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WoW: How are accounts usually compromised?
Debutstudios
Member Posts: 6
Greetings all...
I find myself joining the club of "Crap-My-Account-Was-Stolen".
Besides being furious, I am also quite curious how these things happen, and would love some feedback and/or opinions about this topic.
Not only was it hacked, but an authenticator is now added to the account...not by me.
This douchebag pillaged my guild and disbanded all toons on the affected account...grrrr!
Now I'm usually very careful about things like this...I don't share my login info with anyone...how can this happen?
Thanks in advance for any helpful advice/tips/help you can give.
Thanks,
Jim
Comments
nobody really knows exaclty how otherwise it would be easy to prevent it. i'v herd that surfing certain sites wile also being loged in the game can do it, or having a pasword that is too simple, or sometimes you just get unlucky and the hacker targets you randomly.
I personally had a hacker target my e-mail address's secret question (via brute force attack most likely) and have the WoW account password sent there. I believe the e-mails may have been leaked from the Battlenet linking to WoW accounts (unconfirmed rumor, but there was a sudden increase in WoW phising attempts across the board around that time). When my account got I hacked it was about 6 months after I had stopped playing WoW and I wouldn't have known about it if it wasn't for a friend telling me via IM that someone was on my account. I also hadn't been using that account name/e-mail address for almost 2 years, so a keylogger was out of the question.
Anyway, tips for not getting your account stolen:
1. Don't download anything you don't trust. Don't even go to websites you don't trust. Hackers have been using UI modifications download links to trick you into getting a keylogger on your computer. Only download from a trusted site a mod you know someone you trust uses without a problem.
2. Make your secret question a password itself and change it often. Secret questions are probably the internet's worst form of security, it's really just another hole for a hacker to worm through.
3. Avoid using a common e-mail service if possible (like yahoo, hotmail, g-mail, etc.). Having your own domain as an e-mail address is best.
4. Use different passwords and account names for different sites.
5. Keep anti-virus, pop-up blockers, prevent scripts, and firewall your internet browsing.
6. Know that even if you follow these tips you aren't impervious to hackers. A lot of people think people who get hacked are stupid and have no idea what they are doing. This simply isn't true. Hackers are getting away with more and more sophisicated methods of breaking into accounts. When your account is hacked be sure to make sure your computer is completely clean (wipe everything you can and repartition the hard drive if necessary), contact the company your account was comprised on and get the situation fixed. Companies like Blizzard should give you the account back in your possession if you provide them with ID or the original CD keys, and they'll probably reimburse you for anything the hacker may have deleted/stolen if it was recent in their logs.
I feel your pain . I've had my account hacked twice in just over a week . Fortunately I'm not currently subscribed so no damage was done ( I would think ) other than the time & effort required to get my account back . The second time I was hacked has me puzzled .
After the first hack I used 3 different reputable antivirus & malware programs to make sure that I didn't have a keylogger or other nasty malware hiding on my PC . Nothing significant was found . I opened a new e-mail account for a new Battle.net account & then had Blizzard Support connect my WoW account to it once they recovered it for me . I gave all these accounts ridiculously complex passwords & shared none of them with anyone . Six days later I receive an e-mail from Blizzard stating that my WoW account has been accessed/compromised again by someone & that as a result Blizzard have temporarily disabled my account .
I don't know what else I could have done to safeguard my account other than buy an Authenticator &/or do a complete clean install of my PC . I intend on resubscribing when Cataclysm is released , but I won't be doing that until I can insure my WoW accounts security .
Thanks for the advice Magnum2103 , I hate doing clean installs but it just might have to be done .
It's an inside job most likely. I have very good security practices and my account was hacked the day after it expired. As far as your account getting hacked a second time in short periods, Blizzard most likely just linked your account to fraudulent activity used while it was hacked the first time. I bought an authenticator after the first time I was hacked and recieved a suspension e-mail a couple weeks later.
Vault-Tec analysts have concluded that the odds of worldwide nuclear armaggeddon this decade are 17,143,762... to 1.
That does make sense . I think I'll do a clean install anyway , just to be sure , it also gives me an excuse to upgrade from Vista to Windows7 .
I recently resubbed, 3 week's ago, and made sure to buy a authenticator for $6.50, which i heavily suggest getting. My account was hacked when it was inactive for 2-3 month's, and it was right around the time... the switch to Battle.net was made. Lately theres been atleast 3 people in my guild who got hacked, in the last week. One of them being a officer, so the guild vault got pillaged, and so did his gold, and gear.
Plus I've been getting a lot more spam tell's from goldsellers... telling me my account is going to be shut down... if i don't go to their "HAHAHAHAHAHA WE JUST GAVE YOU A KEYLOGGER" website. Bastard's seem to be more aggressive lately O.O
Man if they want to more believeable, they need to stop using engrish.
I have been get emails supposedly from Blizzard telling me that my account was hacked or that my account was suspended for various reasons. It is very important that you do not click on these emails. Most of them are fishing for your account info, even the ones that say they are from the blizzard team and seem to have the right website attached to them. Instead log onto your account to see if it is banned or hacked, if you can log in report the email as phishing. If your account is not currently playable then go directly to the world of warcraft website and log into your account to check its status. I have recieved prolly 15 of these emails in their various forms and almost fell for it the first time. They are very convincing, i wouldnt be supprised to find out this how most account are being hacked.
One thing ive noticed is every now and then ill get an E-mail saying my WoW password has been changed confirm or deny type stuff. I'll assume you all got one as well within the last 2 weeks. I don't play this game anymore in fact i loathe it quite much if no one has noticed. Anyway its a fake. so don't respond to those.
I haven't played WoW since February and I get 3 or so phishing emails a day.
However, I also have an authenticator on my account and parental controls that are set to ZERO allowable play time, so....if anyone does actually log into my account....I would get a report of how many hours played, etc. If I remember correctly...setting up parental controls required another unique password, so to hack me...I guess they're gonna have to hack that too.
But even with those emails that I think I "know" are from Blizzard....I don't log into my account via ANY email ever. I go to an entirely different browser and go to my account directly.
I've pretty much determined that anything that says Blizzard that hits my email...is immediately suspect. Particularly since I'm not playing the game.
I'm not sure there is any "100% effective" form of "hack control." It's kind of like birth control...even if you devise a super "secure" set up....there's always that remote chance.
President of The Marvelously Meowhead Fan Club
I'm not really sure how I was hacked either, no viruses, keyloggers etc. Not a single person that I know had my account details.
It just happened. I see two possibilites:
1.Inside job - like someone said before, we all know people aren't saints, and it can happen.
2.Specialized hackers - you know, the people behind online theft, breaking into wow account without any authenticator would probably be a cake for them.
It's very annoying, and buying extra protection just for a game isn't an option. It's very random in my opinion for careful people (excluding user stupidity of course) and there's too much unknown variables to pin-point the reason behind it.
Although I could easily say there are other ways than on your end, from what you've said I can think of the few most likely ways.
1. Ad on a WoW fansite contained a keylogger that downloaded without your knowledge. You didn't click it, just no NoScript+Ad Blocker plus on your firefox.
2. Addon you downloaded from Curse had a keylogger in it. You thought said keylogger was a legit part of the addon. Keylogger got your info.
3. Doubtful you'd fall for these, but phishing scam, link on any page, or porn-related websites without proper protection (I made a funny, har har.) can easily get your info. May wish to change any online banking passwords and forums/ acc passwords after doing a deep scan with avg, malwarebytes, and a few other things.
There's always the chance they got it in another manner, but most times its something you overlooked. Very rarely is an account "hacked", but as long as your email address is your account name, you will need to make new emails on a monthly basis to protect your account from simple Brute Force (guessing passwords over and over again) hackings. If Blizzard locked the account for 3 hours after 5 unsuccessful attempts...like many other companies do, maybe then bruteforcing would not work. As is, it does..and quite well at that.
Oh and Keller, thats possible as well, but certain people will jump down your throat at the mere mention that Blizzard is not completely untouchable. Just look at what happens when I question them =p
for most webbased hacking sites, there are some times keyloggers in Ad bars (popups) that your sytem will automatically download (to load) so you have to make sure the site you go to is legit or you keep and eye on your IE/FF/ect browser temp/cookies. as you could download a logger without even knowing it.
tho i have never played wow, i had a good chuckle when i got an email from them saying my account is banned and to login to it via their link ect...(bare in mind i have NEVER signed up or played wow, only time was 2hrs on a lv 10 mage my buddy had)
soo ya they seem to be spamming the windows live network with pushing sites.. personally i would report every blizzard email you get just incase, more so if you know you have never bought gold/items for your account or used it to sign up to any other site other then the legal blizzard website
Keyloggers from mods you downloaded and installed is right up at the top of the list.
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Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
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"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Major problem with allowing a game to be controlled by addons. =p
Still not the only way, but it is a way we are seeing much more commonly now that GearScore has become a "required" part of the game by the playerbase.
I dont know how you manage it.
Though my acc is inactive for more then 2 years i never seen a single phising mail or anything else.
I could just guess that you downloaded a addon with keyloger or visited a gold selling, leveling service page in the past. But these all are just assumptions.
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As I've said in a few other threads, people need to stop being so thick headed when it comes to this sort of thing. Do you leave your car doors or house unlocked when you know that potentionally someone could break in?
Practicing safe ettiquite for passwords, emails, and website is just something smart to do, especially as you invest more and more money into things you do.
1. My first thing for people to do, is ANY EMAIL. And I mean ANY EMAIL from "blizzard". Never. Ever. EVER click the link in it. I don't care if it says something that make perfects sense. I don't care if it is the real thing from blizzard. If you get an email that says your account has been compromised, and you take the link and log in to "fix it" You just lost your account for real. Plus, that person just put the mobile authenticator on your account now too, so you are royally boned. When you get that email, you go to the wow site. Or the blizzard site. You type it in yourself. I know, that's an extra 3 seconds instead of clicking that link. I recently got a "your account has been compromised, please login to prove it's you." My account has been inactive, and I have an authenticator. I moused over the site, and it showed some hosting site, with a name similar to battle.net. At the site, it looked basically like the battle.net site.
2. Buy an authenticator if you are unsure of how to handle passwords/bad sites/mods/etc. You can almost forget about those silly emails. I do say almost, because there was, and I'm sure there will be more, viruses to try to get around the Authenticator.
3. Don't download hacks for an advantage. Don't download risky mods from risky sites. There are a few sites with well known mods. If you see a new mod, that looks similar to one you want, stay away from it until you know it's safe.
4. Don't use an email at websites/other games that are the same as your battle.net info. Never use the same password. Use totally random passwords, and write them down. It's much less likely someone in your household will find them and know what to do with them.
5. Think about what you are doing. Instead of RUSH RUSH RUSH, GO GO GO. Think about what could happen if you follow your current course of action. If you THINK you did something wrong, and find out your account is hacked after going to the correct site, and plan to post a rant about losing your account, include accurate information if you want help. This is the interwebz. If someone laughs at you, because you made what seems to them to be a dumb mistake, Oh noess! You will never meet them. They have no affect on your life in a bad way, but maybe able to help you figure out what went wrong.
6. Use firefox with adblocker/no script. This will prevent things from being downloaded without your knowledge or before you can stop it.
Again. Never EVER believe the emails from "blizzard". Pretend you never got the email. Go to the battle.net/wow site, and check yourself.
Don't forget bruteforce password hacking, the oldest and simplest form thereof.
Or any of the ways many of us mentioned varying from unprotected porn to employee theft.
I get several phishing emails a day. One of the sites had a very well hidden flash trojan on it. The hackers are getting very good. You need to be extremely paranoid about all WoW emails you get.
BING BING BING
The FIRST time you get an email telling you your account was hacked or your password was changed, your account was NOT hacked, but is about to.
It is very easy.
1. They find the email address of someone who plays WOW. It's very easy to do if you belong to sites like this one.
2. They send an email to you that changes the L in Blizzard to a capital i or some other nonsense
3. The email sends you to a website that looks exactly like the official website
4. You then enter your login and password to verify your account and they immediately log into the real account and change it.
Then you come here and complain about Blizzard letting your inactive account get hacked.
I get a TON of phishing emails from blizzard impersonators, I usually just ignore them. An authenticator helps a lot.
I myself got my account hacked once, shortly after i renewed it after a long absence. The culprit actually added an authenticator to my account so I couldn't access it, but a (semi) quick phone call to customer service got it removed and I changed my password, haven't had a problem since.