Changing password

[EdinSteve]

After the recent difficulty I thought it best to change my password but all that happened was an error message and then having to reset the password via my email. I use a password generator which gives a random series of letters, symbols and upper/lower case characters and is this a problem? Some guidance on the parameters necessary would be helpful. Thanks.

[Steve Ashton]

EdinSteve, I am not sure I understand your question.

A member may change their password at any time for any reason.

To change a password -

1) You must be logged on.
2) Click on "UserCP" in the upper left corner of any page. This will take you to your "User Control Panel".
3) Once in your Control Panel the top box in the center has as the first option "Email and Password". Click on the box in this section.
4) This will open a new window where you can enter your current password in the box provided.
5) Enter the new password you wish to use in the box provided.
6) Re-enter the same new password. This is a check to insure there are no typos.

Finally click the "Submit changes" button and you are done.

You may do this as many times or as often as you wish.

If you are concerned about the security of your data here are some things to note.

Your password is paired to your username. This creates a unique username/password combination.

The email address you have on file is used by the software to send notifications of new posts and the annual anniversary message. It is not part of the username/password combination.

If you are concerned about your password being compromised then enter a password to the forum that is different than what you use elsewhere.

It is really quite simple. X Marks is not a big financial, medical or government site. We do not store personal information or any sensitive information. Even I do not have access to your password. So if someone asks me to change their password for them I simply put in something random just to let them log on. Once logged on they can then change it to what ever they want.

There is no special requirement for passwords like some sites have where you must have a particular number of characters or specific number/upper/lower case combination.

Is this the sort of answer you were asking about?

[EdinSteve]

Right, second attempt. First reply after typing got the message I was not logged in.
What I was asking is whether there are strict definitions about the characters used, length of password, upper and lower case etc. as many sites do impose such restrictions. From what you say XMarks has no such restrictions so there must be some other reason my changes are not being accepted. No probs about data security just I use a password program instead of trying to remember passwords. I will keep trying.

[Steve Ashton]

No, no restrictions or limits on passwords. They can be anything you like.

Try an experiment for me please. Follow the instructions above. Log in, go to your UserCP and change your password to something simple like the word - temp -.

Then log out and try to log in again. See if that works. If not contact me via email and I'll try to help.

[EdinSteve]

Hi Steve, thanks for getting back. First try it didn’t work but then I noticed it required me to fill in the email fields even though I wasn’t changing them. First time I emptied the fields and this seemed to affect the change. Next time I made sure all fields were filled (old password, new password twice and email address twice) clicked save changes and this time it worked. Sorry about all this but making sure all fields filled in seemed to work. I use a password generator program which autofills fields and which may interfere in some way. Anyway all is OK now.