A public service reminder...

[Beltar]

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/threa ... 4143&sid=1

...scan your systems, change your password if you even think you've found something malwareish, and get an Authenticator. Poor Bhe/Grushvak got his shit wrecked by hackers last night. And they don't always strike right away.

[Lansiron]

Go here. Read here. All of it. Bookmark it. Because given how utterly insidious the gold-selling rings are, you need it.

[Miahala]

Authenticator = Good... except when it locks you out and you can't reach Blizzard Support to unlock it.

[Lansiron]

To be completely honest, the Authenticator is like 99.99% good to the 0.01% bad--and the bad is yes, if you lose it, you're locked out, and you need to reach customer service to get it fixed. This is no reason, there is no reason not to get one, seriously. It's the single most effective means of protecting your account that exists--it's not totally foolproof, but it's damn near enough.

[Aelflaed]

How I keep from having to look for my Authenticator: http://twitpic.com/17re8r (Thanks to Rashona for the idea >.>)

[Gryphonheart]

If you don't have an authenticator, the first thing a hacker will usually do is add an authenticator to your account to pretty much lock you out of everything (except Armory and the forums, which don't require authenticator codes). This means that you won't even be able to log into account management to try to change your password out from under them.

The second thing the hacker will usually do? Head over to Stormwind, buy a White Kitten from Lil Timmy, and delete it. They will then proceed to kick an actual kitten IRL. True story. So think of the kittens—get an authenticator today.

[Chrystenise]

To be completely honest, the Authenticator is like 99.99% good to the 0.01% bad--and the bad is yes, if you lose it, you're locked out, and you need to reach customer service to get it fixed. This is no reason, there is no reason not to get one, seriously. It's the single most effective means of protecting your account that exists--it's not totally foolproof, but it's damn near enough.

Is being completely too poor to fit a measly six bucks into your budget a good enough reason? XD

[Denne]

Is being completely too poor to fit a measly six bucks into your budget a good enough reason? XD

We could probably buy you one if that's honestly the only thing holding you back. We've already done so for some of our RL friends who simply didn't seem like they were ever going to do it for themselves. For a while, I think we even had an extra sitting around.

[Delion]

Its completely free for the iPhone and iTouch too. You do need to think of things like having your device charged to be able to log in, and not putting it through the wash. I was one of the most worried people about these issues, but its honestly a very nice thing to have. And means I don't have to worry about getting hacked.

The most annoying customers by far I had when I was still working at a videogame store were the ones complaining about lack of security provided by Blizzard. There is no lack of security whatsoever, and all of it is easily available - this coming from someone who lives on the other side of the world, in a continent with no Blizzard support and high postage costs.

[Lansiron]

Gabby, so help me, we will totally throw one at you if you don't buy it yourself. >_>

And yeah. Sad to say, the vast majority of hacks happen due to something client-side, though it's totally disingenuous to really say "it's your fault" considering how disgustingly insidious the gold-sellers are.

I know there are far worse people in the world out there, in the bigger picture, but something about someone who makes a living out of ruining peoples' fun just makes me a special kind of angry. Playtime is sacred, says I. >:C