Over the years, Blizzard has increasingly faced the irritating problem of their players’ accounts being hacked, stolen or looted. Not only is this annoying for affected players – many of whom expect strong passwords to be secure enough – but in some cases it is actually capable of affecting the in-game economy when not detected quickly enough.
A simple and effective solution to the problem was needed, and that is how the Blizzard Authenticator was born. Its first incarnation was in the form of a dongle. Once linked to one’s World of Warcraft account, one has to press a button on the Authenticator in order to generate an access code displayed on a small screen. This is entered when logging into the game – an ever-changing second password. Since it is a physical piece of hardware, it is unobtainable by hackers, this resulting in an account largely immune to security breaches.
Blizzard, of course, is a company, and companies are intent on making a profit. They weren’t about to go handing these devices out for free. Players therefore need to pay a fee of US$6.50 for one. Not quite content with the cost, availability and inconvenience of having to carry a dongle around with them, customers must have complained, as now a new and much more convenient Authenticator system exists; the Mobile Authenticator.
The Mobile Authenticator is installed on one’s iPod Touch, iPhone or one of many other mobile phones. It functions exactly like the physical Authenticator does, except that it is a downloadable application that will generate your second password for you instead. Considering most keep their phones near at all times, it is very convenient. iPod Touch and iPhone users were the first to receive the application, and surprisingly, they do not need to pay for it. The application has proven popular, especially since it has become available on a host of other mobile devices in numerous countries.
Here in South Africa, obtaining a physical Authenticator from Blizzard’s online store is not possible. Therefore, those interested have to rely on the Mobile Authenticator instead. Cell C, MTN and Vodacom users may download it from http://mobile.blizzard.com/, but if you are not an iPod Touch or iPhone user, you will need to pay a small fee of US$0.99 for it. Considering users of the former two devices get it free, one has to wonder why Blizzard has to charge the rest for it.
Regardless, the Mobile Authenticator is free or cheap, easily accessible for many and will add a very strong layer of security to one’s account when used. If you’re weary of your account details falling into the wrong hands, a once off fee of $0.99 (R7.50) doesn’t sound like much of a sacrifice compared to how much of your time will have been wasted should your account details do become compromised.
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