Blizzard behind the Hacking??

#94 - Sept. 27, 2010, 7:54 p.m.

Q u o t e:
So yesterday I put in my new motherboad and proceeded to do a fresh install of Windows. I then installed all windows updates followed by my security software. I then installed WOW using all the CD/DVD's. Once completed through WOTLK I tried to log into my account which I just recently activated again after being away for over a year. When I got to the log in screen it asked for my Battlenet login?? OK this is new I say so I call the WOW support and they tell me that they have converted all accounts over to this Battlenet log in system for security and that I must set one up. I say OK and continue to set up the Battlenet account. Once I was finished I finally was able to log into my account. I logged in and played for about 10 minutes and then logged out to put my daughter to bed. 20 minutes later I logged back in to find that my account had been hacked in the 20 minutes I was gone and every item I owned along with 20K in gold was all gone. Now this happened on a Fresh install of Windows, a brand new BattleNet account, and a fresh install of WOW. No mods or anything have been installed Just Windows, Security software, WOW and drivers??? I have ordered an authenticator but it has not arrived yet :( But my point is that how in the world could my account have been compromised? Either WOW's authentication servers are unsecured and hackers are directly gaining access to our account information by hacking the servers or someone that works for Blizzard is supplying them with the information. I see no other explanation?? I submitted a support ticket and was able to get all my stuff back within 20 minutes of losing it so I am happy about that but still I wonder what the hell is going on that my account could be compromised in such a fashion. I could understand maybe if I had been downloading mods and I would just say oh must of got a keylogger from one of the mods...But after doing a fresh install and doing nothing else but installing WOW it kind of clears things up and narrows the possibilities down of how the account was compromised doesn't it... OK I am done ranting but I just wanted to share with everyone this information because something strange is indeed happening here.

Security Checklist
http://us.battle.net/en/security/checklist

We have been helping players deal with account theft for years now, and unfortunately, roughly a third of players make a very basic security mistake: using the same password for all of their security needs.

If you are serious about protecting your account and your personal security, your Battle.net password should be different from your email account password -- or other personal passwords for that matter!

No one wants account thieves rooting around in their personal email, address book, and contact lists. Too often we see thieves breaking in to this information because their target has used the same password across multiple types of accounts. Not only can this give thieves access to your account, it can lead to compromises far outside of Battle.net as well.

It’s immensely important that everyone use separate passwords for separate applications, including games. Secure passwords have both numeric and alphabetical values, and are usually at least 10 characters in length.

For more information on password security, please click here: http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&articleId=20574
For more information on account security, click here: http://us.battle.net/en/security/