Blizzard's response to hacking...
I was suprised and gratified today to see that Blizzard will be selling a hardware authentication module to work with WoW: Blizzard hardware authenticator.
It's nice that they are making an active effort to prevent your account from being hacked.
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It's on sale!
http://www.blizzard.com/store/details.xml?id=1100000182
Meh
Ours are ordered!
One for each account, yay!
Arr... care for a pint?
First Thoughts
So we got ours in the mail and we got it set up.
The process is very very easy. Just go to Account Management on the worldofwarcraft.com website, put in the serial number of the authenticator, and you're set.
Next time you login, it prompts you for the 6 digit code. I like it, generally. I'd rather it were the primary token, as opposed to an additional one. In other words, I'd rather just type in the 6 digit code, plus maybe a 4 character secret, as opposed to my password + 6 digit code, and leave the password for emergencies (like the battery dying, lost token, etc). I understand the theory behind this process, it's just seems humbug.
Meh
Common in future games?
Yes, I find it particularly awkward when jumping between two accounts. After you do your initial login, a new screen pops up asking for the 6 digit code. It'd probably be a little less unwieldy if there were a third box under the password one, though clearly you can't have that for everyone's WoW.
So do you think future Blizzard games will come with these authenticators in the box? Will we see these in other MMORPGs? Or is this a one-time deal with an unusually popular game?
Arr... care for a pint?
I'd bet they wouldn't be in the box
Retail has pretty low profit margins. That's increasing the price of the game by $6.50. I don't think they'd go for it.
Meh
Accessory
As an accessory, then? I can see a stand of these things hanging next to the cash register as a last minute addition to your purchase, if they're cheap enough to make.
Arr... care for a pint?