ArenaNet has issued a warning to Guild Wars 2 players that the game has been hacked. Scammers have gained a list of usernames and passwords and are systematically trying them on Guild Wars 2. According to NCSoft, “approximately 8500 new support tickets related to hacked accounts and other blocking issues” on Sunday, September 2, and that by the next day 2574 players had been helped with their hacked accounts.
On the official Guild Wars 2 wiki, ArenaNet has stressed the importance of maintaining unique passwords for all their accounts.
“If you don’t want your account hacked, don’t use the same email address and password for Guild Wars 2 that you’ve used for another game or web site.
“Hackers have big lists of email addresses and passwords that they’ve harvested from malware and from security vulnerabilities in other games and web sites, and they’re systematically testing Guild Wars 2 looking for matching accounts.”
ArenaNet has also reported that “hundreds of thousands” of attempts have been made with accounts that simply do not exist as the hackers try to find a way into the system.
Analysis: It seems to me that hacking in MMOs has become as much of a fundamental part of the experience as leveling up is, and the problem is amplified with particularly popular titles like Guild Wars 2. Unfortunately, this is just a sad fact of online gaming that just won’t go away, but obviously certain precautions can be taken.
What ArenaNet has said may be the most sound and obvious advice when it comes to Internet security. The developer has put the responsibility on the players and with good reason. The simple answer is for players to have a unique password for Guild Wars 2, something that everybody knows but very few actually maintain.
Nevertheless, keep and eye on your accounts, folks, and change your password if need be.
