+Frank B. Subscriber² Posted January 9, 2010 Subscriber² Share Posted January 9, 2010 Blizzard giving serious consideration to mandatory authenticators WoW.com has learned through trusted sources close to the situation that Blizzard is giving serious consideration to making authenticators mandatory on all accounts. According to our sources, while this policy has not been implemented yet and the details are not finalized, it is a virtually forgone conclusion that it will happen. This response is a direct effort to stop the massive number of compromised accounts by gold sellers and keyloggers. The seriousness of the situation with compromised accounts has reached such a level that wait times for item and character restoration are entirely unacceptable, even to Blizzard executives. Blizzard has taken other internal measures to deal with long wait times of people in account restoration queues, and we'll be covering those measures tomorrow. However, with the inclusion of mandatory authenticators, this should solve a major problem for Blizzard's support and account administration teams. The number of compromised accounts under the mandatory authenticator plan should plummet, if not be virtually eliminated, and players should be able to enjoy a much more secure gaming experience. While some might have a hard time with the transition, Blizzard can provide excellent support in getting all of their 11.5 million players up to speed. Indeed, we have already seen some incentive programs appear; the price of authenticators has dropped recently thanks to free shipping, and we are now rewarded with an in-game pet for having an authenticator attached to our accounts. A few months ago we postulated such an idea as one of our Breakfast Topics. In Why Blizzard should make authenticators mandatory, player reaction was mixed. Some saw it as a great opportunity to eliminate compromised accounts, others thought it would be an unnecessary money grabbing scheme by Blizzard. Perhaps the best option put forth by commenters on WoW.com was to make the authenticators mandatory with Cataclysm. Many people agreed with this, and it will be interesting to see how Blizzard rolls out their mandatory authenticator system. On the down side to this plan is a serious logistics problem, in that Blizzard can barely keep authenticators in stock now. They have yet to prove that they have the capacity to distribute them to millions of additional players. We are currently investigating this issue and will report back once we have more information to share. We do not know if authenticators will be mandatory on just WoW accounts or on any Battle.net account. News source: WoW.com via Slashdot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sethos Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 Sod off Blizzard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minifig Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 Sod off Blizzard They're SIX bucks. And I think it's a good move on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sethos Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 They're SIX bucks.And I think it's a good move on them. No, it's 7 Euros PLUS Shipping fee which in Danish money ends up being an entire months subscription for something I don't really need or want? :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minifig Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 The shipping fee is 49 cents American.. if that. If you can stave off eating a cheese burger meal at Burger King for one day, you can afford an authenticator to protect your account. I should know, I own one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sethos Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 At least with a burger king meal I'm full at the end of the day, a Blizzard authenticator does nothing for me than log in to a game I've been able to play for the last 4-5 years. It's a principle matter and they can shove their authenticator. Not that I'd eat at Burger King, with that kind of money I could go shopping at the local supermarket and have lunch for an entire week. I want something for my money, like my subscription to the game offers me - A plastic dongle does not, it's just being shoved down my throat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Audioboxer Subscriber² Posted January 9, 2010 Subscriber² Share Posted January 9, 2010 I wouldn't mind but it's just cause I use the iPhone one after losing my account twice, and in the process nearly losing it completely as Blizzard suspected me of selling but I somehow got that reversed (oh the bother involved in that, but somehow I managed). However for those without an iphone it's a bit of a kick in the balls to expect people to hand out money - The authenticator program should be able to be ran on the PC or something? It's a great idea to protect you, I'm not gonna diss it, but to expect money to be handed out over the subscription.... Should always remain optional unless Blizzard are willing to ship them for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leddy Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 They can just pack one into the box for Cataclysm. Problem solved. (Though I guess then the account compromised calls will be replaced with "I've lost my authenticator" calls.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sethos Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 They can just pack one into the box for Cataclysm. Problem solved. (Y) Although, knowing Blizzard they will just up the expansion cost from ?250 to ?256. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Anarkii Subscriber² Posted January 9, 2010 Subscriber² Share Posted January 9, 2010 Good idea, too many people are getting their accounts hacked lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.J.P Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 Authenticators are available for the ipod touch/iphone + plus several other mobile phones. For those those saying sod-off to blizzard, I consider my WoW accounts an investment (they have cost me a lot of money + plus the time put into my characters). $6US was a bargain to safe guard all the work/money I've put into my characters (considering I was hacked once myself, lost stuff not recovered). How about you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainSlow Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 They're SIX bucks.And I think it's a good move on them. The shipping fee is 49 cents American.. if that. If you can stave off eating a cheese burger meal at Burger King for one day, you can afford an authenticator to protect your account. I should know, I own one. Compared to that six bucks you pay, we'll have to pay nearly double that ($11) over here...does that put things into perspective? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sethos Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 For those those saying sod-off to blizzard, I consider my WoW accounts an investment (they have cost me a lot of money + plus the time put into my characters). $6US was a bargain to safe guard all the work/money I've put into my characters (considering I was hacked once myself, lost stuff not recovered). How about you? Some people are able to take the necessary precautions to safe-guard their accounts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betadan Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 I think they are a good idea if they provide / ship them for free... I ordered mine and it was over $20 by the time i received it, that's $14 shipping on a $6 item And as for the iPhone Authenticator.... remember to back yours up or detach it from your account when you upgrade firmware. I locked my self out of my account by not backing up. Since each time you download it you get a new key. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.J.P Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 Some people are able to take the necessary precautions to safe-guard their accounts. So did I. Still managed to get around me. Is something wrong with an additional level of protection? Is not spending $6US worth losing your characters (or gear) and waiting for ages for blizzard to either restore or say, sorry we can't a better option for you? You're willing to pay $15US a month, but unwilling to pay a once-off $6US fee? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Audioboxer Subscriber² Posted January 9, 2010 Subscriber² Share Posted January 9, 2010 They can just pack one into the box for Cataclysm. Problem solved.(Though I guess then the account compromised calls will be replaced with "I've lost my authenticator" calls.) Now thats a very good idea cause well... basically nearly everyone is going to buy it. Should be packed in for free... Why? It cuts down Blizzards running costs of investigations of hacked accounts, etc - We are doing them a favour, as much as they're trying to help us. And yeah if you lose it, I'd agree charge to get it replaced. ps. Sethos Buddy no runs tonight man, I'm away out and tomorrow I have the GF coming up for a family meal, looks like our next instance run will be Monday and it'll be something higher up than RFK or whatever it's called :p Still gives you time to get nearer to me for BC (Y) And I'll try make a quick post in the main WoW thread today about members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sethos Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 So did I. Still managed to get around me. Is something wrong with an additional level of protection? Is not spending $6US worth losing your characters (or gear) and waiting for ages for blizzard to either restore or say, sorry we can't a better option for you? No, they don't "get around you" if you actually know what you're doing - Some people have no idea how to safe-guard their PC or their account yet think they are completely safe. I agree, the authenticator is a great idea and it's a fantastic safety method but forcing it on everyone is a joke. I've been playing WoW pretty much since release, paying 100 Danish kroners a month and in total almost 5000,- so now I have to pay even more on top of the subscription cost to continue playing because of hacked accounts? I'm paying to solve a headache for Blizzard and their employees? They should provide this for free either by bundling it with the expansion as mentioned or shipping it for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minifig Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 Everyone who is against the nominal fee really doesn't seem to comprehend that you're paying less for an authenticator than you are for two to three months of wow. If you ask me, in those two to three months, it pays for itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sethos Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 Everyone who is against the nominal fee really doesn't seem to comprehend that you're paying less for an authenticator than you are for two to three months of wow.If you ask me, in those two to three months, it pays for itself. Yes but for those two months I'm getting ...TWO MONTHS OF WoW - 60 DAYS OF WORLD OF WARCRAFT, TWO MONTHS OF GAMING with the Blizzard Authenticator I get ... NOTHING, I get a piece of plastic that doesn't help me because I know how to safe-guard my account, I'm paying for a piece of plastic that in the end just saves costs and time for Blizzard. If you play World of Warcraft on Public / your friends computers or you have been hacked several times, buying this dongle will benefit you and actually give you something for your money but in my case, I get nothing - I'm just throwing money into thin air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carmatic Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 surely the prospect of compromising your Blizzard account is enough to make you get one? I get nothing - I'm just throwing money into thin air. that is if they make it mandatory, and yeah that would kinda suck... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.J.P Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 @Sethos: Maybe 'get around' was wrong choice of words, you can do the best you can, and things still happen. I know how to secure my system. How that program got onto my system is unknown, since I only ever played WoW on that computer (laptop for everything else). WoW altered me to an issue, did a scan, found virus/malware/whatever. Deleted. Password changed, logged into account, all was well. Went out, came back, unable to log-in, same problem, password changed on me, had to ring blizzard to change back (forgot phone number registered with account) - Was a nice Christmas present. Submitted request to blizzard. 4 weeks later, they replied saying not going to restore, which I reckon was cause by then BC was due out in just over a week. As soon as authenticators came into stock, my brother brought 3 (one for me, him and his partner), Best money we've spent and I don't regret it it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sethos Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 @Sethos:I know how to secure my system. How that program got onto my system is unknown, since I only ever played WoW on that computer (laptop for everything else). WoW altered me to an issue, did a scan, found virus/malware/whatever. Deleted. Password changed, logged into account, all was well. Went out, came back, unable to log-in, same problem, password changed on me, had to ring blizzard to change back (forgot phone number registered with account) - Was a nice Christmas present. Submitted request to blizzard. 4 weeks later, they replied saying not going to restore, which I reckon was cause by then BC was due out in just over a week. So you had a computer with malware / virus, you did a simple scan and removed it and changed your password on the same PC and logged in with it on the same PC and wonder why you were hacked? No offence but then you don't have a living clue on how to safe-guard your computer and have too much trust in anti-virus / anti-malware software. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.J.P Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 Umm, what part did you read, that EVERYTHING else was done on my other computer. Since you don't want to read my posts, and I don't want to get into a fight. Welcome to my ignore list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raa Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 I'm afraid I have to say a big NO as well. As a person who has one of these for my bank (NOT by choice), I totally disagree with the enforcement of this policy. Why should the people that do the right thing be "punished" by others that are careless? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sethos Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 No you didn't - You said you had a laptop and a WoW computer, you didn't say a word about where you did what. Learn how to be a bit more clear and keyloggers and WoW account hijacking is NOT magic, everything can be traced back to user carelessness and incompetence. Sick of this general census that everything that steals WoW accounts is some sort of black magic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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