Aion – Page 8 – MMO Fallout

G-Unit Reports: No Critical Security Issues

G_Unit_pictures — G-Unit doesn't handles account theft.

Our game servers, account databases, and support sites are under constant attack and being probed for any vulnerability. It’s a war that by no means is over.
-Scott Jennings, NCsoft on Aion.

There may not be a fight between gold farmers and developers as intense what is going on between Aion and the gold farmers. Not simply definable as a growing feud, this battle has turned into all-out gang war, with NCsoft going as far as bringing in G-Unit (no, not that G-Unit) to fight off the hoard of bots and spammers. The gold farmers have also stepped up their part of the fight by doing their best to steal as many player accounts as possible, not to mention launching countless attacks against NCsoft’s security systems.

Scott Jennings, in a recent note to the community, affirms players that they are continuing the monitor systems, and have confirmed that there are currently no critical issues with the NCsoft account security. NCsoft will continue to audit their security systems, and players can expect changes to come this year, continuing the security updates Guild Wars and other NCsoft titles received last year.

Following the high profile, and very sobering (as described by Jennings) cyber attack that breached the systems of Google and a host of other companies, it is difficult for players to feel that their information is safe. Unfortunately all we can do is watch and try our best to keep our information safe, while at the same time hoping nothing happens over on the developer’s end.

More on Aion, Security, NCsoft, and more as it appears.

Update: My Inactive Aion Account Logged In

Account stuff — In the latest episode of our continuing drama...

I’ve been keeping an eye on Aion since the whole issue of account theft came to light, with what could potentially turn out to be a major bombshell dropped on NCsoft if allegations of security breaches were true. Originally the story was confined to a lot of people having their accounts stolen, which NCsoft had placed the blame on an unnamed fansite being compromised.

Later, I reported on accounts of inactive accounts being stolen and looted, an act that should be technically impossible as inactive accounts should not be able to log into the game to begin with, much less walk around and trade. I’ve received all kinds of email since then, calls of support from the NCsoft community, wishes of good luck in the not-getting-my-tires-slashed department, and expressions of distrust and hate, and even several accusations that I was working for Blizzard, Funcom (yes), Sony Online Entertainment, and even Aventurine. If so, I’m missing several paychecks and will be contacting the aforementioned companies in the hopes of recuperating such salaries.

It isn’t often I get to drop a proverbial piece of cheese on my own, however, as I reported just yesterday that, while searching through my NCsoft master account, I noticed that my Aion account was still listed as “playable.” I canceled Aion back in November, with the account ultimately going dead in December (although I cannot confirm it actually went inactive). I did confirm through the card I used to purchase the title (I only have one, so figuring out which was not difficult) has not been charged, and the account listing (as shown above) displays no current subscriptions.

I intended upon logging in today and replacing the previous article with an “I’m sorry, I made a stupid mistake, the account is not active.” Instead, I went through the process of downloading and installing the game, only to find what is below the break. Please note: The following contains images of Aion. If you are allergic to Korean grinders, subscription based MMOs, or have a general dislike for blue women played by men, please avert your eyes.

Continue reading “Update: My Inactive Aion Account Logged In”

Star Trek Online/Global Agenda/Aion Tops Sale Charts

screenshot_2010-01-12-13-03-55 — You will be assimilated...with three packages to choose from.

MMOs sell better than you would think, but in the realm of hundreds of competing, non subscription based games, making it on to the best selling list at any medium is a feat taken almost exclusively by preorders and World of Warcraft.

So despite what people may be saying about the Star Trek Online open beta, the majority appears to disagree. Coming in at #3 on the Steam best seller list: Star Trek Online, digital deluxe package. On Direct 2 Drive, Star Trek Online is taking the #1 and #2 spot in terms of sales. Star Trek, which just recently went into open beta, and launches early January, offers players a large variety of pre order exclusives depending on which retailer they purchase from.

Coming in at #5 on the Steam sale list: Global Agenda. Global Agenda will feature a Crimecraft style subscription program (The new, not the old) from the get go, with the regular online game being free to play, with the persistent more MMO-esque parts of the game requiring a subscription fee.

Finally, at #9, the only title on the list that has already been released: Aion! Even though Aion is so 2009, it still makes its way onto the top sales charts.

Dear Aion: I Also Accept Checks, Gifts, and Pies

I would also accept a lifetime subscription to City of Heroes instead.

File this under “Odd things I uncover because my short attention span directed me away from the article I’m supposed to be writing about closed betas.” While searching through my PlayNC account to make sure I wasn’t getting charged for, say, the free months of City of Heroes I was given a couple months ago, I decided to check up on my Aion account to see its standing, only to find this:

So my account is paid until January 30, 2010, and I appear to have canceled my subscription. What is the big issue, you ask me, Omali? Well, let’s take a time warp through MMO Fallout’s glorious history, back to December: A month in review, if you will.

“I cancelled Aion before my free month was up, my reason being because the game was actually painful to play. I know that MMOs are essentially a giant can of grind, but Aion is Nyquil minus the sugar, with extra bitter. Aion has a better story than some other MMOs, and the presentation is very well done in the form of cutscenes and other features, and I did not give the game enough time to get me to Player Vs Player combat. The grind to that point was just too painful to play, and my rule is that I cancel when I look at the login in screen and the child inside asks “do I have to?” And no, upgrading my account to collector’s edition for free was not going to keep me. And one last thing, after diving into this game; those testimonials you hear about bots in-game, they are all true.”
-Omali, MMO Fallout, in a Nyquil-addled rant about Aion.

Yes indeed. I cancelled Aion before the free month was even up. Made sure to cancel from the website and everything (as you can see from the above image). For the sake of it, I even checked my bank account to ensure that there weren’t any charges being made to my card. Furthermore, I checked the log my account, and there have been no payments since I originally activated the game.

I’m leaving this up to the MMO Fallout’ers to check into. Is there some welcome back program I passed over? Free game time for inactive accounts? I have absolutely no clue as to how long my account has been in this state, as this is the first time I have checked it since I canceled back in November. Am I going to find a horse head in my bed if I refuse this? Can I get it transfered over to City of Heroes game time?

(Update: I was able to log into Aion on this unpaid account. More information here)

NCSecurity: Phantom Hacker Steals Aion Account

(Important) Continue reading down to the bottom of the article. There is a follow up link at the bottom to a more recent explanation.

So I’ve been following the recent account thefts over at NCsoft (namely Aion and Guild Wars) pretty closely recently, not only because I play City of Heroes and if this account theft issue bleeds to other games it could affect me (gasp), but because the stories just keep getting stranger and stranger.

Case in point: An Aion account that was reportedly stolen, and looted of all of its items. The password was not reportedly changed, but the account was cleared of all items. In itself, this story doesn’t sound very exciting. Hundreds of accounts over a variety of MMOs get the same treatment every month. The account theft took place on December 19th and 21st, but take a good look at the account subscription history:

Analysis after the break…

Continue reading “NCSecurity: Phantom Hacker Steals Aion Account”

Your NCsoft Master Account: A Ticking Time Bomb?

I’ve been sitting on this article for a while now, and it seems like the best time as ever to put it forward. NCsoft is currently investigating heavy allegations of massive security holes in the master account system. As I’ve reported before, the number of stolen Guild Wars and Aion accounts has gone up dramatically in the past few months, which NC originally pointed towards a compromised fansite as the source of the theft.

Definitely the most serious, and frightening, of the allegations posted on Guild Wars Guru was that it doesn’t take any skill to hack an NCsoft master account. In fact, according to users, all it takes is spamming log in/log out, and eventually (through the process of happenstance and timing) you may find yourself logged into someone else’s account, able to change passwords, jot down personal details, and clean out accounts without ever being detected.

More after the break…

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2010: The Blue Moon Year

We enter January as 2009 comes to a close, we look at the year before us, and the year ahead, and remember that life goes on, no matter what happens in the present. I’ve dubbed 2010 the blue moon year because it has the pleasure of beginning with a blue moon, an event that won’t be occurring on New Year’s Eve for a long time to come.

I’m going slightly out of character with this article, if anything just to be the one time a year I get to be a jerk and pick on the same companies I spend the other 364 days vying for the attention of (Thank you Tork, Hasbro, Aventurine, Cryptic). This is a comprehensive list of some questions I have going into the new year, that I hope to get answered by this time next year.

Continue reading “2010: The Blue Moon Year”

2009: Surprise Sequels and Drama Aplenty

2009 has come to a close, and has brought us plenty in terms of surprise sequels and drama. Here is a comprehensive list of the surprise sequels and drama that hit this past year.

Continue reading “2009: Surprise Sequels and Drama Aplenty”

Guild Wars Vs Account Theives: Aion To Follow Suit

With 16,000 accounts gone, less queues! — you must be this tall to buy gold.

No, not as in lawsuit. NCsoft’s Guild Wars has been taking several measures to protect accounts from theft, including their most recent venture: Requiring you to name one character on your account in order to log in (meaning I just lost access to my account). Aion, also published by NCsoft, is taking a similar run of reminding players to keep their accounts secure, although for slightly different reasons. Guild Wars has fansites being hacked to worry about, while Aion is more focused on irritated gold farmers.

Aion bans thousands of accounts on a weekly basis and as you can expect, such a move can get pretty costly for gold farmers. The result? Using your accounts to gold farm. It saves cash, and there’s nothing to clean up when the ban hammer drops. Aion has released a security warning to players regarding in-game links being used to phish accounts, as well as the possibility of NCsoft master account theft.

I don’t think players should need to be reminded to be wary of what they click on, but here we are.

NCsoft Nukes Aion, Bans 16,000: I Offer My Services

Segueing to our next topic, look it’s Aion again! Barely a day after announcing the introduction of G-Unit (Not the rappers, as I discovered) to fight bots in Aion, NCsoft has announced a mass ban following the maintenance reboot earlier this morning. Nearly sixteen thousand accounts, too. The bans are anything from gold farming, botting, buying gold, to spamming and advertising.

So is there any recourse for players who feel they were wrongly banned? Unlikely, as NCsoft feels quite sure of themselves, using multiple instances as evidence rather than just one. If you do feel that you were banned improperly, you can always create a support ticket to have it looked at.

I wrote this knowing that I’m going to get a lot of emails asking “Why are you pushing NCsoft’s propaganda?” Two years ago, I would have picked Jagex for the most dramatic mass bans with the trade restrictions and other massive game mechanic changes. This year, however, the prize definitely goes to NCsoft and Aion for the most dramatic showmanship. The sixteen thousand on paper sounds great, until you go in-game on the same day to realize that the bots are back in full force.

More after the break…

Continue reading “NCsoft Nukes Aion, Bans 16,000: I Offer My Services”

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