As of 4:25PM EST, FBS reports: A fix has been implemented and we’re monitoring to ensure the system remains stable. 

Originally posted Dec. 12:

As of 3:27PM EST, our MLS vendor is reporting system degradation on flemls web and mobile.

FBS, the maker of Flexmls, is currently aware of connection and functionality issues with Flexmls Web, Flexmls Pro, and consumer apps.

They are currently working towards a resolution but have not yet provided a timeframe for full restoration of service.

Please continue to check here on the MLS Message Board regarding any updates.

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12/12/2023

Originally posted Dec. 12:

As of 3:27PM EST, our MLS vendor is reporting system degradation on flexmls web and mobile.

FBS, the maker of Flexmls, is currently aware of connection and functionality issues with Flexmls Web, Flexmls Pro, and consumer apps.

They are currently working towards a resolution but have not yet provided a timeframe for full restoration of service.

Please continue to check here on the MLS Message Board regarding any updates.

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For our members who were facing an issue when stopping superusing that would redirect them to the incorrect flexmls instance. This has been resolved. Selecting “quit SU-ing” on the change user page will now direct you back to your login.

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12/11/2023

CoreLogic will be conducting maintenance on systems that affect Realist® and public record data this weekend on Sunday, December 10, 2023 between 4:00 am – 10:00 am. The Realist application and autopop as well as Matrix public record integration will be unavailable for the majority of this maintenance window.  A Realist maintenance splash page will display while Realist is unavailable.

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12/06/2023

Below is a message from FBS, Makers of Flexmls regarding cybersecurity measures they have in place to protect Columbus and Central Ohio Regional MLS’ data.

With the recent, unfortunate ransomware attacks on real estate software, you’re likely wondering what FBS does to protect and prevent malware/ransomware attacks on our software and systems. While cyber attacks and attackers are constantly evolving and becoming more sophisticated, we want to assure you that system security and proactive attack-prevention are utmost priorities. This email is intended to review with you both the general security practices FBS follows and to provide details regarding the software and services we use to provide protection of our server and cloud network against attacks.

General Security Practices:

Most malware/ransomware attacks are the result of unpatched or outdated software or from employees clicking on untrusted links or attachments. In general, to mitigate these elements:

• FBS performs scheduled updates on server operating systems to keep them up to date. Installed package versions are monitored and cross referenced with databases of known vulnerabilities. Critical security updates are performed quickly (usually within 24 hours) for systems that might be impacted by a critical bug.
• All FBS employees are trained and tested on various approaches used in inbound email attacks using a service called KnowBe4.
• Inbound emails are scanned for malware to prevent them appearing in inboxes.
• All employees run Endpoint Detection and Response software by SentinelOne. This software combines static and behavioral detections to neutralize known and unknown threats.
• There is a firewall at the edge of the network filtering in and out traffic. This ensures that the outside world can only send traffic to servers specifically intended to handle that traffic.
• Traffic that is allowed through the firewall is analyzed by an intrusion prevention filter that looks for common attack methods and filters them out.
• FBS has a service that monitors traffic patterns and will mitigate traffic that corresponds to a denial of service event related to Denial of Service (DoS) and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.

FBS Uses CrowdStrike to Protect, Prevent, and Remediate Attacks:
Regular antivirus software doesn’t offer protection against “unknown threats,” it usually has a database of virus signatures and it scans the hard drive for known viruses, quarantining them when detected or executed. That will only protect against what is known or has been seen before. For more proactive protection, all FBS servers run CrowdStrike’s Endpoint Detection and Response software and service. Similar to the SentinelOne product used on workstations, CrowdStrike protects our server network using a combination of known signatures and behavioral data (e.g., snooping the network, phoning home, encrypting files, etc.) to identify threats on the server endpoints. This software detects, understands, and ejects malicious intrusions in under 60 minutes (less than the average ransomware breakout time of 84 minutes). If a threat or suspicious activity is detected, CrowdStrike has 24/7/365 security experts to immediately investigate and remediate the threat. 

In the Event of A Successful Attack, What Would Happen?
With the ever-changing nature of cybercrime, there is no 100% protection or guarantee available and it isn’t possible to predict solution times without context of the specific threat. What we can say is that FBS’s contracts all promise 99.9% uptime, which only allows less than 45 minutes of downtime per month. To meet this obligation, FBS has all customer data backed-up locally and to the Cloud. Depending on the severity of the threat, customer traffic may be routed to the cloud or restored from backup to provide continued service to our customers. If the solution is to failover to the backup site, capacity can be increased in the cloud in minutes to accommodate the increased workload of handling production traffic. If the type of threat requires restoring from backup, that likely would take hours but not days.  

In sum, the key to avoiding long downtimes from a security incident is preventing an attack in the first place and FBS follows security best practices and uses best-of-breed security software and services to do that. FBS knows how critical our software and service is to you and your members and we take that responsibility very seriously. Though no system can be made 100% secure, FBS is confident in the solutions and services we’ve deployed to protect your MLS system. We hope this email answers your questions but please let us know if any remain.

The FBS Team

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08/16/2023

Changes to your MLS contact information, such as email or phone number, will now be handled within the Member Portal.

Previously, you would make those changes in Flexmls by going to the “My Profile” page. This page still exists. However, you must click the button at the bottom labeled Click Here to be redirected to the Member Portal profile page.

Click the Columbus MLS button under Subscriptions.

On the Subscription Details page for Columbus MLS, click the Edit button at the bottom right. Be sure to click Save when done.

You Association Membership profile (association specifically, not MLS) is a separate page. To update your membership profile , click Profile on the left hand side below My Association (closer to the top).

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02/13/2023

CoreLogic has scheduled system maintenance this weekend and next, Sunday, December 10, from 1:00am to 6:00am and Sunday, December 17, from 1:00am to 4:00am.  During this time, Realist and autopop may be intermittently unavailable.

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12/09/2022

Summary:

1. Client search will be activated on existing new-style Client Portals on October 10, 2022.
2. All existing old-style Classic Portals will be upgraded to the new-style in October 24, 2022.
3. Search will be available on mobile and desktop versions of the Client Portal

The newer version of the Client Portal was first made available to Columbus users in 2018. There have been many improvements since then. Many users never upgrade to the new version.

One of the features of the new version of the Client Portal is the ability for the client to search for listing and mark listings as favorites. The Search button (magnifying glass on mobile) will appear at the top of the screen on desktop and Android. It will be at the bottom on iOS

The MLS committee and MLS Board of Directors believe that allowing the client to search on the MLS Client Portal is very important to stay competitive. They have decided to activate search functionality on the new portal and push the newer version of the portal to everyone. This means that all existing old-style classic portals will be automatically converted to the new version for users who have not already converted to the new version.

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09/27/2022

The following fields will be updated on September 26, 2022 with improved “Auto-Suggest” functionality on Quick Search and Add/Edit screens. 

• School District
• County
• City
• Zip
• Township
• Corp Limit Per Auditor
• Sub-Type

You will now be able to type the first few letters of a name, and the field will “auto-suggest” only the matches that contain those letters.  Click Enter to select.

You will still be able to click “See All…” at the bottom of the search box if you would like to view the entire list of available options.

The map will also “jump to” the location of the matched properties.

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09/15/2022

Columbus REALTORS® will introduce SSO for all members sometime on the evening of Sunday, August 21. YOU CANNOT LOGIN TO SSO BEFORE SUNDAY NIGHT!

SUMMARY: Beginning Sunday night (but not before), you will be required to login to the SSO to gain access to all things MLS.

How do I login to MLS starting SUNDAY NIGHT?

1. Go to http://columbusrealtors.com
2. Click the PORTAL button at the top of the screen
3. Login to the member portal (you should receive an email early in the day on Sunday). Remember, SSO will not be available until Sunday EVENING.
4. You may have to “authenticate” your login (you’ll received a text message with code)
5. Your Username for SSO should be the same as your old Flexmls login (except Admins/Assistants – more info at bottom)
6. Once you’re logged into the member portal, just click Flexmls icon to be forwarded to MLS.
7. You MAY have to login 1 time to Flexmls with your new SSO password, especially on mobile/phone.
   

What about my phone? Is that SSO too?

Yes. You will need to go to columbusrealtors.com and sign in to the member portal (SSO) on your phone. Click the button inside the SSO dashboard to go to Flexmls (or other sites). This will work the same as on a computer.

What is SSO?

Hopefully you’ve already heard of SSO (Single Sign-On). If not, here’s the short version. SSO basically means you log in to a single site. That single login gets you access to multiple apps and sites. This means you have many fewer passwords to remember. You sign in through the SSO, then just click a button in the SSO “dashboard” to launch other software.

Office Admins and Unlicensed Assistants

All admins and assistants will be required to create a new account. The old format logins “cr.adminXXXX” and “cr.NRDS#a1” accounts will no longer work. New ADMIN accounts will have to be given MLS Access by the Broker. Assistant accounts will have to re-establish Superuser connections to their agent. There will be an FAQ on the member portal login screen with specific instructions.

More information will be provided in the coming days

Contact MLS Technical Support with questions

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08/17/2022