Beware of Phishing

A big deal lately with the security of wow accounts seems to be phishing. Fake whispers in-game are stating to show up nearly as much as gold advertising.

With the admitted leak of email addresses on the WarcraftRealms website earlier in December due to a security hole, you need to be more cautious as ever, as phishing email is now back on the rise. The email read:
http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/6051/wrealms.png

These people will stop at nothing to get your wow details, here is a perfect example of a classic phishing email:
http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/8303/fakez.png

At first glance, this looks extremely authentic. Note that even the email originates from "blizzard.com" which goes against the in-game loading screen "tip" of trusting emails with such extensions. Infact the only give away that this is a phishing email is when you hover over the link, you can see it forwards to a non-blizzard website, an attempt to steal your account details.

I see people frequently say things like "My computer is secure". That may be fine and dandy, but did you ever stop to think about the security of websites out of your control? The truth is, you just can't guarantee this security. So here's a few tips:

  • Keep your wow password unique, do NOT use the same password anywhere else.
  • Double, even triple think about entering your login details anywhere.
  • Buy an authenticator, you won't regret it. The peace of mind it will bring you far outweighs any downsides. Also, I know you want that cute pet.