From Lodestone:



Soon you'll be able to turn your phone into a security token dongle. pretty sure Blizzard have been doing this for ages too.

Public Service Announcement

You really should have a security token linked to your account. What amounts to a few extra seconds to login (5-10 seconds at most?) makes your account completely and utterly unhackable.

Even if somebody got your username and password, without somehow getting hold of your physical dongle, they cannot log into your account. Key-logging the password doesn't work, because the password generated by the dongle stops working after a minute or so, and the code becomes invalid the first time it is used. Even if somebody somehow cracks the dongles algorithm (the chances of this happening are slim to none) it won't do them any good because every dongle generates different numbers based upon it's serial number, which is printed on the back of it. It's that serial number that's tied to your account, and no hacker is going to be able to find out what it is.

Having a security token tied to your account also stops it locking your account every time your IP address changes, which is a plus.

If you bought XIV collector's edition, you got a free dongle. If you have one, USE IT. If you don't have one, soon you'll have a smartphone app that'll do the same thing for you. Can't stress this enough. After the debacles in FFXI with fan sites installing key loggers, random Chinese hackers getting in somehow, and "friends" stealing your stuff, having a token bound to your account is absolute peace of mind.

This is great news. I hate lugging my token around with me. I would either forget it at home, at work, or misplace it in my backpack.

Now I just leave it near my home comp always, which resulted in me rarely checking the Alpha and Beta forums because I didn't want to go retrieve it to login. Sometimes I feel like logging in from the laptop while laying on my couch. Then and I'm like "damn I gotta go find that token". My phone is with me always. I would love having my security code generated from an app on my phone. I am very happy about this.

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Yah, this is a good move. Blizzard has phone apps, and I was thrilled to be able to use it without needing to carry around extra keyfobs. I already have one for work. haha

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windows phone gets snubbed again

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Take my hand, brave adventurer. We face this dungeon together - with FRIENDSHIP!

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hell yes!

I'm too lazy to use my token that came with the game. I used to have one but it was annoying to have to carry around when I would be logging in at different places a lot. The phone app Blizzard has is really nice and when my phone stopped working it was easy enough to remove.

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[In Yarr we trust.]

This is now out. Go here for instructions and screenshots and stuff:

http://eu.square-enix.com/en/seaccount/otp/token.html

You can't use both the token and the app. If you currently use the token, you need to unregister it before you can register to use the phone app.

It doesn't say so on the page, but I seem to recall that if you unregister a security token it can never be reattached to any account again ever. Might want to watch out for that.

Pros & Cons of using a software token over the physical token:

+ Unlike your token, you're much more likely to be carrying your phone while not at your house.

+ The phone app is completely free. Unless you got a free token with the collector's edition, they cost $9.99.

+ Although it may take 5-10 years, the battery of the security token will eventually run out. You can get a new token but it'll cost you. You'll be locked out of your account during this time.

- On the flip side, the 5-10 years will easily outlast your phone's lifespan, which many people replace every couple of years. Although you can swap the app to a new phone, you need to do it while you still have your old phone if you don't want to get locked out of your account.

- Your phone is more susceptible to loss and thus getting you locked out of your account. (Lost phone, damaged phone, new phone, reset phone, upgrade phone, etc) - Whereas your token will likely sit in a drawer for 10 years and only come out to log you in and back into the drawer again.

- Smartphones can get viruses and spyware, and malware can target these apps and obtain one-time passwords. In it's defence, because this is two-factor authentication, somebody who does this still needs to somehow get your username and password from your PC and match it to the right phone somehow. A malicious IRL "friend" could pull it off; they could steal your token too, mind, but you're more likely to notice that.

Don't let the cons put you off. Having your account secured with two-factor authentication is the best thing you can do for peace of mind versus hacking and account stealing etc.

i can 100% confirm this, it becomes trash

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RIP Shiloh - I'll never forget ya