Is The Online Store Safe?

Hi guys. I'm thinking about pre-ordering Eye of the North. About a few weeks back, I heard people were having problems using the online store. The difficulties were around the lines of being triple charged and vulnerability to being hacked by other players. Does the online store still function poorly or has ArenaNet patched up the big holes?

Any input would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

I pre-ordered for me and some guildies (recently) through my Master Account, nothing bad happened. Pretty sure it's safe (your computer should be too).

Only thing to remember is if you hit the confirm button and it comes back with an error, don't confirm again. Leave the store and check whether it actually went through before trying again.

I'ld say the store was only going poorly because of it was being overloaded immediately after the preorder became available. We'll probably see this happen again when EotN is released.

When you log into your store account, you get mugged. Seriously.

The store is fine. It uses encryption etc. Just make sure that if you get an error don't confirm again and check your emails, just like Immortius said!

Accounts are lost because of shared logins or downloaded keyloggers, not because of the online store security. I've made at least 20 purchases through the online shop, only the last two were problematic.

I ordered the GW:EN pre-order packs on the day of release for my three accounts. Due to the high demand at the time, one went through with no problems, the online store timed out on the second, charging me twice because i resubmitted the transaction request, and my card was flagged for suspicion of fraud on the third account. It's important to note the upside to this - because i have three accounts and made 4 transaction attempts within short succession, it did look suspicious...therefore Anet / PlayNC were protecting, not punishing me.

The outcome was that i contacted PlayNC to notify them of the problems, the double-charge was reversed and my card was unblocked as soon as they could establish my identity.

So my suggestion is don't use the store on a busy weekend event and definitely wait a few days once GW:EN is released - the online store will be under serious load and timeout issues are likely to occur. If your transaction does timeout, don't submit it again. Logout, log back in, check to see if the goodies are there and check your bank records to see if the transaction has gone through.

I am very paranoid about transactions over the internet. I trust the online store, have made several purchases and will continue to do so.

It's as safe as your very underwear.

So far, I've purhased: 3 character slots, Million Edition Upgrade, GW:EN preorder.

I've also puchased all soundtracks from DirectSong. You I'm sure you can trust them too.

Just one tip: Be patient. It may take a couple minuted to the process to complete. If nothing happens, just wait a bit more. Everything will be fine.

Yes. IMO it is safe.

I would think it just as, if not more, safe than any online retail site.

I have used it in the past and will again.

If your own computer is not safe you may have problems just like you would using any online retailer, but that would be your fault not theirs. Check for spyware and viruses etc.

I've done the GWEN pre-order and the GOTY edition and had no problems.

I trust it

I had an error occur on one of my preorders at the time the preorder for GW:EN was released. I was about to submit the order again when I noticed I had received an email from the Online Store confirming my second order. So despite getting an error my order had gotten through it was just the client that didn't get a clean response back from the server and thus got an error. As with all online stores don't resubmit orders unless you're absolutely certain the order did not go through (I wouldn't trust the client errors) and you'll be fine.

Aside from that one experience...I have had no problems with the the online store. I have bought factions for one of my two accounts. I have bought 7 character slots for one account, and 5 for the other. I have bought 2 copies of the Game of the Year pack in the store. I have also bought 2 GW:EN preorders and intend to buy 2 copies of GW:EN when it arrives. I trust the online store completely.

Sigh..

The argument "Nothing happened to me, it's safe" is hardly credible, nor is "I had a problem, you'll have one too". The fact of the matter is that some people have had problems, not many, but some, and it's a risk you take. It's really a risk you take with any online purchases. For one, I do not buy the argument "Oh you're only at risk if you have a keylogger". Show me some proof to that claim before you state it as fact. This is a buyer beware situation. It's not going to be 100% completely safe, nor is any online purchase, but in this case you know of specific problems that have occurred. If you choose to do it, keep those problems in the back of your mind, and if something goes less than smoothly, be ready to jump on it and do your part to fix it before it becomes a serious problem. Don't know what else to tell you.

If you are concerned about your credit card number getting stolen on the GW Online Store (or any other shopping place online, whether it be Amazon or some smaller site) use a virtual credit card (many credit cards have that feature). Basically your credit card company gives you a one time use number that you can shop with. You might not want to buy the first minute that the game comes out online. If you wait an hour or two, it will probably be less busy.

No, the major security flaws are not fixed.
It still locks your login permanently and it still forces you to use a weak character set if you ever make a new password.

At least a-net has promised that they are working on fixing the locked login.

If you feel you absolutely must use the store, my best suggestion would be to:

• First, create a new e-mail account with a provider that you are sure will remain in business indefinitely and you are sure you will have a relationship with indefinitely. (Gmail is a good bet.) You will never use this account to send e-mail and will never share the address with anyone. You should probably write down the password somewhere, since it will be easy to forget when you don't use the e-mail account for e-mail.
• Second, change your GW login to this new e-mail.
• Then use the store.

That will at least minimize the harm from being unable to ever change it again.

It is perfectly safe. Just remember that if it times out, DO NOT CHARGE IT AGAIN or you will have the same problem that everyone else has had.

I think this is probably the best response. I agree with the statement that no one can say it's safe...and no one can say you'll absolutely run into problems.

What we can tell you is our level of trust with the online store. We can tell you our experiences. We can tell you how you can avoid problems. We can give you our judgment on whether or not the online store is safe. That's all we can do. We can't guarantee that you will have a 100% problem free experience. Same goes for every other online store out there.

The fact is...there are lots of people who have no problems at all. There are a few people who have had problems. The squeaky wheel gets the grease so they complain the loudest on online forums...which is why you read about people's problems here. People saying there are major issues with the online store and that everyone is experiencing them are exaggerating the issues. People saying that it is completely/perfectly safe are also exaggerating their claims. The fact is you mileage may vary...use your judgment to come to your own conclusion.

I've had this argument across a number of pages in a previous thread, so i'll sum it up by saying -
1. i am a web developer with over ten years commercial experience, specialising in e-commerce.
2. i setup and manage websites that transact millions of dollars in online sales annually.
3. i have intimate client-side, server-side, customer-side, business-side knowledge of internet security measures as they pertain to e-commerce and online banking.
4. there is infinitely more risk of the zit-faced kid behind the desk at EBGames stealing your CC data than it being intercepted over a 128+ bit encrypted internet connection. Do you really think online banking would exist if the largest financial institutes in the world didn't trust it?
5. there is significantly more risk of internet fraud to the business than to the buyer.
6. the vast majority of online credit card fraud is perpetuated via email phishing scams and relies on either stupidity or greed. No, you wont get $100K by holding onto the son of the Nigerian finance minister's money for a couple of weeks...
7. it is YOUR personal security that puts you at risk, be it poor password selection, shared accounts, downloading gw cheats with embedded keyloggers, using file-sharing applications...getting down and dirty with the fetid underbelly of the web and neglecting to protect yourself. That and failing to check your snailbox when expecting mail from your bank.
8. Swim in the shallow end of the web, use anti-virus, anti-trojan, anti-spyware, anti-phishing and a firewall, and you're within a bee's dick of being 100% safe.

Enough 'proof' for ya? I'd say that makes me a little more qualified than most to make a judgment call on the safety of the GW online store. And how about you read Anet's warning about said personal security issues or is their data too biased for you?

Lrn2interwebs.

Geez....paranoia will destroy ya.

Iirc it was PlayNC that had a bruteforce attack on their account management, which by all accounts, could only *guess* not decrypt incredibly weak passwords within the window of opportunity.

This has nothing to do with the Online Store in GW, don't confuse the two.