Website Security Improvement Summary

pigoo3

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Hello all Mac-Forums members. A couple weeks ago it was announced that the website would be undergoing some improvements/upgrades...that the improvements/upgrades were related to site security...that these improvements would not result in any sort of visible changes to the site...but "under-the-hood" the site would be much more secure & protected.

The improvements took a bit longer than expected...and luckily no site downtime was experienced during the process. There were a number of tweaks that needed to be made after starting the service...which extended getting everything fully in place/setup.


Here's a quick summary of what's been done over the past 2-3 months:

- Site software has been updated...and all available security updates installed.
- All member passwords will expire every 120 days...and it will be necessary to change them at that time.
- Website has been upgraded to https...SSL certificate in place (look for the little padlock icon in the browser address field).
- Website is now subscribing to a website security service...which protects, monitors, and blocks the site from all sorts of nasty stuff.

The main thing everyone needs to know is that Mac-Forums is a significantly safer/more secure place.

Thanks to everyone for thier patience during this process...while we created a much safer & more secure Mac-Forums!:)

Mac-Forums Staff
 

chscag

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Thanks Nick.

With regard to the required password change every 120 days..... Please check your personal settings ("My Profile") to make sure that we have your current email address. That's especially important in the event we need to send you a password reset message in case of a forgotten or glitched password.

Some of you have asked about your personal info that's stored in our data base: It's up to you if you do not wish to supply us with your date of birth. As I have stated before, that information is not something we need as we do not sell tobacco or alcohol! ;D

Thanks everyone. The staff appreciates your patience and sticking with us during those "shaky" times.

Charlie
 
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pigoo3

pigoo3

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With regard to the required password change every 120 days..... Please check your personal settings ("My Profile") to make sure that we have your current email address. That's especially important in the event we need to send you a password reset message in case of a forgotten or glitched password.

Awesome reminder Charlie!:)

- Nick
 
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Got the PW nag on arrival here tonight. Updated it, seems to work well. Good work!
 

IWT


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Thanks for all your effort and dedication, Nick

Ian
 

chscag

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Since our passwords are expiring and need to be changed every 120 days, we would like to remind you to closely monitor your log on dialog. Several of our members have had difficulty logging on with their new password.

Remember, the new password will be stored in your Keychain and reflected through Safari or Chrome or Firefox when you log on. However, our log on procedure not only requires a password but also a valid user name. It appears this is where some members are having a problem. The Keychain may display your user name as your email address and if you attempt to log on with your new password and email address, the log on will fail. And if it fails 5 times it will require a waiting period before you can attempt to log on again.

If your user name displays as your email address, delete it and place your member user name in its place. Then, you will need to open Safari passwords and make the change there in order for the correct log on information to show up each time you access the forums. You can do the same with Chrome and Firefox.

Those changes that you manually make will then be reflected in your master Keychain file.

And questions or problems regarding changing your password should be directed to the staff via PM or if you can not log on, use the "Contact Us" method.

Charlie
 
R

Rocky97

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Since our passwords are expiring and need to be changed every 120 days, we would like to remind you to closely monitor your log on dialog. Several of our members have had difficulty logging on with their new password.

Remember, the new password will be stored in your Keychain and reflected through Safari or Chrome or Firefox when you log on. However, our log on procedure not only requires a password but also a valid user name. It appears this is where some members are having a problem. The Keychain may display your user name as your email address and if you attempt to log on with your new password and email address, the log on will fail. And if it fails 5 times it will require a waiting period before you can attempt to log on again.

If your user name displays as your email address, delete it and place your member user name in its place. Then, you will need to open Safari passwords and make the change there in order for the correct log on information to show up each time you access the forums. You can do the same with Chrome and Firefox.

Those changes that you manually make will then be reflected in your master Keychain file.

And questions or problems regarding changing your password should be directed to the staff via PM or if you can not log on, use the "Contact Us" method.

Charlie

Hi Charlie

Not have I have experienced this issue or such, but my thought is how could someone delete their email address, it is required and if changed it needs to be verified.
 

Slydude

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I don't think Charlie means to delete the email address from the account. You're right that doing so would gum things up because there would no longer be a verified email address on file.

In this case deleting the email address refers to deleting it from the login area where username and password are normally required. Delete the email address from that field and replace it with the username and then add the password. To prevent future problems edit the entires in Safari's saved passwords and the Keychain app.
 

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