Security warning

I have just discovered that a Reverse DNS lookup on my IP address reveals my Plusnet account username.

I have raised a ticket to have this prevented, as apparently it can be. I have also posted in the Feedback section of the Community forums. If you were not aware of this and it worries you, you may like to raise a ticket and reply to that post expressing your concern.

Does this only affect those connections with static IP addresses?

I disassociated mine about 9 years ago. Just checked and its still right thankfully.

In reply to a post by bluefish2303:

Does this only affect those connections with static IP addresses?

Possibly. See this post and my question arising. So far they haven't replied.

Is your address static or dynamic please Lorian?

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

I have just discovered that a Reverse DNS lookup on my IP address reveals my Plusnet account username.

And it's a security risk because...?

It may be undesirable but that doesn't make it a risk of anything...

It makes it a target for an easy hack, and a totally unnecessary thing for them to have done. How strong is your account password?

So you are happy to post a message to the webmaster on every internet site you visit, telling them your Plusnet account name? Fine!

The webmasters of the sites I visit wouldn't be interested in the thing anyway.

Thank god I don't have a static IP then.

I did a check on my dynamic IP and no problem like you have. Only thing I found is, that the IP I am allocated today, is blacklisted for some reason, according to Spamhaus-ZEN .

I presume this arose from my question on the other thread and was exactly the sort of thing the warning on ShieldsUP! was talking about. I assumed, as you probably did, that the reverse lookup would just result in the static IP address at the start rather than the dynamic one. I shall certainly watch out for this if I request a static IP address.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

I have just discovered that a Reverse DNS lookup on my IP address reveals my Plusnet account username.

I have raised a ticket to have this prevented, as apparently it can be. I have also posted in the Feedback section of the Community forums. If you were not aware of this and it worries you, you may like to raise a ticket and reply to that post expressing your concern.

Same for me, there's a form I've found buried deep in the Help Portal, to specifically request
this feature is removed, I've just filled it in

https://www.plus.net/wizard/?p=wizard&page=22425&wiz...

Thanks for drawing my attention to this Bob, and for the link to the help portal broadbandjockey.
I've also raised a ticket to ask for a change.
My rDNS entry not only reveals my account username but also personal information about me - I hadn't realised how it would be used when I chose the username!

Thanks - reposted over at the Plusnet forums - I wasn't aware of that one

Good man.

Added to my Plusnet links in my sig, should anyone want to find it quickly in future.

Another "thanks to broadbandjockey".

Given that the "burying" appears to be within the "Domain help" that's good digging. Not a place people without domain hosting from Plusnet are likely to be browsing out of idle curiosity.

It really shouldn't be the default for simple static(?) IPs. No-one has yet said it is only on statics.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

No-one has yet said it is only on statics.

I did a reverse lookup on a dynamic IP I had been allocated before I acquired a static address:

Nameserver pri.authdns.ripe.net. reports: No such host

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

It really shouldn't be the default for simple static(?) IPs. No-one has yet said it is only on statics.

It does appear to be. My dynamic address doesn't show the user name, just the IP address.

Post deleted by RobertoS

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

In reply to a post by broadbandjockey:

https://www.plus.net/wizard/?p=wizard&page=22425&wiz...

But the links at the bottom just take you to the login page and after that the main support page. Not tools are view. Long defunct I assume.

If you've logged in then the link works...

I'm sure I tested that and they failed. But you are right, trying now they work. Thanks .

Uh! Nope.

The one to "Tools to check your Reverse DNS setup" just takes you to iptools.com which is a charging site.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

I have just discovered that a Reverse DNS lookup on my IP address reveals my Plusnet account username.

I have raised a ticket to have this prevented, as apparently it can be. I have also posted in the Feedback section of the Community forums. If you were not aware of this and it worries you, you may like to raise a ticket and reply to that post expressing your concern.

Well I raised a ticket on Sat Feb 2nd regarding this. Answered Mon 4th at 09:48hrs
saying it would be corrected within 24 hours, well as of 17:55hrs Tue 5th, still not
removed. I raised a follow up to my ticket this morning.

Not impressed.

In reply to a post by broadbandjockey:

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

I have just discovered that a Reverse DNS lookup on my IP address reveals my Plusnet account username.

I have raised a ticket to have this prevented, as apparently it can be. I have also posted in the Feedback section of the Community forums. If you were not aware of this and it worries you, you may like to raise a ticket and reply to that post expressing your concern.

Well I raised a ticket on Sat Feb 2nd regarding this. Answered Mon 4th at 09:48hrs
saying it would be corrected within 24 hours, well as of 17:55hrs Tue 5th, still not
removed. I raised a follow up to my ticket this morning.

Not impressed.

More impressed. 19:44hrs, and my user name has now been removed from the reverse DNS

Mine disappeared as well, I know not when.