Unauthorized Account Access Policy
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"If you reveal your secrets to the wind you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees." --Kahlil Gibran
I have a secret to tell you: World of Warcraft becomes more enjoyable the longer you play. I know, I know, big shocker there. Want to know why that is? On its most basic level, this is because your extended commitment to playing the game is reflected in the levels, gear, spells and abilities you accumulate over the course of your adventures. For most players, this process is a reward in and of itself. However, there are those who would endeavor to take (or simply destroy) the fruits of another's labor without their consent by accessing their account without authorization (commonly referred to as "hacking" an account or an account's security being compromised). This policy will detail the restrictions placed on account access by the
Terms of Use (ToU), how to better protect yourself from having an account compromised, how to go about regaining control of an account compromise, and the repercussions for compromising an account that is not registered to you.
Limitations placed on Account Access
The ToU speaks extensively about what you may and may not do with a World of Warcraft account. This section highlights a few passages from the ToU that are most relevant to this policy. The core message is that you, and only you (with the exception of a minor authorized to use an account by a parent or guardian), should be accessing an account registered in your name.
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Blizzard Entertainment does not recognize the transfer of Accounts between individuals. (Section 1E of the ToU)
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You may not share your Account or password with anyone, except that if you are a parent or guardian, you may permit one (1) minor child to use the Account instead of you (in which case you may not use that Account at the same time). (Section 1A of the ToU)
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You are liable for all activities conducted through the Account, including any activities which may be conducted by your minor children that you allow to use your Account. (Section 1A of the ToU)
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You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your User Name and password, and you will be responsible for all uses of your User Name and password whether or not authorized by you. Security of your account is your responsibility. (Section 1D of the ToU)
Tips to Prevent an Account Compromise
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"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." --Ancient proverb
It takes an extensive amount of time for Blizzard's Customer Support Staff to investigate and attempt to resolve the consequences of an account compromise, during which time the subject account is usually suspended. So, taking steps to prevent an account compromise is time well spent. Due to this, we would like to reiterate that account security is the sole responsibility of the
registered user of said account. As such it is
your responsibility to make sure to use appropriate password protection techniques, that could include disabling file sharing, running virus checks, and other applicable measures to prevent accounts from being compromised. Listed below are a few tips to help keep an account secure:
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Do not share the account information with anyone. This includes both the User Name and password. Most compromised accounts turn out to be the work of friends, family, guild members, or others that you "thought" you could trust.
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Do not write your password down. If you must, then do not keep it where others can find it. Places such as your wallet, under your keyboard, or with your World of Warcraft CDs are not good places to store it.
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Choose a secure password. Your password should be difficult to guess, but easy for you to remember. Here are some tips to make your password more secure:
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Be certain to use a combination of numbers and letters (a mix of upper and lower case letters is recommended).
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Avoid using words found in any dictionary or names of friends, family, pets, etc.
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Avoid using your character or account name in your password.
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Never share the "Secret Question" and answer you defined when creating your account with anyone
Third Party User Interfaces
Third party user interfaces ("Third Party UI's") are very popular in MMORPGs and World of Warcraft is no exception. Unfortunately, the use of a Third Party UI can also be risky. Blizzard has observed certain "unscrupulous" developers of Third Party UI's that will develop "worms" and "Trojan horse" viruses, including "key loggers" that will steal account information. While Blizzard sympathizes with victims of this reprehensible behavior, and will do what we can to help you regain control of your account, Blizzard is not responsible for the damage that can be done to your account or your life that might occur from your use of a Third Party UI. Section 13(g) of the ToU specifically states that:
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The use of any "user interface" other than the user interface that is included in the World of Warcraft Software ("Third Party User Interface") is not recommended by Blizzard Entertainment, and you hereby agree to indemnify and hold harmless Blizzard Entertainment from all claims, damages, and other losses which may arise from your use of a Third Party User Interface. At such time that Blizzard elects to post a list of approved Third-Party User Interfaces on its website, you agree that you will use only those Third-Party User Interfaces approved by Blizzard, and that you will use no other Third-Party User Interfaces in connection with World of Warcraft.
Regaining Control of a Compromised Account
If you believe the security of the account you use has been compromised, it is imperative that you perform the following steps
immediately:
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Attempt to reset your password via the Account Management section of the World of Warcraft website. This will prevent a "hacker" from logging into your account in the future. Once you have performed this step, please ensure that the account's security has indeed been compromised and the cause was not something innocuous, such as a forgotten password.
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If you are unable to reset your password and it is during normal hours of operation (Mon-Fri, 8AM-8PM Pacific Time), contact the World of Warcraft Billing department by phone at 1-800-592-5499 for assistance in the recovery of your account. If it is not during normal hours of operation, please send an email to the World of Warcraft Account Administration group at WoWAccountAdmin@blizzard.com. While Billing will not be ultimately responsible for investigating the incident, we recommend that you contact them if you have not received a response by the time they have opened for business. This is to prevent as much further damage to the account as possible.
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Run a virus scan for Trojans installed on your machine. Most often, access to the account was obtained through a Trojan, usually a key logger.
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Change the password for the email account you use. This may have been the method used to obtain your password in the first place.
When an account is reported or its security appears to have been compromised, the World of Warcraft Customer Support Staff will disable access to the account while we conduct an investigation. Once we are confident that account access privileges have been restored to the registered user (and only the registered user), we will enable access to the account. While we will attempt to restore any items/gold missing from the account, we cannot guarantee that lost items/gold will be reimbursed. Reimbursement is only a possibility if the situation is reported within 2 weeks (14 days) from the date the account was first compromised. Additionally, restoration due to an account compromise is offered only once. Should the account become compromised in the future, we may restore deleted characters, but no reimbursement of items/gold lost will be offered.
Repercussions for Compromising an Account
This category applies to players who have:
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Accessed an account reported as compromised and are not the registered user of said account.
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Knowingly or unknowingly received items/gold from a compromised account.
If a player is found to have participated in one of these acts, he/she may:
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Have the transferred items/gold removed from the account.
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Receive an account penalty up to and including account closure if the registered user of the account perpetrated the compromise.
Any player found to be involved in compromising the security of another account may have any and all related accounts closed. This may include accounts found to have knowingly received items/money transferred from a compromised account. We will conduct a review of both the compromised account and the account(s) that received the items/money and action the account(s) based only on the information gathered through our investigation.
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