I don't carry mine around. I stuck it to the front of my monitor and there it shall stay. I feel safer with it than without it.How it works. Basically you put in your password and then it asks for the authenticator number. You press the button on the authenticator and it gives you the number to put in. Someone hacking your account wouldn't have the number even if they did have your password so they wouldn't be able to steal your account.
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
I got hacked 3 times in a month once. I got one. (Norton blows chunks, fyi)From what I understand, it uses an algorithm that factors in the time of day (probably GMT), it's serial number and a different random number hardwired into each doohicky to generate its code. Each code can only be used once.At least that's my guess.I got mine in front of my monitor as well. It ain't going anywhere.
Well when the authenticators were first released I thought to myself that I'd have no need for one, since I don't really do anything that would get me keylogged or whatever on the computer I use WoW on.But, I have been noticing a increase in the amount of accounts hacked mostly from fellow guildies.So I figured better to be safe than sorry, I decided to download the mobile authenticator for my phone and I have to say it's really simple just adds maybe another 20-30 secs to my login time. And it definitely adds a feeling of security. Which I guess was the purpose lol ^.^
The hassle outweighs the risk for me. I run a tight ship and use a password that won't be dictionary attacked, plus I have a weird username.I'm not worried.
After several friends got hacked, I bought one. I spent a few months playing WoW day in day out while unemployed earlier this year and didn't want all the time and effort to go to waste if someone hacked my account. I keep it on my keychain and have had no problems with it since buying it in April.
I've really wanted an authenticator for a while, but these days the blizzard store shipping charges in the uk are just stupid, the device is about the size of a lighter and costs £4.80, and the 'Express' shipping (which most people would actually consider to be regular, with express being some kind of next-day) costs £10.50, over twice as much as the authenticator itself...
Things get easier if you get the iPhone. You're less likely to loose that, at least to my experience since I never leave without it. (also, you can call it if you can't find it)
Seems to be more an issue of displacing items than a problem with the actual device. As for me, i have the authenticator hanging from a hook on the wall right next to the computer, in plain sight.
Never hacked before I got Authenticator, but as I'm paranoid about security I got one.I'm very happy with it and the only drawback is that when I merged my account with battle.net I can't use the store without authenticator anymore, which is bad, because I often make orders from office and authenticator is always at home.
I was lucky enough to get one of the first wave that came out in the EU, With one you cannot within reasonable odds (approximately the same as the odds of the air in your lungs spontaneously becoming water through quantum interactions) be hacked.Do what I did, and carbon tape it to the side or front of your PC or monitor, and forget about *WOW SPECIFIC* keyloggers.It is not a reason to have lax PC security.
At the OP: I once lost the keys to my house and when I came home it was a real hassle, but that doesn't mean that I consider the concept of keys a bad idea. Yes, locking your account to an authenticator is a hassle if you don't pay attention to where you keep it, just as a locked front door is a hassle if you don't pay attention to where your keys are.I think Blizz should make authenticators mandatory with a deadline set 6 months from now or something like that. On a personal level I don't really care whether or not you guys use an authenticator or not, your security is your own concern BUT every time one of you get hacked it gives the annoying gold sellers more gold to sell, an account to spam from and wastes GM time on solving the issue, making the queues for other in-game issues longer..Question:If Blizz decided to stop restoring hacked accounts, would you still try your luck without an authenticator?
After 2 of our Officers got hacked in the space of a month, we've now made it compulsary for Officers in our guild (who have access to a restricted bank tab with all the valuable stuff) to have either the Authenticator app or the keychain version.Both of these officers had complex passwords, fully up to date Virus scanners, were really IT savvy and ultra paranoid when it comes to security. Authenticators cost absoloute peanuts to produce. Personally I think Blizzard should be putting them in the box when people buy the game as account hacking is now that much of a problem. I know more of my guild would have Authenticators were it not for the ludicrous shipping charges (in Europe anyway) which raises the total cost to up to 5x the cost of the device :/