Speaking from experience, nothing sucks quite as much as logging into your World of Warcraft account to find your carefully cultivated level 70 character naked as the day he was born. Blizzard feels our pain, and has applied the magic of technology to the security issue to create the Blizzard Authenticator, a keychain device that generates a six-digit passcode that you can link to your account via serial number. Once the device is linked you'll have to enter the code from the Authenticator every time you log into the game or access your account settings on the WoW web page. It's so secure that once you've added it to your account you can't remove it without calling Blizzard support directly and verifying your security information.

The Blizzard Authenticator will be available at the 2008 Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in Paris this weekend, showing up for purchase at Blizzard's online store for $6.50 in the near future.

Blizzard® Authenticator Offers Enhanced Security for World of Warcraft® Accounts

Keychain Token Generates Unique Codes Used to Help Prevent Unauthorized Account Access

IRVINE, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today introduced an optional extra layer of security for World of Warcraft®, its award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game. Designed to attach to a keychain, the lightweight and waterproof Blizzard® Authenticator is an electronic device that generates a six-digit security code at the press of a button. This code is unique, valid only once, and active for a limited time; it must be provided along with the account name and password when signing in to the World of Warcraft account linked to it.

This optional security measure will be available at the 2008 Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational, which takes place June 28-29 in Paris, France. In addition, the Blizzard Authenticator will be made available for purchase via Blizzard?s online store in the near future for a cost of $6.50.

?It?s important to us that World of Warcraft offers a safe and enjoyable game environment,? said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. ?One aspect of that is helping players avoid account compromise, so we?re pleased to make this additional layer of security available to them.?

To learn more about the Blizzard Authenticator, please visit http://www.blizzard.com/security-token.