Thursday, September 20, 2012

Runescape received a security update for avoiding accounts from hijacking


As more and more players registering new accounts, players need a better way to protect their runescape account from hijacking. Jagex has created the Jagex Guardian to help RuneScape players to better manage and defend their own security. Players can use the J.A.G. to connect specific trusted devices with their accounts for an extra line of defense. After the J.A.G. has been enabled on an account, any attempts to play from an untrusted device will require the user to go through additional steps of verification.

The Jagex Account Guardian feature is a free security option users can enable, allowing them to tie their account to specific computers. Accessing the account from unregistered devices will require a series of additional security questions, protecting users even if their username and password are taken.

Denizens of the world of RuneScape can rest a little easier and their rs account travels will be more secure due to new security updates from Jagex, the game’s developer. The updates are created specifically to address hijacking of accounts made by less than scrupulous individuals.

“Ensuring the integrity and security of our valued community’s information has always been a top priority for us,” stated Mark Gerhard, the current CEO of Jagex. “This recent update serves to strengthen the number of other innovative countermeasures we have developed over the past years.”

Gerhard explains that commonly hijacking occurs because many players use the same username and password not just to access RuneScape but other sites not related to it. They even sell runescape account with the common password and username. This is something he says many players do not manage well resulting in their rs accounts being taken over by other individuals due to a lack of discretion on their part.  This mistake can also result in phishing websites that are designed with the express purpose of stealing such information to take them and make them available to the public.

These are issues that Jagex has sought to combat and is stepping up with what they call  the Jagex Account Guardian (J.A.G.). How it works is simple. Players who access their account settings will be able to enable J.A.G. as one of the many options there. Once activated, users assign which devices they use to play to associate J.A.G. with. If any other device not assigned is used to access the account J.A.G. springs into action prompting a series of validations that must be completed to ensure  the account is not being hijacked.

“Our players put a significant investment of both time and effort into their RuneScape accounts so it’s incumbent on us to remain at the very forefront of protecting their investment” added Gerhard.

There’s every reason for the developer to take security into consideration. RuneScape is fantasy game in which you create a hero of you own creation can hunt, craft items, fight and fish in a huge open ended world filled with adventure. The game attracts millions of people across the globe every day and has just recently exceeded over 200 million player accounts. The game is also currently listed the Guinness Book of World Records as being one the most popular online RPGs.

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