mobile-authenticator
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Requiring authenticators for guild bank access
m0rtis has an interesting question over on WoW LJ: should guilds require authenticators on the accounts of everyone in the guild with bank access? Authenticators are relatively cheap, if not free (and still in stock most of the time nowadays), so if you're running a guild and in a position where your bank is important enough to protect, should you be able to require authenticators to keep guildies from getting hacked?There are a few caveats here that m0rtis doesn't mention, but we will: first of all, there's no way to guarantee whether someone is using an authenticator or not, so while you can make guildies promise, there's no real way to check up on them. Second, not all guild banks get emptied out due to hackers -- many guild banks get ninja'd by someone within the guild, and there's no authenticator that can protect against that. So having authenticators on bank members (or at least having them promise they've got them) isn't 100% protection. But it is something.
Authenticators back in stock at the Blizzard store
Good news for those of you who haven't yet been able to grab an authenticator -- the units are back in stock at the Blizzard store (for both the US and Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Latin America, with the EU version available over on their store). The price remains a cheap $6.00, and this latest version features art from Starcraft II.Which, now that I think about it, pretty much confirms that it will work not only with World of Warcraft, but all Blizzard games going forward. Obviously, with Starcraft II not even in beta yet, hackers and scammers aren't exactly targeting it, but Blizzard is thinking ahead, so if you don't have the tech yet, now's your chance to pick it up (at least until they run out of stock again).And don't forget -- if you don't have an authenticator yet, but do have a compatible mobile phone, you can always pick up the Mobile Authenticator. Especially if you have an iPhone or an iPod touch, free is the way to go.
Battle.net authenticator now available for other platforms
The Battle.net mobile authenticator is now available for a wide variety of mobile platforms in several different countries through the Battle.net mobile store. Originally available only for the iPhone through the App Store, the mobile authenticator can now be used on virtually any phone that can run third-party applications. There's only one catch - unlike the original mobile authenticator found in the App Store, these new versions aren't free. The prices vary depending on your country due to PayPal conversion rates, but they amount to roughly $1 (it's €0.50 in parts of Europe).Despite the need to purchase it, we at WoW.com can't recommend it highly enough. Account security is an important thing, particularly with the rampant account hacking and phishing going on these days. Now that it's available to use in a wide variety of platforms, there's little reason not use the Battle.net mobile authenticator. A dollar is a very small price to pay for that additional layer of security.Editor's Note: Apparently now the download is showing as "Coming soon" for US/EU carriers. It was showing as up before, but now is not. We blame the Gnomes. Or Ghostcrawler.Thanks to Medros from All Things Azeroth for the tip!
Save your Authenticator serial number before upgrading your iPhone
Many people, myself included, are excited about the iPhone OS 3.0 update, which is released tomorrow for all iPhone and iPod Touch owners, though Touch users have to pay for it. If you use the Blizzard Mobile Authenticator app, though (and there's little reason not to; it is free, and extra security never hurts), you should take one precaution first. Every so often, even the best-planned upgrades go awry. In case your iPhone 3.0 upgrade breaks and you have to restore the iPhone, you should make sure to write down the serial number of your Mobile Authenticator ahead of time (or take a screenshot of it and transfer it to your computer). The serial number is found on the Setup screen of the Authenticator, and Blizzard will need this number from you if you need to detach the Authenticator from your account (because your iPhone needed to be restored the Authenticator got a new serial number). For the majority of users, the upgrade process will probably go seamlessly and you won't need this. However, if you do, you'll be happy you have it. [thanks, Tobbi]
Authenticators are back in stock, git 'em boys!
Who doesn't love themselves some authentication goodness?I sure do!You following me camera guy? For those of you who don't have an authenticator yet, you now can get one from the Blizzard Store. They are back in stock, hurry up and get them while you still can. The other option is to download it onto your iPod Touch or iPhone and enjoy your security that way.Many users sent us this tip in over the last twenty-four hours, so be sure to order yours now if you want it!
Battle.net Mobile Authenticator hands-on
Last week, Blizzard released their very first piece of iPhone software, and it wasn't a mobile mailbox or an ingame chat client as some of us had hoped. Nope -- out of the blue (get it?), they introduced a replacement for the hardware version of the Authenticator, and they released it for free.I've installed the software on my first-generation iPhone and have been using it for a little while now. And while it's not much more than barebones -- if you're expecting anything other than an application that periodically gives you numbers, you'll be disappointed -- it's definitely a worthwhile substitute to buying a dedicated Authenticator.There's short walkthrough of the program after the break, and you can check out a few screens of the app below. It's available right now on the App Store for your iPhone or iPod touch.%Gallery-49197%
Blizzard Authenticator (temporarily) gone from Blizzard Store
Update: And, of course, as this is posted, we are pointed in the direction of a thread on the Customer Service forums indicating that this is, indeed, an error. It's currently out of stock and should be displaying as such, but the item is simply not displaying at all instead. It will return when it's in stock. Thank you to those that pointed this out. Original Article: We held off on reporting this for a few days, just in case it were a glitch or accident on Blizzard's end (making a mountain out of a molehill makes us all look silly), but it's been this way for long enough that it's worth mentioning: The Authenticator is no longer in the Blizzard Store. Previous bookmarks and links to the item are broken, and searching for it yields nothing but broken dreams.Oddly, this happened in lockstep with the news that the Mobile Authenticator was available. Whether it was coincidental or intentional, we don't really now, but I think it's a pretty odd choice! It seems like an indication that they don't intend to stock them again. That's disappointing, to say the least. Blizzard hasn't pulled profit on either the Mobile or Physical authenticators, so I can understand wanting to cut costs by stopping production and distribution of the physical authenticators, if that is what they're doing. It's still disappointing, because I have serious doubts that everyone who wants/needs an authenticator has an iPhone/iTouch for the mobile app.No business, even one as successful as Blizzard, wants to sell something at a loss. Blizzard has made it clear that they don't want to charge for the opt-in authenticator service. From a purely financial view, I can see why they would pull it. As a player, I really wish they didn't.
iPhone authenticator now in app store, for free
A few days ago, Blizzard semi-accidentally revealed that they were working on a cell-phone version of the authenticator (which works well along with the whole Battle.net account thing). Excitingly for many of us here, the iPhone was one of the supported platforms. Today, the Battle.net Mobile Authenticator has appeared in the app store, and I've got it installed on my iPhone. And it's free! You can find it in the app store on your phone by searching for "Blizzard" and scrolling down near the bottom. Or you can just click this iTunes link. Anyway, once you install it, it's a pretty simple matter to attach the authenticator serial number to your Battle.net account, and then use the generated codes to log in to WoW. It is also supposed to work on the iPod Touch, with the caveat that you need to be in wifi during the setup; thereafter, it can work without a network connection (on the Touch as well as the iPhone). [thanks, Ray]
WoW Insider Show live this afternoon
Gonna be a big show this week on the podcast -- as far as I know (and I could be wrong, but we'll see), the brand new Turpster song is ready to play on the air. It's called "WoW Insider," and from what I've seen so far, it'll be worth the wait. There still could be a few slowdowns, but I have a feeling that this is it. Tune in this afternoon at 3:30pm to hear the song live, and come on back on Monday morning to get it as an mp3 download.Plus of course we'll have the podcast as usual -- BRK will be on this week along with Turpster and I, and we'll be talking about all the most popular stories of the past week, including the news of the Mobile Authenticator, what's up with the addon changes last night (and why addon makers are so unhappy), and we'll talk about all the latest news with patch 3.1. And of course we'll answer your emails as well -- if you want to send something in right now, feel free to throw it along to theshow@wow.com.Should be a good time as usual. The show starts today at 3:30pm Eastern over on our Ustream page, or you can just come right back here (there's also a feed in the second half of this post. See you there.
Blizzard releasing Mobile Authenticator for iPhone, iPod touch
Blizzard is one of the biggest software developers in the world -- they're behind some of the most popular games of all time, including the Diablo series, and of course their legendary MMO World of Warcraft (full disclosure: I'm a senior editor over on TUAW's sister site about that game, WoW Insider). And they've always been Apple friendly -- while other developers complained that it wasn't worth porting their software to the Mac, Blizzard has always released both Mac and PC versions of their games on the same disc, and made sure there was quality on both sides. But they've never dipped their toes in iPhone development -- until now.WoW Insider has found a posting over on Blizzard's site that suggests they're planning to release an app called Mobile Authenticator. They've released a piece of hardware called the Authenticator before -- it pushes out a code according to an algorithm that keeps players' accounts secure when they sign into the online game. And this app will serve the same purpose, but it'll likely run on your iPhone or iPod touch.Nothing's appeared on the App Store yet, and this app hasn't even been officially announced (so no word on price or release date -- the hardware authenticator runs $6.50, but obviously there are material costs involved there). But Blizzard has been looking for ways to make their games and players more secure, and it looks like they're turning to Apple's iPhone and other mobile devices to do it.
Authenticator app coming to iPhones, iPods, and other mobile devices
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Blizzard_developing_Mobile_Authenticator_app'; According to a new Battle.net support page, there will be a new Blizzard Authenticator app for your mobile phone which will generate a code just like the physical authenticator does. The authenticator app will act just like the physical authenticators currently available. The page is sparse on exactly what phones and mobile devices will be supported, but it does mention that it works with the iPod Touch and iPhone.According to the webpage, you only need a WiFi connection once to activate the authenticator application, and after that you're all set.This comes right after the transition of the EU World of Warcraft account management to the new Battle.net account management. The US transition is reportedly done, although there has been no official world from Blizzard yet (however all their webpages have already changed over).The app is not available for download yet via Blizzard or from the Apple store. But we'll let you know the second it goes up!You can read the full FAQ after the break, or check out the Blizzard Support article.
