Author Topic: !! URGENT: Shutterstock experiencing major hack !! (Read 30045 times)

NorthwestDreams · « **on:** October 31, 2018, 22:01 »

I'm a contributor who works with Shutterstock's new contributor support team. I wanted to let you know that Shutterstock is experiencing a major hacking incident that's been going on since at least Monday. Please check your accounts. If you can still login, immediately change your password to one that is secure. Spread the word. Hopefully we can nip this in the bud before it gets any worse.

davidbautista · « **Reply #1 on:** October 31, 2018, 22:05 »

How do you know that

Enviado desde mi ALP-L29 mediante Tapatalk

NorthwestDreams · « **Reply #2 on:** October 31, 2018, 22:07 »

As I said, I'm a contributor who works with Shutterstock's new contributor support team. We're receiving dozens of emails per hour from contributors saying they were hacked.

davidbautista · « **Reply #3 on:** October 31, 2018, 22:11 »

Quote from: NorthwestDreams on October 31, 2018, 22:07

As I said, I'm a contributor who works with Shutterstock's new contributor support team. We're receiving dozens of emails per hour from contributors saying they were hacked.

Thank you! I hope it doesn't become a huge problem for contributors.

Enviado desde mi ALP-L29 mediante Tapatalk

NorthwestDreams · « **Reply #4 on:** October 31, 2018, 22:17 »

Contributors' payout email addresses, and usernames and passwords are being changed. Contributors can't access their accounts.

pkphotos · « **Reply #5 on:** October 31, 2018, 23:22 »

Quote from: NorthwestDreams on October 31, 2018, 22:01

I'm a contributor who works with Shutterstock's new contributor support team. I wanted to let you know that Shutterstock is experiencing a major hacking incident that's been going on since at least Monday. Please check your accounts. If you can still login, immediately change your password to one that is secure. Spread the word. Hopefully we can nip this in the bud before it gets any worse.

I'm dubious hearing it like this. Where is an announcement from SS, and where is any evidence, such as just one forum member reporting it's happened to them.

NorthwestDreams · « **Reply #6 on:** October 31, 2018, 23:45 »

I sent Leaf a message verifying my identity and asked him to sticky this announcement. He knows who I am.

No one who's been hacked can post on the forums, because their email addresses were changed by the hackers. They can't access their accounts. I don't know why Shutterstock hasn't made an announcement. This has been going on since Monday.

leaf · « **Reply #7 on:** November 01, 2018, 01:29 »

I can confirm that NorthwestDreams has emailed me... and it sounds true by what they say.

I haven't heard anything from Shutterstock directly, but I did go and change my password to something new (something strong that is different from any other site) to be safe.

pkphotos · « **Reply #8 on:** November 01, 2018, 01:39 »

OK thanks, password changed.

NorthwestDreams · « **Reply #9 on:** November 01, 2018, 01:48 »

Quote from: leaf on November 01, 2018, 01:29

I can confirm that NorthwestDreams has emailed me... and it sounds true by what they say.

I haven't heard anything from Shutterstock directly, but I did go and change my password to something new (something strong that is different from any other site) to be safe.

Thanks Leaf!

increasingdifficulty · « **Reply #10 on:** November 01, 2018, 02:08 »

Quote from: pkphotos on October 31, 2018, 23:22

Quote from: NorthwestDreams on October 31, 2018, 22:01
I'm a contributor who works with Shutterstock's new contributor support team. I wanted to let you know that Shutterstock is experiencing a major hacking incident that's been going on since at least Monday. Please check your accounts. If you can still login, immediately change your password to one that is secure. Spread the word. Hopefully we can nip this in the bud before it gets any worse.

I'm dubious hearing it like this. Where is an announcement from SS, and where is any evidence, such as just one forum member reporting it's happened to them.

It's pretty easy to go in and change your password.

It happened on BigStock, so no doubt it can happen on Shutterstock.

leremy · « **Reply #11 on:** November 01, 2018, 02:53 »

Ok, I changed my password as well. Better be safe than sorry.

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #12 on:** November 01, 2018, 02:54 »

Quote from: NorthwestDreams on October 31, 2018, 22:01

I'm a contributor who works with Shutterstock's new contributor support team.

So, how much do you get paid?

derek · « **Reply #13 on:** November 01, 2018, 03:02 »

Well it doesnt surprise me at all!! the place is so buggy and unstable is ridiculous! and how do we know they havent hacked a bit here and there for ages? its very possible!

Dodie · « **Reply #14 on:** November 01, 2018, 04:41 »

Quote from: NorthwestDreams on October 31, 2018, 22:17

It's pretty bad.

Contributors' payout email addresses, and usernames and passwords are being changed. Contributors can't access their accounts. Then the hackers are spamming contributors' real email addresses with literally 100s of signup requests.

Thanks for the warning. I've changed my password but payout email address is not so easy to change. Let's hope the best.

Harvepino · « **Reply #15 on:** November 01, 2018, 07:05 »

Thanks for the warning, I changed my password. I'm curious what SS will say about it.

estike · « **Reply #16 on:** November 01, 2018, 07:36 »

Shelma1 · « **Reply #17 on:** November 01, 2018, 08:09 »

Quote from: Sean Locke Photography on November 01, 2018, 02:54

Quote from: NorthwestDreams on October 31, 2018, 22:01
I'm a contributor who works with Shutterstock's new contributor support team.

So, how much do you get paid?

Whatever it is, you make a lot more if, for example, a few unscrupulous contributor support people got all their friends and their friends' friends to send support emails about their accounts being hacked, and you get to copy and paste an answer to them. All they need is the email address for support.

The timing just seems suspicious, is all.

obj owl · « **Reply #18 on:** November 01, 2018, 08:34 »

Quote from: Shelma1 on November 01, 2018, 08:09

Quote from: Sean Locke Photography on November 01, 2018, 02:54
Quote from: NorthwestDreams on October 31, 2018, 22:01
I'm a contributor who works with Shutterstock's new contributor support team.

So, how much do you get paid?

Whatever it is, you make a lot more if, for example, a few unscrupulous contributor support people got all their friends and their friends' friends to send support emails about their accounts being hacked, and you get to copy and paste an answer to them. All they need is the email address for support.

The timing just seems suspicious, is all.

You could always email support for the official view... well maybe not anymore.

nobody · « **Reply #19 on:** November 01, 2018, 08:55 »

Shutter is at the point that nothing surprises me anymore about their service (mostly poor)... $:-\$

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #20 on:** November 01, 2018, 09:24 »

I did change my password as a precaution, but also checked Shutterstock and Shutterstock Contributors twitter feeds, plus SS's facebook page.

Nothing on social media - where they typically post something about site problems. Just a bunch of content free posts with pretty pictures.

I honestly don't know what to make of this notification about a problem with the site that has only a spammy-sounding post from an unknown person. If this is the future of SS contributor support this is a total fail and they need to rethink how they're handling things. Not every contributor will be reached by posting here.

If this is a sincere, but misplaced, attempt to be helpful by one of the new gig-economy support folks who can't provide support because they have no access to account information or sales information or review status or (anything else), thanks for the effort. But tell Shutterstock management that this is a useless approach and ask them to send out a notice to contributors and post something on the contributor dashboard.

And get a verified account for support posts here (not sure how to do that with a gig army) as we can't do anything with random posts by people we don't know.

Shelma1 · « **Reply #21 on:** November 01, 2018, 09:31 »

I think it’s odd that a major hacking event has been going on since Monday, yet nobody here or at the SS forums has been affected by it. And that instead of reaching out to someone at SS or posting about it on their forums they announced it here.

Artist · « **Reply #22 on:** November 01, 2018, 10:31 »

Something fishy sounds here. There is no official msg from SS, as well as I don't see any issues. Everything is working normally here.

Moreover, there is also no announcement on their social media channels.
I am not sure how can NorthwestDreams randomly come and start topic about hack when no one faced it?

Waiting for announcement from SS and see where it goes.

Shelma1 · « **Reply #23 on:** November 01, 2018, 10:44 »

Alex just announced on the SS forum that there’s no evidence of hacking.

Artist · « **Reply #24 on:** November 01, 2018, 10:58 »

Quote from: Shelma1 on November 01, 2018, 10:44

Alex just announced on the SS forum that there’s no evidence of hacking.

This clearly shows random people making fake panic situations and forcing users to move to their side.
Its better to investigate first before coming to any conclusion.

cathyslife · « **Reply #25 on:** November 01, 2018, 11:03 »

Well, Northwest Dreams has been a member here for a number of years, so at least it’s not someone who signed up two days ago. I also changed my password, just in case. On one hand, I can imagine SS not wanting to cause a panic by announcing a hack, on the other, based on what others here report, would they even have the capability of knowing there was a hack, given the sorry state the site is in?

Artist · « **Reply #26 on:** November 01, 2018, 11:30 »

Quote from: cathyslife on November 01, 2018, 11:03

On one hand, I can imagine SS not wanting to cause a panic by announcing a hack

I don't think there is anything to hide by not announcing it.
If this happened then its simple for SS to shoot emails requesting for immediate password change. By not doing so they will cause themselves in more trouble.

There have been hacks many a times, twitter announced it globally when it was hacked.

derek · « **Reply #27 on:** November 01, 2018, 12:04 »

The SS crap! same as usual and when you finally hear something from them, we hear it from somebody else!...I recon tens of thousands have changed all their passwords by now!

nobody · « **Reply #28 on:** November 01, 2018, 12:15 »

Fake news on SS? What next? Fake commissions/Sales ?

pkphotos · « **Reply #29 on:** November 01, 2018, 12:29 »

This is certainly suspect and not the way this sort of problem should come to our attention.

msg2018 · « **Reply #30 on:** November 01, 2018, 12:46 »

Quote from: Artist on November 01, 2018, 10:58

Quote from: Shelma1 on November 01, 2018, 10:44
Alex just announced on the SS forum that there’s no evidence of hacking.

This clearly shows random people making fake panic situations and forcing users to move to their side.
Its better to investigate first before coming to any conclusion.

Hacking costs Shutterstock £350 millions a week. I read it on a red bus so it must be true.
And I'm not even off-topic since this thread is all about fake news.

Josephine · « **Reply #31 on:** November 01, 2018, 13:46 »

if you google a2zp30.com and search for Shutterstock you find tons and tons of stuff to download. Can anybody tell me, why Shutterstock does not stop this site?

jacoblund · « **Reply #32 on:** November 01, 2018, 13:51 »

I emailed Shutterstock and the response from the person I usually communicate with was that Shutterstock has not been hacked and Shutterstock is not under any attack. However bad actors can try to do "account takeovers" if login credentials are similar to other services and if they have been leaked from somewhere.

But the point is: Shutterstock has NOT been hacked.

cathyslife · « **Reply #33 on:** November 01, 2018, 14:02 »

Quote from: Josephine on November 01, 2018, 13:46

if you google a2zp30.com and search for Shutterstock you find tons and tons of stuff to download. Can anybody tell me, why Shutterstock does not stop this site?

By posting that, you are just helping them.

Chichikov · « **Reply #34 on:** November 01, 2018, 14:10 »

Quote from: Artist on November 01, 2018, 10:31

Something fishy sounds here. There is no official msg from SS, as well as I don't see any issues. Everything is working normally here.

Moreover, there is also no announcement on their social media channels.
I am not sure how can NorthwestDreams randomly come and start topic about hack when no one faced it?

Waiting for announcement from SS and see where it goes.

I have received this from [email protected] this morning:

"At Shutterstock we are committed to protecting your personal information.

We have detected some irregular activity on your account. As a precaution, the password for account ————— has been reset.

Please visit https://accounts.shutterstock.com/credentials/forgot to create your new password. We recommend you change it to one that is secure and unique, and we also suggest using a different password for every online account you have.

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected].

Sincerely,
Shutterstock Support"

Not sure that it is related to the hack btw

panicAttack · « **Reply #35 on:** November 01, 2018, 14:10 »

Few days ago i received email from Shutterstock to change my password and i did it. But not following email links i went directly to Shutterstock site.

obj owl · « **Reply #36 on:** November 01, 2018, 14:25 »

Quote from: cathyslife on November 01, 2018, 14:02

Quote from: Josephine on November 01, 2018, 13:46
if you google ******.*** and search for Shutterstock you find tons and tons of stuff to download. Can anybody tell me, why Shutterstock does not stop this site?

By posting that, you are just helping them.

Yep.

tdezenzio · « **Reply #37 on:** November 01, 2018, 17:19 »

Just changed my password to something much stronger.

qunamax · « **Reply #38 on:** November 01, 2018, 18:42 »

The contributor page is unreachable for me, anyone else?

una · « **Reply #39 on:** November 01, 2018, 18:46 »

Yes, I have the same problem.

Minsc · « **Reply #40 on:** November 01, 2018, 20:11 »

There's no harm in changing the password to something stronger. I've had the same passwords for a number of years now and I certainly don't want anyone accessing my account, whether the hack is true or not.

DallasP · « **Reply #41 on:** November 01, 2018, 20:41 »

I changed it anyway ... because it was an old password but, bruteforce targeting of user accounts isn't a "hack" so there very well could be some attempts ... but, it'd take years for them to even make a dent.

SpaceStockFootage · « **Reply #42 on:** November 01, 2018, 21:22 »

I've noticed for the past couple of weeks that when I go to the submit.shutterstock.com site the page won't load and it says unsecure site next to the web address. Then, when I refresh the page, it loads and brings up the https version of the address. Not sure if it's related, but had never encountered that before a couple of weeks ago.

qunamax · « **Reply #43 on:** November 01, 2018, 22:49 »

Works for me now, hopefully unrelated to this "hacking" issue.

MicroVet · « **Reply #44 on:** November 02, 2018, 01:41 »

Someone comes here and announces a possible hack, without any evidence or references and no indication from SS that this is happening, and people start changing the passwords?

Imagine if the hack is real but it's not targeting the current password because they cannot do it, and instead are targeting the new password when people change it because they have found a way to do it?

Or trying to cause some panic to overload SS systems and take advantage of some weakness created then?

So, if I make any type of alarmist announcement will you follow it just because Leaf confirmed my contact, but not my information? This is all very strange.

CrFx · « **Reply #45 on:** November 02, 2018, 01:55 »

Quote from: MicroVet on November 02, 2018, 01:41

Someone comes here and announces a possible hack, without any evidence or references and no indication from SS that this is happening, and people start changing the passwords?

Imagine if the hack is real but it's not targeting the current password because they cannot do it, and instead are targeting the new password when people change it because they have found a way to do it?

Or trying to cause some panic to overload SS systems and take advantage of some weakness created then?

So, if I make any type of alarmist announcement will you follow it just because Leaf confirmed my contact, but not my information? This is all very strange.

Yes, if there is any such hack then there is possibility of getting hacked when changing the passwords.
Leaf confirming the same gives the weight to the news but this doesn't mean to start following the same.
Till now, I too haven't found anything weird with SS.

People following news so quickly is bit worrying.

derek · « **Reply #46 on:** November 02, 2018, 02:58 »

Related or not?? somebody I know with 45000 files and never a day under $100 have had absolutely ZERO movement during the last 24 hours, not even a 0.38C sale, zip!

Thats not normal! something is badly wrong with the site!

thx9000 · « **Reply #47 on:** November 02, 2018, 04:57 »

Quote from: MicroVet on November 02, 2018, 01:41

Someone comes here and announces a possible hack, without any evidence or references and no indication from SS that this is happening, and people start changing the passwords?

Imagine if the hack is real but it's not targeting the current password because they cannot do it, and instead are targeting the new password when people change it because they have found a way to do it?

Or trying to cause some panic to overload SS systems and take advantage of some weakness created then?

So, if I make any type of alarmist announcement will you follow it just because Leaf confirmed my contact, but not my information? This is all very strange.

Agree. I'd really like to see a follow up on the OP. Slim credentials, no evidence whatsoever, goes directly in panic mode. Coincidentally a similar topic was created on SS forums:

https://forums.submit.shutterstock.com/topic/95629-please-please-read-this-topic-if-you-want-to-protect-your-accounts-and-hard-works-from-hackers/

Is there a way to verify if user Khamkhor is the OP ?

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #48 on:** November 02, 2018, 09:59 »

Quote from: SpaceStockFootage on November 01, 2018, 21:22

I've noticed for the past couple of weeks that when I go to the submit.shutterstock.com site the page won't load and it says unsecure site next to the web address. Then, when I refresh the page, it loads and brings up the https version of the address. Not sure if it's related, but had never encountered that before a couple of weeks ago.

Usually that means and expired SSL certificate for that location. Once updated the warning goes away. Otherwise some browsers report sites that are not Https:// s = secure

Not secure doesn't mean it's an untrusted site.

Changed my password which I used on another Microstock site. That's the easiest way for people to gain access, when someone uses the same password on many sites.

Gio · « **Reply #49 on:** November 02, 2018, 15:27 »

I can confirm. I've been hacked and my PayPal account got changed. Earnings have gone. I am waiting an answer from the support, i hope to have my earnings back.

derek · « **Reply #50 on:** November 02, 2018, 15:45 »

Quote from: DallasP on November 01, 2018, 20:41

I changed it anyway ... because it was an old password but, bruteforce targeting of user accounts isn't a "hack" so there very well could be some attempts ... but, it'd take years for them to even make a dent.

They could over a long period of time take a bit here and there! nobody would notice or be alarmed and it could go on for years!........when you write to support to check your account all you get back is the same waffle " we're constanly improving our Tech department and so on"

MicroVet · « **Reply #51 on:** November 03, 2018, 00:46 »

Quote from: Gio on November 02, 2018, 15:27

I can confirm. I've been hacked and my PayPal account got changed. Earnings have gone. I am waiting an answer from the support, i hope to have my earnings back.

How are earnings gone if Shutterstock haven't started to rollout payments just yet? SS just does not pay on request, they process everyone every month.

You can be hacked by a number of reasons, one of them you alone having a virus or malware on your computer. That is very different from a problem affecting all contributors, or at least a large number of them.

I'm not seeing any problem and I'm not aware from any communication from SS until this point.

MicroVet · « **Reply #52 on:** November 03, 2018, 00:53 »

Quote from: derek on November 02, 2018, 15:45

Quote from: DallasP on November 01, 2018, 20:41
I changed it anyway ... because it was an old password but, bruteforce targeting of user accounts isn't a "hack" so there very well could be some attempts ... but, it'd take years for them to even make a dent.

They could over a long period of time take a bit here and there! nobody would notice or be alarmed and it could go on for years!........when you write to support to check your account all you get back is the same waffle " we're constanly improving our Tech department and so on"

Again, how can someone take a bit of the contributor income to be unnoticed on SS if they do not pay on request, but monthly, automatically, with all the value that is payable and to all contributors?

Any hack would take all or nothing and surely be noticed. Especially by those having a payment every month, which I'm sure are going to SS daily and would note immediately any problem with a password hack.

derek · « **Reply #53 on:** November 03, 2018, 02:50 »

MicroVet!! Exactly! how can the guys earnings be gone when SS havent even computed them yet?? and how can SS fail to see anything if something?...no I dont buy this at all!
Could for all we know be lots of shadey people teaming up for robbery? or of course nothing at all?

tpack · « **Reply #54 on:** November 03, 2018, 10:19 »

Quote from: derek on November 03, 2018, 02:50

MicroVet!! Exactly! how can the guys earnings be gone when SS havent even computed them yet?? and how can SS fail to see anything if something?...no I dont buy this at all!
Could for all we know be lots of shadey people teaming up for robbery? or of course nothing at all?

OP probably meant to say that his/her last month’s earnings all disappeared like it happens at SS at the beginning of each month...

gnirtS · « **Reply #55 on:** November 03, 2018, 12:28 »

Its worth remembering on SS if you use FTP you should probably treat your credentials as compromised. SS doesnt provide different user and passwords for FTP nor does it provide TLS or any encryption so your full contributor login details are sent as plain text for anything sniffing on that PC. the same network or upstream to steal.
If you use SS FTP from public WiFis id be even more concerned.

kuriouskat · « **Reply #56 on:** November 03, 2018, 15:18 »

Quote from: Gio on November 02, 2018, 15:27

I can confirm. I've been hacked and my PayPal account got changed. Earnings have gone. I am waiting an answer from the support, i hope to have my earnings back.

Sorry to hear this but have your earnings gone, or are they just reset at the beginning of the month? You can’t request a payment - Shutterstock send it automatically - and the money for last month hasn’t been sent out yet I don’t think.

everest · « **Reply #57 on:** November 04, 2018, 07:29 »

........................

nobody · « **Reply #58 on:** November 04, 2018, 07:41 »

once again I feel like we are left in the dark by SS!

obj owl · « **Reply #59 on:** November 04, 2018, 07:58 »

Quote from: nobody on November 04, 2018, 07:41

once again I feel like we are left in the dark by SS!

Yes, takes them an age to report a problem and when there is no problem they don't report it at all, complete darkness.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #60 on:** November 04, 2018, 12:59 »

Quote from: obj owl on November 04, 2018, 07:58

Quote from: nobody on November 04, 2018, 07:41
once again I feel like we are left in the dark by SS!

Yes, takes them an age to report a problem and when there is no problem they don't report it at all, complete darkness.

You want them to send a notice out that we have no problem? From what I see, the urgent report hack rumor started here and spread to the SS forum, and is unsubstantiated and denied on the forum. So you want them to write to all of us and deny that something, that doesn't exist, is a non-issue?

obj owl · « **Reply #61 on:** November 04, 2018, 13:08 »

Quote from: Uncle Pete on November 04, 2018, 12:59

Quote from: obj owl on November 04, 2018, 07:58
Quote from: nobody on November 04, 2018, 07:41
once again I feel like we are left in the dark by SS!

Yes, takes them an age to report a problem and when there is no problem they don't report it at all, complete darkness.

You want them to send a notice out that we have no problem? From what I see, the urgent report hack rumor started here and spread to the SS forum, and is unsubstantiated and denied on the forum. So you want them to write to all of us and deny that something, that doesn't exist, is a non-issue?

I though I had put that in far fewer words using sarcasm.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #62 on:** November 04, 2018, 20:37 »

Quote from: obj owl on November 04, 2018, 13:08

Quote from: Uncle Pete on November 04, 2018, 12:59
Quote from: obj owl on November 04, 2018, 07:58
Quote from: nobody on November 04, 2018, 07:41
once again I feel like we are left in the dark by SS!

Yes, takes them an age to report a problem and when there is no problem they don't report it at all, complete darkness.

You want them to send a notice out that we have no problem? From what I see, the urgent report hack rumor started here and spread to the SS forum, and is unsubstantiated and denied on the forum. So you want them to write to all of us and deny that something, that doesn't exist, is a non-issue?

I though I had put that in far fewer words using sarcasm.

Sorry, must be a Senior moment thing, I didn't see a smile and thought you were serious. You know sometimes sarcasm doesn't transfer well when it's in print. Oops!

LMS · « **Reply #63 on:** November 04, 2018, 22:20 »

I have a feeling I know who the person who originally posted this is. I say that because I was invited to work on a support platform for a few months and became familiar with the writing style of the other "user experts". Eventually I quit out of frustration because of the sheer lack of information and answers available to us from Shutterstock.
If they are indeed receiving dozens of support tickets per hour I suggest you consider it seriously. Trust me, no one is going to get rich on that platform by starting a rumour.
*EDIT* That is not to say that SS has neccessarily been hacked, it could well be that contributors using the same password across agencies have been hacked through another agency.

LMS · « **Reply #64 on:** November 04, 2018, 22:35 »

Quote from: Shelma1 on November 01, 2018, 08:09

Quote from: Sean Locke Photography on November 01, 2018, 02:54
Quote from: NorthwestDreams on October 31, 2018, 22:01
I'm a contributor who works with Shutterstock's new contributor support team.

So, how much do you get paid?

Whatever it is, you make a lot more if, for example, a few unscrupulous contributor support people got all their friends and their friends' friends to send support emails about their accounts being hacked, and you get to copy and paste an answer to them. All they need is the email address for support.

The timing just seems suspicious, is all.

If this is the same platform, working alongside of the others and participating in the forums there, I think most did it more because they enjoyed helping than to make $. Sometimes you could spend two days back and forth with a contributor and in the end not make your measly $1. In addition we got to field a lot of the vitriol angry contributors had towards SS.

So to the OP - Thanks or the heads up and I hope things are better there now that the growing pains are hopefully over.

msg2018 · « **Reply #65 on:** November 05, 2018, 03:48 »

Quote from: gnirtS on November 03, 2018, 12:28

Its worth remembering on SS if you use FTP you should probably treat your credentials as compromised. SS doesnt provide different user and passwords for FTP nor does it provide TLS or any encryption so your full contributor login details are sent as plain text for anything sniffing on that PC. the same network or upstream to steal.
If you use SS FTP from public WiFis id be even more concerned.

Agree. Different user and password for FTP would be the easy and sensible thing to do to (easier than TLS which makes using third party services and shell scripts difficult).
There's no point in using https if the same login is sent unencrypted every time through FTP.

Shelma1 · « **Reply #66 on:** November 05, 2018, 06:58 »

Quote from: LMS on November 04, 2018, 22:35

Quote from: Shelma1 on November 01, 2018, 08:09
Quote from: Sean Locke Photography on November 01, 2018, 02:54
Quote from: NorthwestDreams on October 31, 2018, 22:01
I'm a contributor who works with Shutterstock's new contributor support team.

So, how much do you get paid?

Whatever it is, you make a lot more if, for example, a few unscrupulous contributor support people got all their friends and their friends' friends to send support emails about their accounts being hacked, and you get to copy and paste an answer to them. All they need is the email address for support.

The timing just seems suspicious, is all.

If this is the same platform, working alongside of the others and participating in the forums there, I think most did it more because they enjoyed helping than to make $. Sometimes you could spend two days back and forth with a contributor and in the end not make your measly $1. In addition we got to field a lot of the vitriol angry contributors had towards SS.

So to the OP - Thanks or the heads up and I hope things are better there now that the growing pains are hopefully over.

This reminds me of the photographers who submit work to the free stock sites because they enjoy photography. They fail to realize that their free work takes paid work away from other stock photographers.

You’re willing to work for 5 cents an hour because you enjoy helping other contributors, but your almost-free work puts paid customer service reps out of a job. And the other contributors get meaningless customer service...because no matter how well-intentioned you may be, you don’t have access to account information the “real” customer service people had.

LMS · « **Reply #67 on:** November 05, 2018, 09:43 »

Which in turn reminds me of how professional photographers felt about microstock.

I'm not going to defend or bash the concept of crowd sourcing, I tried it and it wasn't for me.

But I don't think it provided meaningless support. Rather it provided contributors with a platform that immediately helped them on a one to one basis in lieu of a semi quasi related cut and paste that was of absolutely no help to their situation and took three weeks to come. A lot of the support was geared towards why their images or releases were being rejected, avoiding keyword spamming, account setup issues, etc Often it was a matter of directing a contributor to the right information in the contributor support centre or contributor blog. When there were suddenly a large number of support tickets on a certain technical problem it was pretty obvious there was an issue and anything that couldn't be dealt with on the platform including items that required account access, was immediately forwarded to Shutterstock. Because the daily mass of other support tickets had been sorted through, Shutterstock should have been able to identify and deal with those issues a lot faster.

In my opinion the contributor support from Shutterstock has been subpar, but I get how difficult it must be to handle the sheer mass of contributors. IMO this platform was a step in the right direction, but the compensation which was set by Shutterstock was completely insufficient. Unfortunately, as a result it will likely eventually turn into another cut and paste system.

From working alongside and seeing the time and care some of these people put into dealing with frustrated and often angry contributors, it's hard for me to view them in the light they are being painted.

Shelma1 · « **Reply #68 on:** November 05, 2018, 10:07 »

I'm not trying to paint them in any particular light...I'm sure they're well-meaning. I found that "real" support answered my questions pretty quickly, as frustrating as I may have found a few of their answers.

I won't be writing to support any more because now it's fruitless...the fellow contributor I'm writing to knows no more than I do and has no access to the files I'm asking about.

This is just an attempt by Shutterstock to save money by doing away with most contributor support and replacing it with contributors who are willing to make, from your telling, literally 5 to 10 cents an hour. I find it sad. It's sad for the support staff who might have been making a living wage, and it's sad for contributors who are willing to work for 5¢ an hour.

LMS · « **Reply #69 on:** November 05, 2018, 10:25 »

I don't think I said that they worked for 5 or 10 cents and hour.

However, I concluded that I wasn't making minimum wage after three months, and you pretty much had to be on call after answering a ticket. Nevertheless, the effort it would take to start a scam by getting your friends to send in support tickets would not be fruitful and would be shared with all the workers across the platform. I can't see that happening.

Shelma1 · « **Reply #70 on:** November 05, 2018, 10:35 »

"Sometimes you could spend two days back and forth with a contributor and in the end not make your measly $1."

I'm not sure getting friends to send scam support tickets would be fruitless. If you let people know in advance what the issue would be, when the tickets would be sent, and you supplied a simple answer anyone could cut and paste, you'd have a few people who'd be prepared to jump on dozens of tickets right away, before the other folks even had a chance to open and read them and type an answer. If you live in a country with a low cost of living and made the equivalent of U.S. minimum wage, you'd be doing well. Just send the tickets when the U.S. and Europe are sleeping.

Anyway, that's my latest conspiracy theory.

PhotoBomb · « **Reply #71 on:** November 05, 2018, 11:46 »

Quote from: Shelma1 on November 05, 2018, 10:07

I'm not trying to paint them in any particular light...I'm sure they're well-meaning. I found that "real" support answered my questions pretty quickly, as frustrating as I may have found a few of their answers.

I won't be writing to support any more because now it's fruitless...the fellow contributor I'm writing to knows no more than I do and has no access to the files I'm asking about.

This is just an attempt by Shutterstock to save money by doing away with most contributor support and replacing it with contributors who are willing to make, from your telling, literally 5 to 10 cents an hour. I find it sad. It's sad for the support staff who might have been making a living wage, and it's sad for contributors who are willing to work for 5¢ an hour.

I feel exactly the same way having had the same exact experience as you.
And as everyone stops sending support requests because of the poor responses they will need fewer and fewer people to respond - they win - and with fewer support requests they can boast how well the system works because they get so few complaints -- they win.

Dumc · « **Reply #72 on:** November 05, 2018, 13:46 »

Sounds like a real devils masterplan.

Pauws99 · « **Reply #73 on:** November 05, 2018, 13:48 »

Quote from: Dumc on November 05, 2018, 13:46

Sounds like a real devils masterplan.

A fairly unambitious one though....not going to fund an island liar that way

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #74 on:** November 05, 2018, 14:09 »

Quote from: LMS on November 05, 2018, 09:43

Which in turn reminds me of how professional photographers felt about microstock. ...

These two things are not equivalent - I'm somewhat frustrated that this comparison is raised any time anyone who contributes to microstock complains about something being unfair or unreasonable. Just because two groups of people are unhappy does not make what happened to them the same.

Microstock was a competitor to traditional agencies offering similar products on different (more convenient) terms. Part of the reason that microstock initially took off was that there was a new way to buy something of equivalent quality with less hassle (instant download from a web site with no price negotiation, sales rep hassle or contract to be negotiated). Most of the previous generation of stock producers started out doing this as a side gig with out-takes from custom shoots.

Shutterstock is trying to screw its own contributors by providing cheap but largely useless support in an effort to cut costs. They aren't crowdsourcing the same or a similar service, but trying to palm off something even worse than cutting and pasting boilerplate just by calling it contributor support. As soon as they come up with some broken AI software "equivalent" they'll fire the underpaid gig economy workers

The party to aim our ire at is Shutterstock for treating contributors with disdain and letting go professional support staff. The gig economy "support" folks will soon be collateral damage, so they should be looking for their next gig now.

nobody · « **Reply #75 on:** November 05, 2018, 15:00 »

how about selling their fancy corporate building in New York and getting rid of highly paid so called strategy managers- that would save them millions of dollars a year!

Pauws99 · « **Reply #76 on:** November 05, 2018, 16:21 »

Quote from: Jo Ann Snover on November 05, 2018, 14:09

Quote from: LMS on November 05, 2018, 09:43
Which in turn reminds me of how professional photographers felt about microstock. ...

These two things are not equivalent - I'm somewhat frustrated that this comparison is raised any time anyone who contributes to microstock complains about something being unfair or unreasonable. Just because two groups of people are unhappy does not make what happened to them the same.

Microstock was a competitor to traditional agencies offering similar products on different (more convenient) terms. Part of the reason that microstock initially took off was that there was a new way to buy something of equivalent quality with less hassle (instant download from a web site with no price negotiation, sales rep hassle or contract to be negotiated). Most of the previous generation of stock producers started out doing this as a side gig with out-takes from custom shoots.

Shutterstock is trying to screw its own contributors by providing cheap but largely useless support in an effort to cut costs. They aren't crowdsourcing the same or a similar service, but trying to palm off something even worse than cutting and pasting boilerplate just by calling it contributor support. As soon as they come up with some broken AI software "equivalent" they'll fire the underpaid gig economy workers

The party to aim our ire at is Shutterstock for treating contributors with disdain and letting go professional support staff. The gig economy "support" folks will soon be collateral damage, so they should be looking for their next gig now.

Misguided and wrong headed as it may be they are crowdsourcing contributor support as far as I can see. https://www.directly.com/

The way I see it SS have created a huge problem for themselves by taking on a massive number of new and naive contributors who contribute no income as their images are unsellable who then clog up their expensive (relatively) support with basic questions including not selling...every hour spent dealing with a none value adding contributor is money down the drain. Of course if they'd maintained at least some standards they would need less support staff to deal with "professional" level issues.

rafaeltrafa · « **Reply #77 on:** November 06, 2018, 05:05 »

Hi Guys, I sell on average about 6 to 7 images per day. But since yesterday there has been no sale. Should I look for support?

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #78 on:** November 07, 2018, 13:43 »

Quote from: nobody on November 05, 2018, 15:00

how about selling their fancy corporate building in New York and getting rid of highly paid so called strategy managers- that would save them millions of dollars a year!

And they could afford serious reviewers while still giving us a raise.

Quote from: Pauws99 on November 05, 2018, 16:21

The way I see it SS have created a huge problem for themselves by taking on a massive number of new and naive contributors who contribute no income as their images are unsellable who then clog up their expensive (relatively) support with basic questions including not selling...every hour spent dealing with a none value adding contributor is money down the drain. Of course if they'd maintained at least some standards they would need less support staff to deal with "professional" level issues.

You mean like new people or anals who if they don't get an immediate answer, keep writing every day for the same issue, until the message based is so clogged with repeat questions from the same people, that support in swamped in a morass? Thus none of us get any support while they try to wade through the nasty mess.

bobmawby · « **Reply #79 on:** November 07, 2018, 14:05 »

According to Shutterstock, there is no hack.

Pauws99 · « **Reply #80 on:** November 07, 2018, 17:15 »

Quote from: Pauws99 on November 05, 2018, 16:21

The way I see it SS have created a huge problem for themselves by taking on a massive number of new and naive contributors who contribute no income as their images are unsellable who then clog up their expensive (relatively) support with basic questions including not selling...every hour spent dealing with a none value adding contributor is money down the drain. Of course if they'd maintained at least some standards they would need less support staff to deal with "professional" level issues.

You mean like new people or anals who if they don't get an immediate answer, keep writing every day for the same issue, until the message based is so clogged with repeat questions from the same people, that support in swamped in a morass? Thus none of us get any support while they try to wade through the nasty mess.
[/quote] Exactly ;-). In my past life I had some involvement with front line customer support ....a very small number of customers were responsible for a huge number of queries. I suspect that experienced professional contributors very rarely contact customer support.