Disrupting Gold Spammers UPDATED

Using the Piccolo of the Flaming Fire trinket to break up gold spammer groups.
http://www.wow.com/2010/09/12/breakfast-topic-revenge-is-oh-so-sweet/

UPDATE:  Screenshots and details of how to get the Piccolo.
http://huntsmanslodge.com/7991/dont-just-spam-there-bust-a-move.htm

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Account Hacking Discussion

Tobold mentions the huge number of spamming/phishing emails he gets at his WOW account login/email address and states his opinion that most accounts are hacked by folks being phished or having their password guessed.  As usual, the Comments section is very interesting.
http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2010/08/wow-account-hacking.html

One of the sites mentioned in the Comments led me to this discussion of how to choose a strong password that "dictionary hacks" can't break.  I'm going to add the Securing WOW blog to the list of favorite links as it is full of helpful information for the security-conscious.
http://securingwow.blogspot.com/2010/05/suffer-mortals-as-your-pathetic.html

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

On Topic: Account Security

Security and Blizzard's new emphasis are a Blog Azeroth topic.  There are links to articles on this topic here.
http://www.blogazeroth.com/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=2187

Sub topic: Gold sellers
http://manaobscura.gazimoff.com/?p=199

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com

Blizzard and The Law: A Series

I'm going to consolidate all the WOW Insider columns about legal issues and WOW here.  Search on "law" or "legal" to find this summary.  I've also added other articles about WOW and the Law that aren't part of the series.

The new legal column at WOW Insider has started with this article about "the magic circle" which is the world of games and play separate from the real world and in which players consent to what happens as long as it doesn't violate game rules.
http://www.wow.com/2010/02/01/the-lawbringer-wow-and-the-magic-circle/

The WOW Insider legal columnist looks at privacy and how it works in WOW. It isn't as straightforward as you would think.
http://www.wow.com/2010/02/08/the-lawbringer-contracts-and-the-achievement-tracker/

The WOW Insider legal column takes a look at the issues around banning players, mostly the contract between Blizzard and WOW players.
http://www.wow.com/2010/02/15/the-lawbringer--contracts-and-player-bans/

Is is possible to get Blizzard to modify your game play provisions?  Maybe.
http://www.wow.com/2010/02/22/the-lawbringer-unconscionability/

European Law and Contracts
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/01/the-lawbringer-know-your-legal-lore/

More on the same topic
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/09/the-lawbringer-euro-ver-my-head-contract-law-edition/

Blizzard and the Gold Selling Ban (from the legal aspect)
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/16/the-lawbringer-legal-gold-sales-not-a-blizzards-chance-in-hel/

Gold Sellers and Contract Law
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/22/the-lawbringer-interfering-with-gold-farmers/

Why Gold Selling is a Crime
http://www.wow.com/2010/04/05/the-lawbringer-gold-sellers-are-criminals/

Copyright Law and WOW
http://www.wow.com/2010/04/26/the-lawbringer-copyrights-and-wow/

http://www.wow.com/2010/05/17/the-lawbringer-scope-of-copyrights/

Purchasing Versus Licensing Software and Why This Debate Matters
http://www.wow.com/2010/05/24/the-lawbringer-purchase-vs-license-cage-match/

End Use License Agreements
http://www.wow.com/2010/05/31/the-lawbringer-license-v-purchase-sgt-joe-friday-edition/

A history of MDY versus Blizzard which is really about the Glider bot program that MDY offered to get around Blizzard's scanner Warden programs.  Although Blizzard won on most counts, this is still under appeal.
http://www.wow.com/2010/06/07/the-lawbringer-the-history-of-blizzard-and-mdy-glider/

Questions from the above MDY vs. Blizzard case with answers-
http://www.wow.com/2010/06/14/the-lawbringer-mdy-v-blizzard-q-and-a/

Another milestone in the MDY vs. Blizzard case.  (This site is all about video games and the law so explore further if this is a topic of interest.)
http://www.gamerlaw.co.uk/2010/12/thoughts-on-wow-glider-appeal.html

Battle.net has a new Terms of Use Agreement (Patch 3.3.5)
http://www.wow.com/2010/06/21/the-lawbringer-new-battle-net-tou/

Why Blizzard won't Sell Gold (note that this is a stand-in columnist while the regular legal writer takes the bar exams)
http://www.wow.com/2010/06/29/the-lawbringer-why-youll-never-buy-gold-from-blizzard/

Rookies' Guide to the End User License Agreement (EULA)
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/11/the-lawbringer-a-rookies-guide-to-the-eula/

Part Two of Rookies' Guide to EULA
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/17/the-lawbringer-rookies-guide-to-the-eula-part-2/

Lawsuits Over Game Addiction
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/27/the-lawbringer-this-mmo-is-too-addictive-im-suing/

Rookie's Guide to Terms of Use (TOU)
http://www.wow.com/2010/09/02/the-lawbringer-a-rookies-guide-to-the-tou/

Fan Fiction (and Fair Use, Parody and Critique)
http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/09/17/the-lawbringer-the-trouble-with-fan-fiction/

Ways to Get Into Trouble with WOW in Trade Chat
http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/10/01/the-lawbringer-5-ways-trade-chat-can-get-you-in-trouble/

Machinima
http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/10/08/the-lawbringer-blizzard-and-machinima/

Real Money Transactions (eBay)
http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/10/15/the-lawbringer-real-money-transactions-and-some-ebay-history/

Karthias Talks Terms of Use
http://systemicbabble.com/society-politics/terms-of-use-legal-blackmail/

Matthew Discusses Blizzard's Starcraft 2 Hacker Lawsuit
http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/10/24/the-lawbringer-buying-precedent/

Three WOW Criminals
http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/10/29/the-lawbringer-consequences-2010/

About the California case trying to limit sales of violet video games.
http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/11/12/the-lawbringer-schwarzenegger-v-ema/

The WOW Insider article says that this is the definitive article on the California case.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/6191/video_game_regulation_and_the_.php

Self-Regulation in the Video Game Industry
http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/11/19/the-lawbringer-self-regulation-and-the-video-game-industry/

Account Security
http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/12/03/the-lawbringer-account-security-and-you/

Dangers of Addons That Auto Update (More Account Security)
http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/12/10/the-lawbringer-the-dangers-of-addon-auto-updaters/

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Copyright Solo MMO Player at http://solommo.blogspot.com