I have not used my WOW account in over six months. I have not logged in, checked my status or anything in all this period. I have stopped paying a monthly fee and have moved on until Cataclysm comes. Yesterday, I get an email from Blizzard that a request was made for my password to be changed and then I get an email stating that there is suspicious activity with my account. My account is not active at all, so i don't even see how this is possible.
So I go to check my account and I can no longer log in due to someone setting a mobile authenticator to my account. So now I have to contact Account Support to try to figure out how to log in to my account, and waste all this time for an account I don't even use anymore.
There was no keylogging, virus, or any other attempt from my end as I am using a new computer and have not ever logged into my WOW account with my new laptop and I no longer use my old computer.
So to say that account hacked is soley the user's fault is ridiculous to me. The whole Real ID fiasco and BattleNet have made security a real issue with WOW. I play at least ten other games, plus manage my own web sites and no other account has been interrrupted or affect, plus I don't key into my accounts and instead use the Norton Cards for all my Internet use.
I don't believe I will be playing Cataclysm if this matter is not cleared up because that would mean having to but WOW and all the expansions again to create an account for a game I have moved on from.
For those who have not experienced this issue and want to just blame people for their stupidity is never a helpful way to understand a community that is suffering from its own stagnant growth and greed from the manufacturers.
If you want to know what will kill WOW, it will be the community and company and not the gameplay itself.
You guys are a funny bunch, you went home one day, the door perfectly locked but your TV set stolen. So you run to the sheriff throwing out crazy theory about demons rising from within the house and fly out of the chimney carrying it?
Come on, you do not know how the hacker get it. nor do we. Period. No one has to explain to you how you lost YOUR account. We don't know. We cannot come up with a reason, b/c we do not even know you. However, throwing a big conspiracy theory following your unfortunate unexplained event does not make it any more plausible,
You lost you account, checked, You do not know how it happened, checked. Blame no one, if you do not want to blame yourself. No one need to give you an answer, not even the police. No one owe you an explanation, no one can, unless they perform a thorough investigation, about your online bahaviour years ago while you play. Is there enough foundation for that investigation?
It's also a funny bunch of folks in here that have their heads shoved so far up blizzards butt that they think that it is not somehow their fault rather than the customers.
If they have an authenticator, it should be free to begin with, not some kind of extra security system that blizzard wants to capitalize on. It is just like windows with their security risks and viruses, they should have a free virus detector that comes with windows since this is clearly a windows problem. I know they have defender, and the firewall, but why is that not enough that most people have to go buy a seperate version just so they can use the overpriced windows OS to begin with? Windows needs to provide one free of charge for all of its customers.
It is also funny someone is narrow minded, so narrow minded. Something is black, must be black, if we cannot be sure it is white.
That we do not know how the hacking occur means we shove our what on what? You have issues or lacking the courage to admit that 99.99999% of the things happen around you without you knowing anything for certainty, that you only rely on some reports or news agency to relay you what they want to write?
They have an authenticator, then it must be free? Oh what logic? When you buy a house, the aircon must be free. Since the house comes with a garage, there must be a free oldsmobile inside? windows needs to provide free of charge whatever comes to your mind. Next time you run a business, I want everything from you, except your underwear. You must give it.
Since it is their problem and their auntheticator it should come with the game when you pay a subscription. When you pay for ATT DSL they give you AV for free.
Air conditioning is different, when you buy a house you don't buy it off the electric company. SO obviously you are gonna have to pay them for their services. When you buy a house it is yours, and whatever you need to do to secure that house is your responsibility once you have bought it.
You can think of it much like we are renting a game that we pay monthly to have a right to play, they should provide the security systems for it, since it is clearly a blizzard security problem. Instead they want to milk the customer for as much as possible.
You are losing common sense.
When is it a problem? You buy for the right to use an account, you lost the account. It is your problem. Not Blizz. Blizz is not responsible for your losing your own account. They are the only game provider on earth to spend their effort in providing an authenticator, and if you have any sense of business, they are losing money selling it.
You buy a car, someone stole it. So suddenly the theft prevention devices should be free? You go to a mall and someone picked your pocket, suddenly bodyguards and personal security officers should be provided free of charge.
When will you kind stop blaming others for your own issues.
when will the children of the world learn to stop allowing these companies to walk all over us and sell our information to the highest bidder?
I trust my private information to a company and for what? So they can sell it to other people and than i get harrassing phone calls and emails as a result of that companies actions. This kind of nonsense needs to stop, but with so many stupid or uneducated people on the internet and in the world today, they are paving the way for this sort of thing to continue to happen and for our lives to be further intruded upon.
Blizzard needs to be made an example of, for other companies in the future. You don't want to value my private information, well than I will not buy any more services from you. After all this is only a game. The children cannot live without their World of Warcraft so they just allow the big business to do as they please, which enables them and other companies to continue to do what they please with your private information.
It will only get worse people.
Stop pretending you are "older" and we are children, whatever your age vs ours I see a lacking of maturity on your part. Talk like a man, don't hideously bring in the insults.
IF you want to drop a game, do it, no one cares. Crying here to seek attention?
we are talking about blizz, and game security, we are not here to applaud blizz, tho i admit I am impressed by blizz effort to provide a cheap authenticator and a free software version. we are not here to discuss morals or who owe what, or how good the game is.
If you absolutely must bring in your uncontrolled emotions, oh well, you are free to, good day.
The problem is you are sticking up for this company that wants to sell your information to the highest bidder. What adult would want that? Yea , this happens all too frequently and somebody needs to be made an example out of it. Why not start with blizzard? They were even trying to take it a step further and implement things that are being implemented in china.
Of course it is highly plausible that the OP put themselves at risk, but how can we be so sure when blizzard has proven themselves to be such a security liability themselves?
Don't understand why anyone would want to stand up for a company like this. They should value our personal information and they don't. It's not about capitalism, you can own a business and do very well without selling your customers personal information.
Oh , I am older, maybe not as old as somebody about to go into retirement but i would say 29 is pretty old for these forums and games like wow.
Like a socialist? No the socialists are the ones that want to turn the country into china with systems like REAL ID. I am completely opposite, I value my personal information. Since blizzard does not, I have no sympatthy for a company like that.
I actually am a partial owner of an aircraft comany. Yea it is a small family business, but we provide security for our customers.
China is socialist? You have any idea how free the market economy is in China? Your remarks alone shows a typical ignorant anti-this and that old man. If china is socialist, france is total communism? China is communist 30 years ago, that is about the limit of your knowledge.
Ah nice for you to provide security for your customers. Since it is a small business, there is lesser risk of malicious visitors. Look at nightcloak's remarks. Blizz is singled out for discussion b/c it is big. Hacking occurs in every game, on any online business, including credit card business and online banking. In a comparison scale, blizz is doing reasonable job with damage control. 11+ million users and relatively fewer hacking.
They are communist, but they use the real id system in china.
So, you gave it a whole day to be sorted, and now that you found out that it might take a few days you've given up? Seems reasonable.
when will the children of the world learn to stop allowing these companies to walk all over us and sell our information to the highest bidder?
I trust my private information to a company and for what? So they can sell it to other people and than i get harrassing phone calls and emails as a result of that companies actions. This kind of nonsense needs to stop, but with so many stupid or uneducated people on the internet and in the world today, they are paving the way for this sort of thing to continue to happen and for our lives to be further intruded upon.
Blizzard needs to be made an example of, for other companies in the future. You don't want to value my private information, well than I will not buy any more services from you. After all this is only a game. The children cannot live without their World of Warcraft so they just allow the big business to do as they please, which enables them and other companies to continue to do what they please with your private information.
It will only get worse people.
I still trust Blizzard to safeguard my private information. I've been playing since release. I've never been hacked, never gotten a single spam mail about it, and never gotten a phone call. To be politically correct about it, a lot of hacking incidents are a direct result of end user error. To be more blunt, when someone gets hacked, instead of asking themselves why that may have happened they jump straight to the conclusion that Blizzard allowed it to happen.
I don't feel "walked all over." I feel taken care of. Again, to be blunt about it, stop doing stupid things on the internet and you won't have anything to worry about.
You are right, most of the time it is something that the customer did to cause the hacking themselves. My issue with blizzard is the fact that they are a company, that is pretty much a communist tool that wants to turn our country into something like china system along with face book. I don't want my personal name on the forums, and I damn sure don't want them selling my personal digits to the highest bidder.
Like I said before , I am the part owner of a family business, dealing with aircraft. We don't sell our customers personal information.
The problem is you are sticking up for this company that wants to sell your information to the highest bidder. What adult would want that? Yea , this happens all too frequently and somebody needs to be made an example out of it. Why not start with blizzard? They were even trying to take it a step further and implement things that are being implemented in china.
Of course it is highly plausible that the OP put themselves at risk, but how can we be so sure when blizzard has proven themselves to be such a security liability themselves?
Don't understand why anyone would want to stand up for a company like this. They should value our personal information and they don't. It's not about capitalism, you can own a business and do very well without selling your customers personal information.
Who is sticking up for whom? You care to read?
REPEAT FOR YOU IN CASE YOU CANNOT READ. I AM SAYING WE DO NOT KNOW HOW THE HACKING OCCUR. WE HAVE NO EVIDENCE TO LAY THE BLAME ON ANY PARTY.
Is this clear enough for you?
If you have issues with blizz fine. I don't care about your personal qualms, but STOP making me a straw man for your rants.
Like I said before , I am the part owner of a family business, dealing with aircraft. We don't sell our customers personal information.
Everyone has a price.
Other than that, if you don't like the way Blizzard is going, feel free to part.
And since we started talking about politics and nations, get used to having your real information known to everyone. That is the way to the future. Even if you miss it, your grandchildren wont.
Edit: Typo. Fucking dyslexia.
---------------- We don't need a king of MMOs, we need a group of Titans so that everyone can play what suits them best. -Ascension08
So, you gave it a whole day to be sorted, and now that you found out that it might take a few days you've given up? Seems reasonable.
when will the children of the world learn to stop allowing these companies to walk all over us and sell our information to the highest bidder?
I trust my private information to a company and for what? So they can sell it to other people and than i get harrassing phone calls and emails as a result of that companies actions. This kind of nonsense needs to stop, but with so many stupid or uneducated people on the internet and in the world today, they are paving the way for this sort of thing to continue to happen and for our lives to be further intruded upon.
Blizzard needs to be made an example of, for other companies in the future. You don't want to value my private information, well than I will not buy any more services from you. After all this is only a game. The children cannot live without their World of Warcraft so they just allow the big business to do as they please, which enables them and other companies to continue to do what they please with your private information.
It will only get worse people.
I still trust Blizzard to safeguard my private information. I've been playing since release. I've never been hacked, never gotten a single spam mail about it, and never gotten a phone call. To be politically correct about it, a lot of hacking incidents are a direct result of end user error. To be more blunt, when someone gets hacked, instead of asking themselves why that may have happened they jump straight to the conclusion that Blizzard allowed it to happen.
I don't feel "walked all over." I feel taken care of. Again, to be blunt about it, stop doing stupid things on the internet and you won't have anything to worry about.
You are right, most of the time it is something that the customer did to cause the hacking themselves. My issue with blizzard is the fact that they are a company, that is pretty much a communist tool that wants to turn our country into something like china system along with face book. I don't want my personal name on the forums, and I damn sure don't want them selling my personal digits to the highest bidder.
Like I said before , I am the part owner of a family business, dealing with aircraft. We don't sell our customers personal information.
Did you miss the part where RealID is optional?
It only became optional when the people took a stand and showed blizzard that what they were doing would not be tolerated. Had you let them get away with it, it would have went on. Also, the selling of the personal information is not optional unless you take the option to stop playing blizzard games. Yet, still, you signed the agreement that was written in small print, so even if you do stop paying them money they still now own the right to your personal information.
If somebody should be making money off of it, I expect to see a check in the mail. It is my information after all.
to clear it up the iphone authenticator is actually free
yes and I pay only the equivalence of US$12 to have a physical authenticator mailed to me via express and hand delivered to my office half way round the world. Blizz is losing big money selling it to me.
I was hacked several times already. I'm done totaly.
They just want to force you to buy the authenticator.
What a stupid comment.
The solution OP is not to get hacked.
The solution to not being the victim of a crime, is to not be a victim of a crime.
What fantastic logic you have there.
The whole Internet tough guy routine concerning compromised accounts is really getting tiring. The truth of it is that the people compromising accounts are getting more and more clever, and finding more security holes and methods of tricking, stealing, or cracking their ways into people's accounts. Sure there are things you can do to mitigate the chance of being hacked, but there is always still a chance, no matter how careful you are.
But at least I can QFT the first half of your post with regards to the second half of it.
So, you gave it a whole day to be sorted, and now that you found out that it might take a few days you've given up? Seems reasonable.
when will the children of the world learn to stop allowing these companies to walk all over us and sell our information to the highest bidder?
I trust my private information to a company and for what? So they can sell it to other people and than i get harrassing phone calls and emails as a result of that companies actions. This kind of nonsense needs to stop, but with so many stupid or uneducated people on the internet and in the world today, they are paving the way for this sort of thing to continue to happen and for our lives to be further intruded upon.
Blizzard needs to be made an example of, for other companies in the future. You don't want to value my private information, well than I will not buy any more services from you. After all this is only a game. The children cannot live without their World of Warcraft so they just allow the big business to do as they please, which enables them and other companies to continue to do what they please with your private information.
It will only get worse people.
I still trust Blizzard to safeguard my private information. I've been playing since release. I've never been hacked, never gotten a single spam mail about it, and never gotten a phone call. To be politically correct about it, a lot of hacking incidents are a direct result of end user error. To be more blunt, when someone gets hacked, instead of asking themselves why that may have happened they jump straight to the conclusion that Blizzard allowed it to happen.
I don't feel "walked all over." I feel taken care of. Again, to be blunt about it, stop doing stupid things on the internet and you won't have anything to worry about.
You are right, most of the time it is something that the customer did to cause the hacking themselves. My issue with blizzard is the fact that they are a company, that is pretty much a communist tool that wants to turn our country into something like china system along with face book. I don't want my personal name on the forums, and I damn sure don't want them selling my personal digits to the highest bidder.
Like I said before , I am the part owner of a family business, dealing with aircraft. We don't sell our customers personal information.
Did you miss the part where RealID is optional?
It only became optional when the people took a stand and showed blizzard that what they were doing would not be tolerated. Had you let them get away with it, it would have went on. Also, the selling of the personal information is not optional unless you take the option to stop playing blizzard games. Yet, still, you signed the agreement that was written in small print, so even if you do stop paying them money they still now own the right to your personal information.
If somebody should be making money off of it, I expect to see a check in the mail. It is my information after all.
It is optional in that you do not need to post on a forum. You choose to post, they have to right to show your ID on their own forum. It is their forum.
If you ever work for major companies, many companies demand full ID disclosure when posting on their company intra boards. That helps accountabiiity.
You will not reveal your identity when playing the game. But to make noise on the web site, they once consider showing your ID. Which, is debatable, and they eventually changed their mind, for now. Do you sub a game to play or to troll the forums?
Market research companies sell information about interviewees, everyday. It is not your money, it is theirs. If you hate it, try sue them.
Ok. So somebody answer me this one. I don't doubt my account being 'stolen' or hacked was something to do with me. Let's get that one straight. Nor am I going to run around wearing a tin foil hat shouting "They did it!"
I don't believe I'm an idiot. At some point, whether it was recently or way back when, I downloaded something that had some kind of WoW email/pass stealer or keylogger or something to that effect. Just because I haven't used a WoW add on or any such thing doesn't mean it wasn't anything I did.
So next question. Why only WoW? I did at one point play a lot of MMORPG's. I visit various forums, and so on. The ONLY thing affected by this keylogger or whatever the heck it was was WoW. Now I want for somebody to come up with a feasible explanation as to why it was that one game, without calling me or anybody else an idiot.
I could go on to the subject of the glaring holes in Blizzard's security, made worse by RealID but I shall behave myself and just ask for that question to be answered. I want to know why the only thing affected by anything was WoW.
to clear it up the iphone authenticator is actually free
Unfortunately I don't have an iphone, fortunately I do not have a blizzard account any longer.
So it really doesn't matter to me, but if the rest of the people want companies like Blizzard and facebook, sharing your information and credit card numbers to the world or whoever is willing to pay for them. Then that is your business.
I think a company should not work like that, and it is a shame that is where some of these companies are heading. Exploiting their customers. That isn't capitalism, that is exploitation, and it should not be tolerated. You can be a capitalist company and do things the responsible way that feels good to your customers.
So, you gave it a whole day to be sorted, and now that you found out that it might take a few days you've given up? Seems reasonable.
when will the children of the world learn to stop allowing these companies to walk all over us and sell our information to the highest bidder?
I trust my private information to a company and for what? So they can sell it to other people and than i get harrassing phone calls and emails as a result of that companies actions. This kind of nonsense needs to stop, but with so many stupid or uneducated people on the internet and in the world today, they are paving the way for this sort of thing to continue to happen and for our lives to be further intruded upon.
Blizzard needs to be made an example of, for other companies in the future. You don't want to value my private information, well than I will not buy any more services from you. After all this is only a game. The children cannot live without their World of Warcraft so they just allow the big business to do as they please, which enables them and other companies to continue to do what they please with your private information.
It will only get worse people.
I still trust Blizzard to safeguard my private information. I've been playing since release. I've never been hacked, never gotten a single spam mail about it, and never gotten a phone call. To be politically correct about it, a lot of hacking incidents are a direct result of end user error. To be more blunt, when someone gets hacked, instead of asking themselves why that may have happened they jump straight to the conclusion that Blizzard allowed it to happen.
I don't feel "walked all over." I feel taken care of. Again, to be blunt about it, stop doing stupid things on the internet and you won't have anything to worry about.
You are right, most of the time it is something that the customer did to cause the hacking themselves. My issue with blizzard is the fact that they are a company, that is pretty much a communist tool that wants to turn our country into something like china system along with face book. I don't want my personal name on the forums, and I damn sure don't want them selling my personal digits to the highest bidder.
Like I said before , I am the part owner of a family business, dealing with aircraft. We don't sell our customers personal information.
Did you miss the part where RealID is optional?
It only became optional when the people took a stand and showed blizzard that what they were doing would not be tolerated. Had you let them get away with it, it would have went on. Also, the selling of the personal information is not optional unless you take the option to stop playing blizzard games. Yet, still, you signed the agreement that was written in small print, so even if you do stop paying them money they still now own the right to your personal information.
If somebody should be making money off of it, I expect to see a check in the mail. It is my information after all.
It is optional in that you do not need to post on a forum. You choose to post, they have to right to show your ID on their own forum. It is their forum.
If you ever work for major companies, many companies demand full ID disclosure when posting on their company intra boards. That helps accountabiiity.
You will not reveal your identity when playing the game. But to make noise on the web site, they once consider showing your ID. Which, is debatable, and they eventually changed their mind, for now. Do you sub a game to play or to troll the forums?
Market research companies sell information about interviewees, everyday. It is not your money, it is theirs. If you hate it, try sue them.
Well you are obviously saying that it is not your fault. So who's fault is it then?
Yea, you do wear a tin foil hat and it fits you quite well.
Ok. So somebody answer me this one. I don't doubt my account being 'stolen' or hacked was something to do with me. Let's get that one straight. Nor am I going to run around wearing a tin foil hat shouting "They did it!"
I don't believe I'm an idiot. At some point, whether it was recently or way back when, I downloaded something that had some kind of WoW email/pass stealer or keylogger or something to that effect. Just because I haven't used a WoW add on or any such thing doesn't mean it wasn't anything I did.
So next question. Why only WoW? I did at one point play a lot of MMORPG's. I visit various forums, and so on. The ONLY thing affected by this keylogger or whatever the heck it was was WoW. Now I want for somebody to come up with a feasible explanation as to why it was that one game, without calling me or anybody else an idiot.
I could go on to the subject of the glaring holes in Blizzard's security, made worse by RealID but I shall behave myself and just ask for that question to be answered. I want to know why the only thing affected by anything was WoW.
Because WOW is the most popular MMORPG by far. As a result, there are far more gold farmers for it than any other game. As a result of that, there are far more people attempting to hack accounts for WoW than any other game. It is simple business...
I love all the "get an authenticator, it only costs you $X" crap. Show me another game that basically forces you to get additional security because the corporation heading the game doesn't have enough encryption and security to keep hackers out.....oh wait....right.
Bliz has lost all my business as of the RealID bullshit.
While I have no love for the RealID crap, I have no doubt that Blizzard is responsible for 0.0000000001% of all "hacks" against WoW accounts
There may be a case of a disgruntled Blizzard employee with access to the character database doing something nefarious. I don't doubt it could happen. HOWEVER, 99.99999999999% of all hacks are the user's fault.
Nothing Blizzard does is "hacked", the stupid user downloaded some mods or gave out their account info to a "friend"....
THAT is how accounts are "hacked". There's no hacking involved. Just easily duped idiots who like Facebook and give crap out or install anything that comes along.
Accounts I have/had:
EQ1: 4, for 5 years. Never had one hacked.
WoW: 1 for 5 years. Never had it hacked.
Eve: 2 for 6 years. Never had one hacked.
LOTRO: 1 for 2 years. Never had it hacked.
WW2 Online: 1 for 9 years. Never had it hacked.
AoC: 1 for 2 years. Never had it hacked.
Aion: 1 for 1 year. Never had it hacked.
Other accounts of various lengths: Global Agenda, APB, L2 (2 accounts), AO, DAOC, Shadowbane, COH, Champions....
Never had them hacked.
Frickin' amazing isn't it?
Then again, I also don't bother with firewalls beyond my router/windows firewall, no AV.... and I never get adware/spyware/virus/trojans either (20th year on the internet).
to clear it up the iphone authenticator is actually free
Unfortunately I don't have an iphone, fortunately I do not have a blizzard account any longer.
So it really doesn't matter to me, but if the rest of the people want companies like Blizzard and facebook, sharing your information and credit card numbers to the world or whoever is willing to pay for them. Then that is your business.
I think a company should not work like that, and it is a shame that is where some of these companies are heading. Exploiting their customers. That isn't capitalism, that is exploitation, and it should not be tolerated. You can be a capitalist company and do things the responsible way that feels good to your customers.
Okay this is utter BS. Blizzard did not share your username, password or credit card information with ANY other company. Stop spreading unfounded lies please...
YOU shared that information with hackers. It is your own fault... pure and simple. I know the truth hurts.
So, you gave it a whole day to be sorted, and now that you found out that it might take a few days you've given up? Seems reasonable.
when will the children of the world learn to stop allowing these companies to walk all over us and sell our information to the highest bidder?
I trust my private information to a company and for what? So they can sell it to other people and than i get harrassing phone calls and emails as a result of that companies actions. This kind of nonsense needs to stop, but with so many stupid or uneducated people on the internet and in the world today, they are paving the way for this sort of thing to continue to happen and for our lives to be further intruded upon.
Blizzard needs to be made an example of, for other companies in the future. You don't want to value my private information, well than I will not buy any more services from you. After all this is only a game. The children cannot live without their World of Warcraft so they just allow the big business to do as they please, which enables them and other companies to continue to do what they please with your private information.
It will only get worse people.
I still trust Blizzard to safeguard my private information. I've been playing since release. I've never been hacked, never gotten a single spam mail about it, and never gotten a phone call. To be politically correct about it, a lot of hacking incidents are a direct result of end user error. To be more blunt, when someone gets hacked, instead of asking themselves why that may have happened they jump straight to the conclusion that Blizzard allowed it to happen.
I don't feel "walked all over." I feel taken care of. Again, to be blunt about it, stop doing stupid things on the internet and you won't have anything to worry about.
You are right, most of the time it is something that the customer did to cause the hacking themselves. My issue with blizzard is the fact that they are a company, that is pretty much a communist tool that wants to turn our country into something like china system along with face book. I don't want my personal name on the forums, and I damn sure don't want them selling my personal digits to the highest bidder.
Like I said before , I am the part owner of a family business, dealing with aircraft. We don't sell our customers personal information.
Did you miss the part where RealID is optional?
It only became optional when the people took a stand and showed blizzard that what they were doing would not be tolerated. Had you let them get away with it, it would have went on. Also, the selling of the personal information is not optional unless you take the option to stop playing blizzard games. Yet, still, you signed the agreement that was written in small print, so even if you do stop paying them money they still now own the right to your personal information.
If somebody should be making money off of it, I expect to see a check in the mail. It is my information after all.
It is optional in that you do not need to post on a forum. You choose to post, they have to right to show your ID on their own forum. It is their forum.
If you ever work for major companies, many companies demand full ID disclosure when posting on their company intra boards. That helps accountabiiity.
You will not reveal your identity when playing the game. But to make noise on the web site, they once consider showing your ID. Which, is debatable, and they eventually changed their mind, for now. Do you sub a game to play or to troll the forums?
Market research companies sell information about interviewees, everyday. It is not your money, it is theirs. If you hate it, try sue them.
Well you are obviously saying that it is not your fault. So who's fault is it then?
Yea, you do wear a tin foil hat and it fits you quite well.
You really have reading or comprehension issues.
WE ARE NOT TRYING TO FIND A SCAPEGOAT, NOT DO WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO FAULT ANY PERSON.
we are just discussing how hacking occur and so far, no evidence, no solid evidence.
You really wear a thick tainted eyeglass that blocks all reading. If you do not care to read. why quote and reply? Ah maybe that is your habit, or you are trying to pick a fight or gain attention.
So, you gave it a whole day to be sorted, and now that you found out that it might take a few days you've given up? Seems reasonable.
when will the children of the world learn to stop allowing these companies to walk all over us and sell our information to the highest bidder?
I trust my private information to a company and for what? So they can sell it to other people and than i get harrassing phone calls and emails as a result of that companies actions. This kind of nonsense needs to stop, but with so many stupid or uneducated people on the internet and in the world today, they are paving the way for this sort of thing to continue to happen and for our lives to be further intruded upon.
Blizzard needs to be made an example of, for other companies in the future. You don't want to value my private information, well than I will not buy any more services from you. After all this is only a game. The children cannot live without their World of Warcraft so they just allow the big business to do as they please, which enables them and other companies to continue to do what they please with your private information.
It will only get worse people.
I still trust Blizzard to safeguard my private information. I've been playing since release. I've never been hacked, never gotten a single spam mail about it, and never gotten a phone call. To be politically correct about it, a lot of hacking incidents are a direct result of end user error. To be more blunt, when someone gets hacked, instead of asking themselves why that may have happened they jump straight to the conclusion that Blizzard allowed it to happen.
I don't feel "walked all over." I feel taken care of. Again, to be blunt about it, stop doing stupid things on the internet and you won't have anything to worry about.
You are right, most of the time it is something that the customer did to cause the hacking themselves. My issue with blizzard is the fact that they are a company, that is pretty much a communist tool that wants to turn our country into something like china system along with face book. I don't want my personal name on the forums, and I damn sure don't want them selling my personal digits to the highest bidder.
Like I said before , I am the part owner of a family business, dealing with aircraft. We don't sell our customers personal information.
Did you miss the part where RealID is optional?
It only became optional when the people took a stand and showed blizzard that what they were doing would not be tolerated. Had you let them get away with it, it would have went on. Also, the selling of the personal information is not optional unless you take the option to stop playing blizzard games. Yet, still, you signed the agreement that was written in small print, so even if you do stop paying them money they still now own the right to your personal information.
If somebody should be making money off of it, I expect to see a check in the mail. It is my information after all.
That's not good enough for you? They looked at all the feedback and decided against it. Do you want a personal apology or something? I've never heard of Blizzard selling my personal information to anyone. Can you elaborate on that please?
I disagreed with the RealID system, and they changed it. I really have no further reason to think Blizzard are a bunch of "communists from China" as you so eloquently put it.
Ok. So somebody answer me this one. I don't doubt my account being 'stolen' or hacked was something to do with me. Let's get that one straight. Nor am I going to run around wearing a tin foil hat shouting "They did it!"
I don't believe I'm an idiot. At some point, whether it was recently or way back when, I downloaded something that had some kind of WoW email/pass stealer or keylogger or something to that effect. Just because I haven't used a WoW add on or any such thing doesn't mean it wasn't anything I did.
So next question. Why only WoW? I did at one point play a lot of MMORPG's. I visit various forums, and so on. The ONLY thing affected by this keylogger or whatever the heck it was was WoW. Now I want for somebody to come up with a feasible explanation as to why it was that one game, without calling me or anybody else an idiot.
I could go on to the subject of the glaring holes in Blizzard's security, made worse by RealID but I shall behave myself and just ask for that question to be answered. I want to know why the only thing affected by anything was WoW.
Seriously I think it falls under the risk verses reward catagory. Its the largest game, so the most potential customers for buying gold. Take into account the amount of people working towards stealing accounts, lets say its all one company, at least 60% are working on wow accounts and the other 40% are working on all other games. (These numbers are pulled out of my ass, but its just a guess.) so for each game you play other than wow, lets say 1% of the total hackers are working on that game. your chances to be hacked in another game are practically zero. BUT it does happen. WoW on the other hand, you have alot higher chance, although, it should also be noted, that there are so many more people playing it does dilute chances some. Just not enough.
That is just a shot in the dark, if I was running the syndicate type of thinking answer, might not be why, but it could be all the same.
The misinformation in this thread is so great it borders on comic lunacy.
Let's sort some things out real fast.
Blizzard's database being hacked is technically possible, but that falls into such a unlikely case that we can still write it off as impossible. Why? Because were Blizzard's DB actually compromised, the hackers would still run into the problems of being able to determine what field relates to what information, and additionally, account passwords are encrypted IN the database so even if the hacker could find the right field, it's going to be gibberish encrypted by a custom algorithm produced by Blizzard. And all of this is provided that a potential hacker CAN penetrate the security surrounding a server and make it to the DB to begin with.
Alot of people think Blizzard is making money from the authenticators. For US citizens, the keyfob authenticator is $6.00, which seems initially like a influx of money. However in the case of the keyfobs the authenticators have free shipping, and there's a minimum amount that Blizzard is required to pay to just ship that to the customer. Combine that minimum amount with the packaging and employee packing times (wages, etc) and it shouldn't take much brainpower to realize they aren't using it as a cash cow.
More than likely, the execs at Blizzard realized they were spending MORE money on time spent in recovering hacked accounts, so introduced the authenticator as a means of lowering that cost. Or in short, they're still paying for this issue, but due to the authenticator, just not as much.
One other thing. There was a comment about how no other companies are using something like the authenticator to bolster account security. That's more than likely true or close to true at any rate. However show me another MMO with WoW's subscription rates, number of players worldwide, while you're at it. Otherwise your argument collapses under the weight of it's own jurisdiction. Quite simply when you're as large as WoW is, you're going to become a prime target for malicious activity. And when there's between 6-10 million potential options for you to choose from if you're a hacker, obviously it's going to require something above and beyond the vanilla security you see in most MMOs.
If you must, compare it with the analogy of big city crime and the small rural town. Basically, yes WoW is so popular and so large, that they are a far larger target than other MMOs and because the potential is there and because some customers are potentially easy to compromise, there are more reports of hacked accounts and the like.
Someone mentioned about gold sellers getting their account info after they quit the game, and how they think it was unlikely it was their fault since they weren't playing anymore. Let's clear that up. Just because you aren't playing NOW, doesn't mean that when you did, a keylogger was on your machine and piped your information back to the gold seller / hacker to sit on. If you take a keylogger and spread it to a potential 6-10 million people, chances are it will return a large amount of data back.
As in, hundreds, and likely thousands. A gold seller isn't going to know what's on your account from your compromised information. They ARE however, going to see it as a potential resource and make use of it when they get to it on their list. This is quite literally no different in concept from the 80s phenomenon hackers made use of called "carding" where stolen credit card numbers were hoarded for the purpose of making illicit purchases.
Addons. If a addon makes use of a executable file, it can potentially compromise your account if it's infected with a keylogger. But let's think for a moment here. When you start WoW (Or most any MMO) you start at a patch screen, then move to a login screen, then a character select screen then on into the game proper. How is a addon for WoW supposed to compromise your login information when it's not activated until after the character select screen? As the addon is a LUA text file, that's just impossible, plain and simple.
The ONLY way a addon can do so if it's part of a executable that contains a carrier for a keylogger or trojan or other nasty that is activated on installation/use and gains your information as you log into the game after the patch screen.
Account security. Let's touch on that a moment. First, there's tons of utilities out there to find spyware and other nastiness. Guess what? These companies are all in competition with each other for your business, to some degree. Some like AVG and others offer free versions, but there's also the registered version which does more that comes at the price of a monetary fee. Why is this crucial? Because..not all of these utilities share the same capacity to search for the same things. There, the cat is out. If you use AVG, there might be a keylogger or other piece of malware that AVG won't find, but another virus program might. Spybot might not find what's on yoru machine, but Malware Bytes will.
If you're not getting the picture yet, let me put it in simple terms: There's no 100% way to keep something off your machine by employing these sorts of utilities. They help, but they do not make your machine sterile and immune to malware. So what's a person to do? Practice some common sense. If you must visit sites for addons, do so from another PC, and move the addon to your PC with a USB drive or other storage medium. When you surf the web, do not do so indiscriminately. Think about what you're doing and what can potentially infest your machine.
Pracice some common sense with passwords. Gibberish passwords that make sense to you, are superior to flat english (or your native language) words. In other words, "I like cherry pie in the sky" becomes ILCPITS69. Don't use the same passowrd for everything. Separate email accounts and maintain a account for your game that is individual from your regular email accounts for everyday activities. Gmail is free, so is hotmail, and configured properly they are more than suitable for game accounts.
Ultimately the security of your account within the confines of your PC is your duty, not the game companies out there. They've long since realized the things I've pointed out here, especially with regards to virus scanners, malware checkers, etc. No program is going to find everything that can potentially compromise your account, and they realize that. All they can hope to do is set a policy in place, and urge their customers to be safe and use safe computing habits.
Finally, a bit about me so the reader can get some potential perspective on this post. I've played approximately 18 MMOs now, starting with day 1 of EQ1 and hitting some of the fond memories out there like Earth and Beyond, Horizons, Neocron as well. To date, with accounts in all 18 MMOs, I have never been hacked in any of them. Ever. Period. Flawless record. And it is because I take my own advice and practice safe computing as a matter of habit.
In regards to the more technical aspects here, I've got a college degree in programming with focus on database engineering, which includes but is not limited to architecture, development, upgrades maintainence, and the transport of data from one database format / OS platform / medium to another. Databases are what I do, quite simply. The point above about passwords being encrypted is covered as a basic premise in class early on. Do not leave sensitive data in any database unencrypted for potential abuse should that database be compromised. I'm sure Blizzard's programmers are far smarter than I am, and ergo, already know this as a basic matter of practice.
Any rate, let's focus less on it being the game companies' fault for accounts being hacked, and more on practicing safe ways to keep our machines as clean as possible with the ultimate intent of making life a miserable hell for the gold sellers / account hackers out there, eh?
I know you think you heard what I said, but I'm not sure what you heard is what I meant.
to clear it up the iphone authenticator is actually free
Unfortunately I don't have an iphone, fortunately I do not have a blizzard account any longer.
So it really doesn't matter to me, but if the rest of the people want companies like Blizzard and facebook, sharing your information and credit card numbers to the world or whoever is willing to pay for them. Then that is your business.
I think a company should not work like that, and it is a shame that is where some of these companies are heading. Exploiting their customers. That isn't capitalism, that is exploitation, and it should not be tolerated. You can be a capitalist company and do things the responsible way that feels good to your customers.
Okay this is utter BS. Blizzard did not share your username, password or credit card information with ANY other company. Stop spreading unfounded lies please...
YOU shared that information with hackers. It is your own fault... pure and simple. I know the truth hurts.
I never had my blizzard account hacked. I neve had any account hacked. I have a personal grudge against blizzard and their regime. Trying to impliment the systems like that of china. Trying to sell your private information to the highest bidder. It's not just blizzard that I have a problem with, they have just become the face of the companies that get away with tthis sort of thing. This really isn't an axe to be grinded with blizzard rather than all the companies that decide it is alright to invade your privacy and that your information is theirs to be sold.
Only reason I am here on these forums talking about it, is because most other companies do not have a platform for me to work off of. This board gives me a platform to stir up my privacy matters agenda.
Really, blizzard is just the new face of all the companies that think it is alright to sell your private information to the world, and then you have people calling you or spamming your email with their crappy ads you don't want. Or when you go to apply for a job or an apt, you have to pay 10-20 dollars for some company that has no business having all your personal information to begin with, to mail your potential employer a background check..
However I have had my identity stolen, and this sort of business practices are the cause of my identity being stolen. Maybe it had nothing to do with blizzard, but it was a company that was doing the same kind of thing. I still am being affected by it to this day. I have lousy credit. All because some company thought it was ok to sell my private information.
to clear it up the iphone authenticator is actually free
Unfortunately I don't have an iphone, fortunately I do not have a blizzard account any longer.
So it really doesn't matter to me, but if the rest of the people want companies like Blizzard and facebook, sharing your information and credit card numbers to the world or whoever is willing to pay for them. Then that is your business.
I think a company should not work like that, and it is a shame that is where some of these companies are heading. Exploiting their customers. That isn't capitalism, that is exploitation, and it should not be tolerated. You can be a capitalist company and do things the responsible way that feels good to your customers.
Okay this is utter BS. Blizzard did not share your username, password or credit card information with ANY other company. Stop spreading unfounded lies please...
YOU shared that information with hackers. It is your own fault... pure and simple. I know the truth hurts.
He has no proof, he is only shouting angry accusations and throwing tomatoes at everyone who do not agrees with him.
People must agree with him, or be enemies.
If he cannot find evidence, someone he hates must be at fault, unless he can find evidence to the contrary, and he is expecting us to give the evidence to him as an obligation.
to clear it up the iphone authenticator is actually free
Unfortunately I don't have an iphone, fortunately I do not have a blizzard account any longer.
So it really doesn't matter to me, but if the rest of the people want companies like Blizzard and facebook, sharing your information and credit card numbers to the world or whoever is willing to pay for them. Then that is your business.
I think a company should not work like that, and it is a shame that is where some of these companies are heading. Exploiting their customers. That isn't capitalism, that is exploitation, and it should not be tolerated. You can be a capitalist company and do things the responsible way that feels good to your customers.
Okay this is utter BS. Blizzard did not share your username, password or credit card information with ANY other company. Stop spreading unfounded lies please...
YOU shared that information with hackers. It is your own fault... pure and simple. I know the truth hurts.
I never had my blizzard account hacked. I neve had any account hacked. I have a personal grudge against blizzard and their regime. Trying to impliment the systems like that of china. Trying to sell your private information to the highest bidder. It's not just blizzard that I have a problem with, they have just become the face of the companies that get away with tthis sort of thing. This really isn't an axe to be grinded with blizzard rather than all the companies that decide it is alright to invade your privacy and that your information is theirs to be sold.
Only reason I am here on these forums talking about it, is because most other companies do not have a platform for me to work off of. This board gives me a platform to stir up my privacy matters agenda.
Really, blizzard is just the new face of all the companies that think it is alright to sell your private information to the world, and then you have people calling you or spamming your email with their crappy ads you don't want. Or when you go to apply for a job or an apt, you have to pay 10-20 dollars for some company that has no business having all your personal information to begin with, to mail your potential employer a background check.;
Ok case confirmed, you have a personal agenda against blizz, none of my business. I hardly know who you are.
You line of logic is flawed.
You knowledge is total nonsense, you know nothng about china, just a personal agenda I guess. Show us a link of blizz to china. If it is your personal agenda again, ok understood.
Show us evidence that Blizz is auctioning our private information to the highest bidder, and well what valuable information have you given to blizzard anyway? If I want information, I would not bother come to a game forum or a game provider for them, client list of banks, or private cell phones, are way more valuable,.
Well, until you have better logic and more accurate information to base your arguements, feel free to rant your personal agendas. It is something very important to you.
Normally I'd chalk getting hacked up to user error, but this is absolutely ridiculous. Take a look at the support forum some time and see for yourself. Something foul is afoot.
edit: And FFS, learn to stop pyramid quoting, people. Page 3 is a mess.
Comments
The problem is you are sticking up for this company that wants to sell your information to the highest bidder. What adult would want that? Yea , this happens all too frequently and somebody needs to be made an example out of it. Why not start with blizzard? They were even trying to take it a step further and implement things that are being implemented in china.
Of course it is highly plausible that the OP put themselves at risk, but how can we be so sure when blizzard has proven themselves to be such a security liability themselves?
Don't understand why anyone would want to stand up for a company like this. They should value our personal information and they don't. It's not about capitalism, you can own a business and do very well without selling your customers personal information.
Oh , I am older, maybe not as old as somebody about to go into retirement but i would say 29 is pretty old for these forums and games like wow.
They are communist, but they use the real id system in china.
Did you miss the part where RealID is optional?
Who is sticking up for whom? You care to read?
REPEAT FOR YOU IN CASE YOU CANNOT READ. I AM SAYING WE DO NOT KNOW HOW THE HACKING OCCUR. WE HAVE NO EVIDENCE TO LAY THE BLAME ON ANY PARTY.
Is this clear enough for you?
If you have issues with blizz fine. I don't care about your personal qualms, but STOP making me a straw man for your rants.
Everyone has a price.
Other than that, if you don't like the way Blizzard is going, feel free to part.
And since we started talking about politics and nations, get used to having your real information known to everyone. That is the way to the future. Even if you miss it, your grandchildren wont.
Edit: Typo. Fucking dyslexia.
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We don't need a king of MMOs, we need a group of Titans so that everyone can play what suits them best.
-Ascension08
to clear it up the iphone authenticator is actually free
It only became optional when the people took a stand and showed blizzard that what they were doing would not be tolerated. Had you let them get away with it, it would have went on. Also, the selling of the personal information is not optional unless you take the option to stop playing blizzard games. Yet, still, you signed the agreement that was written in small print, so even if you do stop paying them money they still now own the right to your personal information.
If somebody should be making money off of it, I expect to see a check in the mail. It is my information after all.
yes and I pay only the equivalence of US$12 to have a physical authenticator mailed to me via express and hand delivered to my office half way round the world. Blizz is losing big money selling it to me.
The solution to not being the victim of a crime, is to not be a victim of a crime.
What fantastic logic you have there.
The whole Internet tough guy routine concerning compromised accounts is really getting tiring. The truth of it is that the people compromising accounts are getting more and more clever, and finding more security holes and methods of tricking, stealing, or cracking their ways into people's accounts. Sure there are things you can do to mitigate the chance of being hacked, but there is always still a chance, no matter how careful you are.
But at least I can QFT the first half of your post with regards to the second half of it.
It is optional in that you do not need to post on a forum. You choose to post, they have to right to show your ID on their own forum. It is their forum.
If you ever work for major companies, many companies demand full ID disclosure when posting on their company intra boards. That helps accountabiiity.
You will not reveal your identity when playing the game. But to make noise on the web site, they once consider showing your ID. Which, is debatable, and they eventually changed their mind, for now. Do you sub a game to play or to troll the forums?
Market research companies sell information about interviewees, everyday. It is not your money, it is theirs. If you hate it, try sue them.
Ok. So somebody answer me this one. I don't doubt my account being 'stolen' or hacked was something to do with me. Let's get that one straight. Nor am I going to run around wearing a tin foil hat shouting "They did it!"
I don't believe I'm an idiot. At some point, whether it was recently or way back when, I downloaded something that had some kind of WoW email/pass stealer or keylogger or something to that effect. Just because I haven't used a WoW add on or any such thing doesn't mean it wasn't anything I did.
So next question. Why only WoW? I did at one point play a lot of MMORPG's. I visit various forums, and so on. The ONLY thing affected by this keylogger or whatever the heck it was was WoW. Now I want for somebody to come up with a feasible explanation as to why it was that one game, without calling me or anybody else an idiot.
I could go on to the subject of the glaring holes in Blizzard's security, made worse by RealID but I shall behave myself and just ask for that question to be answered. I want to know why the only thing affected by anything was WoW.
Unfortunately I don't have an iphone, fortunately I do not have a blizzard account any longer.
So it really doesn't matter to me, but if the rest of the people want companies like Blizzard and facebook, sharing your information and credit card numbers to the world or whoever is willing to pay for them. Then that is your business.
I think a company should not work like that, and it is a shame that is where some of these companies are heading. Exploiting their customers. That isn't capitalism, that is exploitation, and it should not be tolerated. You can be a capitalist company and do things the responsible way that feels good to your customers.
Well you are obviously saying that it is not your fault. So who's fault is it then?
Yea, you do wear a tin foil hat and it fits you quite well.
Because WOW is the most popular MMORPG by far. As a result, there are far more gold farmers for it than any other game. As a result of that, there are far more people attempting to hack accounts for WoW than any other game. It is simple business...
You are right. A "Capitalistic" company sells your personal information illegally and without you knowing it.
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We don't need a king of MMOs, we need a group of Titans so that everyone can play what suits them best.
-Ascension08
While I have no love for the RealID crap, I have no doubt that Blizzard is responsible for 0.0000000001% of all "hacks" against WoW accounts
There may be a case of a disgruntled Blizzard employee with access to the character database doing something nefarious. I don't doubt it could happen. HOWEVER, 99.99999999999% of all hacks are the user's fault.
Nothing Blizzard does is "hacked", the stupid user downloaded some mods or gave out their account info to a "friend"....
THAT is how accounts are "hacked". There's no hacking involved. Just easily duped idiots who like Facebook and give crap out or install anything that comes along.
Accounts I have/had:
EQ1: 4, for 5 years. Never had one hacked.
WoW: 1 for 5 years. Never had it hacked.
Eve: 2 for 6 years. Never had one hacked.
LOTRO: 1 for 2 years. Never had it hacked.
WW2 Online: 1 for 9 years. Never had it hacked.
AoC: 1 for 2 years. Never had it hacked.
Aion: 1 for 1 year. Never had it hacked.
Other accounts of various lengths: Global Agenda, APB, L2 (2 accounts), AO, DAOC, Shadowbane, COH, Champions....
Never had them hacked.
Frickin' amazing isn't it?
Then again, I also don't bother with firewalls beyond my router/windows firewall, no AV.... and I never get adware/spyware/virus/trojans either (20th year on the internet).
How is this possible?
Because I'm not a frickin' idiot.
Okay this is utter BS. Blizzard did not share your username, password or credit card information with ANY other company. Stop spreading unfounded lies please...
YOU shared that information with hackers. It is your own fault... pure and simple. I know the truth hurts.
You really have reading or comprehension issues.
WE ARE NOT TRYING TO FIND A SCAPEGOAT, NOT DO WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO FAULT ANY PERSON.
we are just discussing how hacking occur and so far, no evidence, no solid evidence.
You really wear a thick tainted eyeglass that blocks all reading. If you do not care to read. why quote and reply? Ah maybe that is your habit, or you are trying to pick a fight or gain attention.
That's not good enough for you? They looked at all the feedback and decided against it. Do you want a personal apology or something? I've never heard of Blizzard selling my personal information to anyone. Can you elaborate on that please?
I disagreed with the RealID system, and they changed it. I really have no further reason to think Blizzard are a bunch of "communists from China" as you so eloquently put it.
Seriously I think it falls under the risk verses reward catagory. Its the largest game, so the most potential customers for buying gold. Take into account the amount of people working towards stealing accounts, lets say its all one company, at least 60% are working on wow accounts and the other 40% are working on all other games. (These numbers are pulled out of my ass, but its just a guess.) so for each game you play other than wow, lets say 1% of the total hackers are working on that game. your chances to be hacked in another game are practically zero. BUT it does happen. WoW on the other hand, you have alot higher chance, although, it should also be noted, that there are so many more people playing it does dilute chances some. Just not enough.
That is just a shot in the dark, if I was running the syndicate type of thinking answer, might not be why, but it could be all the same.
My Thoughts on Content Locust
The misinformation in this thread is so great it borders on comic lunacy.
Let's sort some things out real fast.
Blizzard's database being hacked is technically possible, but that falls into such a unlikely case that we can still write it off as impossible. Why? Because were Blizzard's DB actually compromised, the hackers would still run into the problems of being able to determine what field relates to what information, and additionally, account passwords are encrypted IN the database so even if the hacker could find the right field, it's going to be gibberish encrypted by a custom algorithm produced by Blizzard. And all of this is provided that a potential hacker CAN penetrate the security surrounding a server and make it to the DB to begin with.
Alot of people think Blizzard is making money from the authenticators. For US citizens, the keyfob authenticator is $6.00, which seems initially like a influx of money. However in the case of the keyfobs the authenticators have free shipping, and there's a minimum amount that Blizzard is required to pay to just ship that to the customer. Combine that minimum amount with the packaging and employee packing times (wages, etc) and it shouldn't take much brainpower to realize they aren't using it as a cash cow.
More than likely, the execs at Blizzard realized they were spending MORE money on time spent in recovering hacked accounts, so introduced the authenticator as a means of lowering that cost. Or in short, they're still paying for this issue, but due to the authenticator, just not as much.
One other thing. There was a comment about how no other companies are using something like the authenticator to bolster account security. That's more than likely true or close to true at any rate. However show me another MMO with WoW's subscription rates, number of players worldwide, while you're at it. Otherwise your argument collapses under the weight of it's own jurisdiction. Quite simply when you're as large as WoW is, you're going to become a prime target for malicious activity. And when there's between 6-10 million potential options for you to choose from if you're a hacker, obviously it's going to require something above and beyond the vanilla security you see in most MMOs.
If you must, compare it with the analogy of big city crime and the small rural town. Basically, yes WoW is so popular and so large, that they are a far larger target than other MMOs and because the potential is there and because some customers are potentially easy to compromise, there are more reports of hacked accounts and the like.
Someone mentioned about gold sellers getting their account info after they quit the game, and how they think it was unlikely it was their fault since they weren't playing anymore. Let's clear that up. Just because you aren't playing NOW, doesn't mean that when you did, a keylogger was on your machine and piped your information back to the gold seller / hacker to sit on. If you take a keylogger and spread it to a potential 6-10 million people, chances are it will return a large amount of data back.
As in, hundreds, and likely thousands. A gold seller isn't going to know what's on your account from your compromised information. They ARE however, going to see it as a potential resource and make use of it when they get to it on their list. This is quite literally no different in concept from the 80s phenomenon hackers made use of called "carding" where stolen credit card numbers were hoarded for the purpose of making illicit purchases.
Addons. If a addon makes use of a executable file, it can potentially compromise your account if it's infected with a keylogger. But let's think for a moment here. When you start WoW (Or most any MMO) you start at a patch screen, then move to a login screen, then a character select screen then on into the game proper. How is a addon for WoW supposed to compromise your login information when it's not activated until after the character select screen? As the addon is a LUA text file, that's just impossible, plain and simple.
The ONLY way a addon can do so if it's part of a executable that contains a carrier for a keylogger or trojan or other nasty that is activated on installation/use and gains your information as you log into the game after the patch screen.
Account security. Let's touch on that a moment. First, there's tons of utilities out there to find spyware and other nastiness. Guess what? These companies are all in competition with each other for your business, to some degree. Some like AVG and others offer free versions, but there's also the registered version which does more that comes at the price of a monetary fee. Why is this crucial? Because..not all of these utilities share the same capacity to search for the same things. There, the cat is out. If you use AVG, there might be a keylogger or other piece of malware that AVG won't find, but another virus program might. Spybot might not find what's on yoru machine, but Malware Bytes will.
If you're not getting the picture yet, let me put it in simple terms: There's no 100% way to keep something off your machine by employing these sorts of utilities. They help, but they do not make your machine sterile and immune to malware. So what's a person to do? Practice some common sense. If you must visit sites for addons, do so from another PC, and move the addon to your PC with a USB drive or other storage medium. When you surf the web, do not do so indiscriminately. Think about what you're doing and what can potentially infest your machine.
Pracice some common sense with passwords. Gibberish passwords that make sense to you, are superior to flat english (or your native language) words. In other words, "I like cherry pie in the sky" becomes ILCPITS69. Don't use the same passowrd for everything. Separate email accounts and maintain a account for your game that is individual from your regular email accounts for everyday activities. Gmail is free, so is hotmail, and configured properly they are more than suitable for game accounts.
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Ultimately the security of your account within the confines of your PC is your duty, not the game companies out there. They've long since realized the things I've pointed out here, especially with regards to virus scanners, malware checkers, etc. No program is going to find everything that can potentially compromise your account, and they realize that. All they can hope to do is set a policy in place, and urge their customers to be safe and use safe computing habits.
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Finally, a bit about me so the reader can get some potential perspective on this post. I've played approximately 18 MMOs now, starting with day 1 of EQ1 and hitting some of the fond memories out there like Earth and Beyond, Horizons, Neocron as well. To date, with accounts in all 18 MMOs, I have never been hacked in any of them. Ever. Period. Flawless record. And it is because I take my own advice and practice safe computing as a matter of habit.
In regards to the more technical aspects here, I've got a college degree in programming with focus on database engineering, which includes but is not limited to architecture, development, upgrades maintainence, and the transport of data from one database format / OS platform / medium to another. Databases are what I do, quite simply. The point above about passwords being encrypted is covered as a basic premise in class early on. Do not leave sensitive data in any database unencrypted for potential abuse should that database be compromised. I'm sure Blizzard's programmers are far smarter than I am, and ergo, already know this as a basic matter of practice.
Any rate, let's focus less on it being the game companies' fault for accounts being hacked, and more on practicing safe ways to keep our machines as clean as possible with the ultimate intent of making life a miserable hell for the gold sellers / account hackers out there, eh?
I know you think you heard what I said, but I'm not sure what you heard is what I meant.
I never had my blizzard account hacked. I neve had any account hacked. I have a personal grudge against blizzard and their regime. Trying to impliment the systems like that of china. Trying to sell your private information to the highest bidder. It's not just blizzard that I have a problem with, they have just become the face of the companies that get away with tthis sort of thing. This really isn't an axe to be grinded with blizzard rather than all the companies that decide it is alright to invade your privacy and that your information is theirs to be sold.
Only reason I am here on these forums talking about it, is because most other companies do not have a platform for me to work off of. This board gives me a platform to stir up my privacy matters agenda.
Really, blizzard is just the new face of all the companies that think it is alright to sell your private information to the world, and then you have people calling you or spamming your email with their crappy ads you don't want. Or when you go to apply for a job or an apt, you have to pay 10-20 dollars for some company that has no business having all your personal information to begin with, to mail your potential employer a background check..
However I have had my identity stolen, and this sort of business practices are the cause of my identity being stolen. Maybe it had nothing to do with blizzard, but it was a company that was doing the same kind of thing. I still am being affected by it to this day. I have lousy credit. All because some company thought it was ok to sell my private information.
He has no proof, he is only shouting angry accusations and throwing tomatoes at everyone who do not agrees with him.
People must agree with him, or be enemies.
If he cannot find evidence, someone he hates must be at fault, unless he can find evidence to the contrary, and he is expecting us to give the evidence to him as an obligation.
Ok case confirmed, you have a personal agenda against blizz, none of my business. I hardly know who you are.
You line of logic is flawed.
You knowledge is total nonsense, you know nothng about china, just a personal agenda I guess. Show us a link of blizz to china. If it is your personal agenda again, ok understood.
Show us evidence that Blizz is auctioning our private information to the highest bidder, and well what valuable information have you given to blizzard anyway? If I want information, I would not bother come to a game forum or a game provider for them, client list of banks, or private cell phones, are way more valuable,.
Well, until you have better logic and more accurate information to base your arguements, feel free to rant your personal agendas. It is something very important to you.
Normally I'd chalk getting hacked up to user error, but this is absolutely ridiculous. Take a look at the support forum some time and see for yourself. Something foul is afoot.
edit: And FFS, learn to stop pyramid quoting, people. Page 3 is a mess.