World of Warcraft®

Been wondering how long these things last. What kind of power source does it have? Tiny batteries? Quartz crystals for Piezoelectric effect? Sheer force of will to tell haxxorz to GTFO? Please enlighten us.

This is the website for the company that makes the device (found on the back):
http://www.vasco.com/

It is a Digipass Go 6 and the site says...

Battery: non-replaceable, lifetime expectancy 7 years.

Sorry I couldn't come up with a more creative response! Miniature hamster wheels?

There have been reports of some of these failing earlier than 7 years, but I've tended to find LCD-bearing devices tended to give indication when they were starting to fail (dimming characters).

I believe catastrophically failing devices (i.e. defective) are replaced by Blizzard. The device is not user-serviceable, and I've heard it is supposed to destroy itself when opened. Besides that, the technology employed would not properly function if there is an interruption in power.

As long as you keep the serial number recorded in a safe place, it is very easy to remove the authenticator with a phonecall.

I have the authenticator app for my iphone, so I suppose I don't have to worry about that.... unless my iphone crashes or Steve Jobs releases an iOS update rendering it useless....

Running the iPhone app here too. It's pretty awesome, not least of which because it auto-picks the number when I'm using the remote AH on my phone too.

Ensures I never lose my phone too...after all, no phone means no WoW, and that just wouldn't fly, no sir.

Thunder, I bought mine probably about two months after they were first released (I missed the first batch of them, and it took Blizzard awhile to get a second shipment in), and it's still going strong.

As much time as you've put into Thunderbeer, buddy mine, I highly recommend getting one. I know shipment to Canada is pricy (I don't understand why), but it's worth it. If you've got an iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, or Android-based phone, you can also download the authenticator app for free, attach it to your account, and you're good to go.

Just take extra care to note the generated serial down if you use a phone.

That is really interesting, I never realized before that the authenticators have crypto built right into them. Vasco must be pretty confident that their technology can't be cracked.

02/15/2011 4:50 AMPosted by Vepa

That is really interesting, I never realized before that the authenticators have crypto built right into them. Vasco must be pretty confident that their technology can't be cracked.

They're a pretty high tier security tech company. You can check out their site for some serious security measures for companies.

I would imagine they supply these types of product to banks and such.

Well, it's not so much that the algorithm can't be cracked as it is that it's still next to useless without the seeding value.

I suppose it's theoretically possible to determine the value if you had a large enough series of numbers but that's just conjecture on my part (and still a pretty improbable senario).

Seeing as mine is made in china, Im assuming micropandas are chewing on a mini bamboo forest. This produces waste, which is then converted into a useable energy source that powers my authenticator.

02/15/2011 6:44 AMPosted by Criceto

That is really interesting, I never realized before that the authenticators have crypto built right into them. Vasco must be pretty confident that their technology can't be cracked.

They're a pretty high tier security tech company. You can check out their site for some serious security measures for companies.

I would imagine they supply these types of product to banks and such.

Indeed they do. Maybe not this specific company, but many do.

any word on how secure/safe, or good the phone in authentication service by blizzard is? It seems like a sound concept to me, if you log in to your account on any pc but your own, you have to call blizz, tell them your 4 digit code that you inputted when you started the program, and it'll give you an authentication #.

02/15/2011 12:37 PMPosted by Amaelalin

Well, it's not so much that the algorithm can't be cracked as it is that it's still next to useless without the seeding value.

I'm not an expert, but I think it's at least theoretically possible to crack it, too.

The point of the authenticator is that although it may not be fail-safe, it seems to be enterprise-level security, so it reduces the chance for account vandalization for the vast majority of personal accounts to an extremely insignificant probability.

The phone-in authentication service isn't as good a solution as the mobile authenticator, as it still depends on Blizzard's servers detecting a change in your log-in pattern. While it seems to do a decent job of that, it's not as dependable.

The physical authentication device is your best bet. Not perfect, but with some safe browsing habits, still the most reliable.

Next step is verification via DNA.

Don't worry, just a little prick on the finger and you're all done...

Next step is verification via DNA.

Don't worry, just a little prick on the finger and you're all done...

I already use fingerprints to log into my laptop.

Mythbusters managed to crack finger print scans with a bit of Ballistics Gel and a rogue finger print.

i was under the impression that the phone in authenticator works by recognizing what IP address you normally use, then requires authentication when using a different one. So, wouldn't that be pretty darn secure short of someone logging onto my account from my computer?