BATTLE.NET FEELS ICY CHILL OF DEATH; BLIZZARD PUTS FREEZE ON RESET [Author: Arcadian Del Sol]
The first indication that something was wrong appeared on the ladder forum on Sunday 12/31/2000:
Both characters, #1 and #4 on the USEast Realm ladder were hacked today and I have reason to believe Battle.net or its ISP(s) were involved.
After he was first hacked, Eros contacted blizzard by phone and
was given BS, to be brief. He was then pointed toward a site with
a free firewall software. When he changed his password, he made
sure it was unique (not convinced? the password was random enough
to simulate a Unix-generated pass [ex. t2Ac43Xa5]) enough to
prevent a similar scenario.
Unfortunately, hacking happens all too often, and those who fail to protect themselves against invasive intrusions into their online devices, have nowhere to point but themselves for not taking proper precautions. But the message has another destination for his express package of blame, and he delivers it right back at the front porch of Blizzard and Battle.net:
With the impending ladder reset occuring after midnight tonight,
I can only point to Blizzard/Battle.net/Exodus(USEast Realm host being responsible.
Well that was how it all started. As more and more hardcore characters fell dead and naked, the posts on the ladder forum gained momentum. Then this cryptic and all-too-uninformative announcement was posted by a Blizzard Op:
The Diablo II realms will be down until 7:30 PM PST for emergency maintenance.
Translation: We are shutting down Diablo II because somebody is hacking the FUCK OUT OF IT!
Players were not pleased with the situation, and anyone who called tech support to find a shoulder to cry on were told “check the FAQ, specifically the parts about where we don’t care if your characters get hacked. Thanks. Call again. Bye.” Angry and brushed aside, many characters started forming organized boycotts of the upcoming Diablo II expansion.
Yesterday, Blizzard released the following statement:
During the past week, some players have experienced character
losses. Instances have ranged from hardcore characters dying, to
the loss of items, skill points and experience in normal
characters.
As of this morning, we can confirm that the problem causing these
losses has been fixed. We recognize that the loss of a hardcore
character or unique items is a cause of great concern to players.
To remedy the situation, we are taking the following steps:
1. Monday, January 8, we will be reviving all hardcore characters
who died between December 19th and January 1st. The restored
hardcore characters will be revived with the experience, skills
and items possessed as of Tuesday, December 19th. This restore
will be automatic and players do not need to contact Blizzard to
request that their character be restored.
Note: Only dead hardcore characters that died between December
19th and January 1st will be revived.
2. In the event that players believe they have lost items, skill
points or experience, we will be providing a mechanism by which
players can manually flag their character to be restored as well.
The restore will occur on Monday, January 8, and will rollback
characters to the way they were saved as of December 19th. Please
check this forum on Wednesday January 3, where we will be posting
information on how you can flag your character to be included in
the rollback.
We apologize for any inconvenience or frustration that this
problem may have caused players. We believe that these solutions
address the majority of losses that have occurred. Please contact
support@blizzard.com if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank You,
Blizzard Entertainment
They wont admit that they were hacked.
As I understand the situation, an update is now available that prevents this colossal “whatever”. Time will tell.