#1 - Jan. 11, 2010, 1:01 p.m.
Q u o t e:
so it looks like blizzard gave hackers a new tool to take over accounts and steal all information, items and gold from accounts while we wait a hour or so to talk to billing. I never new this was a big problem till it happened to me. I was told that I had to go to a website or I had trojans, malware, spyware or other viruses on computer for the hackers to add a authenticator. The only problem is I have three different programs I run to catch all viruses and what not. I never went to any website or what not but yet I still get hacked. Looks like blizzard needs to be more aggressive in catching and stoppiong hackers from doing what they want as they please.
The authenticator is a tool to PREVENT this - and had you had one on the account, this would not have happened.
This is a new twist on their old trick of changing an email address, really not a lot more complex than that. Most damages are done within 5 min of account access, blocking you a bit longer really doesn't change the substantial pilfering done to strip an account of monetary items.
Malware is a leading cause of this, as well as social engineering, but those aren't the only ways this can happen.
If you use the same pass/ID anywhere else, especially on websites, that's another fairly substantial security risk.
I'd recommend you read over this sticky and follow the recommendations for scans. I'd also recommend doing your scans with the launcher open and some junk entry in the account ID. We've seen some nasty keyloggers pop up lately that don't want to show on scanners unless the launcher is active.
I also highly recommend changing your email password once you are certain your system is secure. They don't need into a system once they can dip into an inbox.
Computer Security Recommendations
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=1778038509&sid=1
You may also want to look into getting an authenticator for your account. It's no substitute for good security habits, but it will keep anyone else out of your WoW account. Not to mention core hounds make adorable pets!
Blizzard Store
http://us.blizzard.com/store/browse.xml?f=c:6
Mobile Authenticator
http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&articleId=26109
Even more core-hound goodness can be found here!
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=21726114509&sid=1
I do wish you all the very best.