Authenticator
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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!
The Daily Quest: Paladins, Rogues and Bank Alts, oh my!
We here at WoW Insider are on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. Honor's Code takes a look at how they'll be utilizing the dual spec system as a Protection Paladin in Ulduar and begins assembling a patch 3.1 talent build. Do you enjoy Buddhist's over-the-top PvP videos, such as Ming Must Die? RogueRogue.com is (probably) proud to present: Six Silent Shadows. Be warned, this video contains some vulgar language. Okay, maybe a lot of vulgar language. Consider it NSFW. With all the hoopla around the Blizzard Authenticator lately, you may be interested in The Stoppable Force's walkthrough of the activation process. Our own Paladins discussed which judgement does what, but Blessing of Kings tells you the who, when and why about optimizing judgements. Skrooge is on a quest: Make 25,000 gold in as little time as possible, using only the auction house. His quest began with only three things: Auctioneer Advanced, 100g, and a tuxedo. Click here to submit a link to TDQ
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%
The best of WoW Insider: March 24-31, 2009
Ravagers, boars, and tigers, oh my. Patch 3.1 is bringing all sorts of wild animals into the game (though there are definitely of plenty wild animals available already) and WoW Insider is your animal tamer. No matter what Blizzard is tossing in to the world's most popular MMO in the next content patch, we'll make sure you've got the knowhow to tame one for your own. News WoW Insider's Guide to Patch 3.1Our constantly updated guide to the new patch will you get you as ready as you can be. Orangemarmalade's 1 vs. 2 comeback explainedA play-by-play of how an Arena Mage was able to conquer two players in one match. Vaneras answers a whole lot of Mage questionsThe casters among you may want to read what Blizzard has to say about the Mage class. iPhone Authenticator now in App Store for freeBlizzard releases a free mobile authenticator program for your iPhone or iPod touch. 65% fewer Arena teams in Season 5Where exactly have all the Arena players gone? Features The Queue: Scantily clad editionThe Q&A column answers exactly why women in the game seem to have such skimpy gear. Scattered Shots: Finding a unique petNeed a singular pet for your Hunter? Let us help. Ready Check: Ulduar and burnoutRaiders aren't quite as happy as they could be with the raiding game. Spiritual Guidance: Sartharion with all drakesHow to help out a Sarth 3D run on your healing Priest. Time is Money: Low-level clothWhere to make the money with Wool, Mageweave and Runecloth.
Widespread wave of phishing emails reported
Over the past week WoW Insider has received an increasing number of reports of phishing emails. This means that some industrious folks have decided that now is a good time to try to steal accounts from unsuspecting players, and thus we're thinking this is a great time to remind people about the dangers of these evil emails!Most of the current phishing emails have been telling people that their account is under investigation for account trading, and directing them to a website in which they need to fill in their complete account information along with a CD key. Obviously this website is a phishing site, and is illegitimate. There are several things you should look for in a legitimate (or illegitimate) email from Blizzard. After the break we'll take a look at these, as well as provide some places you can go for further information.
WoW Insider Show Episode 83 with Alex Albrecht
We had a great time on the podcast last Saturday, and it was a full house: Turpster, our friend Patrick Beja, Michael "Belfaire" Sacco were all on board, and we welcomed a special guest, Alex Albrecht of Project Lore. And despite the fact that we had so many people on, not only did we answer your email questions (apparently I'm the only one who believes in guild loyalty, even when progression isn't happening), but we talked some World of Warcraft as well: why Arena players have left the Arenas, what might be in that brand new battleground, and why a free iPhone Authenticator program is so great. (And thanks by the way, Blizzard, for that one.)The recording of the show is now out on the feed and at the links below, so download away. Huge thanks yet again to Alex Albrecht for stopping by the show, and congrats go out to him on his Streamys win on Saturday. We'll be back as usual next week, kicking off the show as always just a little bit before 3:30pm Eastern.And don't forget: we met our Facebook goal of 4,000 fans, and the song that came out of that turned out pretty darn epic, if we say so ourselves. But we've got another goal: we're aiming for over 9,000 followers on Twitter, and if we can pull that off, we'll do a live video version of the podcast. And who knows what kind of hilarity will ensue from that one. If you're on Twitter (or even if you're not) and haven't started following us, please do! And hey, we tweet all kinds of things that never show up on the site, so it's even more WoW Insider for your efforts. See you next week.Get the podcast:[iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes.[RSS] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator.[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.Listen here on the page:
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]
Authenticators to be optional for the Forums and Armory
Many of the people who are actually allowed to surf the official World of Warcraft forums were a little unhappy with the change to Battle.net accounts simply due to the fact that it meant that if you had an authenticator attached to your account, you now had to use that authenticator to log onto the forums, which wasn't needed before. Even if you're allowed to surf at work, and even if the authenticator has a ring on it to so it can be attached to your keys, not everyone feels comfortable carrying that thing around all of the time. You lose it, you're out of luck for awhile.The other day, Bornakk announced some good news that I think a lot of those individuals may have missed: They've temporarily removed the requirement to use an authenticator for the forums and the Armory. In the future, they'll be making this feature optional. You'll be able to choose whether or not you want to use the authenticator on the forums. Why would you want to do that? Well, if your account uses an authenticator, it's going to keep keyloggers and hackers/scammers from stealing your account or characters, but if the authenticator isn't attached to your account on the forums, it can still be used for spamming keylogger links since all that's needed there is your password. If you have your authenticator turned off, it's going to do a whole load of nothing to stop that from happening.It's nice that it will be optional, but if you frequent the WoW forums and don't plan on using your authenticator there, keep in mind that you'll still want to be very careful about where you surf and what you click if forum access is something you enjoy having. In my experience, the forum mods are much less forgiving and not nearly as quick to respond as the in-game GM team.
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.
The Queue: How do you make that weird U thing?
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today.Adam called yesterday's edition of The Queue 'the Extreme edition,' but I'm of the opinion he didn't quite follow through. So I'm posting something extreme to make up for it, which you can see in the video above. Extreme. If you don't feel it's extreme enough, feel free to post your extreme links in the comments below with your usual questions, as long as the links are safe for work (and sanity.)Eternauta asked... I have a question, too. I know it's pretty stupid and obvious, but here I go: Why is everybody DPS and why is it so hard to find healers or tanks?
WoW, Casually: Tips for keeping your account safe
Robin Torres writes WoW, Casually for the player with limited playtime. Of course, you people with lots of playtime can read this too, but you may get annoyed by the fact that we are unashamed, even proud, of the fact that beating WoW isn't our highest priority. Take solace in the fact that your gear is better than ours, but if that doesn't work, remember that we outnumber you. Not that that's a threat, after all, we don't have time to do anything about it. But if WoW were a democracy, we'd win.Amaxe suggested in the comments of a previous column that I cover addons for casuals, which I think is a great idea. But that will have to wait until next week, because I think that we should first make sure that you all practice safe internet use before sending you off to find addons. There are different security camps that always argue in the comments about what operating systems, browsers and browser addons are best for keeping your computer secure, but I'm going to keep this very simple and assume that you are not willing to run out and buy a new computer with an unfamiliar operating system. Here are some tips for making your account more secure.
Authenticators back in stock
For those of you who have been patiently waiting, trying to catch them in stock - good news! The Blizzard store is currently showing that there are authenticators back in stock for your ordering pleasure. As if that weren't awesome enough, it's not just the United States authenticators that are available and ready for purchase. It seems Blizzard has stocked up across the board as they're showing that the authenticator is available for Canada/Australia/Latin America/New Zealand, Europe and Korea as well. Let's hope this is the beginning of a trend where they're available everywhere more often. That said, your guess is as good as ours as to how long the current stock might last. (Read: probably not long if history is any indication.) So if you forgot to pick up a present for that WoW player in your life and are looking for a way out of the post-holiday doghouse (or just need one for yourself) head on over to the Blizzard store and get your authenticator ordered - quickly.Update: Looks like the Canadian ones are gone as of 7:26 PM. [Via the WoW LJ]
WoW Insider Show goes live tomorrow afternoon
Have you seen the WoW Insider Show live yet? You've probably heard it, through a subscription over on iTunes or even on our sidebar (we post the new episodes there every Monday morning), but if you haven't come to see it live, you're missing out on half the fun. We're going live again on Ustream tomorrow afternoon at 3:30pm Eastern (as we do every Saturday), and we're starting off 2009 with a bang: Turpster is back after all of his holiday hijinx, we'll have one or two WoW Insider bloggers to talk about the news of the past week, we'll have a brand new intro (you can create your own as an mp3 file and email it to us at theshow@wow.com), and one more thing: we're giving away an Authenticator. That's right, straight from BlizzCon, we've got a limited edition Authenticator to give away to one lucky listener of the live show. They're out of stock and hard to find, but you can win one just by tuning in on Saturday.And of course we'll do all of the usual stuff -- answer your emails, chat with our live chatters, and talk about the most popular posts on WoW Insider from the past week. It's sure to be a great time, so if you've been a regular in the chat room from day one or have never heard the show live before, definitely tune in. We've even placed the Ustream feed right after this break, so just tune in right here at 3:30pm Eastern tomorrow (here's a time zone calculator if you need it) to hear our podcast the best way you can: live.
Account security mythbusting
So, you might have noticed the increased number of warnings and advice from Blizzard regarding account security lately. They've even popped up in the game itself, as a server message when you first log in. Needless to say, this has caused no dearth of consternation in the WoW community (read: people be trippin'). So, why the sudden notices? Has something changed? Has Blizzard lost their footing in the war against hackers and gold farmers? Is Blizzard in cahoots with them? What's this itchy pentagram-shaped rash I've developed?Now, there's a lot I can't talk about regarding this stuff, and certainly not for any sinister reason. It's a selfish reason, though, that being that I really like not getting sued. I can, however, use my experience and knowledge to bust or confirm some common account security myths. Ready? I'm a trained professional. Don't try this at home!
WoW Insider interviews Blizzard on security
Big concerns require authoritative answers, and to get those, you often have to go to the top. That's what our friends at WoW Insider have recently been able to do, getting answers straight from Blizzard, the masters of World of Warcraft. As issues go, it's pretty damn big: not concerns about class balance or content, but about the basic security of your account, the protection currently being provided against hacking, and what the Authenticator key actually does.Blizzard, who actively sought an interview with WoW Insider following a (since contested) report of a customer allegedly having his account hacked while using one of the new Authenticators, explain the specific steps the technology takes to ensure security. They also address player concerns about how reliable the Authenticator is. The bottom line: '... we have no verified occurrences of an account being compromised that has a Blizzard Authenticator attached to it.' The full interview can be read at WoW Insider.For those that don't know, the Authenticator is an optional item (now available through the Blizzard store) that adds an extra layer of security to one or more World of Warcraft accounts. 'It supplies a random digital code that must be entered at login, providing an additional layer of security to help prevent unauthorized account access. Each code is valid for a limited time and can only be used once, so the Blizzard Authenticator must be in the possession of the account holder to log in to the account.'
WoW Insider Interview: Blizzard speaks about Authenticator security
About a month and a half ago, we reported on the story of a player who had apparently gotten their account hacked while they were using the new Blizzard Authenticator key, and it raised a lot of questions in players' minds about the only hardware Blizzard's ever made: just what does the Authenticator do to protect players' accounts? Have Authenticators actually prevented accounts from being hacked? And what would it take to, through social engineering or other methods, actually remove an Authenticator from an account?At the time we published that first story (which was later disputed by a customer support representative), Blizzard contacted us here at WoW Insider, offering to clear up players' concerns about the new keys. We quickly submitted to them a few questions pulled from our own writers and a few submitted by readers, and they've now returned the answers to us -- you can find Blizzard's answers to our questions about the Authenticator after the break. Thanks to Blizzard for answering our questions about how these keys work, and clarifying some of the issues around their security.
Authenticator back in stock in September
There's always enough interest in the Blizzard Authenticator that we wanted to make sure our readership (who is clearly smarter than the average bear) is aware that it's back in stock. There's been a little rockiness, as Daniel put it, and there's sometimes a little question whether it's actually available. This time looks to be for real, and with an added benefit -- the Authenticator is now available in New Zealand, Canada, Australia, and Latin America. The Authenticator has had some history behind it already. It's an obvious preventive against the many and varied keyloggers. There's nothing worse than getting your account hacked, since it often puts both you and your Guild in danger of getting robbed blind. There was an issue reported a while back about someone getting hacked even though they were using the Authenticator, though Belfaire confirmed that the Authenticator wasn't actually removed. Also, as I mentioned, there've been some oddities in whether it's in stock and if the order process goes smoothly. Trying to place an order for the Authenticator today, one of your intrepid Insider reporters saw style-sheet errors similar to the time of Failoc, the Fail Murloc. Still, it's an added level of protection for you and your account. If you're at all worried about the security of your WoW account, you should see about picking one up.
International Space Station has a keylogger
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Keyloggers_in_Spaaaaaaaace'; NASA has confirmed that the International Space Station has been infected by a keylogger. It was carried onto the station by an astronaut's laptop back in July. The keylogger in question is the W32.Gammima.AG -- which is specifically a gaming keylogger. In other words, the ISS has the exact kind of keylogger that plagues so many of us in WoW. NASA describes the keylogger as merely a "nuisance," but at least two of the laptops on board had the virus. That probably means it arrived on one laptop, and a removable device like a thumb drive carried it to another. Kelly Humphries, a NASA spokesperson, said "This is not the first time we have had a worm or a virus. It's not a frequent occurrence, but this isn't the first time." For security reasons, Humphries couldn't say whether mission-critical systems were affected by the keylogger. NASA is working with its Russian partners to figure out how the virus got space-born. Here's hoping the International Space Station has their Blizzard Authenticators installed properly.
WoW Insider Show episode 46: When the cat's away
We had a very special WoW Insider show last Saturday. With the usual suspects out of town Daniel, Robin, Duncor and I had a blast talking about all kinds of juicy goodness. You can download the show and listen to it whenever you like. I've recently gotten my new Blizzard authenticator, and I'm really happy about it. Other folks are not quite as enthusiastic about it. We discussed the current state of Mages and Paladins. We had a number of great emails from our listeners. Daniel told us all about Death Knight Role-Playing. I didn't talk about my car once, but I did throw a motorcycle reference in there. I got a chance to play the role of host, sorry folks, no giggling or flirting involved. Was it as good for you as it was for me? We shall have another special guest host for the next podcast. Be sure to join us every Saturday on WC Radio at 3:30 PM.
