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RSA security hack not affecting Blizzard authenticators
Many people were quick to wonder and worry about whether the recent hacking of the RSA (the security branch of EMC) had the potential of harming Blizzard's authenticators or authentication software. Fear not, as the blues have chimed in with a response: RSA Hack and Blizzard Authenticators Pokzin, The Blizzard Authenticators are based off modified Vasco tokens. I'm sorry to hear about RSA's troubles, but it will not affect the Blizzard Authenticator. source It doesn't look like Blizzard will be harmed by this at all. As a reminder, please keep your account safe by not clicking links in emails that don't appear to be from Blizzard, always check your email headers for incoming email addresses, and if you have any questions about whether an email is legitimate, contact Blizzard first. And do please get an authenticator for your account. Check out some of our own security articles here.
Blizzard introduces Dial-in Authenticator
If you do not have an authenticator or mobile authenticator on your account, Blizzard has just introduced an alternative. The Dial-in Authenticator, now available for those without authenticators, is a new Battle.net feature that will hopefully help those players who don't have some sort of authenticator already on their account. Here's how it works. When you sign up, you'll be asked to make a toll-free call from a specific phone of your choosing to authorize login attempts with the battle.net account. You get to assign the phone number that is used, and if there is something unusual about the login attempt on your account, you'll be asked to call the toll-free number to verify you are you. An example of unusual activity would be playing from a different location than you normally do. In other words, if a keylogger gets hold of your account information and attempts to log in, they'll be prompted to call the number -- and they won't be able to go any further, because they don't have your phone and they don't have your PIN. You will only be asked to call if it's an unusual login -- otherwise, you can continue to log in and play with no worries. The Dial-in Authenticator is currently only open to U.S. residents, and it only covers World of Warcraft accounts -- although Blizzard may update it to cover more countries in the future, as well as StarCraft 2 accounts. In order to sign up for the Dial-in Authenticator, you must log into your account on Battle.net, then go to Security Options and choose to add the Dial-in Authenticator. If you already have an authenticator on your account, you must remove it in order to sign up for the dial-in service; you cannot use more than one security method at a time. For more information on the service, check out the official FAQ on Blizzard's website.
Battle.net authenticators limited to one account
Blizzard is changing up the security on their authenticators a bit. This isn't a major change and shouldn't affect that many people. Starting now, if you happen to have multiple Battle.net accounts (not multiple WoW accounts under one Battle.net account), then each account must have its own authenticator. This means if you have separate Battle.net logins for zergrush@somedomain.com and taurenfever@example.com and you want to use an authenticator, you'll need to buy two. If you've just got taurenfever@example.com and all of your games are under that Battle.net login, then you're perfectly fine. This is not retroactive. If you already have two accounts linked to a single authenticator, everything will still work as it does right now until you unlink that authenticator. The full blue post detailing the changes is behind the cut below.
Breakfast Topic: What iPhone app should Blizzard release next?
WoW-loving iPhone owners (and yes, I count myself among you) are feeling the love from Blizzard with the release of the Armory app this week. It's shiny, useful and just as practical, if not more, as the Authenticator app. We knew this was coming, of course, from the moment Blizzard issued C and D's relating to specific apps. However now their second app is out it's sure not to be the last. Blizzard has once again favored the iPhone over all the other phones. It seems like there's a trend developing here, much to the sorrow of Palm Pre and Android owners, I'm sure.Blizzard seem to be developing apps with the same due care and diligence they give their games (including awesome sound effects as well) and it warms my heart to see they're exercising their talents to make the game more accessible without needing to login with the main client or be directly in-front of your PC. So, readers, now that Blizzard is obviously putting their heart and soul into creating apps, what would you like to see them develop next? Do you think a certain kind of app - like one which allows you to use the auction hose, send and receive mail or use guild chat - is in need? I'd love a Warcraft: Peggle version with even more levels just for the iPhone please. Pop your thoughts in the comments box below.
