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See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Due to a security breach we are resetting all passwords across Mumsnet

729 replies

RebeccaMumsnet · 12/04/2014 17:32

Following the recent security breach related to Heartbleed we are reseting the passwords of all users.

On Saturday 12 April, we will remove all passwords from our system and to use the site, you'll need to reset your password by clicking on the password reset link.

Type in your email address and click the 'Request reset' button and you will receive a mail to your Mumsnet registered email account. (You will need to click on the link in the mail within 30 minutes of receiving it, without changing the device you're using i.e swapping from phone to laptop, or you'll need to request a further reset).

If you do not receive a mail, please check you spam folder. The password reset mail will come to the email you used when you first registered with Mumsnet.

If you don't receive or can't access your reset mail, please [email protected] for help.

We are very sorry for all the fuss. We want to assure you that we followed all the published steps to protect members' security as soon as we became aware of the heartbleed security risk, but it seems that the breach occurred prior to that risk becoming known.

Most importantly, if you use the same password here as elsewhere, we strongly recommend you change your password on the other sites too.

Thanks,

Justine & the MNHQ team

OP posts:
Jollyphonics · 13/04/2014 08:21

My email hasn't arrived, requested last night. I can't manually change my password as my original one is no longer valid, but strangely I can still post on threads!

poorbuthappy · 13/04/2014 08:23

Just tried to change mine and it won't work.
So I'll email them tomorrow. I know that if they email me again today I won't get to it in time.

Faverolles · 13/04/2014 08:28

I still haven't had an email.
I tried to change my password on my account page, but it won't let me.
What do I do?

Quinteszilla · 13/04/2014 08:32

The emails arrived around 7 am this morning while I was asleep. They would be expired by now.

Quinteszilla · 13/04/2014 08:41

MNHQ You cant let the links in the emails expire within 30 minutes, if they take 7 hours to get to my inbox! People cant sit and monitor their inboxes. We have lives! (although it may not look like it)

NakedFlame · 13/04/2014 08:42

Does anyone know how I can delete a MN account. I seem to have 2.

twofingerstoGideon · 13/04/2014 08:44

Thanks, Mumsnet, for sending me a password reset link at 4.55 a.m. and telling me it's only valid for 30 minutes. Useful!
(not)

RandallFloyd · 13/04/2014 08:47

You can't change your password through 'my account'.

You can still post as normal until you physically log out.
No one is being forcibly logged out.

You don't need to wait for an email.

You just need to click the link in the OP and follow the instructions.

If following the instructions in the OP doesn't work, leave it a couple of hours and try again.
If it still doesn't work email HQ.

In the meantime, the most important thing to do is change your passwords everywhere else.
The worst that can happen if someone hacks your MN account is that they post some weird shit in your name.
The risk is that if you use the same email/password combo elsewhere they could use it there.

RandallFloyd · 13/04/2014 08:49

The sheer volume of requests is probably hammering their servers at the moment so there's bound to be glitches.

As long as you don't log out in the meantime nothing will happen.

I'd maybe leave a couple of days and try again.

CuttingOutTheCrap · 13/04/2014 08:49

Have finally reset my password. Original email arrived hours after my request, so had expired by the time i got to it this morning.

Had to request again. Because my system is't set to 'remember' me, that meant i couldn't post at all since the reset yesterday Sad - bloody hackers!

ChippyMinton · 13/04/2014 09:07

I've just changed mine, the email arrived immediately. So now is probably a good time :-)

BTW minimum of 8 characters needed.

twofingerstoGideon · 13/04/2014 09:08

OK. Can someone post the link for resetting the password please?

twofingerstoGideon · 13/04/2014 09:09

Ignore me please

YuccanLiederHorticulture · 13/04/2014 09:11

I have no access to the ancient email address from which I originally set up this account but happily one of the 4 devices from which I regularly access mumsnet has remained logged in. I guess I'll email MNHQ and see what happens but it may be farewell from this iteration of my identity...

mortimerlake · 13/04/2014 09:14

Maybe mumsnet should have read this first ... theconversation.com/explainer-should-you-change-your-password-after-heartbleed-25506 Smile

AreWeThereYeti · 13/04/2014 09:30

Meh, I couldn't be arsed and I am paranoid so I deleted my old account and opened a brand new shiney one. This is my interesting first post. Wink Wink

RustyBear · 13/04/2014 09:33

Mortimerlake - that article is not relevant, because it is talking about not rushing to change your password if you don't know whether the site is still vulnerable. This is not the situation with Mumsnet - it was vulnerable, but has now been patched, but they also know they were compromised (which most sites don't know)- so changing passwords is the best thing to do.

Quinteszilla · 13/04/2014 09:34

Yes, but the email this morning is asking us to go to the log in page for the link, so should we effectively be logged out?

Randall all well and good with following the link in the OP, I have done that, but for some of us, getting the email took several hours and the links we re only valid 30 minutes.

Quinteszilla · 13/04/2014 09:42

And I am back.

It worked straight away, when logging off, and then going to the log in page and follow the instructions there.

Now I know.

Hoppinggreen · 13/04/2014 09:49

Nothing has changed for me, the email link just brought me to the homepage. Am I being thick?

RandallFloyd · 13/04/2014 09:50

Glad it worked finally!
It is going to be glitchy, purely because there's so many of us doing it at the same time.

I would imagine it will be much better today as the initial rush will have died down.

JodieGarberJacob · 13/04/2014 09:59

I changed my password for Amazon and Paypal at the same time as I was changing my MN one yesterday. Now I'm thinking, should I have waited for those organisations to contact me? Annoyingly I've thought up good ones for each and easily remembered (I normally have the same across all websites) and if I've done it too early I'm going to be really annoyed with myself!

Friedbrain · 13/04/2014 10:10

NAKEDFLAME

you have two accounts????

Something very similar has happened to me!!

CiderwithBuda · 13/04/2014 10:17

Jodie - keep those passwords but maybe swap them over or add some numbers that you will remember to them. I did something similar yesterday - changed on here then was asked to change again so I used one I had changed for something else and used the other one on here. Confusing but this has made me rethink all my passwords. I'm writing mine down for the moment and I will keep them somewhere safe. Famous last words!

I'm thinking of somewhere obvious to me but not to anyone looking. So not in a diary or filing cabinet or near computer.

Maryz · 13/04/2014 10:19

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.