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07-07-10, 04:02 PM   #81
Sythalin
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Originally Posted by ikathma View Post
Just an FYI, I literally just posted this link over on the general forums, hit post and received a 72hour ban for "Spamming and Trolling" the forums. I think I've posted a total of four times or so in the last few weeks. And the post was gone in seconds.
Oh I'm just itching with curiosity now....
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07-07-10, 04:10 PM   #82
ikathma
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Yep, things are interesting right now. I guess the RealID thing is sort of working, it's bringing the forums community together all right. Just not in the way I think was intended. Anyways, signed your petions Chaos and sent my comments to the ESRB. Now to wait for the dust to settle.
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07-07-10, 04:14 PM   #83
speak
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the official forum thread is almost 29k posts now, 1400+ pages. by the time i finish reading the posts on the last page, three more pages of responses spawned rofl.

i've already enabled parental controls to disable RealID in game.

next step is to change my billing from credit card to strictly game time cards, and to change my contact information to fake name & address. will also be setting up a new email address to use in the contact information.

I wonder if anyone at blizzard will think it weird that my updated information will be like this:

First name: cSdgmtabwpQFsDXj
Last name: meaSijTtZGWVPhsL
Address: 9477294693057 S. eiGmxbNkSTYPHrzo Street.

rofl.
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07-07-10, 04:20 PM   #84
Ferous
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change my contact information to fake name & address
If you're going to do this, you might as well quit because if you ever got hacked, you couldn't retrieve your account back if they ever wanted you to prove your identity

I am starting to come around and state that it may be a bad idea to post real names, but to change your contact info, is a bad idea. Though, changing to time cards is always a good idea
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07-07-10, 04:25 PM   #85
speak
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Originally Posted by Ferous View Post
If you're going to do this, you might as well quit because if you ever got hacked, you couldn't retrieve your account back if they ever wanted you to prove your identity

I am starting to come around and state that it may be a bad idea to post real names, but to change your contact info, is a bad idea. Though, changing to time cards is always a good idea
why's that? as long as i keep the record of my fake name and fake address/information, i can provide it to them for verification right?

they might not like a bunch of random letters/numbers but i guess i could always use John Doe right
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07-07-10, 04:30 PM   #86
Ferous
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Originally Posted by speak View Post
why's that? as long as i keep the record of my fake name and fake address/information, i can provide it to them for verification right?

they might not like a bunch of random letters/numbers but i guess i could always use John Doe right
Not true. WHen I was hacked, they asked to fax my ID so I could unlock my account.

I'm sure you're ID doesn't match that information :P
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07-07-10, 04:30 PM   #87
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Instead of Germany suing Facebook, it should be the people of the United States sues Blizzard Entertainment.

Look at that. An entire country suing a company over privacy concerns. Blizz best step back and take a look at what they're doing.
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07-07-10, 04:34 PM   #88
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Originally Posted by speak View Post
why's that? as long as i keep the record of my fake name and fake address/information, i can provide it to them for verification right?

they might not like a bunch of random letters/numbers but i guess i could always use John Doe right
Originally Posted by Ferous View Post
Not true. WHen I was hacked, they asked to fax my ID so I could unlock my account.

I'm sure you're ID doesn't match that information :P
Ferous is right. Lets also not forget that when you create an account, you are legally agreeing that the information you are giving them is true and correct to the best of your knowledge.
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07-07-10, 04:41 PM   #89
Sythalin
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Originally Posted by speak View Post
the official forum thread is almost 29k posts now, 1400+ pages. by the time i finish reading the posts on the last page, three more pages of responses spawned rofl.

i've already enabled parental controls to disable RealID in game.

next step is to change my billing from credit card to strictly game time cards, and to change my contact information to fake name & address. will also be setting up a new email address to use in the contact information.

I wonder if anyone at blizzard will think it weird that my updated information will be like this:

First name: cSdgmtabwpQFsDXj
Last name: meaSijTtZGWVPhsL
Address: 9477294693057 S. eiGmxbNkSTYPHrzo Street.

rofl.
I may be following suit. I've already changed my email to a newly created gmail account. I don't mind the RealID in game; I've only added my closest friends (as advised) and don't plan to add anyone else. Unfortunately, it's true that changing my name would be a bad thing in the event of a hacker.

As far as CC vs. time card, think I may go to the latter. Last thing I want to run the risk of is some security flaw that exposes ALL account info (it's happened in other games before) because someone screwed up one line of code.
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07-07-10, 05:11 PM   #90
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Woah, the gaming communities I belong to are in drama mode .
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07-07-10, 05:15 PM   #91
speak
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Originally Posted by Ferous View Post
Not true. WHen I was hacked, they asked to fax my ID so I could unlock my account.

I'm sure you're ID doesn't match that information :P
ack, i didn't think about that. i figured it could all be handled over the phone, give them my name/addr/secret word and it would be resolved.

oh well, if i do get hacked, i'd still rather the hacker get an acct filled with fake information than all my real information. last thing i need is more identity theft enabled by what's included in the wow account...
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07-07-10, 06:35 PM   #92
Enceladus
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Addons accessing your RealID information

I haven't seen this mentioned yet on this particular thread. Can any of the add on authors comment on whether this will work or not for an add on that you are running to pull that info and broadcast it somewhere else with out you knowing it?
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07-07-10, 06:51 PM   #93
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I too am concerned about the change and won't be posting on the official forums once it goes into effect. I'm not so worried personally about identity theft or the usual "what if someone wanted to stalk me" type of thing, though. To me, it's more that I don't enjoy being put in a position where I have to disclose my real identity before I can contribute positively towards something I do purely for enjoyment. Professionally, I have few qualms about posting in public places with my name attached, but this isn't my professional life: it's something I do for relaxation and fun. It's just not serious enough of a venue for me to open myself up for any potential issues that could arise on either a personal or professional level, nor does attaching my real name add any "weight" to anything in this context. It's simply unneeded information, in my opinion.

I understand some of the motivations behind the change, but there are other ways to solve those issues without resorting to something like this. I guess I'll just save my (often infrequent) posting to places where I can still contribute or voice my concerns (like here ), but that don't put me in a position that I'm uncomfortable with and have reservations about.
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07-07-10, 07:07 PM   #94
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Originally Posted by Enceladus View Post
Addons accessing your RealID information

I haven't seen this mentioned yet on this particular thread. Can any of the add on authors comment on whether this will work or not for an add on that you are running to pull that info and broadcast it somewhere else with out you knowing it?
Yes it's very possible. An addon can scan your RealID friends, as well as their "Friends of Friends" list and broadcast to other users (also using the addon) via the addon channel and no one would ever know the difference.

So for instance, if this were ever plugged into GearScore (arguably the most used addon ever), it would be capable of transmitting your entire list, as well as your friend's lists, to every other GS user out there.
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07-07-10, 07:20 PM   #95
Enceladus
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Originally Posted by ChaosInc View Post
Yes it's very possible. An addon can scan your RealID friends, as well as their "Friends of Friends" list and broadcast to other users (also using the addon) via the addon channel and no one would ever know the difference.

So for instance, if this were ever plugged into GearScore (arguably the most used addon ever), it would be capable of transmitting your entire list, as well as your friend's lists, to every other GS user out there.
Oh, that's lovely.
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07-07-10, 07:23 PM   #96
Shefki
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Originally Posted by Enceladus View Post
Addons accessing your RealID information

I haven't seen this mentioned yet on this particular thread. Can any of the add on authors comment on whether this will work or not for an add on that you are running to pull that info and broadcast it somewhere else with out you knowing it?
See these two threads on the official forums for where I posted about this specific exploit:
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...26350209&sid=1
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...sid=1&pageNo=4

The thread you're linking to is about the exposure of your real name. Even if you've done nothing with Real ID this can still be exposed. Obviously the names of your friends and their friends can be exposed, but your own name even if you're not actively using Real ID is probably not obvious to most people. Blizzard seems to have taken some steps to hide this information, but there are a couple of ways that it's leaking out anyway.

The first of those threads is less technical and explains the steps you can take to mitigate the risk.
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07-07-10, 07:24 PM   #97
Alestane
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Originally Posted by Enceladus View Post
Addons accessing your RealID information

I haven't seen this mentioned yet on this particular thread. Can any of the add on authors comment on whether this will work or not for an add on that you are running to pull that info and broadcast it somewhere else with out you knowing it?
There are a number of things that add-ons you install and load can do to the detriment of your account or your characters, if you're not careful.

They can sell or delete your gear;
They can mail your gold to someone when you visit a mail box;
They can auction your stuff for low prices.

In some of these cases, you may be able to interfere, if you are quick and perceptive, but if you don't react quickly enough, they can do severe damage; and since the damage originated from your client while it was under your control, you wouldn't have a whole lot of recourse.

The User Interface, including addons, does have access to your Real ID information, including your friends and their friends (including you), so an add-on could theoretically expose your information this way. But this is hardly the first or only reason that you should be careful about what add-ons you use. Care includes watching for suspicious activity, reading descriptions and comments, and downloading add-ons only from reputable sites you are familiar with; Curse and WoWInterface both have formal fan site relationships with Blizzard and an interest in making sure the add-ons they host are as clean as possible.
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07-07-10, 09:46 PM   #98
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It's hardly the only bad thing an addon can do, true.

It is, however, the only one I can think of that could ever, possibly get you killed. Even in a one-in-a-billion freak accident.
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07-08-10, 12:23 PM   #99
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Originally Posted by Petrah View Post
Ive seen it said more times than I can count by the forum techs that the forums are there only as a courtesy, and if you want guaranteed support, you have to call or email them. Bluespacecow now volunteers over there, and I can say with certainty that he too has seen those words written over there.
Sorry about this. I know this whole TS issue is off topic I just wanted to clear the air over the use of my toon name (which I btw do not own )

For the record I have not seen those exact words from a rep. "Tech support in the forums is only a courtesy if you want someone to definately solve your issue please call xxxxx ". They may of told someone to ring billing for a specifically billing issue but no TS reps specifically fobing people off to the phones. This would be because sometimes phone support is the only department that can help them with an issue. Billing in particular can only be contacted by phone or email.

Similar to how if you ring your local council they would refer you to the water and sewage dept if ringing the rates team on a enquiry about leaking sewage. It's not that they don't want to help or won't help. It's just that sometimes another department is better equipped and better trained to handle that query and for some their chief point of contact is by phone.

But then again. I usually frequent the Mac TS forums there. If an issue is too complicated to do over the forums they would advise them to email them personally. They would never tell them to go to phone support there. And sometimes the only reason why it's moved to email is then the rep can step the player through an issue step by agonizing step (ie first point your mouse here , drag this here , type this into this field here etc etc etc)

This may be the case here - they felt the player would be better served moving to phone based tech support. But I have never seen them catergorically state "Our tech support on these forums is a courtesy if you want guaranteed support please call or email".

Technically all tech support Blizzard provides is a courtesy. Our contracts off Blizzard are for the "massively multiplayer online fantasy gaming world" service. No where in either the TOS or EULA do they guarantee any of their Tech support , game or even if the realm servers will stay up. We don't even own our toons.

KK Enough off topic TS stuff
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Last edited by Bluspacecow : 07-08-10 at 03:34 PM.
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07-08-10, 03:00 PM   #100
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Originally Posted by Flarin View Post
I am worried for the kids that play. They will post in the forums without regard for their safety.
Blizzard's response is you can set up parental controls for that account.

http://blue.mmo-champion.com/t/25712...ges-to-forums/
Originally Posted by Some random forum goer
Will the Real-ID opt-out that we can set for our children's account also keep them from posting on the forums?
Originally Posted by Nethaera
You will be able to set up Parental Controls to disallow a minor from posting.
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