Hacked then Banned

[Manben]

They're only 6-7 bucks with free shipping&handling and if you got all your WOW's on one account covers them all

This is inherently part of the reason why I dont get an authenticator, not that I cant afford it, but why am I paying extra money on something I feel they should give to every single paying battlenet account.

You also said you run a virus scan every other day. Are you also running an anti malware program such as Ad-aware or Spybot? Gotta have both really.

I use Webroot which is an AV and Spyweeper.

[OzPhoenix]

Isn't the iPhone app free?

I respect your right to not have one, but I think it's a decision you may end up regretting.

It's not Blizzards fault per se, they are as much as anything else victims of their own success, with people paying real money for ingame items, gold and even whole accounts.

I use an authenticator and I had to pay $30 for mine (shipping costs to Australia), and while I was annoyed in a moral sense at having to spend money to protect myself from scumbags, it's still a small price to pay to ensure that when I do have time to play the game, I actually can.

Still, sorry to see you hacked, hope it doesn't happen again.

[zenga]

I'm truly with manben on this. You gotta think about it: a good part of the people who _need_ an authenticator need one because they are using at _no so_ secure system. Good chance their system is already compromised. Asking them to use their creditcard to obtain an authenticator can have other funny consequences. Quite a double standard here.

Myself I don't use an authenticator. For several reasons:
- I refuse to use my credit card online. I have a secure paypal account and during the 17 years i'm online, i've never used plastic. A pre paid credit card could be an option, but they are utterly expensive for the single time i'd use it (150 euro+).
- While some would call me a geek, i'm not into gadgets. My phone is 5y old and does his job: calling and receiving calls. I see no need to replace it to be able to load 3rd party software. Not to mention that most smartphones are insecure as hell.
- I run on linux. Which is by far a more superior system than windows (in terms of security, not willing to go into other aspects). I don't need to run a dozen malicious software fighter aps to be secure.
- I have common sense: my password is not in a dictionary and can't be brute forced.
- There are no authenticators available in the store where I buy my games. I live in a rather civilized country in the center of western europe. I haven't seen any authenticator either in france, germany or holland when i happen to be in a game store overthere.
- When shit happens it seems like blizzard restores your account, even if it takes a week. I haven't heard of a single case where the 'hacked' person gets punished for his actions (except this topic & the ban of course, which will most likely get sorted as well). If i can't play wow for a week due to that, i'll probably have more time to get stoned and will consume more beer.

I would consider an authenticator if:
- they are 100% fool proof
- blizzard would accept a secure paypal payment
- i could just go to a game shop and buy one

For now? No ty.

[Svpernova09]

Every time this comes up, the authenticator issues comes up as well.

It's really this simple:

If you are willing to lose EVERYTHING on ALL of your accounts and have to jump through hoops calling blizzard / possibly proving your identity to them (faxing them your driver's license or state / gov't ID) and waiting for GMs to restore all your stuff and HOPE to whatever sky fairy you pray to that they get it right the first time and you don't have to repeat the process because they forgot to give you something back that was rather crucial...

Have fun saving your $1 (mobile phone authenticator cost) or $6 (Keyfob cost). I hope your time you spend (should you ever have to) calling blizzard and getting all this sorted isn't worth more than $1 or $6. Personally, my time is MUCH more valuable.

Go cancel your homeowner's or renter's insurance as well. Why bother, right?

An extreme example, but it's the same point.

[KAC]

I have been playing wow since release and never have had my account hacked. How the hell do you get keyloggers on your system? I'm at a loss becuase if you can get a keylogger on your system the last thing I would be doing if I put the keylogger there would be to steal your wow account I'd be stealing your bank info and robbing you blind. Cleaning out a wow account and selling the gold for $25 is not my idea of making money. I don;t even go for the bullcrap line of they are not going after people who steal wow accounts either. Good luck catching me ripping off your bank account if I'm in russia, seriously. The reason you get hacked is because you go to dumbass websites or you are foolish enough to get duped into entering your account info on a fake website or using a computer that doesnt belong to you. The day a hacker puts a keylogger on my computer is the day they break into my house and load it on my machine while I'm gone.

[Tamu]

I recommend you get an authenticator. They already know your battlenet account (email address). It will most likely happen again if you do not take measures to prevent it.

[Daeri]

I have been playing wow since release and never have had my account hacked. How the hell do you get keyloggers on your system? I'm at a loss becuase if you can get a keylogger on your system the last thing I would be doing if I put the keylogger there would be to steal your wow account I'd be stealing your bank info and robbing you blind. Cleaning out a wow account and selling the gold for $25 is not my idea of making money. I don;t even go for the bullcrap line of they are not going after people who steal wow accounts either. Good luck catching me ripping off your bank account if I'm in russia, seriously. The reason you get hacked is because you go to dumbass websites or you are foolish enough to get duped into entering your account info on a fake website or using a computer that doesnt belong to you. The day a hacker puts a keylogger on my computer is the day they break into my house and load it on my machine while I'm gone.

Manben already explained how he got hacked. I'm indeed sure you never made a typo when typing an url in your browser's address bar. Well, one thing I've learnt is that the fact you've never got into any trouble doesn't mean you're doing it perfectly.

A few weeks ago I did the same mistake than Manben and instead of wow-heroes I landed on a very strange website (I closed the tab very quickly so I only had the time to see some gold banners and a plugin related question). Hopefully I was on my linux computer so no harm came from my mistake. Phew.

[thefunk]

it's free from itunes. Bosch I've just got it.

[genocyde]

The authenticator issue is simple for me. I've been gaming and participating in internet fun for well over a decade.

I have NEVER run an antivirus or spyware or etc. I am 100% against them. I have rarely ever had a problem. It's not that I don't do things that get viruses (I used limewire for years, I download the occasional thing commonly associated with viruses etc)

I have never been hacked although I am a guild leader and two of my guild members have been hacked and had our bank cleared out. Both times I got excellent service from blizzard and came out ahead in the long run having some items get replaced that were never lost etc.

I will never get an authenticator. What a waste of my time. It's a game, if I get hacked I'll put in a 30 second ticket requesting a restore. If I don't get it, I'll eventually cancel my subs and move on or just regear cause thats not that big a deal, It's kind of the point of the game... to play it. I've never considered being told I couldn't play wow for a week an inconvenience. That to me sounds like you are to involved.

[Svpernova09]

... I've never considered being told I couldn't play wow for a week an inconvenience. That to me sounds like you are to involved.

If by "too involved"you mean that I have 9+ other people that would miss me if I didn't log in for a few days, then yes. I am too involved.