How secure is it to e-mail a root password?

Freaking Crazy · #1 05-09-2006, 03:32 PM

I'd like to know how secure it is to send a root password to Hostgator tech support through e-mail. Is there a more secure way?
Thanks,

Serra · #2 05-09-2006, 03:45 PM

HG doesn't have a more secure way to send passwords. You can setup SSL on your email or use https for webmail and that makes it more secure.

As far as security goes, yes it is unsecure, but you have to weigh that against why someone would want your root password. Few hackers are running password scanners any more, it just doesn't pay off that well. A credit card number on the other hand is widely scanned for, so you could expect someone to maybe, maybe see it and steal it. In the early days when you could scan 100 user's emails, you might get luckly. Now there are tens of millions of emails flying around every day. Its just too hard to scan enough of them to make it worth it. (Since 90% of them are spam anyway)

If you send your password and then when the ticket is closed, change your password, then IMO, it is fairly secure. Tickets aren't open long enough for someone to hash through all of the junk the scanner found to find your root password. By the time they do, you've already changed it.

It would be nice of HG had a public key system or a secure form to send passwords with. They could also have a https for the ticket system, which they don't.

Overall, I'm not worried about it. I wouldn't send my credit card, but the root password just isn't valueable enough....