SOE Authenticator Now Available

[Hamma]

http://www.planetside-universe.com/n...lable-2524.htm

[Lartnev]

Good stuff, bring on the mobile apps

[opticalshadow]

ill wait for the mobile app. nice to see them upping their security

[ZaFo711]

i tried to connect my WoW authenticator to my account for shits and giggles, course it didnt work lol...

im curious though, do you guys think a PS only player really needs this?

[NivexQ]

Make a Planetside themed one and then maybe i'll think about it

[Hamma]

Well it never hurts to have more security on any account that has payment and personal information in it, not really about keeping your PlanetSide character secure.

[Protozoan]

Originally Posted by Hamma

Well it never hurts to have more security on any account that has payment and personal information in it, not really about keeping your PlanetSide character secure.

Ya considering the authenticator isn't 100% guaranteed to keep your account safe. If your account gets hacked all you have to do is let them know and they get it back to u, sometimes with more money/items then you had b4 lol, fail. Authenticator are a total waste of time you really want to go running around tying to find your key chain every time you want to log in, and don't lose it lol cause you'll have a field day trying to get into your account. Even if you keep it next to you all the time, its still a pain in the butt pressing that button every time you log in. Different mmos, I usally loggin in 10+ times a day, not to mention disconnects and the game crashing, etc. If you ever used an authenticator you'll know how much of a pain those extra steps are to pick up the authenticator, press the button, put it down, enter the key, it a pain trust me, it might sound lazy but you'll find out. Another note, if the battery ever dies, you have to buy a new one, battery usually lasts awhile but that's the biggest BS I've ever heard. Considering we usually play mmos for 5+ years, and once the battery dies its a headache to get new one and set it up, trying to get into your account and disactivating the current authenticator and activating the new one. You usually can't play for like a week cause they are mailing it and time to set it up, etc. Like I said total headache.

I don't know if this is how Planetside 2 will be, but past mmos this is how its been for me using an authenticator.

My dad works for a nuclear plant and the authenticator he uses to access is pc at work, works alittle different then the ones I've seen. He enters his login and password and then the authenticator key after the password but the 6 digit key is always present, he doesn't have to press any buttons it auto generated like every 5mins or something, not sure exactly but I thought that would be better. Cause then all you have to do is look down at the authenticator and key it in. I could see this draining the battery though.

Anyway authenticator works if you buy one but, I'd rather just save the money. They usually like $10.

[Lartnev]

Originally Posted by Hamma

Well it never hurts to have more security on any account that has payment and personal information in it, not really about keeping your PlanetSide character secure.

That is only the case if you need the authenticator to access everything or just the game. I'm hoping it's everything.

Originally Posted by Protozoan

Authenticator are a total waste of time

Wrong. Two factor authentication (password + authenticator) is far superior to single factor authentication (password only)

Originally Posted by Protozoan

you really want to go running around tying to find your key chain every time you want to log in, and don't lose it lol cause you'll have a field day trying to get into your account. Even if you keep it next to you all the time, its still a pain in the butt pressing that button every time you log in.

Security is always a trade-off between convenience and safety. I mean you could argue that having to type in a username and password every time you want to play is annoying too. I use an authenticator for a variety of things now and while it's slightly inconvenient I'd rather have the higher security. The Internet is not a safe place for information after all.

Originally Posted by Protozoan

Another note, if the battery ever dies, you have to buy a new one, battery usually lasts awhile but that's the biggest BS I've ever heard.

I'd imagine the reason for this is to make the authenticators cheaper to produce, if so fair enough. If you have a smart phone the app is probably a better option.

Originally Posted by Protozoan

He enters his login and password and then the authenticator key after the password but the 6 digit key is always present...

I presume this is an RSA keyfob (or equivalent). I have one for work too and it actually changes every minute. The problem with this sort of authenticator is that timing is critical: If you didn't log in for a while the authentication server and the keyfob would be too far out of sync and then you'd have to phone support to resync it. An acceptable cost for a nuclear power plant (and easier to keep secure) but perhaps not for an online game.

[Hamma]

That is only the case if you need the authenticator to access everything or just the game. I'm hoping it's everything.

This is in fact the case, I was able to get one at Fan Faire and it's for all SOE logins.

Protozoan,

You fail at understanding security. Two-factor authentication is an industry proven standard that millions of businesses across the world use to secure their infrastructure. The first factor is "Something you know" which is the basic password system that has been around for many many years.

The second factor is "Something you have" which is a keyfob that generates random codes every 30 seconds (depending on the fob they all work differently) but the majority I have seen and used regen codes about every 30 seconds.

Now obviously nothing is 100% any number of factors come into play. But it is a MASSIVE increase on security on your account because nobody has your keyfob or knows the random key that it is generating at any given time.

Is it a pain? Maybe, but no worse than having your identity stolen. I'd rather use the keyfob than the alternative.

Can the battery die? Sure, but I'd imagine they last quite a long time they don't use much horsepower and they have a constant drain.

[Lartnev]

Originally Posted by Hamma

This is in fact the case, I was able to get one at Fan Faire and it's for all SOE logins.

Good stuff

I guess SOE has learned from the attacks on it earlier in the year. Hopefully more games companies will follow suit.

[Slepnair]

one problem i've seen with some of the app authenticators is that if you reformat your phone, and reload the app, u have to take the authenticator off the account then redo it (alot of times). its a problem my friend had in rift for a while becuase it changes the key assigned when u reinstall the app.

[Hamma]

^^

Yes that certainly is a problem.