoginProcessBean.isBean(request)) {
-			return false;
+		boolean inProcess = LoginInProcessFlag.checkAndReset(request);
+		if (!inProcess) {
+			log.debug("The process bean is outdated. Discard it.");
 		}
-
-		String referrer = request.getHeader("referer");
-
-		// They don't say where they were, assume they were here.
-		if ((referrer == null) || (referrer.isEmpty())) {
-			return false;
-		}
-
-		// If the referrer equals the request, they were here.
-		String requestURL = request.getRequestURL().toString();
-		if (referrer.equals(requestURL)) {
-			return false;
-		}
-
-		// RFC2616 says that the referrer might be relative to the request.
-		// Translate to absolute, and test if they were here.
-		try {
-			String absoluteReferrer = new URL(new URL(requestURL), referrer)
-					.toString();
-			if (absoluteReferrer.equals(requestURL)) {
-				return false;
-			}
-		} catch (MalformedURLException e) {
-			log.warn("Problems trying to resolve a relative referrer: requestURL = '"
-					+ requestURL + "', referrer = '" + referrer + "'" + e);
-			return false;
-		}
-
-		// The referrer is not equal to the request, so they came from somewhere
-		// else.
-		return true;
+		
+		return !inProcess;
 	}
 
 	/** What's the URL for this servlet? */