Does the thought of your level 70 Tauren shaman being hijacked by unsavory account hackers keep you lying awake until the wee hours of the morning? Does the idea of someone else getting their dirty mitts on your epic mount send you into a cold sweat? If these examples are the kind of worries that are constantly on your mind, then this product announcement from Blizzard might finally help set you at ease.

The Blizzard Authenticator is a small device that, once linked up with your World of Warcraft account, will be required to login or access the Account Management page. It does this by generating a random six-digit code that acts as a sort of second password. It’ll also be waterproof and fit on a keychain, in the event that you want to take it with you to the beach.

“It’s important to us that World of Warcraft offers a safe and enjoyable game environment,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and co-founder 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.”

The Blizzard Authenticator will first be available at the 2008 Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational that’s taking place the 28th and 29th of this month, and will then be available at the Blizzard store thereafter for the price of six euros. Will any resident WoW players be picking one up once they’re available?

PARIS, France - 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 for a cost of €6.00 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 Entertainment’s European websites in the near future for a cost of €6.00 plus shipping.

“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://eu.blizzard.com/security-token/.