on 20-08-2021 15:30
Two days ago, on August 18th 2021, I noticed that I had not received any emails all day. I logged into Virgin Webmail without a problem, but when I tried to look at my emails I was told my password was incorrect. It had not changed for a couple of years. I phoned Virgin Media and spoke to a technician, who told me that I need to change my pasword every 90 days, otherwise it gets suspended. This was news to me - I've been with VM for about 10 years and it never happened before. I've only changed my password a few times in that period. He helped me by setting a temporary password, after which I could change it in Virgin (and on two clients I use).
Does anyone know anything about this? Was he right? I found it hard to believe they would do this without notification.
on 21-08-2021 12:51
You were told a fib to get you off the line. Bear in mind that many call centre operatives seem to be measured in terms of – calls closed down – as opposed to the better measure of – problems solved. This is particularly true of outsourced call handling operations in overseas locations.
Whilst, in principle, it may be a sensible security precaution to change passwords at regular intervals, one would need to use a password manager to properly manage anything more than a trivial number of passwords – avoiding use of obvious or easily-remembered passwords.
VM’s main advice on password management is to be found here -
https://www.virginmedia.com/help/how-to-create-a-strong-password
and says -
“It’s up to you how often you change your passwords, but it's generally a good idea to change them every few months.”
Like many others your password may have been changed by VM as the result of a security trigger. See the recent spate of – email locked – mailbox unavailable – etc reports.
Wait here for the Forum team to pick up your post and investigate if necessary.
on 21-08-2021 13:09
Thank you, that's what I thought. I haven't seen these other reports you mention, on email locked and mailbox unavailable. I will have a look.
regards,
on 23-08-2021 15:17
Thanks for your post and welcome to the Community Forums, walthamyank,
Has the password reset helped with your mailbox? Let us know if you need further help.
Cheers,
Corey C
on 24-08-2021 10:52
Yes, the password reset helped. My problem is with the explanation. The technical assistant told me that this will happen every 90 days. Since it happened without warning or explanation, I don't find this acceptable and hope it is not correct.
on 24-08-2021 12:43
Thanks for coming back to us @walthamyank
This information is incorrect, however it may be advised to make a change every 90 days to help avoid the prospect of your account being hacked.
We apologise for the mis-information offered and hope you continue to enjoy our services.
Feel free to come back to us if you have any further service issues or concerns
Kindest regards,
David_Bn