Blizzard sued over account security aids

[Vengfull]

It seems that someone has finally taken a stand against blizzard and the authenticator situation that has been growing.

Forcing players to use Battle.net and the authenticators is "deceptive and unfair", alleges the lawsuit.

Back in 2009 Blizzard forced us all to use the new Battle.net 2.0 system for all of its on-line games to make one over-arching system.

Well it seems a Mr. Benjamin Bell finds this "unfair" of blizzard to force people to use battle.net to play its games.

Mr Bell alleges that it has had millions of dollars in profit by selling authenticators to players after they bought its games. In Europe, the authenticator costs £8.99 or 9.99EUR. it also produces a free version as we all know for smart phones. And if you dig hard enough through OwnedCore chances are you will find many desktop authenticators.

Mr Bell says: "Instead of making gamers buy extras to improve security Blizzard should do more to protect accounts itself." The court papers mention several incidents in which the personal details of the players were stolen from battle.net.

The lawsuit itself alleges that Blizzard had not taken the "legally required step" to tell players about these problems.

Mr Bell seeks the following from Blizzard;

• damages from Blizzard
  
• an injunction to stop the company charging extra for its security gadgets
• He also wants Blizzard to drop the requirement to use Battle.net

Problem is for Mr Bell Blizzard said it would "vigorously defend" itself against the legal claims in the past and so far they have held up to this.

The lawsuit was "without merit and filled with patently false information" Blizzard said in a statement given to IGN.

[Click Here for Statement]

It denied that it did not do enough to let players know about attacks on Battle.net. It said the allegation that an authenticator was mandatory to use Battle.net was "Completely untrue". As anyone that has ever used the Battle.net system knows this is true and you do not need a authenticator to connect. This has infact stemmed from a misunderstanding about the gadget's purpose.

Blizzard branded the lawsuit's claims "frivolous" and said it would take the appropriate legal action to defend itself.

[calinzier]

should be interesting to see the outcome of this. I do agree with Bell saying we shouldn't have to pay extra for an authenticator. Not everyone has a smartphone to get a free one. Or a second computer to run the desktop based one "safely".

[nerfmeplease]

Blizzard has already responded, basically laughing the entire lawsuit off as "baseless" <-- cant remember the actually word, but its the same point.


the whole point of the lawsuit is just dumb, really. It says on the account there are OPTIONAL account security additions. there is also free phone verification, sms verification, android/iphone apps, custom desktop apps, etc for this. This is in no way required, no one is forcing you to use this (unless it is your GM and you have access to guild bank). If you cant afford the $7 to keep your account "super duper" safe, then why pay the $15 a month to play it? If you are that worried about your security, then don't log in, ever. It isnt blizzards fault you click stupid links and get keyloggers or back doors. It seems personal responsibility in the US is diminishing as more people find out they can sue for just about anything.

The security breach they had was completely public and they emailed every affected account email and notified them of the intrusion.Not to mention they posted it front and center on the website.

Just lazy people looking for money.

[spAnser]

https://www.paypal.com/securitykey

Quick sue paypal I feel forced to buy this to keep my paypal info safe.

[Owning]

Probably one of the most interesting things I've read in a while on here...

[Vengfull]

Owning there is a good topic about blizzard watermarking screenshots without users knowledge on owned core I'm on my phone at the moment so I can't link but its a good but very long read

[Owning]

Owning there is a good topic about blizzard watermarking screenshots without users knowledge on owned core I'm on my phone at the moment so I can't link but its a good but very long read

Please do find me it lol

[aamlord]

No merit on this lawsuit. The smartphone version is available for free and the keyfob is only $6.50 to ship in USA and more oversea. The keyfob costs a whole lot more than what Blizzard is charging, Blizzard is offering them as a service for some of us who likes to lurk in the dark sides of the internet.

A green post somewhere on blizzard forum indicated yes they are losing money every time someone buys the keyfob or download free apps. In the long run, the saving from having to handle less compromised account makes up for this.

The keyfob is also not available in unlimited quantity as it's made by someone else who also sells the same to other mmorpg games and to non gaming sector. If the supply wasn't an issue, Blizzard would probably have included one in every retail box of MOP already.

FWIW I'm sure the judge would ask the plantiff why they are spending $15 a month if he can't afford a one time cost of keyfob that should last around 5 years.

[Ziggeh]

It seems that someone has finally taken a stand against blizzard and the authenticator situation that has been growing.

A stand against what? What situation? Jesus. Really?

Forcing players to use Battle.net and the authenticators is "deceptive and unfair", alleges the lawsuit.

Only people who are using RMAH are forced to use the authenticator.

Back in 2009 Blizzard forced us all to use the new Battle.net 2.0 system for all of its on-line games to make one over-arching system.

Which resulted into SC2 and D3 accounts receiving the same level of support as WoW. OH THE HUMANITY!

For comparison, if you lose your SC, D2 or W3 account, there is absolutely nothing you can do to restore it.

Well it seems a Mr. Benjamin Bell finds this "unfair" of blizzard to force people to use battle.net to play its games.

Mr Bell alleges that it has had millions of dollars in profit by selling authenticators to players after they bought its games. In Europe, the authenticator costs £8.99 or 9.99EUR. it also produces a free version as we all know for smart phones. And if you dig hard enough through OwnedCore chances are you will find many desktop authenticators.

Mr. Bell attempts to make it sound like Blizzard has executed the following scheme:

1) Force all users of Blizzard games to use Battle.net
2) Force all Battle.net users to pay 10$ for authenticator

But they did not.

Mr Bell says: "Instead of making gamers buy extras to improve security Blizzard should do more to protect accounts itself.

Blizzard provides excellent account protection and support.

The court papers mention several incidents in which the personal details of the players were stolen from battle.net.

The very only security breach Battle.net has ever had did not result into any personal details being stolen.

The lawsuit itself alleges that Blizzard had not taken the "legally required step" to tell players about these problems.

They've made a public announcement about the breach right after it was confirmed to have occurred.

Mr Bell seeks the following from Blizzard;

damages from Blizzard

What damages?

an injunction to stop the company charging extra for its security gadgets

1) The authenticator costs 6.5$. I can only assume that it is about as much as it costs to manufacture and ship.
2) Two out of three authenticator options are free.

He also wants Blizzard to drop the requirement to use Battle.net

Their games - their rules. This is a fundamental concept.

Long story short, this is banal attention whoring slash mocking of US legal system. The case with be thrown out of the court after no more than one hearing.

However, my intuition is telling me that the least intelligent specimens will surely sympathize Mr. Bell and his bullshit. I imagine there already is a dozen pages thread on Battle.net forums where people whose uncle and father are the same person are making statements like "I'M ALREADY PAYING 15$ A MONTH, SO YOU SHOULD GIVE ME AN AUTHENTICATOR FOR FREE!". @Zomgtor, please do not try to engage me in conversation. Stupidity overload caused by your previous attempts of doing that has made this thread collapse.

[Owning]

No merit on this lawsuit. The smartphone version is available for free and the keyfob is only $6.50 to ship in USA and more oversea. The keyfob costs a whole lot more than what Blizzard is charging, Blizzard is offering them as a service for some of us who likes to lurk in the dark sides of the internet.

A green post somewhere on blizzard forum indicated yes they are losing money every time someone buys the keyfob or download free apps. In the long run, the saving from having to handle less compromised account makes up for this.

The keyfob is also not available in unlimited quantity as it's made by someone else who also sells the same to other mmorpg games and to non gaming sector. If the supply wasn't an issue, Blizzard would probably have included one in every retail box of MOP already.

FWIW I'm sure the judge would ask the plantiff why they are spending $15 a month if he can't afford a one time cost of keyfob that should last around 5 years.

Well said...

[Vengfull]

Owning: here's those links for you -

http://www.ownedcore.com/forums/cont...reenshots.html - Front page news report

http://www.ownedcore.com/forums/worl...reenshots.html - Main thread

[nerfmeplease]

every time i see this thread, i think it has to do with accounts getting aids.

[Owning]

Owning: here's those links for you -

http://www.ownedcore.com/forums/cont...reenshots.html - Front page news report

http://www.ownedcore.com/forums/worl...reenshots.html - Main thread

Ty ty + rep

[Vengfull]

every time i see this thread, i think it has to do with accounts getting aids.

i lol'd irl so hard >.<