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e_luneborg
Community Member

Usernames showing in the forum

I can see usernames in the forum, isn't this an issue that was supposed to be solved a long time ago?

 

If you click on kudos to see who kudoed a post you will see the username of the person who wrote the post. (only for half a second, but still)

 

With all of these stupid bugs no wonder more and more regulars are leaving the community.

 

@Upwork – please fix (and if someone else har reported this lately I'm sorry. Couldn't be bothered to check through all threads about usernames showing.)

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JoanneP
Moderator
Moderator

Hi Eve, 

 

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. I will share this with the rest of our team so that we can investigate this issue. 

 

~ Joanne
Upwork
petra_r
Community Member

Usernames have always been just one click away, ever since I first joined the platform many years ago 😉

 

 

gilbert-phyllis
Community Member

At the risk of outing myself as clueless, I don't understand what the issue is. The kudos that flow back and forth are an important part of the community dynamic, IMO. Why wouldn't we want to see who is throwing kudos on which comments?


@Phyllis G wrote:

At the risk of outing myself as clueless, I don't understand what the issue is. The kudos that flow back and forth are an important part of the community dynamic, IMO. Why wouldn't we want to see who is throwing kudos on which comments?


It's the difference between the username and the displayed name. Your displayed name can't be used to try and log in to the site, which is why we want usernames to be private - that's half the information needed to try and hack someone's account.

Doh, I finally see what y'all are talking about. As Eve clearly said to start with, it's the author's user name that briefly appears. (I was looking at the kudo'ers' names.)

Agree, this is a problem.

If any Upwork staff are monitoring this topic, I just discovered a new way to see usernames. Right click the photo for a contributor, then do a Save Image As... When you do, the image is saved as Users_username_PortraitUrl_100.jpeg where username is the actual username. Cat Frustrated

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petra_r
Community Member

 


@John K wrote:

If any Upwork staff are monitoring this topic, I just discovered a new way to see usernames. Right click the photo for a contributor, then do a Save Image As... When you do, the image is saved as Users_username_PortraitUrl_100.jpeg where username is the actual username. Cat Frustrated


 It's not new. That's how I've looked up user names (to find profiles only, obviously, not to hack anyone) from day one, many years ago. That or "View Image Info" which is quicker and easier.

 

Usernames have always been just a mouseclick or two away.

 


@Jess C wrote:

we want usernames to be private - that's half the information needed to try and hack someone's account.

If your user name is half of the information that is needed to hack into your account, you need to change your password right now.

 

Username obscuration is not a security measure. You can log-in on Upwork (and on many other websites) with your e-mail address, which would then mean that everyone who has it has already a foot in the door. This is not true.

 

The key to your account is not your user name or your e-mail address, it's your password. If your password is: EhfRV(y?9Y6kToK$cdd#%s3z?gh{9fE@9pZW, then your account is as safe as the Upwork IT infrastructure is.

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"Where darkness shines like dazzling light"   —William Ashbless


@Rene K wrote:

If your user name is half of the information that is needed to hack into your account, you need to change your password right now.

Username obscuration is not a security measure. You can log-in on Upwork (and on many other websites) with your e-mail address, which would then mean that everyone who has it has already a foot in the door. This is not true.

The key to your account is not your user name or your e-mail address, it's your password. If your password is: EhfRV(y?9Y6kToK$cdd#%s3z?gh{9fE@9pZW, then your account is as safe as the Upwork IT infrastructure is.


Dude. Lighten up. Yes, one's user name and email address are part of logging in, so why would we want them hanging out in the open on a public forum? No, that doesn't excuse weak passwords, but seriously. Pedantry unneccessary here. I offered a simple understanding of an overall problem, not a comprehensive one.

kochubei_valeria
Community Member

Eve and others,

 

We understand your concern and are adamant about keeping our users’ information secure as part of our Privacy Policy. As others pointed out on this thread, usernames though masked across the site are not a security issue and are considered public information. Per our Privacy Policy, under the topic Non-Identifying Information/Usernames it is stated as follows: “We consider usernames to be Non-Identifying Information. Usernames are made public through the Service and are viewable by other Upwork Users." 

 

~ Valeria
Upwork
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