Folks,

I urge anyone that is using a blizzard game to add an Authenticator to their battle.net account.. Assuming of course, that you have an Smartphone (iPhone, or android device). Or to buy an Authenticator from Blizzard. The Authenticator’s from Blizzard are key fob style devices that serve the same purpose as the mobile application, they are effectively free except for shipping and handling…

What do the authenticator’s do?  Normally you need to enter your battle.net username & password, to login to a Battle.net based game.  When you have Battle.net set to use the authenticator’s, you will be asked for a 3rd code, your authenticator code.

The authenticator code’s last for roughly 60 seconds, the green bar shows you how long before the code changes…

This gives your account a “3rd” password, that randomly changes.  Yes, it can be annoying to sit down and start to play WOW, Starcraft 2, etc, and realize you need your mobile device that’s across the room.

But this is minor irritation to the danger of someone “hacking” your battle.net account and stripping your characters of their gear.

I highly recommend that you consider adding this 3rd factor protection to your battle.net account.  With this enabled it’s almost impossible for someone to hack your account, unless they can de-activate the authenticator setting on your battle.net account.