Security Reminders

Doesn't that interface make you want to stab someone? 

 

 I was reading some stories about botched scamming attempts this week and thought this was a perfect time to do one of those PSA posts. Now I discuss how important it is to protect your account and all that gold you are apparently making if these types of blogs interest you. Some are obvious to most of us we'd like to tell ourselves; I even had my account taken during Wrath though. Blizzard was great to get everything back quickly but my ego was a goner. 

 

 

Basics

Password - Despite popular belief that your password should look more like a random serial key than something you could ever remember I do not really think that is a smart way to go about it. People can never remember passwords like this and often times end up having to write it down somewhere or worse keep it in a file on their desktop which defeats the propose of having made the password. Don't make it your birth day or anything else someone could get easily from your Facebook profile, but it is important that you can remember it and type it quickly. 

Authenticator - Please, if you have a smartphone or an extra $6 get an authenticator. The main issues that kept me from fully backing this product have been solved. 1) You no longer are prompted to reenter the code what seems like 600 times a day. It is relatively noninvasive of your playtime now that it is "smart" and tracks your common log ins. 2) The same serial number attached to your account can now be synced between multiple devices and can easily be recovered on a failed device. This brings up the main stress point with an authenticator; Write down your serial number and restore code. Having a valid serial number to give Blizzard is almost like having the ultimate Get-Out-of-Hack free card. Not having it on the other hand is a very frustrating experience. 

Out of Game

Websites - Avoid dubious WoW related websites claiming to have "WoW cheats" and whatever else. They are bad mojo only.  On forums and blogs only follow links from people that you feel are legit and check where hyperlinks are sending you before clicking. Never engage in gold buying and not for some moral reasons about economy and bunnies being beheaded if you do.  The simple fact is most of the gold they are selling does not in fact come from farming but rather comes from stolen accounts. They do not mind your account being the next one. 

Emails - Never click a link in an email about WoW. Your account is not at risk of being suspended, you aren't getting into the beta of Mists of Panderia yet, and you don't need to enlarge your Dragonwrath by up to 6 inches. Blizzard hardly ever emails you unexpectedly and when they do you will not have to follow any link in the email. If it requires you to go to a site it's going to be battle.net and you can log in there directly instead of following a link to see anything you need.

In Game

BoE TCG Items - Remember first that exchanges of in-game currency for something outside the trade interfaces of the game such as for a redemption code for an item is not a Blizzard supported transaction. Many TCG items such as the mounts have been made BoE in the game and can be directly given/sold to another player. In these cases it is smart and safe to deny anyone trying to sale such items to you as a redemption code. If they were legitimate they would claim the item and trade it to you. 

Other Code-Items - Blizzard started something with the Guardian Cub and it wasn't a mastermind scheme to start sneaking in the sale of in game gold for real currency.  More and more people with limited incomes were wanting the Blizzard Store items and they were ripe for the scamming. Here is how it worked: The before mentioned dubious account thief gets Betty to put her Credit Card info into his site; He buys you a Panderian Monk with this information and has no problem giving you the code before getting payment to earn your trust - I mean "How could he scam me if I already have the item???";  He runs with your gold and Betty finds fraudulent charges on her account and her bank reverses payment on it...and you are left without the item, without your gold, and without any sympathy from Blizzard. 

 

In a short bit of unrelated news I am giving serious thought to what content I want to do with my YouTube channel and how I can connect that with the blog here. I think I am going to try a few different formats and see what works. The first idea was to expand the section I sometimes to submit to PowerWord: Gold and post as short YouTube tips.

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I will be testing the waters on this blog thing for a bit and would appreciate any feedback from those that reach the page. You can reach me here in the comments, on Twitter @formerruling, and on my YouTube channel FormerRuling