Blizzard Authenticators May Become Mandatory 248
An anonymous reader writes "WoW.com is reporting that a trusted source has informed them that Blizzard is giving serious consideration to making authenticators mandatory on all World of Warcraft accounts. The authenticators function the same as ones provided by most banks — in order to log in, you must generate a number on the external device. Blizzard already provides a free iPhone app that functions as an authenticator. The source stated, 'it is a virtually forgone conclusion that it will happen.' This comes after large spates of compromised accounts left Bizzard game masters severely backlogged by restoration requests."
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Re:So... (Score:5, Funny)
So what, a keychain fob is going to suddenly stop working if it gets near a Linux device? Open source is a powerful thing, but if it now has an aura that destroys all non-GPL devices in a ten foot radius, I'm really impressed.
Also, "thousands of you" means there are as many of you as there are level 80 female dwarf subtlety rogues wielding Quel'dalar. You'd be insignificant even if you *did* all quit the game rather than play on another platform... which you won't.
When can I put TWO on the SAME account? (Score:3, Funny)
I want two or more authenticators, and I want them both to be recognized as valid. For instance, if I were to buy an authenticator and then try to log in, it would look at my username, my password, and then do the calculation based on the key- if it matches, it lets me in. If not, it does not. I would like to check my username, my password, and then calculate all the keys I have tied to the account (perhaps there would be a max of five, or ten). If the input matches ANY of them, it lets me in.
Currently, I don't have an authenticator because I travel all the time and I normally wherever I go, I at least remember to include my brain. Currently I could:
1- Lose an authenticator.
2- Bash it into a wall while tripping over anything.
3- Fall into a fountain- probably it wouldn't get too wet in that time, but hey!
4- Have it stolen- it wouldn't be useful to a thief, but they wouldn't know that.
5- Have the battery be bad or rot.
I've gone through a few cellphones, and a few days with no cellphone can really be bad. I would definitely not want to be on travel for two weeks and be unable to use my fancy laptop to play WoW! Especially given that with a cellphone I can go to any mall and be chatting again in a few hours if it becomes important, but for WoW you have to call up some hotline and identify yourself using whatever secret question I thought would be a great idea 4.5 years ago. The few times I've tested this hotline (granted, not in the last year), I eventually hang up because I'm bored and I can't talk to a human. I would sure hate to be doing that dance for real.
I also don't like the loss of user freedom- currently I can call any of four RL friends up and give said friend my login info if there's something that needs to happen in game, and a few guildies would also probably work. A single authenticator would shut that down unless I was on the phone with them. Blizzard might see this as a feature: according to their extensive ToS, not even your *spouse* is allowed to log into your account.