Changing your password is really easy:
1. Click on the User CP tab at the top of the page
2. Click on Edit Email & Password, under Setting & Options in the left column
3. Click on Save Changes
You can also request a temporary password, much easier than the auto-generated one, by clicking on the Contact Us link, located at the top & bottom of any page, to send a request to the Help Desk for assistance.
For reference, we have not had a software change to the Forums since 2009, so I'm not sure what you're referring to there.
Lori-