Did BlueHost notify its customers regarding the recent "new password" implementation?

[amazonpp]

This morning I was unable to send business emails and couldn't figure out why until I did a "Live Chat" with support and was informed about the implementation of a new password format.

Question - Were any customers notified about these new password requirements prior to Bluehost implementing it?

I don't have a problem with the password format changing. I'd just like to know about it before it unexpectedly starts impacting my ability to do business.

[Kraxsis]

To my knowledge no notification was sent out about the password change. The password change should not have affected any other service. The change was only specific to your cpanel username and cpanel password. If you were using your cpanel username and password to authenticate your emails then there might be issues there.

I agree on the notification, I really don't see a reason why a notification wasn't sent out.

[REXTEX]

I recived an email about the password change with a temp password and a link to the page to enter the temp password.

[Kraxsis]

Yes, this is correct, I did as well. However I think the OP was referring to a "prior" or before you attempted to log into cpanel, email notification.

[felgall]

Yes, this is correct, I did as well. However I think the OP was referring to a "prior" or before you attempted to log into cpanel, email notification.

Sending out so many millions of emails all at once would have looked like spam.

[mini]

Sending out so many millions of emails all at once would have looked like spam.

They certainly could have staggered the sending of these emails. Companies do it all the time.

I can now not get into my mail nor my account. It would have been nice to have a bit of a warning......

[felgall]

They certainly could have staggered the sending of these emails. Companies do it all the time.

Perhaps they are stagegring them. With the number of emails to send they would probably need to spread them over several months so as to keep to an acceptable volume of emails per day.So with changes probably taking only a few days to implement, those on the end of the notification list might get their advanced notice a month or two after the change.

BlueHost did send out a notification about this change applying to the affiliate program (where there are far fewer emails to send).

That BH is weakest at nofifying us when they are making changes is a lo0t better than the weakness being in some other area. Anyway, all I had to do when I next logged into cPanel after they made the change was to wait for the new temporary password and use that to log in and change my password back to what I had it as before. Not exactly something all that complex that needed anything much in the way of notification.

Only the cPanel password changed so I don't know why you are having trouble getting into your emails as those passwords are unaffected.

[dkinzer]

Only the cPanel password changed so I don't know why you are having trouble getting into your emails as those passwords are unaffected.

Changing your main password affects several areas. When I changed mine, I got a reminder of that - shown below. Note, also, that if you have an SSH login, the password for that will change, too.

[dkinzer]

It is interesting to note that if I change my main password using the "Change Password" icon in the Preferences box of cPanel I must choose a password that meets the new requirements. I can, however, get around this restriction by first selecting "FTP Accounts" in the Files box of cPanel and then choosing "Change Password" for the main FTP login. I first get a reminder that changing the password for the main FTP login will change the password for the entire account and I'm offered a link to change the password. For whatever reason, the resulting page does not enforce the new password rules.

This could be a temporary condition and may be specific to the box that hosts my site. The URLs for changing the password in the two cases are shown below:

Direct from cPanel:
https://www.bluehost.com/cgi-bin/password

Via FTP
https://box531.bluehost.com:2083/fro...swd/index.html

[felgall]

Changing your main password affects several areas. When I changed mine, I got a reminder of that - shown below. Note, also, that if you have an SSH login, the password for that will change, too.

The default mail account that is used as the from address for any emails you send from non existent accounts is the only one that uses that password. The individual email accounts that you set up are unaffected.

With the databases it is only the root login to the databases that is changed and so you only need worry about that if you log in to the phpmyadmin or similar pages directly rather than through the cPanel link. None of your actual references to the databases in your code are affected because they use a different login.

Only the base FTP option is affected. If you set up any FTP options of your own then they too will be unaffected.

If you were using an appropriate password to start with and change back to that password once you login to cPanel the first time then there is nothing anywhere that needs changing. If you need to keep the changed password then for most people the only other place they will need it is for their FTP. The other things mentioned in the list are almost never accessed separately.