Mandatory Authenticators?
Source: http://www.wow.com/2010/01/08/blizza...authenticator/
Cross Posting from the other boxing site.
Original post by Polyzon.
Blizzard giving serious consideration to mandatory authenticators
WoW.com has learned through trusted sources close to the situation that Blizzard is giving serious consideration to making authenticators mandatory on all accounts. According to our sources, while this policy has not been implemented yet and the details are not finalized, it is a virtually forgone conclusion that it will happen.
This response is a direct effort to stop the massive number of compromised accounts by gold sellers and keyloggers. The seriousness of the situation with compromised accounts has reached such a level that wait times for item and character restoration are entirely unacceptable, even to Blizzard executives. Blizzard has taken other internal measures to deal with long wait times of people in account restoration queues, and we'll be covering those measures tomorrow.
However, with the inclusion of mandatory authenticators, this should solve a major problem for Blizzard's support and account administration teams.
The number of compromised accounts under the mandatory authenticator plan should plummet, if not be virtually eliminated, and players should be able to enjoy a much more secure gaming experience. While some might have a hard time with the transition, Blizzard can provide excellent support in getting all of their 11.5 million players up to speed. Indeed, we have already seen some incentive programs appear; the price of authenticators has dropped recently thanks to free shipping, and we are now rewarded with an in-game pet for having an authenticator attached to our accounts.
A few months ago we postulated such an idea as one of our Breakfast Topics. In Why Blizzard should make authenticators mandatory, player reaction was mixed. Some saw it as a great opportunity to eliminate compromised accounts, others thought it would be an unnecessary money grabbing scheme by Blizzard.
Perhaps the best option put forth by commenters on WoW.com was to make the authenticators mandatory with Cataclysm. Many people agreed with this, and it will be interesting to see how Blizzard rolls out their mandatory authenticator system.
On the down side to this plan is a serious logistics problem, in that Blizzard can barely keep authenticators in stock now. They have yet to prove that they have the capacity to distribute them to millions of additional players. We are currently investigating this issue and will report back once we have more information to share.
We do not know if authenticators will be mandatory on just WoW accounts or on any Battle.net account.
And a Follow Up Post:
Account Administration told not to restore hacked characters
In a stunning revelation from a veteran account administrator at Blizzard, WoW.com has learned that account administrators are being told by Blizzard managers not to restore people's characters and items after their account has been ransacked by gold sellers and keyloggers. Instead, account administrators are being told to give people a "care package" and get them to accept the package in lieu of total account restoration.
If the player does not accept this care package, they are then forced to go into a character restoration queue that is consistently several days to weeks long. According to sources familiar with the situation, this "care package policy" has been implemented in order to lighten the work load of those Blizzard employees who perform account restorations. Similar policies have existed at other times account compromises have been high, such as during the transition from Vanilla WoW to The Burning Crusade.
This care package being offered consists of the following:
- 2,500 gold
- 2 [item=49426]Emblem of Frost[/item]
- 10 [item=47241]Emblem of Triumph[/item] for every day the players has had to wait to receive the care package
If the player accepts the care package, their restoration case is considered closed and no additional items or gold will be restored on the account that were lost because of the security compromise.
WoW.com believes that this practice, while potentially making some sense logistically, stands firmly against the best interest of the players. Sources that we have spoken with tell us most account administrators do not agree with this policy, however their hands are tied due to Blizzard management (it is their job, after all, and they have to do as they're told).
WoW.com believes Blizzard can do a better job at solving long restoration queue times without placing player's hard work as a secondary concern. Instead of offering players a care package, Blizzard can employ more staff, and as we will discuss in a later post, train those staff in better ways to prevent account compromises and exploitation. The serious consideration given to mandatory authenticators is also part of this solution.
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Originally Posted by Akoko
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