Curse

immortius · Jul 19, 2009, 09:41 PM // 21:41

Spyware or other malware wouldn't need to be from a Guild Wars related site.

Zeophite · Jul 19, 2009, 11:05 PM // 23:05

Ok here's the story. I have recently bought an EL Phantasmal Tonic which is great and all, but I then wondered what would people do if I stood at the Statue of Grenth with the tonic on. For the five minutes I was doing it people were constantly kneeling at my feet and trying to trade me, all of which i refuse.

2 days later I log into the game to find out that "Your Guild Wars account has been terminated, this is a permanent action Error (045)". As this is one of the only things I did during that short log in time, I'm guessing it was the cause. So now I have learnt a valuable lesson and that is simple...people are way too paranoid in GW. I didnt even say a word in any local chat, to them, I just stood there refusing trades. Sound like a scam to anyone?

Right now I have some emails sending through to NCSoft and trying to sort it out (got screenshots and all). Just wondering if anyone else has had this happen to them, and the results of said incidents. I really would not have thought this is permanent ban worthy, would you?

Strider77 · Jul 20, 2009, 12:57 AM // 00:57

I had been off this game for roughly 5 months. In my absence they added the stylist. Now I know for a fact that when I last logged in, which was a week and a half ago, my account had not been used because the faces and hairstyles of all my characters were all incorrect, which was a problem when they added the stylist. The simple fix was to log into the game and out and everything would be normal again. So I log in about 2 hours ago to get the perma ban message that everyone in this thread has recieved. I emailed support and got this:

Hello XXXXXXXXX,

Thank you for contacting the Guild Wars Support Team.

I am escalating your ticket to our Guild Wars senior staff members to assist you further. Once they have reviewed your question, one of them will contact you shortly.

Regards,
GM Ryan
The Guild Wars Support Team

I recieved this an hour ago so im hoping this all gets resolved soon. I have not made any purchases in the store ever also.

JASON626 · Jul 20, 2009, 01:09 AM // 01:09

my secondary account was banned. I've been gone since friday but got back read the email the sent:

Quote:

Hello,

Thanks for getting in touch with us. I have removed the block that was placed on your Guild Wars game account and you should be able to log into your account immediately. The reason your account was blocked was because it was accessed by an unauthorized third party. In order to protect your account, it is very important that you immediately change your Guild Wars game password either by using the link on the game login screen or by using the password change option within your NCsoft Master Account. If you require assistance with resetting your password, please let us know.

I strongly suggest you take a look at this Security FAQ, which includes more information to help you keep your Guild Wars account secure:

http://us.ncsoft.com//us/support/doc_993.html

For future reference, here is some information about how you can protect your account and keep it from being accessed by others:

1) Do not tell others the e-mail address that is your Guild Wars user name.
2) Always use unique passwords and never use the same password for your e-mail account, Guild Wars game account, fansite forum account, etc.
3) Do not install third-party software (i.e. software not created by NCsoft or ArenaNet). Programs that claim to be item modifiers, cheat programs, or even harmless looking programs such as attribute/skill calculators or dye calculators could actually contain a harmful virus or key-logger that will steal your account information.
4) Do not give your username or password to anyone, including family, friends, or guildmates. Even though you may think you can trust them, there are cases in which friends have taken items, deleted characters, etc., without the account owner's permission.

Please contact us again if you need any additional assistance.

Anyone banned ever not use GWx2? Doubt if its that, just curious if anet can detect that now.

**cosyfiep** · Jul 20, 2009, 06:08 AM // 06:08

ok, I have been biting my tongue for the last 2 days (and seeing as no one from anet will post---sorry inde but copying gaile's post doesnt do it for me)
any one find it odd that 2 months ago we had to change our log on for the xth tourney to our guildwars signon and password....now its down, and (ok conspiracy theory ho!)....now a bunch of people have had their accounts accessed.....and gee the internet is just sooooooooo secure (yes got my tin foil hat).....anyone see any kind of connection here??? Or is it just my overly suspicious mind and paranoid character at work----

pamelf · Jul 20, 2009, 06:12 AM // 06:12

No, cosyfiep I sort of agree with you. I really, truly don't believe that all these people were all of a sudden accessed randomly by a 3rd party program; unless that program was installed through the GW site itself. There is something going on, and I do believe that Anet, while probably not behind it must take responsibility.

immortius · Jul 20, 2009, 07:58 AM // 07:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miscreant_Moon

Just wanted to edit and add that I really doubt all of these people went to a non-related guild wars site and happened to download and become infected with spyware or malware. That seems like a real long shot for any hacker.

They might not even realise they have been infected, if they were infected via a security vulnerability in their browser (or through Flash or Acrobat Reader). And often malware is spread across a variety of websites by first infecting them through vulnerabilities in their hosting software.

The "hacker" wouldn't necessarily be targeting guild wars stuff, they'ld just get all the user's usernames and passwords (and other details), and then sort it out later.

This is all conjecture of course, but if ArenaNet was compromised we'ld have seen something a bit bigger than a couple of dozen accounts being locked (for their own protection).

Loralai_gw · Jul 20, 2009, 12:35 PM // 12:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by immortius

They might not even realise they have been infected, if they were infected via a security vulnerability in their browser (or through Flash or Acrobat Reader). And often malware is spread across a variety of websites by first infecting them through vulnerabilities in their hosting software.

The "hacker" wouldn't necessarily be targeting guild wars stuff, they'ld just get all the user's usernames and passwords (and other details), and then sort it out later.

This is all conjecture of course, but if ArenaNet was compromised we'ld have seen something a bit bigger than a couple of dozen accounts being locked (for their own protection).

Immortius, this was not a "couple of dozen" accounts being locked. For the first time ever I saw Anet use the words "a modest amount of accounts" rather then "a handful", or "a few", or "a small percentage" or just as you said "a couple dozen". While ArenaNet did try to write it off as a Minor Account Access Issue this should tell you that if they are using the word modest then this involved hundreds to possibly thousands of accounts. I mean honestly Arenanet, being permabanned with no explanation is a Minor Account Issue? For who?? ArenNet loves to downplay everything until you would believe that only 3 people were affected (like putting the word "minor" in). So for them to say the word modest implies that this was much more wide-spread then anything they've seen before.

Not to mention that, in the words of the community managers, Guru does not represent the community so if there is a few dozen posting here about it then you can times it by 100. Because the majority of Guild Wars players don't visit the fan forums.

Show Some Skin · Jul 20, 2009, 12:49 PM // 12:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by cosyfiep

ok, I have been biting my tongue for the last 2 days (and seeing as no one from anet will post---sorry inde but copying gaile's post doesnt do it for me)
any one find it odd that 2 months ago we had to change our log on for the xth tourney to our guildwars signon and password....now its down, and (ok conspiracy theory ho!)....now a bunch of people have had their accounts accessed.....and gee the internet is just sooooooooo secure (yes got my tin foil hat).....anyone see any kind of connection here??? Or is it just my overly suspicious mind and paranoid character at work----

It really does seem odd and i think it all does have a connection, but i wonder why nobody from a-net has posted anything about it. It doesnt seem that they are being honest and that they are hiding something, i hope that my account doesnt get hacked though...

Regina Buenaobra · Jul 20, 2009, 06:25 PM // 18:25

I don't have information that is different from the information that Gaile has already posted on the Support Issues page on the official wiki, and her message was already posted earlier in this thread. According to the support team's investigations, those accounts were compromised via a third party source. If your account has been compromised by this, please contact Customer Support. Thanks.

II Lucky Charm II · Jul 20, 2009, 10:58 PM // 22:58

All the more reasons to not trust Anet's security. Imagine signing on to the xunlai tournament voting page with your game ID and password. They promised us a safe environment to play in!

slowerpoke · Jul 21, 2009, 03:31 PM // 15:31

interesting topic. if it was really just down to spyware/malware, phishing scheme would such a large number of accounts be all blocked at once?

its like there was some kind of large scale account detail leak and anet decided to block all of those accounts to stop items being stolen.

Jadi Lontres · Jul 25, 2009, 07:31 AM // 07:31

I just got this problem too, I received a code=045 after not being online due to my computer being fixed. The last activity I had done was farming and checking my progress on my characters. Thankfully, I had most of my items (pets, weapons) customized and linked to my account in the Hall of Monuments. I am surprised that this situation is bigger than I thought it would be...I hope I am not missing anything and hope that other players' situation as well as mine be fixed after this mess. I had a feeling it would be someone tyring to access my account but when I saw that my account was banned I was shocked and upset because I haven't done anything wrong to get my account banned. I already sent a ticket to anet so now I have to wait for their response. :/