RealID and Hacked Accounts

Okay, so this is not meant to be fear mongering, but rather to present a problem I just thought of with the new RealID system (as if there weren't enough problems already).

Here is the fictional scenario. I have a couple people I know really well and decide to trust them with my RealID info. Unfortunately I can't make them get an authenticator and they end up hacked. Two things can now happen that didn't happen before the RealID scenario. The hackers look through the RealID list on the hacked account to scout for accounts that are a better payoff (large number of geared 80s) and they can tell when people play so as to have a better chance of looting those accounts before someone notices. They also have the battle.net account name of such accounts which is one less bit of information to look for and allows them to scan databases of phishing sites for that email to see if any of those passwords match up.

Since RealID friends of friends can also see all this information, they could add friends to the hacked account so that those accounts have this information as well.

Thoughts?

- Souca -

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...eNo=2&sid=1#38

http://us.battle.net/realid/index.html

http://us.battle.net/realid/faq.html

Those links should answer just about anything you need to know about Real ID. Using Real ID is optional.

Q u o t e:
If someone gets hacked, the hacker gets their info and now the account login for all their friends too?

No they won't. Real ID friend emails are not something that can be gotten through the compromise of your account.

Cool, at least they didn't miss this one. Still have no intention of using it. Wow is not a social networking site and I don't want it to be. This part alone is the main reason I'll never do it:

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Real ID friends will be able to see all of each other’s characters across games; there will not be an option to hide specific characters from Real ID friends or to appear offline to them when you’re logged in.

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I just don't like the all or nothing approach they have taken with this feature. The cross realm and cross game chatting is definitely a great plus (though I do wonder about how it works with cross faction chatting for Horde Spies!), but the combination of a real name and not being able to play without being visible just make it more invasive than the real world in some ways. While I try to avoid conspiracy theories, this does seem like something that was mandated by the Facebook deals than anything Blizzard thought their gamers would directly want. I don't think people would complain about a tier in the middle where you didn't have to show all your chars or give your real name to people, but I'm not in marketing or corporate strategy, so what would I know?

Oh, and on a side note, I can't post on the official forums about battle.net accepting my login and then not logging me in because I need to log in to battle.net to post on the forums... ;)

- Souca -

I understand and share some of your concerns. We may have to get in there and see how it's going to work. I plan on using it for certain people that still talk to on my old server,

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Originally Posted by Svpernova09

I understand and share some of your concerns. We may have to get in there and see how it's going to work. I plan on using it for certain people that still talk to on my old server,

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Yea. That's the harsh thing to me. I have friends on other servers I never see because I never know when they log on. Being able to chat with them would be a huge boon, but I'm not sure I fully understand the risks beyond the ones I've found on my own. It just seems like a Pandorica, that once opened can never be closed.

- Souca -

You can always un-friend them.

I really don't see any 'risks' other than 'omg stop talking to me already' or 'man, I don't want my boss/wife/raid leader to log on and see me hiding on an alt!'

Yes, you can unfriend them, but you can't get your real name back from their memory, them having a list of all your characters, or the battle.net account name. I'm not sure I want to give out one of those things, let alone all three of them. I don't pretend to have ultimate privacy, but I do try and control what information I give out willingly.

- Souca -

I am not sure I have close enough friends that I want them to know my name whole name. I would like more options. Allow fake name. Allow to put chars or games on DND/Ignore. Maybe I want to play SC2 and not have anyone bother me from WOW. Maybe I would make friends that would be annoying ("Hey, you are playing on your alt that are you having fun with, can you come play on your main that you are bored with and do stuff for me?") ("Hey, I know you are in the middle of a SC2 game that you can't stop, but I want you to sign in your WOW char to do a profession for me") ("Hey my friend that is mean saw your name on my friends list when I let him play as me and put your name on the forums to call you an idiot, is that okay?")

It just seems like it is close to being good, but needs more. It is like LFG chat channel. Sure it can work, but really does it work as good as LFD does now?

If they don't already know my email address and full name, then why would I add them as RealID friends in the first place? It would be nice to be able to chat cross-server/game with casual acquaintances I've met through WoW, but that's not what the system is designed for nor being marketed as.

Sure, I do wish it was more like a steam id that was just as anonymous as a wow character name, and I wish there was an invisible/offline mode. They've obviously made a design decision to make it something IRL friends are using and not game-only friends. Also makes people behave a lot better when they're no longer as anonymous as they once were ;).

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Originally Posted by kadaan

If they don't already know my email address and full name, then why would I add them as RealID friends in the first place? It would be nice to be able to chat cross-server/game with casual acquaintances I've met through WoW, but that's not what the system is designed for nor being marketed as.

Sure, I do wish it was more like a steam id that was just as anonymous as a wow character name, and I wish there was an invisible/offline mode. They've obviously made a design decision to make it something IRL friends are using and not game-only friends. Also makes people behave a lot better when they're no longer as anonymous as they once were ;).

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I agree with not having a problem with people I know already having this information, but it also shares with people they know. Do you know all your friends friends? You may trust me, but do you trust all the same people I trust? From everything they have said, my friends get to see your real name too. And if you trust them to have that info, wouldn't they be on your friends list anyway? Why do we need that second level of separation?

Basically by making someone a RealID friend, you are giving them the right to decide who can see your real name.

- Souca -

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Originally Posted by kadaan

If they don't already know my email address and full name, then why would I add them as RealID friends in the first place? It would be nice to be able to chat cross-server/game with casual acquaintances I've met through WoW, but that's not what the system is designed for nor being marketed as.

Sure, I do wish it was more like a steam id that was just as anonymous as a wow character name, and I wish there was an invisible/offline mode. They've obviously made a design decision to make it something IRL friends are using and not game-only friends. Also makes people behave a lot better when they're no longer as anonymous as they once were ;).

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This.

Their friends only get to see your real name afaik,
and except for the person sending the initial invite needing to know or guess the other person's email, the email of either party is never shown anywhere at any point.
You will only know if the email you tried to invite was someone's real battle.net email if they accept the invite.

These combined make me feel safe enough to be going to use it with real life friends (good ones) and select few really close online ones.

What good does it do me to click on one of my real life friends and see that he's friends with some 'John Smith'. I don't see John's email address, I don't see his online status, I don't see any of his character names. If I don't actually know who this John guy is, it doesn't tell me anything. However, if I see that my friend has Jane Doe on his friends list, and I've been friends with her for years but never knew she played WoW, then I can send her a request and we can chat cross-server from time to time.

RealID may also have the side-effect of increased server transfers as people find friends playing on other servers they didn't know about, and want to join them ;).

I really can't see why this feature was added. why would knowing someone on another server and maybe another battle group be a good thing or useful to anyone? they only way is if I had toons on both servers and wanted to switch when so&so logged on.... I don't have friends on any server but the one I'm on.

PvP in cata will be cross-battlegroup, dunno if the dungeon finder will too, but it is likely.
Either way, this lets you chat with friends that play on other servers without making alts there, letting you still play your own chars doing something you find useful.

Hmm, I keep rereading the FAQ and I will admit I might have overreacted as it now seems like your Friends' Friends only get to see your real name and not any other info. Until it's live, we can't be sure what it will and won't do, though.

I still wish they didn't bundle it all together.

- Souca -

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Originally Posted by Maxion

PvP in cata will be cross-battlegroup, dunno if the dungeon finder will too, but it is likely.
Either way, this lets you chat with friends that play on other servers without making alts there, letting you still play your own chars doing something you find useful.

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Or only hop on to your alts when your friends are actually on line. I have friends on other servers that have erratic play schedules. It would be nice to know when they log on so I could hop on a char and get a chance to play with them without having stop playing on my main server when they aren't online.

I do wonder what impact it will have on multiboxers. I mean, when you log on, will your name show up 5 times on their lists, or just once? And when they send you a whisper, does it go to all of your chars, or just one? What about group invites and other things?

- Souca -

All my friends are already on Y!/MSN or facebook. I don't think i'll ever use this Real ID thing.
Seems to me like it's going to be another WoW Voice Chat type feature.

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Originally Posted by Souca

I do wonder what impact it will have on multiboxers. I mean, when you log on, will your name show up 5 times on their lists, or just once? And when they send you a whisper, does it go to all of your chars, or just one? What about group invites and other things?

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It shows all your characters in the tooltip. "So and so, realm X. Also playing: so and so 2"

Not sure about whispering, but I assume it would go to them all.

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Originally Posted by Zub

All my friends are already on Y!/MSN or facebook. I don't think i'll ever use this Real ID thing.
Seems to me like it's going to be another WoW Voice Chat type feature.

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You may not use it. But the option is there for those who wish to use it. Just like the voice chat system, most don't use it.. but I know several people who do. Was it worth breaking the servers for? No, absolutely not. But hindsight is 20/20

I don't know enough people that I'd trust with that information to even bother using, as the people I DO trust already know all my character names.

The reason I think I won't consider using this new feature :

From http://us.battle.net/realid/faq.html

How will I become Real ID friends with another player?
Both players must first mutually agree to become Real ID friends. To send a Real ID friend request to another player, simply enter his or her Battle.net account name (an email address) using the Add Friend function in-game. The other player will see the pending request in their friends list, and if they accept, you will become Real ID friends with each other.

My battle.net account name is an email adress I created for this solely purpose and I don't want to run the risk of it being added into friends' address books or being used by friends to contact me (yeah you always can explain the situation to them but once something starts being spread you have no more control over it..)

They only see your email address when you give it to them to add you. Unless they write it down, then there is no record of it, they cannot "look it up" or access it again.

If you're that paranoid, you can take off the tinfoil hat and just have them give you theirs.. then they never see your email, at all.

Sorry for the snide remark, but all the issues so far have just been fearmongering, and slightly neurotic. This isn't marketed to give to just anyone. This is for those people who you trust, and want to stay in contact with no matter what server you are on. So far, I've reconnected with two players from my pre-wotlk horde server, that in all honesty, I've missed the hell out of.. and could never catch them online. Fact of the matter is, if you don't trust the people enough to keep your account private, and you don't trust them with your email account name.. don't use the feature.

I think it's a brilliant idea for Blizz to implement something like this. It caters to those who may not have all their friends on the same server. Or people who may have moved servers a lot and miss some of their old friends. Sure, it doesn't cater to everyone.. but there is enough people who will use it that it is a welcome feature.

I can see the benefits of making this available. But since it's designed to be used for keeping contact with RL friends, it's not something I will use, as I already have more ways to contact them than I know what to do with. Lately I'm more concerned with reducing the number of ways people can get in touch with me. :p

Fiddlesticks, you can mock me but I don't want my battlenet account name to be confused with an email address people can toss into their adress book and include when they send funny emails to their hundreds friends :D. There are people I will easily trust but there are others that despite being very good friends are not very aware of such concerns.

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Originally Posted by Daeri

Fiddlesticks, you can mock me but I don't want my battlenet account name to be confused with an email address people can toss into their adress book and include when they send funny emails to their hundreds friends :D. There are people I will easily trust but there are others that despite being very good friends are not very aware of such concerns.

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No mocking intended. it's more a frustration aimed at a lot more than just you. :p

I realize there are concerns about releasing your email address to these people... but like I said, if they want you to be their real id friend, just get their email.. then they never come in contact with yours, at all. They don't see it.. or touch it.. or feel it.. so they can't add it to their address book.

I have roughly 7 RID friends now, and not once has anyone gotten ahold of my email address. Not because I am protective of it, but because they offered their emails to me. The system isn't designed to compromise your security, or secret email names you don't want made public... its merely designed to integrate more social aspects to the game without being restrictive on faction/server. Like I said, just trick them into giving you their email.. and you'll never have to worry about your secret one being out there.

So if one of the people you are friends with has a beef with you, you won't mind at all if they put your real name out on the forums and all your char names with it? Not just 1 char they are pissed at, but every single one you play on. That won't bother you at all? I am not talking about family members. I am talking about a friend, that lets his GF use his computer while he goes and eats and she gets pissed that you supposedly ninja'd and item that she wanted (even if you didn't)? You trust her? You trust a brother-in-law that lets his 10 year old get on the computer and then speak out over Vent, "Whose is thiss Real Name persone thatt keps messaging mee?" You won't mind your full name given out? I think 99.9999% of the problems people have is there isn't an option to be anonymous. Give friends real names, fine, but let us give out a screen name to people if we want.

Nope, not worried about it. These are friends... not acquaintances

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Originally Posted by Owltoid

Nope, not worried about it. These are friends... not acquaintances

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this. I don't know what kind of friends some people have out there.. but I don't just befriend people who are childish and hold grudges.

Yeah the real friends I play wow with already know my real name, the names of many of my toons if not all and much more, so that's not much of a concern for me.

And about my email address concern, I guess Fiddlesticks is right : I can let my friends who don't mind giving out their emails and sending stuff to many people give me their battle.net ID so I can add them to my friend list :P

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Originally Posted by Catamer

I really can't see why this feature was added. why would knowing someone on another server and maybe another battle group be a good thing or useful to anyone? they only way is if I had toons on both servers and wanted to switch when so&so logged on.... I don't have friends on any server but the one I'm on.

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I would like to group/raid with people on other servers, i see the bnet3 feature as awesome.