authentication
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Settlers 7 still plagued by DRM problems two weeks after launch
We love the anticipation that builds up in the weeks leading up to the launch of a new game in one of our favorite franchises. That's why we think Ubisoft has stumbled upon a really clever marketing technique with its real-time strategy PC title, Settlers 7, which many users (about 50 pages worth on this forum thread) are still unable to access two weeks after the game launched due to problems with Ubisoft's DRM authentication servers. A Ubisoft rep commented on the issues to Eurogamer, explaining, "our technical teams have made progress but we are not yet able to say that the issue is completely resolved." Hey guys, take your time. Just keep letting that anticipation build up in your player base. Once they're finally able to play, we're sure they'll thank you for the extended expectancy.
Verayo launches next-generation of 'unclonable' RFID chips, hackers get wide-eyed
If there's one thing a security company should avoid, it's tempting the hackers to unravel their promises. As we've seen time and time again, there are few (if any) completely uncrackable technologies, but Verayo sure seems confident about its next-generation RFID chips. Dubbed "unclonable," this new product family -- which is led by the Vera M4H -- promises to make mass transit tickets, secure IDs and access cards more secure, and unlike the original, this one touts a "non-networked, unlimited authentication" feature. We also get the impression that the company has worked to drive costs down with this newfangled line, but we're still not sure we'd trust our lives to this thing. Anyone down to really put these claims to the test?
Breakfast Topic: What are you doing to protect your account?
While it is certainly nothing new, it seems that you can't spit without hitting someone who has, or has had, a compromised account. These WoW account predators are getting more clever by the day, with using everything from keyloggers, sham contests, betas and security checks, to even grabbing an account and immediately attaching an authenticator to it. Now, any moderately-savvy internet user would just scoff, and say that they take all necessary precautions -- what's there to worry about? Fair enough, but what about those who, well, don't? Blizzard has said time and time again about safe-guarding your account information, yet people still jump onto those fake Cataclysm betas and fancy new mount prizes. Make something idiot-proof, and they'll build a better idiot, eh? That being said, what are you doing to protect your prized polygons? Do you have a good anti-virus installed? A malware scanner? If you don't have an authenticator, how come? It's only about the price of a grande Starbucks drink, and will provide a longer-lasting effect of happiness and joy to your life. Discuss amongst yourselves!
Sony's FVA-U1 reads veins, coming to Japan this month
Sony has finally delivered on its Mofiria promise with what it claims is the world's smallest and lightest finger vein reader. That assertion may be challenged by Hitachi, whose 3mm-thick scanner promises to be even smaller, but the critical difference here is that the FVA-U1 is about to go on sale in Japan come December 18, whereas Hitachi's hardware is nowhere to be found. The Sony scanner weighs a measly 33 grams, hooks up via USB, and adds an extra layer of biometric protection for your most precious data. Whether carrying around an extra dongle just to protect some Excel spreadsheets and your Outlook account is worth it, we leave up to you.
Hitachi builds 3mm-thick vein scanner in its Transylvanian lair
Hitachi has always been hot for vein authentication modules, and its latest iteration takes the whole tech down to just three millimeters in thickness. Given that the current generation requires 23.5mm (nearly an inch) of space to operate in, it's easy to see why your netbook doesn't have one, but Hitachi hopes that's all about to change. Using a CMOS sensor to take almost instant readings, the vein scanner is deadly accurate -- there's only a one in a million chance of it authorizing the wrong person. Volume production is expected within two years, meaning that by 2011 you'll finally have a reliable way to keep your parents out of your "Misc" data folders.
Solutions for login issues
We are continuing to get tips from readers that they are having login issues. If you are one of the many still having trouble logging in, commenter tknogk suggested flushing your DNS and Blizzard has backed this up with more detailed advice.Blue poster, Syndri, suggests three possible resolutions for the login problems: Reboot your computer. Flush your DNS cache. Power cycle your modem and/or router. If none of these solutions solve your problem, Syndri seems to be closely monitoring the login server down post in the Technical Support Forums and you may be able to get further help by posting in there.Please let us know in the comments if this solved your login issues.Edited to add: Blizzard is not saying it is the fault of the people having problems. They made changes on their end and we just need to update things on our end in order to be able to connect properly again.
BlizzCon 2009: An interview with Vasco
Vasco, the digital security company that makes authenticators for Blizzard, has actually been at BlizzCon for a few years now (last year, they gave away yo-yos, and this year, they were responsible for all of those blue glowsticks floating around). But this is the first year we decided to stop by their booth and chat with them, and it's a good thing we did: Will LaSala, Director of Services, gave us a lot of good insight into how Vasco's relationship with Blizzard came about, just what the system behind the Authenticator looks like, and how the mobile authenticator app fits into all of this.He was kind enough to give us a short interview, and you can read it right after the break.
The login server is currently busy [Updated]
Many people have been writing into our tip line that they are unable to log in to their servers at this time. Both Battle.Net and non-Battle.Net users are complaining that authentication is down for them. I received the above error message myself, however my husband is able to log in just fine.We'll keep you updated should Blizzard say anything officially or other developments arise. In the meantime, I will be trying again later as the message asks me to do.Update 7:46PM: Most people are reporting that the authentication issues are fixed.Update: The following message is currently displayed upon login.
Authentication problems continue
We saw it last night, and the problems have once again appeared this afternoon. Authentication isn't working as intended for non-Battle.net accounts. This means if you haven't transformed your WoW account into a Battle.net account, you're probably not going to be able to get into the game easily.The transformation process can be initiated at us.battle.net. It only takes a few minutes and is relatively painless. Converting your account to Battle.net is not required at this time, but I don't think anyone should be surprised if it is soon.Malkorix has said that there are problems, and they are aware of the problems, but don't have any ETA on a fix at this time. He also makes a point to note that converting your account to Battle.net is only a reported and unconfirmed by Blizzard solution. However we can say that we haven't seen any issues with Battle.net accounts.We'll update this post when we have more information.Update: The issue is fixed, for now.
Login issues reported this evening
WoW.com has been getting a massive number of tips in regarding problems people are experiencing when trying to log into the game. There is no official Blizzard word yet, but I wouldn't be surprised to see one soon.The problems seem to be originating from people who have not yet merged their World of Warcraft accounts with their Battle.net accounts. To do so, go into the account management page and select the appropriate options.There have been some stability issues with the login servers the last few days, and this seems to just be the latest.If you can't get in, check out our Guide to Patch 3.2 - we're expecting the patch to drop within the next few weeks. And if you haven't heard already, the Warcraft Movie has landed a director - Sam Raimi. It's World of Spidercraft, baby.Update: Now there is an official Blizzard response to the problem, although there is no ETA on a solution.Update #2: For those wondering, the issue was fixed overnight.
Authentication issues tonight [Updated]
Several people across the U.S. are having authentication or connection issues tonight. I haven't been able to log into my main realm for at least half an hour myself. The above screen may say I'm connected, but it's just stuck there. Sometimes it gets stuck at the character loading screen and sometimes at the authentication screen. Many readers have written in with the same problem.According to Reythur, Blizzard technicians are investigating. From the looks of the forum posters, several internet providers across many different states are affected.We'll let you know when we learn anything more.Update #1: And just like that I'm in. And Blizzard states that the issues have been resolved.Update #2: Many people are reporting that the connectivity issues have returned.
Time Warner's TV Everywhere to pipe internet TV to Comcast subscribers
Just as we heard back in February, Time Warner and Comcast have joined hands in order to regain control on some of the content that is slipping right out from under 'em. In the olden days, the only portal for catching content was the 'tube; today, a vast array of television shows are available gratis on the web, and that's downright frightening for pay-TV operators. Today, both firms are detailing TV Everywhere in the most general way possible, only telling us that paying Comcast subscribers will soon have access to "premium long-form content" via a web portal. TNT and TBS are the only networks specifically named thus far, but considering that both of those already offer their best programming online to everyone, we're not terribly impressed. The agreement also includes a trial with around 5,000 Comcast users, which will be used to heavily test a newfangled authentication technology that will be necessary to allow paying Comcast users to access the material from any internet-connected PC. NewTeeVee has also assembled a clean, easy-to-digest FAQ that explains what exactly all this is. To be frank, it seems like a solution in search of a problem from the consumer viewpoint. After all, with portals like Hulu and individual network websites already providing in-demand content online, why is there even a need for some "special portal" for Comcast users? We've heard that paying subs will have access to even more material, possibly movies or other premium shows. But we won't front: we certainly don't want TV Everywhere to convert some of the content that's already free into pay-only content in order to accomplish the aforesaid "even more" goal. At any rate, the public at large probably won't hear more about this until the trial sessions end at an undisclosed time, but you can bet we'll be keeping a cautious eye on any developments.Read - TV Everywhere press releaseRead - NewTeeVee FAQ
Government / Military Mac users get PIV single sign-on from Thursby
Thursby Software is a longtime Mac development firm (since 1986) that has always had a mission: integrating Macs as full players in mixed-OS environments. While Mac OS X has gone a long way toward improving the situation of Mac users in predominantly Microsoft environments, there are still situations where third-party software may be required. Thursby's ADmitMac line of software is specifically designed to ease Mac integration into Microsoft Active Directory (AD) environments.Thursby's ADmitMac for PIV integrates US Government FIPS 201 Personal Identity Verification (PIV) with Macs. ADPIV, as the product is known, allows single sign-on with a PIV card. It verifies the PIV card against a centralized authority, obtains Kerberos tickets using PIV certificates and then makes those tickets available to Kerberized applications, and securely locks the Mac upon removal of the PIV card.ADPIV also allows password-free access to Exchange servers by providing authentication to those servers. ADPIV is currently available at the introductory price of US$149, with discounts available for larger quantities.
Maintenance done soon, Battle.net accounts having problems
In a pleasant change of pace, extended maintenance for a group of realms is currently not expected to be further extended today. The following realms, which are receiving hardware upgrades, are expected to be up and playable by 1 PM PDT, as originally promised: Area 52, Auchindoun, Azuremyst, Blade's Edge, Blood Furnace, Coilfang, Dawnbringer, Exodar, Fizzcrank, Galakrond, Ghostlands, Grizzly Hills, Shattered Halls, Terokkar, The Scryers, The Underbog, Velen, Zangarmarsh All other realms should be up "in about the next hour," slightly later than the 11 AM PDT goal time. And now the bad news. There are also some issues with Battle.net account authentication, as is so often the case. Blizzard is aware of the Battle.net issues, and promises to provide further updates by noon PDT.Update: Further updates on the Battle.net issue will be released at 1:00 p.m. PDT. Most (if not all) Battle.net accounts are unable to log into the game.
Breakfast Topic: Patch 3.1 after the dust has settled
Patch days are often disastrous, and in their aftermath, there is a lot to tweak, hotfix, and repair. Realms have been unstable, Authentication servers unreliable, and bugs abound. Earlier this week, we asked you what your impressions are of live Patch 3.1, and now that you've had a few days to adjust to the changes, we want to know, how are you feeling about it now? My pick for the most annoying aspect would have to be the new quest tracker that shows the icon of the quest item, if there is one, next to the information. Or, rather, on top of it. Somehow, knowing that I've killed 1... doesn't really help me. Is that 1 of 12? 11 of 12? 13/17? Who knows.Despite this easily-fixable problem, I'm loving it. Thursday night raiding was smooth as silk, and not only are dual-specs extremely handy and fun, it also makes it easier to answer questions about your off-spec. How many hit points does my Tankadin have unbuffed, you ask? Give me under one minute, and I can tell you! I can't wait until the Equipment Manager is live.How are you liking the changes and new features, now that you've had a few days to play around with them? Have your opinions changed from how you felt in the first day or two after it landed? Why?
WoW Rookie: Patch madness
New around here? WoW Rookie points WoW's newest players to the resources they need to get acclimated. Send us a note to suggest a WoW Rookie topic.Welcome, O WoW rookie, to patch week madness. If you thought run-of-the-mill maintenance and minor patch days could be dicey, here's your chance to enjoy the epic-level chaos wrought by epic-level content patches. World of Warcraft has evolved considerably since its launch in what's now been almost a handful of years ago. Blizzard regularly releases downloadable updates, called "patches," to add new content and features, fix problems and tweak game play and balance. Through patches, players have gained access to new quests, instances, Battlegrounds, events, items and tools. This week's Patch 3.1 is known as a content patch – a nice way of saying "a ton of new stuff we've added to the game that's going to make all hell break loose." The realms go up, the realms go down. The realms go up. Did we mention they also go down? You may log in only to find your characters nowhere in sight ("Oh #%$&, my characters are all gone!"). You may experience disappearing mail or auctions, random disconnections from the game and insufferable lag. You may find yourself merrily rolling along only to find the NPCs have disappeared, you can't zone in or out of instances or log out of the game, and you and every other player who's trapped in your zone are left with nothing to do but chat about the whole thing. (Almost makes you wonder if the Ice Stone has melted yet.)
Login servers down
We're not out of the woods with this patch yet. I'm seeing this message on a North American realm, and lots of other people are seeing the same thing. At least one of our bloggers is still in the game, though, and Blizzard is saying the Authentication servers are still up and running, so this should be fixed soon.We'll keep you updated, stay tuned.Thanks to everyone who sent this in!Update: A login server died. If you try signing in with a Bnet account, you should be able to get in. Otherwise, everybody PANIC hold on and they'll be back up soon.Update 2: Everything seems back up. That was relatively painless. Thanks for playing, everybody!
Common updating problems and tips for fixing them
It's patch day, of course, and people are having plenty of troubles with upgrading their clients to the latest 3.1 version. But worry not -- most of the issues we're seeing, while relatively widespread, should be fixed by the time the realms come back online. Here's a few tips to help you get through the time of trouble.Help! My patch isn't downloading? It's stuck at 68%/73%/xx%!It probably is downloading -- be patient and let it run. Blizzard uses a Bittorrent-based system to distribute the game's patches through the official client, and those systems depend not just on Blizzard and their ability to distribute the patch, but also how much of the patch all of your peers have. If everyone around you has xx%, that's all you'll get for now. But an hour from now, someone will have spread the full patch around, and then you'll pick it up no problem. Patience is a virtue, and until the realms come back up, you can't play anyway.Also, the patcher will stop showing progress around 70% or so -- at that point it'll start installing the patch, and you'll need to click another button to see installation progress. But if you just let it run, it'll update.What does "The tracker is not responding" mean?Another Bittorrent issue that should resolve itself after a little while. The patch will need some time to disseminate, and if you get a message like this, it just means your client hasn't found all of the connections that it can. It will.I get a weird "Unable to Validate Game Version" message when I log in. Is my client broken?No. Blizzard's servers aren't all upgraded yet (hence the reason we can't play). When they are all upgraded, your client's version will match the server's, and everything will be hunky dory.
Urgent authentication database maintenance underway
The opening announcement on the login screen has just let us know that there is urgent maintenance being performed on the authentication servers. The maintenance will continue until 1:00 p.m. PDT / 4:00 p.m. EDT. During this time you may or may not be able to log into the game. Pretty much the luck of the draw and beyond your control. Account management and posting on the forums will be offline during this time as well, so the troll's trolling will have to terrifically terminate 'till temporally soon.We'll update this post when things are back to normal, or if there are additional issues.
Recent Apple patent filing speaks of stealth biometric security on iPhone, other insane insanity
Recent patent fillings by Apple that AppleInsider has dug up point to the company adding several new methods of insuring the security of its devices for users. The new filings cite biometric authentication methods that would excite Ethan Hunt -- including installation of a hidden sensor behind the screen that would recognize the user's fingerprint when touched, and / or a front-facing camera for retinal recognition. The filing also suggests further possibilities, such as the device being capable of recognizing the user's voice, or collecting DNA samples for recognition via genetic code. We've heard plenty of semi-speculative tech tales in the past, so we always take this stuff with a grain of salt, but Apple seems to be moving forward at least into the research phase of such endeavors. To the future we go! There's one more fantastic scribble after the break, hit the read link for more details.