Blizzard blasts 'frivolous' security lawsuit
Account Authenticator charge unfair, claims gamer
World of Warcraft developer Blizzard has said claims made in a lawsuit which alleges it engaged in "deceptive and unfair" business practices are entirely "without merit".
The lawsuit, filed by gamer Benjamin Bell in the US, insists Blizzard is forcing online players of Diablo III, Starcraft and World of Warcraft to pay $6.40/£8.99 extra for gadget, the Authenticator, if they want to keep their Battle.net, Blizzard’s online gaming service, account secure. If they want to play online, they need just such an account, he says.
Bell’s complaint, Courthows News reports, insists use of the Authenticator - a small random number-generating device of the type often provided by banks for online account login verification - is mandatory and that this is unfair. The number that appears on the Authenticator’s screen must be entered on the computer in order to play, a move that prevents anyone with stolen login details from gaining access.
Bell is seeking damages and an injunction to stop Blizzard charging for the Authenticator. He also wants the Court to force Blizzard to drop Battle.net as a requirement to run the games.
Calling the lawsuit "frivolous", Blizzard said in a statement that it is not the case that use of the Authenticator is mandatory. “The Battle.net Authenticator is an optional tool that players can use to further protect their Battle.net accounts in the event that their login credentials are compromised outside of Blizzard’s network infrastructure,” it said. Which means “account-theft attempts that stem from sources such as phishing attacks, viruses packaged with seemingly harmless file downloads, and websites embedded with malicious code”.
You can get Authenticator functionality for free by downloading an iOS or Android app, it added.
“Considering that players are ultimately responsible for securing their own computers, and that the extra step required by the Authenticator is an added inconvenience during the log in process,” Blizzard said, “we ultimately leave it up to the players to decide whether they want to add an Authenticator to their account. However, we always strongly encourage it.” ®
COMMENTS
Yup
Much as I hate to say it, I am with Blizzard on this one. Your are not forced to buy it and use it.
Stupid is as stupid does
Not the sharpest tool in the box by a long way. Even if it was mandatory, so what? its hardly a kings ransom and there are free apps available anyway.
If he was logging in and playing the game without the thing, what on earth made him think it was mandatory?
So yes, frivolous and retarded is a good description of this. I guess this will be tossed by a judge in about 10 seconds flat and hopefully, he will be made to pay for wasting court time.
The pricing is rather predatory though
I mean, what the hell kind of an exchange rate makes $6.40 into £8.99?
That's properly taking the piss.
They're right, it is frivolous, the authenticator is optional, and you can get a free smartphone app that does it for you, you know, if you decide security is more important than convenience.
What Next...
Is Benjamin Bell going to sue Blizzard for having to grind for maximum Valour points per week for his epics??
Or that Galaron in Heart of Fear's "Looking For Raid" is constantly wiping raids because they too stupid to follow tactics?
