NCSoft – Page 27 – MMO Fallout

AionSource.com: Another Reason To Use a Fake Email Address

starwars — I knew we couldn't trust the jedi!

My suggestion for dealing with fansites has always been, if you have to register for the forums, use a separate email and a separate password, and preferably a separate username than you use on the game the website is dedicated to. If your game of choice is Aion, an armed bodyguard following you around the internet may not be a bad decision either. NCsoft continues to wage the war against real money traders, and unfortunately it is the players who are getting caught in the crossfire, with several fansites being compromised in the past few months.

Not that I need an excuse to reiterate this point in a new article, but members of Aionsource.com should be very wary of what pops up in your email over the next few months. According to an email from Aionsource.com, their website was compromised several days ago and a list of email addresses was stolen, leading to a large number of Aion players receiving emails that are phishing scams.

If you are a member of Aionsource, consider changing your password. Passwords may not have been stolen this time, but there is no saying that won’t happen if there is a next time. Otherwise, still take that advice, but apply it to whatever non-corporate owned website you visit. Remember, if the hackers don’t get you, a disgruntled soon-to-be-ex administrator might.

More on Aion, account theft, and more as it comes.

Excuse Me Aion, Have We Met Before?

This 9 minute trailer for Aion’s future is best viewed in HD. What you are seeing is a collection of projects NCsoft is working on for Aion, to be released at different times and not as a single update/patch.

Some of the features noted:

DirectX 10
Cryengine 2 upgrade
New zones
Dynamic weather and seasons
Player Cities
Mounts
More fluid combat
More weapon types (crossbows for starters)
New classes
City sieges
Player owned cities
More

No this video isn’t new, but it is a good indicator.

So That's Where The Lineage 3 Code Went!

1212500952-lineage3_11 — None shall pass!

Here at MMO Fallout, we pride ourselves on being able to not only take important legal matters and translate them into digestible snausages for the masses, but also the ability to refer to a one man team as “we.” With Atari Vs Turbine and Bethesda Vs Interplay on the table, it’s easy to overlook less reported cases. For starters, NCsoft Vs Bluehole Studios!

By the time Lineage 3 was first canned, quite a number of the game’s mechanics were already in place and, by measure, copyrighted. A couple members of the developer team moved on to Bluehole Studios, currently working on upcoming MMO “The Exiled Realm of Arborea” (TERA), sparking a lawsuit by NCsoft. According to NCsoft, the two developers took with them source code relating to several copyrighted technologies. Mr. Kang and Mr. Yo are the former employees named in the lawsuit.

Sadly the case jumped right over MMO Fallout, in terms of breaking news. At least until today, where the Seoul District Court has awarded over 2 billion won in compensation to NCsoft. Naturally, Bluehole is expected to appeal the ruling. It is uncertain what effect this hefty fine will have on Bluehole, or TERA.

2 billion won equates to approximately $1.7 million dollars USD. More on TERA, not so much on Lineage 3, as it appears.

So That’s Where The Lineage 3 Code Went!

2 billion won equates to approximately $1.7 million dollars USD. More on TERA, not so much on Lineage 3, as it appears.

NCsoft Confirms "Character Hack" Via Packet Manipulation.

The saga of NCsoft account security continues with the confirmation that an existent exploit in NCsoft’s systems. Not too long ago, I reported on Scayth, an Aion player whose account was compromised while it was inactive. The account was looted, and one or more of the characters may have been used for gold farming purposes.

Thanks to Scayth’s ongoing updates over at Aionsource, he was able to procure a reply (finally) from NCsoft over the account issues. The full image is below, but I will summarize:

The majority of accounts compromised have been through social engineering, viruses, fansites, and keyloggers.
The account was never hacked, the individual characters were. The account itself was not in any danger.
The hacker was able to use packet manipulation to access different characters at whim. The process is “very complicated” and did not give them full access.
Few characters can be accessed in this fashion, Scayth just happened to be one of the unlucky few, among 10 others who were also restored.
The process tricked the system into believing that the character belonged to that account.
The servers were hotfixed to prevent this that same day.

What will come next in the NCsoft security saga? MMO Fallout will certainly be here to cover the events.

NCsoft Confirms “Character Hack” Via Packet Manipulation.

Thanks to Scayth’s ongoing updates over at Aionsource, he was able to procure a reply (finally) from NCsoft over the account issues. The full image is below, but I will summarize:

The majority of accounts compromised have been through social engineering, viruses, fansites, and keyloggers.
The account was never hacked, the individual characters were. The account itself was not in any danger.
The hacker was able to use packet manipulation to access different characters at whim. The process is “very complicated” and did not give them full access.
Few characters can be accessed in this fashion, Scayth just happened to be one of the unlucky few, among 10 others who were also restored.
The process tricked the system into believing that the character belonged to that account.
The servers were hotfixed to prevent this that same day.

What will come next in the NCsoft security saga? MMO Fallout will certainly be here to cover the events.

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”

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)

City of Heroes: Keep Your Accounts Safe

2010-01-06 23:07:52 — Ilamo cannot protect from those he cannot see...

Another day, another development in the ongoing NCsoft security issue. Amidst widespread fear of account theft, security holes, and random account logging, with Guild Wars and Aion leading the pack, it was only a matter of time before City of Heroes joined the pack warning users to increase their awareness. The reminder is standard trade: Keep your account safe, don’t share your details with others, change your passwords regularly, and try to stop downloading porn from shady websites.

“After investigating certain claims regarding current account security we discovered no malicious compromises having occurred in the manner described.”

I have an Aion player with an inactive, looted account that would disagree with you, but I do understand that Aion and NCsoft Master Account business is out of the hands of City of Heroes and the Paragaon Studios that develops it. Oddly enough, when snapping the screenshot above, I received a spam email from a gold farming advertiser. The account name: Aion Wars. Awfully convenient.

Oh well. I’m not going to saddle Paragon Studios with an issue NCsoft should be dealing with. Again, best of luck to those whose accounts have been compromised, and more on the 2009 NCsoft Account Issue as it appears.

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