Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

Thunderbird invents usernames I do not own

  • 10 replies
  • 2 have this problem
  • 3 views
  • Last reply by Andrew

more options

I have four comcast email usernames (email accounts) I access with Thunderbird. The password is saved in Tools/options/saved passwords. All normal stuff.

Thunderbird creates a fifth username (a short version of the default account) and adds it to the list. Why?

I very carefully checked tools/account settings for consistency. Each of my four comcast accounts is exactly the same port num, servername etc. all details the same, just four usernames. The outgoing lists one smtp (default) server.

Attached file shows how it looks. If I "show passwords" it shows the correct password, the same password for all four valid accounts and the outgoing. It also displays for the invalid account. For the record I have never owned the invalid username, though it is very close to two I do own as you can see. When I click "get messages" the info that flies by in the status bar names the four valid accounts but not the invalid one.

I have four comcast email usernames (email accounts) I access with Thunderbird. The password is saved in Tools/options/saved passwords. All normal stuff. Thunderbird creates a fifth username (a short version of the default account) and adds it to the list. Why? I very carefully checked tools/account settings for consistency. Each of my four comcast accounts is exactly the same port num, servername etc. all details the same, just four usernames. The outgoing lists one smtp (default) server. Attached file shows how it looks. If I "show passwords" it shows the correct password, the same password for all four valid accounts and the outgoing. It also displays for the invalid account. For the record I have never owned the invalid username, though it is very close to two I do own as you can see. When I click "get messages" the info that flies by in the status bar names the four valid accounts but not the invalid one.
Attached screenshots

All Replies (10)

more options

You should have 4 outgoing to match 4 incoming. But with Comcast it probably does not matter. Have you tried deleting the entry? My guess is it was an aborted attempt to create a new account with only part of the username entered.

more options

Yes I know an entry is invalid, I made that clear, that's why I came to this forum. I did all the due diligence, checking etc. before posting, so as not to waste your time. No, it is not related to partial or leftover account entry data, yes I cleared the form yes it's happened more than once etc. I understand most problems are user oversights, I try to respect that.

PS May I rightly presume that Thunderbird put the data there with no error on my part? Or is that impossible?

Modified by beachcolonist2

more options

have you tried removing it? That is still not clear to me.

Please add the troubleshooting information to your post To find the Troubleshooting information:

  • Open Help (or click on three-line-icon and select Help)
  • Choose Troubleshooting Information
  • Use the button Copy to clipboard to select all. Do not check box "Include account names"!
  • Paste this in your post.

Please also add the result of these troubleshooting steps to your post

  • Does Thunderbird work in TB Safe mode (see Thunderbird Safe Mode)?
  • Do you use anti-virus and firewall software? What is the version?
  • Who is the email provider?
  • Who is the internet provider?
  • What is the exact error message?
  • What steps did you take right before this happened?

Please post back with this information and any other questions you might have.

more options

Yes, of course I removed it, that is what is meant by "... yes I cleared the form." I did the things an experienced user should do to not waste your time:)

For the record, Thunderbird in normal mode works, but often it asks me to reenter my password, all the while the password is already saved. I check these things assiduously, I don't bother with forums until I am very stuck. So on to your directions, thank you.

~~~~ I have no virus software running at startup though I occasionally run one to check a file etc. I use no firewall, I use proper user practices and do not get viruses. Everything is Comcast. There is error message expect "login failed" and the password entry dialog box. This is what concerns me, the constant requests to reenter my password while my password is there already smack of a phishing operation. ~~~~


 Application Basics
   Name: Thunderbird
   Version: 45.6.0
   User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.2; WOW64; rv:45.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderbird/45.6.0
   Profile Folder: Show Folder
             (Local drive)
   Application Build ID: 20161222195647
   Enabled Plugins: about:plugins
   Build Configuration: about:buildconfig
   Memory Use: about:memory
 Mail and News Accounts
   account1:
     INCOMING: account1, , (none) Local Folders, plain, passwordCleartext
   account2:
     INCOMING: account2, , (pop3) mail.comcast.net:110, plain, passwordCleartext
     OUTGOING: , smtp.comcast.net:587, alwaysSTARTTLS, passwordCleartext, true
   account3:
     INCOMING: account3, , (pop3) mail.comcast.net:110, plain, passwordCleartext
     OUTGOING: , smtp.comcast.net:587, alwaysSTARTTLS, passwordCleartext, true
   account4:
     INCOMING: account4, , (pop3) mail.comcast.net:110, plain, passwordCleartext
     OUTGOING: , smtp.comcast.net:587, alwaysSTARTTLS, passwordCleartext, true
   account7:
     INCOMING: account7, , (pop3) mail.comcast.net:110, plain, passwordCleartext
     OUTGOING: , smtp.comcast.net:587, alwaysSTARTTLS, passwordCleartext, true
 Crash Reports
   http://crash-stats.mozilla.com/report/index/bp-2b696361-89d1-4a8f-9dd2-d25222130122 (1/22/2013)
 Extensions
   Adblock Plus, 2.8.2, true, {d10d0bf8-f5b5-c8b4-a8b2-2b9879e08c5d}
   Lightning, 4.7.6, true, {e2fda1a4-762b-4020-b5ad-a41df1933103}
 Important Modified Preferences
   Name: Value
     accessibility.typeaheadfind.flashBar: 0
     browser.cache.disk.capacity: 358400
     browser.cache.disk.filesystem_reported: 1
     browser.cache.disk.smart_size_cached_value: 358400
     browser.cache.disk.smart_size.first_run: false
     browser.cache.disk.smart_size.use_old_max: false
     dom.apps.reset-permissions: true
     extensions.lastAppVersion: 45.6.0
     font.default.x-western: serif
     font.internaluseonly.changed: true
     font.name.sans-serif.x-western: Times New Roman
     font.name.serif.x-western: Verdana
     font.size.fixed.x-western: 14
     font.size.variable.x-western: 15
     gfx.blacklist.suggested-driver-version: 10.6
     mail.openMessageBehavior.version: 1
     mailnews.database.global.datastore.id: 21799d98-87cb-40c9-9fb6-c8c08064223
     mailnews.database.global.views.conversation.columns: {"threadCol":{"visible":true,"ordinal":"5"},"flaggedCol":{"visible":true,"ordinal":"9"},"attachmentCol":{"visible":false…
     network.cookie.prefsMigrated: true
     network.predictor.cleaned-up: true
     places.database.lastMaintenance: 1484167120
     places.history.expiration.transient_current_max_pages: 104858
     places.history.expiration.transient_optimal_database_size: 167772160
     plugin.disable_full_page_plugin_for_types: video/x-ms-wmv
     plugin.importedState: true
     plugin.state.npdivxplayerplugin: 0
     plugin.state.npezffpi: 0
     plugins.update.notifyUser: true
     print.print_printer: Canon Pro9500 II series
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_bgcolor: false
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_bgimages: false
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_colorspace:
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_command:
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_downloadfonts: false
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_duplex: 25620188
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_edge_bottom: 0
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_edge_left: 0
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_edge_right: 0
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_edge_top: 0
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_evenpages: true
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_footercenter:
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_footerleft: &PT
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_footerright: &D
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_headercenter:
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_headerleft: &T
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_headerright: &U
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_in_color: true
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_margin_bottom: 0.5
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_margin_left: 0.5
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_margin_right: 0.5
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_margin_top: 0.5
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_oddpages: true
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_orientation: 0
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_page_delay: 50
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_pagedelay: 500
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_paper_data: 1
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_paper_height: 11.00
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_paper_name:
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_paper_size_type: 0
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_paper_size_unit: 0
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_paper_width: 8.50
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_plex_name:
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_resolution: 109954720
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_resolution_name:
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_reversed: false
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_scaling: 1.00
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_shrink_to_fit: true
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_to_file: false
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_unwriteable_margin_bottom: 0
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_unwriteable_margin_left: 0
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_unwriteable_margin_right: 0
     print.printer_Canon_Pro9500_II_series.print_unwriteable_margin_top: 0
     privacy.donottrackheader.enabled: true
     security.disable_button.openCertManager: false
     security.OCSP.disable_button.managecrl: false
 Graphics
     Adapter Description: ASUS EAH4350 series
     Vendor ID: 0x1002
     Device ID: 0x954f
     Adapter RAM: Unknown
     Adapter Drivers: ati2dvag
     Driver Version: 8.751.0.0
     Driver Date: 6-22-2010
     WebGL Renderer: Google Inc. -- ANGLE (ASUS EAH4350 series Direct3D9 vs_3_0 ps_3_0) -- OpenGL ES 2.0 (ANGLE 2.1.0.316930d51ea9)
     GPU Accelerated Windows: 0
     AzureCanvasBackend: skia
     AzureSkiaAccelerated: 0
     AzureFallbackCanvasBackend: cairo
     AzureContentBackend: cairo
 JavaScript
 Incremental GC: 1
 Accessibility
   Activated: 0
   Prevent Accessibility: 0
 Library Versions
     Expected minimum version
     Version in use
     NSPR
     4.12
     4.12
     NSS
     3.21.3 Basic ECC
     3.21.3 Basic ECC
     NSS Util
     3.21.3
     3.21.3
     NSS SSL
     3.21.3 Basic ECC
     3.21.3 Basic ECC
     NSS S/MIME
     3.21.3 Basic ECC
     3.21.3 Basic ECC
more options

1. Look closely at the accounts in Account Settings and make sure that one of the accounts does not use that "cxk" login.

I can see from the Troubleshooting Information that you have 4 accounts with Comcast, but that doesn't say what the login ids are.

If there is an account in Account Settings that uses the "cxk" login, then look at the other accounts, and figure out which of the four logins are missing, and change the "cxk" login to the correct one.

2. In the Saved Logins, click the "Remove All" button, then quit Thunderbird and start it again.

There is always the possibility that you have some malware on your computer that is causing this. Especially since you say that you do not have any antivirus software running.

You say, "I have no virus software running at startup though I occasionally run one to check a file etc. I use no firewall, I use proper user practices and do not get viruses."

Logically, if you don't use antivirus software that scans the files being used and occasionally scans every file on your computer, then you won't know if your computer is infected or not.

It's like assuming that a sneak thief is not in the house with you, and not looking for them, because you didn't let them in.

In this day and age, antivirus software checking things constantly on the computer is necessary, no matter how careful a person is. Unless you are an expert with respect to every possible type of malware that exists, you cannot be possibly be safe without security software on your computer. Even people who are experts on every type of malware that exists, use security software because they know that security software is essential.

Modified by user1121639

more options

First of all thank you. I say that because you bothered to try.

Your reply, I am sorry to inform you, is ridiculous, as there is nothing in it not covered in my posts as things I have done ALREADY as I state: to not waste the time of Support. Ironically you nonhelp is a waste of mine.

Your pov on virus software is not the least bit informative, again if you read my posts you would not try to lecture me about running virus checks - I stated that I do. Only fools run Windows firewall and some piece of junk like Norton anti virus all the time. You misuse the term "logically" as you do not use "logic" in your help suggestions, you use wild guesses based on presumptions that are contrary to what you should know, if your read my post thoroughly.

On a separate note, the term, "In this day & age" should be banned from the language for tedious overuse by clouded minds & meaninglessness, but here I digress.

You could have been of some help by simply saying you have not seen this, and have no idea. Or alternately you could state what it cannot be, or taken a guess.

And as I say, thank you, I mean it. For trying. Not for not reading my posts and wasting my time.

more options

First of all, everyone who provides support here for Thunderbird are unpaid volunteers. No one here has to help you.

I did read all that you wrote, and you were never clear about exactly what you had done or if you ever followed any of our instructions.

You also did not use properly terminology for what little you did say, like: "Yes, of course I removed it, that is what is meant by ... yes I cleared the form."

Cleared the form? While some of the wizards use something that could be called a "form", none of the options you could have looked at or "cleared" could be called a "form".

This lead me to believe that you may not understand the settings in Thunderbird as well as you claimed to. So I gave instructions that anyone could follow. You chose to respond in a very negative manner.

You have done little useful to help us solve your issue. Just slam what we say when we try to help.

Since you are clearly not willing to be respectful, provide useful information, or follow any instructions, it is impossible to help you.

I'm certainly not going to try.

more options

I do not need your condescension about who pays. Nor do I need your bold type. You are nobody, "in this day and age." to speak to issues of communication or writing.

As I posted a detailed image of the "form" or wizard or what have you, and stated in very clear terms where things stood, and there is no other interface in question, a careful reader would know exactly what I was talking about.

You got a lovely thank you as intro, and as closing. You also got an honest, adult level review of your work, and that is why you are acting as you do. I invite you to not try further, please.

Modified by beachcolonist2

more options

This thread has been locked per our Mozilla Support rules and guidelines.

Due to lack and unwillingness to cooperate, this forum post does not have both parties willing to assist each other to resolve the required matter therefore, there is evidence that this forum thread cannot move along further at this point in time.

If you wish to resolve this issue by cooperating with our community support members, please private message me and I will reopen this.

more options

OP has requested for this thread to be reopened. Let's try to start new and get along and not point fingers. Let's resolve this issue together.