Hey all,
I've been signed up with STN for 10 years, and have had the SAME password for all 10 years. This evening, when I attempted to log in, there was a notice at the top, typed in a pink banner, saying my password had expired and that I needed to change it. With all the phishing and scams going on, I am approaching this cautiously. I have emailed STN, but since it was this evening, I probably won't hear till tomorrow sometime. If I don't hear back tomorrow, then I'll call them later in the day.

It may all be legit, but it just seems strange after TEN YEARS to be told my email has expired. So I'm wondering if anyone else out there has gotten a notice like this and it did prove to be legit. TIA!

I work for them having started years ago, then didn't do anything until this year, and no, didn't have to change password.

Never have. I have also shopped with them for about ten years.

Maybe try a few different approaches while you wait for their reply - different browser, different computer.

Well, I heard from David at STN....he assured me that it was legit and that the STN software is asking people to change their password every 365 days. When I commented that their software hadn't prompted me to change my password in the past 10 years, he wrote back and said this is fairly new, and that it was OK to change. He said he understood my concern about phishing scams. So I've changed it and it all looks good! So maybe others signed up with STN will also be seeing this.

This is a recent security measure we put in place, legitimate and nothing to be alarmed about. All users are forced to change their password on a yearly basis.

Too bad - now another set of passwords out of the hundreds one already has to remember. Why force us to change it? Why not let us change it if we want. ----- Yea -I know, security and all that...... I only want to change my password when I want to. And yes, I write them down. I frequently refer to my password list at some sites. It's just nice to not have to go look up a password all the time. OK, rant over ).

Why not just use something to save and autofill passwords?

@CarlO wrote:

This is a recent security measure we put in place, legitimate and nothing to be alarmed about. All users are forced to change their password on a yearly basis.

Is @CarlO is from STN???? There is nothing, such a some sort of signature line, to show that this person is from STN......could be anybody.....listed as "New Member" and is a first-time poster....CarlO, can you come back and state what your connection is with STN?? Thanks.

Also, was there any sort of statement on the front page of STN stating that there would be a notice upcoming of the need to change passwords every so often??? I don't remember seeing any. If there had been, then maybe I wouldn't have been so leery about all of a sudden seeing the request to change my password for the first time ever in TEN YEARS working with STN...just sayin'...

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/06/2017 04:03PM by guysmom.

@CarlO wrote:

This is a recent security measure we put in place, legitimate and nothing to be alarmed about. All users are forced to change their password on a yearly basis.

Who are you? and why do you speak for STN? How do we know you are legit?

My understanding is when a representative comes to the forum to speak, for their MSC, you introduce yourself. Right now, you can be a disgruntled forum member spewing out some false information getting Forum members to follow your lead, when it could be wrong. You used the word force, which sounds like a "do or die" deactivation, but some posters have already posted the longevity of their password.

If I was a member of STN, I would wait for the MSC to notify me on the website or message me through my email. I would not join a forum/blog site to learn new things about my MSC.

Keep in mind that WE as shoppers and members of the FORUM are aware of the "spy" factor that many MSCs have on this board. Some acknowledge us by letting us know where they "speak" from and some remain under the cloak of "not saying anything".

Complaining, complimenting or ranting about a MSC can be OUR downfall or uplift. We look for other Shoppers to support us or blast us to the moon. One way to know that MSCs is watching and reader the forum--------->watch for compliments, the MSC will responds with "good feeling " post; for complaints-------->the MSC will "fight" back with snake venom.

So OP-------->whom are you? We as Shoppers sometimes need the MSC to be in our favor when trying to decipher some of the Clients ridiculous requirements.

thanks @guysmom

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/06/2017 04:16PM by sojo917.

I was asked to change mine awhile ago... then I just changed it back.

@CarlO...I work for them monthly and have never been asked to change my password, so, tell me who you are, do you work for them, are you authorized to tell us we are "forced" to change our passwords. Why would one be "forced" to change their passwords, and not all? My login is set to auto, with no mention of changing, I find this curious, as I just got an email today, same as always, nothing mentioned.

Maybe I am just accustomed to sites requiring a password change that this seems much ado about nothing. I knew one MSC site had recently wanted me to change mine and didn't think enough about it to even remember it was STN. Another I work with regularly, as in monthly, requires changing the password every 12 months. It is a common enough security measure. I've seen it recommended users change their passwords often, regardless of the websites schedule.

Lisa, I agree that it is commonplace to have us change our passwords every so often...no problem with that. The concern I had was that I have been signed up with/doing shops for STN for TEN YEARS and had never been asked to change my password before. And as far as I can recall, there was never any sort of notice on their home page that this policy had been/would be instituted in the coming days. So that's why I was leery about it from the get-go. But I did hear through private email from STN about this, after I had emailed them, and was assured it was legit......but this "CarlO" poster up above.....not too sure about the legitimacy of that post...no signature line/company identification.

guysmom, my comment was not directed at you. Exercising some caution is one thing, the over emphasis on the word forced coupled with attacking CarlO for not providing a signature line, etc., is just over the top. From all appearances he registered, made the post and left. He probably heard about the questions and wanted to clear up any misunderstandings. Unfortunately, when registering here there is no guidance for company representatives. It usually takes a suggestion from us for them to see adding a sig line is beneficial.

I would NOT change it until I called STN. I do a lot of shops for them and never received an email about changing the password. Before I do something that serious, I need reassurance (not from the poster) but from STN over the phone. .

@SunnyDays2 wrote:

I would NOT change it until I called STN. I do a lot of shops for them and never received an email about changing the password. Before I do something that serious, I need reassurance (not from the poster) but from STN over the phone. .

Hi Sunny,
It wasn't an email I got, it was a notice on the front page of the STN web site. As I mentioned above, I did email David at STN, and he emailed back that this was a legit request, and was something new they are starting. It doesn't seem that all the shoppers who do shops for STN have seen the password change request on their front page, from the replies posted here. Maybe everyone will over time. At least I was assured that it was legit. HTH

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/09/2017 02:07AM by guysmom.

Thanks!

Yes. I just changed my password and had no problem accessing site with the new one.

This is very strange. I am "relatively" new (approximately 3 years) and have been shopping for STN from the beginning. I have never been asked to change anything, so this seems curious.
I like STN because they give clear instructions, pay as agreed and are relatively forgiving of mistakes.

@frodostoes wrote:

This is very strange. I am "relatively" new (approximately 3 years) and have been shopping for STN from the beginning. I have never been asked to change anything, so this seems curious.
I like STN because they give clear instructions, pay as agreed and are relatively forgiving of mistakes.

Well, if you haven't been asked to change your password, don't worry about it. If they do ask you to change your password, it's all good. David at STN was kind enough to assure me it was legit when I asked about it in May, and all has been working fine since I changed it. Just one of those things...after having the same password for over 10 years, I still sometimes type it in by mistake when I log in!

You manually type in passwords?

@LisaSTL wrote:

You manually type in passwords?

Yeah....haha! I do! I have this "thing" about letting my computer automatically handle all my passwords....I don't do it. When I bookmark each MSC, I put cryptic clues in parentheses near the bookmarked name, that reminds me of what my passwords are. For some, like the Sassie companies, I use the same password. Prophet MSCs use the same password. So those are all easy to remember when logging in. The rest of them, for the most part, I remember, from logging in to them so frequently. I do have about 20 MSCs that I need reminding for on occasion. So, Lisa, I reckon I'm one of those odd "relics"!! LOL!! But it works for me.

Hahaha! My Apple ID may be the only thing ever needing to be entered manually and to minimize that my phone and iPad have Touch ID enabled. One of my banks is awful about making us change passwords every quarter. If I am away from my computer I can't change it because I never remember which one it is, LOL!

Lisa, do you remember about, oh I don't know, 7 years ago or so (+/- 2 years) when we got notice from Sassie that the Sassie software had been hacked, and they recommended we change our passwords??? I had to go in and change my password for about 70-75 Sassie companies that I am signed up with, and I gave each Sassie MSC the same new password....so, if for no other reason than that, I remember my Sassie login password!!

It must have been the plus two years. I began mystery shopping in earnest in May or June of 2008 and never got any notice like that.

Now that I'm 64, I have to say that time & the years just FLY by......so it could have been 10 years ago!! ha ha!! That's what happens with time as you get older....it goes by faster that you remember it!!