Blizzard Authenticator

pacbowl

Has anyone used one of these? The FAQ seems pretty straightforward but I'm looking for advice from real world experiences. I've been thinking about getting one as just an added layer of security, but if you lose it, do they ask you for things like your OG CD key? It's been several moves and I have since lost the original CDs. I don't want to activate it then have it break and I can't get the account back.

nakirush

I had one for quite awhile, but it got lost when I moved. They do ask for the original CD key, but if you don't have it you'll need to prove that you're the account owner. There were a couple options to do so, but I only remember the one where you had to fax in a copy of your drivers license.

I managed to avoid losing mine by leaving it on my key ring, but left my keys with my old house and thus my authenticator.

ApexMirage

I've honestly never had any kind of an issue with password protection back when I played - the only protection you need is your common sense and vigilance. I can't speak of the authenticator, but undoubtedly it's engineered in your best interest as it saves blizzard from having to recover countless accounts.

pacbowl

ApexMirage wrote: »

I've honestly never had any kind of an issue with password protection back when I played - the only protection you need is your common sense and vigilance. I can't speak of the authenticator, but undoubtedly it's engineered in your best interest as it saves blizzard from having to recover countless accounts.

I've never had an issue with any accounts before either, but for $7 you can't go wrong (or so I'm hoping). I've had this account since release and don't want anything happening to it, so it seems like a decent investment. I'm just looking for advice from people who have used one of these. Thanks nakirush. If it's just a DL fax, that's ok by me.

necroSYS

Well, I haven't used a Blizzard authenticator, but it's basically just an RSA hard-token, which I've used extensively before.

Yeah, as long as you don't have issues with losing things like your keys, it's a good added layer of security for your WoW account.

exis

Have you actually had problems with your account info before? I played WoW for ~three years and neither I nor any of the non-stupid people I played with had their accounts 'hacked'. Being aware of what you're downloading and where you're browsing seemed pretty much sufficient.

Alien Queen

I have a guildie who got one, but claimed it broke about a week after he purchased it, (would not display any numbers.) Of course Blizzard replaced it for free, but he was essentially locked out of his account for about two weeks. I don't know anyone else who has one to be honest, but if there were more faulty models out there we'd hear about it. I guess my guildie was just unlucky....

If you choose not to get one, here are a few tips to help keep you safe.
1: Firefox
2: Firefox
3: Did I mention Firefox?
4: Get the script-blocker addon for firefox, the ad-blocker is good too
5: Don't download any mods or addons for WoW from shady sites, and avoid any with exe's in them.
6: Don't share your password with ANYONE, not even your bestest best friend.

exis

Alien Queen wrote: »

If you choose not to get one, here are a few tips to help keep you safe.
1: Firefox
2: Firefox
3: Did I mention Firefox?
4: Get the script-blocker addon for firefox, the ad-blocker is good too
5: Don't download any mods or addons for WoW from shady sites, and avoid any with exe's in them.
6: Don't share your password with ANYONE, not even your bestest best friend.

Yeah, this. Run NoScript. Only download your addons using the Curse updater (I know they had an incident, but that was quite awhile ago, and afaik they're your best bet now). And don't follow any links from the official forums. That's pretty common sense advice and really is all you need to protect yourself.

MisterGrok

I had one. After the first couple days, I had to call in to Blizzard to get it to re-sync and then after a week it just stopped working. They took the authenticator off my account for me on the same call. Blizzard was going to replace it for me, but wanted me to pay to ship the non-functioning one back. My brain shuts off when it comes to shipping stuff, so I never bothered.

It was a pain in the ass to enter the numbers anyway.

Forar

exis wrote: »

Have you actually had problems with your account info before? I played WoW for ~three years and neither I nor any of the non-stupid people I played with had their accounts 'hacked'. Being aware of what you're downloading and where you're browsing seemed pretty much sufficient.

I had the exact opposite experience, in that over 4 years of playing with high end guilds, a number of people (in my guild, in other guilds, or friends who played on other factions/servers) had their accounts hacked and characters moved off server or used for farming after being stripped of non-essential gear and gold.

Yes, idiots who lack basic internet security common sense get hacked, but ocassionally in that big roulette wheel of chance, someone gets lucky and accidentally brute forces an account. Who knows how much of it is "stop looking at _____ porn on IE without an anti-virus, pop up blocker and firewall, you fuckwit!" and how much is bots getting lucky, but for how reasonably priced it is, I really think that the authenticator is a good way to go.

Hell, you can get an app that does it for your iphone even.

I no longer play, but I got an authenticator anyway, and consider my time/account valuable enough that it was a good deal. Doubly so in that the authenticator ties into your B.net account once you set that up for WoW/D2/SC/etc, meaning all your games are protected.

Shadowfire

Forar wrote: »

Hell, you can get an app that does it for your iphone even.

If you do this, be careful. If your iPhone's battery dies, and you need to recharge it, the authenticator will lose sync. That's the main reason my wife and I haven't downloaded it.

She has an authenticator. I bought it for her for Christmas, and she hasn't had an issue with it yet.

Steev

I also have an authenticator and have had it since November. No issues so far.

Tomanta

Forar wrote: »

exis wrote: »

Have you actually had problems with your account info before? I played WoW for ~three years and neither I nor any of the non-stupid people I played with had their accounts 'hacked'. Being aware of what you're downloading and where you're browsing seemed pretty much sufficient.

I had the exact opposite experience, in that over 4 years of playing with high end guilds, a number of people (in my guild, in other guilds, or friends who played on other factions/servers) had their accounts hacked and characters moved off server or used for farming after being stripped of non-essential gear and gold.

Yeah, as careful as I am I still got hacked. Luckily there was only a week of time left and I noticed it not too long after it expired (I think I was checking my armory entry). Picked up an authenticator the next time they were available and haven't had any issues with it.

Note, the authenticator also works with the new battle.net accounts, meaning if you want to play Diablo III / Starcraft III, those accounts will be safe as well.

nakirush

Also, as a side note, if you have an iPhone you can get the Blizzard Mobile Authenticator. It's an app that does the exact same thing and you won't lose it (unless you lose your phone, of course).

Barrakketh

nakirush wrote: »

Also, as a side note, if you have an iPhone you can get the Blizzard Mobile Authenticator. It's an app that does the exact same thing and you won't lose it (unless you lose your phone, of course).

Shadowfire wrote:

If you do this, be careful. If your iPhone's battery dies, and you need to recharge it, the authenticator will lose sync.

Madpanda

I got one as soon as they were available, the security/convenience ratio on it is amazing. Even though I use standard internet security practices (firefox,noscript, shady sites are browsed on virtual machines etc), there have been several incidents of highly popular mods being compromised (groupcalender comes to mind) and either the official codebase was compromised or somebody managed to get their malware version to look legitimate.

Also I believe curse-gaming itself was hit with a malicious banner ad a while back, best practices usually catch this, however I bet most people just hit allow all on curse as its usually seen as trusted.

tl:dr its $7, isn't your orc worth $7 to you?

MeowMixx

I use the Mobile Authenticator and have had no problems with it. Have yet to drain my battery so I do not know if it is an issue to resync it, but as there is a big button saying resync I doubt I will have a problem.

Solandra

I have one, have not had any problems with it. My fiance got hacked recently by a jerk trying to merge his account into a b.net account, once we corrected the merge we attached an authenticator and no problems. The b.net account merge bs has happened to two accounts in our guild, one that had been inactive for a year.

(as a note, if you get hacked mid-raid and raise hell with the GM's immediately, it's VERY easy to stalk the idiot who is liquidating the materials, and then recover the account - I have nothing but high praise for the helpfulness and professionalism of the customer care and billing folks at Blizzard on that day)

ceres

I got an authenticator after someone in my guild got hacked twice in three days, and then three other people in rapid succession. I haven't had any problems at all with it. I didn't have problems before honestly, and I don't exactly go porn-browsing (much), but $7 doesn't seem much to protect that kind of time investment in any case.

pacbowl

exis wrote: »

Have you actually had problems with your account info before? I played WoW for ~three years and neither I nor any of the non-stupid people I played with had their accounts 'hacked'. Being aware of what you're downloading and where you're browsing seemed pretty much sufficient.

No, in my 15 years online and 10 years playing MMOs I have never had any account compromised. Email, game or otherwise. (knock on wood) I know how to surf safely but I am worried about things like Madpanda mentioned. Nefarious banner ads and mods with keystroke loggers + one misplaced click because of a drunken Friday night gaming session = doom. I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Thanks for the replies. I just got my authenticator and had been wary about activating it. Seems like there shouldn't be any major problems if it breaks.

stawk

i broke my authenticator... trust me its a real bitch to get it taken off of your account.