security-concerns
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Guild Wars 2 email authentication, status updates, sales halt [Updated]
Guild Wars 2 players have gotten absolutely slammed with phishing attempts following the game's launch. ArenaNet has accordingly beefed up security for the game, starting with the new email authentication system that's being rolled out today. The system is lightweight and works without players needing an extra code to enter at the login screen, instead relying upon the security of your designated email account. And all players need to do to activate the system is verify their email addresses (which can be done right on the login screen). Once the email is verified, every time the associated account tries to log in, the account holder will be sent an email requesting permission. Account holders can deny the logon, allow it for a single instance, or remember the location in question and always log on from there. It's not ironclad, but it should help players affected by these phishing attempts ensure that they'll be safe. [Thanks to Ring Bonefield for the tip!] [Update: ArenaNet has once again taken to Reddit to post updates as to the status of outstanding bugs and issues and bans in the game. The studio has also temporarily halted sales of the game through the ArenaNet website.]
Ask Massively: Stay inside edition
In sharp contrast to last week's advice, this time around, I'm advising everyone to stay inside. There's all sorts of cool stuff wherever you are right now, and it's kind of hot out today. Besides, look at how much fun Christopher Walken is having inside. Don't you want to be like Christopher Walken? Don't you want the ability to fly when your indoor cavorting requires it? In other news, please enjoy the earbug that's infected the entirety of the Massively staff on the day this was written. In other other news, it's time for this week's installment of Ask Massively, addressing significantly less weighty issues than last week's gold selling question. No, this week we're talking about old livestream videos, the reason for the non-ubiquity of authenticators, and of course, the great outdoors. If you've got a question you'd like to see answered in a future edition of the column, leave it in the comments or send it along to ask@massively.com.
Saudi Arabia pleased by RIM's concession, says BlackBerry messaging can stay for now
The forty-eight hour deadline came and went, but Saudi Arabia didn't pull the plug -- citing a "positive development" in RIM's efforts to appease Saudi regulators, the country has allowed BlackBerry messaging services to continue for the time being. Saudi Arabia's Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) didn't specify what the aforementioned "development" was, but thanks to well-placed anonymous sources we can hazard a guess: "CITC will now be able to monitor communications via messaging services," one Saudi telecom official told the Wall Street Journal, and Reuters reports that RIM will hand over BlackBerry decryption codes to the country. That's all for now, but expect this issue to bubble back to the surface again in the United Arab Emirates come October.
Kuwait wants RIM to filter BlackBerry traffic, Saudi Arabia testing three servers
The floodgates are open, and another country has washed in -- though unlike Saudi Arabia, India and the UAE, this one's not threatening a BlackBerry messaging ban... yet. Kuwait has publicly announced that it has requested RIM to deal with "moral and security concerns" -- namely, blocking pornographic websites -- and that RIM has requested four months to comply. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's deadline-driven local server tests are reportedly continuing apace; three servers, one for each national cellular carrier, must "meet the regulatory demands" of the country by Monday.
RIM averts Saudi Arabia's BlackBerry messaging ban, negotiates surrender (update: 48-hour ultimatum)
It took two long years for India to (allegedly) tap BlackBerry traffic, but Saudi Arabia may not have to wait nearly as long; the Wall Street Journal reports that RIM has all but agreed to set up a local server in the country. While we've no details yet on what the deal entails, an unnamed Saudi telecom official said negotiations are already in the final stages. Sorry, RIM, but it looks like Saudi Arabia called your bluff. We imagine the company will deny any potential for government snooping in short order... and both Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates will start planning their own attempts to wrest away control. We'll let you know where this house of cards falls. Update: Saudi Arabia has reportedly given its three national cellular carriers 48 hours to try out proposed solutions that "meet the regulatory demands" of the country, else the BlackBerry messaging ban will take effect as originally planned.
BlackBerry messaging shut down in Saudi Arabia, users feel early withdrawal pains (update: it's back)
We can't say this is exactly a surprise, but we are rather saddened to learn that Saudi Arabia has apparently carried through on its threats to shut down all BlackBerry messaging services functionality due to "security concerns." Users there are reporting that they are no longer able to use their keyboards for the jobs they were intended, forcing them to actually call friends -- with their voices. Saudi Arabia has threatened $1.3 million fines for any wireless provider that does not play nicely and, until those threats are lifted, we're thinking BBM is down for the count out there. Update: Merely hours later, service is reportedly back. Was it all just a tease? A planned outage blown our of proportion? A false sign of the Apocalypse? Only heaven knows.
Japan sees sharp decline in cellphone recycling
As cellphones become more than just communication tools, incorporating gaming, multimedia, and PIM features, consumers are growing more and more attached to their handsets -- which is leading to a sharp decline in the number of old phones being recycled. According to a 2005 survey by Japan's Telecommunications Carriers Association, respondents cited both nostalgia and concern over potential data leaks as the main reasons they're holding onto old phones, which helps explain the 30% drop in handsets recovered for recycling from 2003 to 2004. Security concerns are so high that some people are turning to crushing machines which punch a hole through the phone's circuit board, in full view of the customer, rendering it useless. Judging by some of the drawers full of old phones that we've seen right here in the US, this is probably not just a Japanese phenomenon, although a slew of new carriers entering that market next year could exacerbate what some see as a growing problem.[Via textually]
