Account security @ FTP

[Openside]

Hey folks

I apologise if i am posting in the wrong forum, which i probably am. I am posting here for want of a better forum and i play at micro stakes, have a relatively small BR and only turn a small profit. I plan for this to change in the future, but thats a different story.
Does anyone use the account authenticator that you can purchase for 5000 points at FullTilt? I play World of Warcraft and use an authenticator because numerous friends have had their account hacked, though i have never heard of or read of a FT account being hacked. Has anyone else? Was thinking of getting the FT one just for peace of mind. Any thoughts?

[Donachello]

Welcome to FTR.

I know that my friends who play mid and high stakes all use these and one of them had his account hacked and taken for a "joy ride" @ 5K NL before he got one. I'd say it's probably not something you need to worry about while starting at micros as the risk/reward for a hacker to target a microstakes account is pretty bad for them. However, Once you start to have a significant amount of money it's certainly worth investing in one. I just got one myself as the amount of money in my account has become significant enough for me.

[kfaess]

never heard about this, interested to see what other ppl say

[spoonitnow]

Yes, I use an RSA Security Token from PokerStars. It's definitely worth it.

[HarleyGuy13]

Spoon could/would you give us an explanation of how this works?

[Openside]

It is a small electronic device, the size of a key chain that generates a random 6-digit number, specific to your account, that changes every time you log in (it actually generates a new number every minute). Once its specific serial number is associated with your account every time you log in you enter your user name, your static password and the random 6-digit number that the device gives you. Because the number is specific to your account and changes every time you log in your account is virtually unhackable (unless they break into your house and steal your key chain, hahaha).

I jumped in before spoon. Hope this is correct, legible and helpful.

[Donachello]

Like Openside said. 6 digits that change every 30 seconds to a minute that transmit to and are associated with your specific account and must be entered with your PW as well. I know that some people also change their static password every week or month in addition to using the RSA key. You really can't ever be too careful on the internet with money tbh.

[TheMaverik91]

So i wonder.... do these work off like a signal (like a telephone)? What if I go to the lodge for a week and get no reception. Normally I'm a big techie, but these are a bit new to me (same thing with the WoW ones)

[Openside]

No, they do not transmit and are 100% standalone. As long as the battery isnt flat then it will work anywhere. I am making some huge assumptions here but i believe each number that it generates contains a certain signature/pattern. For example 246 and 468 contain the same signature, the signature being that each digit is even. So even though the number is unique every number generated contains the same signature/pattern. Each device has its own signature/pattern. When you enter the serial number you are associating that specific device and its signature/pattern with your account. This might be totally wrong but it logically seems most feasible.

[Micro2Macro]

as soon as the amount of money in your bankroll means something to you if you lost it, its time to get RSA.

[Openside]

as soon as the amount of money in your bankroll means something to you if you lost it, its time to get RSA.

Agree 100%. If you play at FT you can purchase them from the store for 5000 FTP points.

[daven]

a lot of FTP and stars accounts have been hacked over the years. Seems to happen less often these days, almost certainly has something to do with increased paranoia/awareness of players and introduction of RSA tokens - SecurID - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
rsa tokens cost a few points or a few ironman medals - nothing material if the money starts to matter. Would you prefer a 2gb USB flash drive or decent account security (same cost in FTP points)?

in the meantime - set your ftp sign up options to their most secure. Sign in using an e-mail address, not your screen name and add a three card pin to the mix.

[TheMaverik91]

I was just getting ready to say.... pokerstars has a pin that you can add to your log-in, definitely worth checking out...

And keep your password changed regularly...stop searching the porn sites and you won't have to worry about so many key loggers lol.

And yeah how the RSA token works, that makes sense... you input the number, it performs complex mathmatics on their end, if it matches your account's #, your in. If not, you phucking fail.

[kmind]

I have one from FTP but ever since I withdrew most of my roll I don't use it anymore. I'd sell it for like $10. That's if I can transfer over which I think I can forgot how that part works.

[spoonitnow]

a lot of FTP and stars accounts have been hacked over the years. Seems to happen less often these days, almost certainly has something to do with increased paranoia/awareness of players and introduction of RSA tokens - SecurID - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
rsa tokens cost a few points or a few ironman medals - nothing material if the money starts to matter. Would you prefer a 2gb USB flash drive or decent account security (same cost in FTP points)?

in the meantime - set your ftp sign up options to their most secure. Sign in using an e-mail address, not your screen name and add a three card pin to the mix.

and have a separate email that you only use for that poker account

[oskar]

I can't think of a reason not to get them. They cost next to nothing and it makes it a hell of a lot harder for someone to hack your account.
I have one for FTP and one for Stars.