(no subject)

[ysobel]

...you know, I can't say for sure how much more secure the authenticator thingie makes my WoW account (it's basically a second, dynamic "password"), but it really cuts down on the amount of time I spend playing. I mean, once I'm in, it has no effect, but the mild annoyance factor of having to pick up the thingamabob so I can see it? keeps me from just randomly logging on out of boredom.

(I don't know whether it's a good thing or a bad thing; I do know that a lot of my "I'm bored, what can I poke at" game time has shifted to Minecraft because there isn't the same amount of hassle.)

(And I have also discovered that in WoW, punching trees does not actually do anything. And punching cows is less satisfying when they don't moo indignantly at you.)

Comments

[ursamajor]

I'm trying the similar authenticator for GMail, and it's a PITFA, especially because, you know, sometimes my phone is out of battery when I'm trying to check my email on a public (and therefore previously unassociated with my account) computer. There's got to be a better way.

[niqaeli]

There's an authenticator app for WoW, but most people have the unique keyfob; I know that's what I have.

I keep my keys by my computer now for that very reason. But I am, also, less likely to just sign in randomly.

[ysobel]

I considered doing the app (free is good!) with my iPad, but figured I wouldn't always have it handy when I wanted to play. Given that I would have to actually move over to access the iPad, and given that I can use the keyfob without leaving the computer, I think I made the right choice ... but it's still a pita.

I think if it were just "push the button" then I would be okay. I keep the keyfob on my desk, right between my keyboard. But if it's on my desk I can't read the numbers (and in particular can't reliably distinguish between a 1 and a 7; probably 4 and 9 would have similar problems), so I have to actually get it and pick it up and it's not a huge amount of effort but it's /just enough/ to keep me from doing it unless I super want to.

[helens78]

It is vastly more secure. I wish every service had some kind of second-factor authentication. It wigs me out that my bank account is less secure than my WoW account. But I would never use the phone app (even though there is one for Android); having the keyfob right on my desk is much more convenient than having to remember where my phone is at any given moment.

[niqaeli]

I find punching cows in WoW pretty satisfying as I find punching any critter satisfying: that much closer to my armadillo pup. :P

Also, what other people said about the security. That general form authenticator is what my husband's work uses to authenticate remote connections in to their systems. (They're a casino, so, you know. They Care About Security.) I really wish to god my bank would offer a similar authenticator.