Since the purchase of Cox Communications by Suddenlink some changes have come about that need to be discussed. These changes are listed below:
- E-Mail Domain Change
- Insecure Webmail Client
- Discontinued Website Features
- Price Increases
- Increased Service Interruptions
*More issues exist, and will be updated as they are noted and documented.
E-Mail Domain Change (Forced)
Immediatly after Suddenlink acquired Cox changes came about. The first change that the IT department at Suddenlink (look them up for grins) was to rebrand all current email users to the new purchased domain name of Suddenlink.net. Suddenlink is the name for the combination of Cox and the purchasing company. It's a "new" brand name in reality.
Once the decision to transition everyone over to a Suddenlink domain, notifications were went out via mail and a notification was sent out to everyone's email inbox using their current @cox.net domain.
Domain?
Ok, just so we're straight on our terminology a brief tutorial (in lamens terms)...
A Domain name is the name that is attached to your e-mail address, that is a human-like way of associating an email server with an IP address.
If you were a Cox.net customer, you had an email address like this:
user_name@cox.net - The cox.net is the domain name.
Many services and sites domain names.
suddenlinksucks.blogspot.com - Web Domain name for this Website.
user_name@suddenlink.net - Email user_name for a Suddenlink email address.
Anyways, a domain name change was in order, no-less to make things a little simpler in the long-run for Suddenlink IT staff (IT staff's are usually lazy, I know) and to further advertise for Suddenlink.
Problems?
Yes! The plan had been set that a new user name of the same user name that you had with Cox was setup automatically. So if you had 2many_messages@cox.net you would then have 2many_messages@suddenlink.net
Well, that was nice, you get the same name, because getting that "clever" name is the hardest part of email right? Oh, wait, somethings different.
Now, I have this @suddenlink.net part on my address.
So, won't all my messages from my Cox.net email address forward over to the new email address automatically? Will I have access to all my mail that I had on my Cox.net webemail?
Short answer = Not a Chance, and "Good Luck With That"
Ok, for a duration of Time, Suddenlink offered a software package that you could download off their homepage to transfer your messages and other wonderfull things. Yes, it was available, and it was temporary. By temporary, I mean, it's no longer available, you had to get your transfer done in the time frame allowed, which has expired.
Outlined Problems with this change
- Webemail customers no-longer can access mail
- Webemail customers lost entire amounts of sent and recieved mail
- Suddenlink WILL NOT WORK WITH CUSTOMERS TO RETRIEVE MAIL
- Cox.net mail is NOT forwarded (or the option to) to Suddenlink email (or other mail)
- Suddenlink Software WILL NOT transfer messages currently (after timeframe)
- Have to type this long "suddenlink.net" domain instead of the simple cox.net domain.
- Anything you may have forgotten to change email wise will still go to cox.net and NOT to you
Do you fall under any of the situations above?
Then you're with me in saying Suddenlink Sucks
All of this change and disrespect for customers leads to a couple of necessary changes. If email is important to you for the long-run, I recommend getting an @yahoo.com or @gmail.com email account.
This lesson should teach users to NOT use ISP's email services (except for junk mail). A FREE email service has been around at the same domain for years, unlike when a company like Suddenlink comes in and throws everything out and expects the customer to bow down and accept it. Afterall, you PAID for email service, and after cox.net email was shutdown, you're no-longer getting what you PAID for. Which is wrong.
Insecure Web email Client
Since the Cox.net webmail is currently un-available webmail.central.cox.net
A new email client has been setup that is available on the Suddenlink homepage and resides at this URL
https://account.suddenlink.net/selfcare/checkemail.do
The Security flaw with the current web email is the lack of a "logout" feature that truly works, in that it expires the cookies on the web browser associated with the login.
Don't believe me?
Let's try an short example shall we?
Click Here (new window) Suddenlink Email login page
Enter your username/password as you normally would.
Once in web email immediately click the logout link in the upper right hand portion of the web email page
Important! Don't close the browser window, don't close Internet Explorer or whatever browser you're using. Immediately type another URL in the address field of your web browser, such as www.crapola.com for example, or go check your yahoo email at mail.yahoo.com.
Now without closing the browser, go back to this address and check your Suddenlink email:
Copy and Paste this URL again
https://account.suddenlink.net/selfcare/checkemail.do
OR go to the www.suddenlink.net homepage and click on "check email"
OOPS
Were you asked for your username and password again??
Nope, it immediatly goes back into web email.
This is a security FLAW for several reasons:
- Your E-mail can be accessed by the next random user
- If you have multiple SL mail accounts, you're stuck with just the one.
- If you login incorrectly, you'll get a looping "403 Forbidden" Message.
Common Sense would tell us that Suddenlink's Web Email is indeed Broken. Hmm... I must say these facts display once again why Suddenlink sucks.
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