Wanted to share some info

[tropic22]

I just found out how important having email might be to some members here. I want to stress that this is not a complaint, simply information.

As ive said before, i use this service as a time killer mainly and do not put any great value on its being as functional as paid hosting would probably be, however, here is what happened to me today, that could cause someone a lot of grief.

I had spent several days building what i considered to be a very attractive and info packed site that caters to a hobbyist discussion crowd.
Today, i thought it might be a good idea to change my admin password, just for security sake, so i used the built in function for that, but must have typed one number wrong, so when i went to sign in with my shiney new credentials, they wouldnt work
So, im thinking ok, ill use the recovery feature and get my info via email, ....wrong answer, email dont work here
So i think, no problem, ill just upload the backup i built yesterday, after i finally had everything exactly like i wanted it and was ready to set back and watch Google and Yahoo start bringing me new members.....Wrong again. When i tried to import my last backup, i get an error of some sort and that didnt fly.
So now, im spending a lot more time, rebuilding from the ground up, minus all the content i had spent days on, and have learned a lesson, not sure what it is, but i would suggest that you take all this into consideration, when youre on a FREE service, that has known issues pending repair. S$%T happens.
Again, No offense to anyone here, i broke my own forum, just had no dependable means of recovery.

 

[Livewire]

If it's the admin feature on a forum you may be able to force-reset it via the database/PHPMyAdmin. I had something similar happen on an SMF install a few years ago so it might not be the -exact- same process anymore, but you may be able to do this:

1) Create/register a new account. Even if the email verification doesn't work, it doesn't need to - the forum will still create a hashed copy of the password.
2) Use PHPMyAdmin and copy the hashed password for the original account, and save it (just in case step 3 doesn't work, then you can change it back to the original).
3) Copy the hashed password from the new account onto the original account.

If it works, you would then be able to use whatever password you used on the new account on the old one. Not sure if stuff has changed with SMF or other software though; if they do hashing based on the username it won't work, but it's something to try if you're in a sticky situation.

 

[tropic22]

I have no doubt that some here understood all of that, but me being the nimrod that i am, and having just enough knowledge to be dangerous, i just started to rebuild from scratch.
But !! hopefully my experience will help someone else.
Hashed Copy, You Say ??

 

[leafypiggy]

Aw man I could really go for some corned beef hash.

 

[tropic22]

I eat that stuff, with eggs for breakfast. yum yum

 

[dekstarx]

import your former site backup. then find the password in mysql , then change the password . simple

 

[bdistler]

Today, i thought it might be a good idea to change my admin password, just for security sake, so i used the built in function for that, but must have typed one number wrong, so when i went to sign in with my shiney new credentials, they wouldnt work

I use LastPass Premium [ https://lastpass.com/ ] for a lot of reasons - one is for - whenever I add or change a password LastPass will pop-up and save it for me - whatever it was I entered

on the the subject of "Generating high-quality random passwords" - I use [ https://www.grc.com/passwords.htm ]

When i tried to import my last backup, i get an error of some sort and that didnt fly.

I do all my programming off-line using my computers here and I use SpiderOak [ https://spideroak.com/ ] on all of them - for auto-backups

The only time you need a backup - is on the day after you forgot to make one !

So now, im spending a lot more time, rebuilding from the ground up, minus all the content i had spent days on, and have learned a lesson, not sure what it is, but i would suggest that you take all this into consideration, when youre on a FREE service, that has known issues pending repair. S$%T happens.

IMO - It is not just with a free host - but any host and any computer you use - you need to cover the part you sit on - the best way you can - there are a lot of ways to help you do it - and one not to use is Email