ArenaNet: Mobile Two-Factor Authentication [Beta]

[robinsiebler]

I'll be the 1st in line for RC, but beta No! I am a bug magnet, which is why I am an SQA Engineer. I know better than to put beta software on my personal iPad.

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[King Arthur]

Google Authenticator works on BlackBerry OS 4.5 - 6.0. Go to m.google.com/authenticator and download the app.

But I'm using Blackberry OS 7.1 :/

Honestly I thought Blackberry died off because they couldn't keep up with the times and adapt when iphone and android were taking over with superior products. Either way, I am glad this is here, however I will not be using it until its taken out of beta.

In the North American Region, that may be the case. But where I live, Blackberry is still no. 1 most sold and used smartphone in the country. Android and iPhone may be a contender here, but their prices are so ridiculous that they can only be afforded by the most priviledged upper-class citizens. Besides, in the Workplace, Blackberry is used by everyone so having an iPhone would be a lot of waste since their communication between platforms is a little difficult other than using WhatsApp. Using a blackberry messenger can be used instantly out of the box for everyone.

iPhone in particular, uses MicroSIM card, one that's not available in-store. The only way to get an iPhone here is by using those bundled plans with the network provider, which means that once you get an iPhone you are stuck with that provider and with the same number. With the MicroSIM that doesn't available in-stores, you have no other way to change your provider or telephone numbers.

That's not the case with Blackberry/Nokia/any other smartphones here, where you can just buy them as a retail gadget, and you can use whatever network provider you want just by buying the standardized SIM card and putting it in.

So, Blackberry here is actually very famous and they will continue to be, unless Android or iPhone can compete with similar prices AND Compatibility as well as flexibility. Honestly, nobody wants to pay 3x the price of the blackberry to get an iPhone if they can't even use it to its full potential. When it comes to smartphones here, people only want an effective and efficient way of communication. Any additional features are trivial.

[shokenaw]

But I'm using Blackberry OS 7.1 :/In the North American Region, that may be the case. But where I live, Blackberry is still no. 1 most sold and used smartphone in the country. Android and iPhone may be a contender here, but their prices are so ridiculous that they can only be afforded by the most priviledged upper-class citizens. Besides, in the Workplace, Blackberry is used by everyone so having an iPhone would be a lot of waste since their communication between platforms is a little difficult other than using WhatsApp. Using a blackberry messenger can be used instantly out of the box for everyone.

iPhone in particular, uses MicroSIM card, one that's not available in-store. The only way to get an iPhone here is by using those bundled plans with the network provider, which means that once you get an iPhone you are stuck with that provider and with the same number. With the MicroSIM that doesn't available in-stores, you have no other way to change your provider or telephone numbers.

That's not the case with Blackberry/Nokia/any other smartphones here, where you can just buy them as a retail gadget, and you can use whatever network provider you want just by buying the standardized SIM card and putting it in.

So, Blackberry here is actually very famous and they will continue to be, unless Android or iPhone can compete with similar prices AND Compatibility as well as flexibility. Honestly, nobody wants to pay 3x the price of the blackberry to get an iPhone if they can't even use it to its full potential. When it comes to smartphones here, people only want an effective and efficient way of communication. Any additional features are trivial.

I live in Canada, the birthplace (and deadbed) of Blackberry. I worked for one of the major carriers here and the general concesous is that Blackberry failed to adapt to the changing times. Realistically, they have yet to date put out a decent phone since the bold. Their attempt at a tablet fell on its face because of the OS mainly, but clunky design as well.

I have the galaxy note - a mini tablet and the thing is lighter than even the bold. It has more functions (albeit no bbm) and is blazing fast. I couldn't be happier with my phone. I didn't relize that areas of the world were still that far behind when it comes to costs. Granted, it sounds like you're not looking to be locked to a carrier, so your prices would be over the top. Here, you sign up for 3 yrs and you get phones for peanuts, they basically beg you to take em.

And...if you've worked in the call center like I have - you know how to get everything you want for very little to no cost at all.

[Bogus Dude]

I'd rather just use a dedicated e-mail and password that i know are both secure than give my mobile out. From what i've heard the authenticator is a google product, and as the worst abusers of personal data on the internet, as with youtube (which they've killed for me, i abandoned a 1500 subbed channel for GW1 due to Google updates) they ain't getting anything willingly out of me.

[King Arthur]

I live in Canada, the birthplace (and deadbed) of Blackberry. I worked for one of the major carriers here and the general concesous is that Blackberry failed to adapt to the changing times. Realistically, they have yet to date put out a decent phone since the bold. Their attempt at a tablet fell on its face because of the OS mainly, but clunky design as well.

I have the galaxy note - a mini tablet and the thing is lighter than even the bold. It has more functions (albeit no bbm) and is blazing fast. I couldn't be happier with my phone. I didn't relize that areas of the world were still that far behind when it comes to costs. Granted, it sounds like you're not looking to be locked to a carrier, so your prices would be over the top. Here, you sign up for 3 yrs and you get phones for peanuts, they basically beg you to take em.

And...if you've worked in the call center like I have - you know how to get everything you want for very little to no cost at all.

I agree in terms of performance and quality, Android phones and (I hate to admit) iPhones are superior to Blackberry. I also loved the fact that Android with its open source OS made it available to use by so many phone manufacturers. I think that's a huge leap in terms of compatibility with each other, even across different manufacturers and phone models.

But most people in my country looks for a very cheap communication media, which BBM delivers that demand. Here, people can subscribe for a blackberry full service for $10 a month and people can just communicate to everyone without additional costs, this includes browsing, facebook, twitter, etc. Some providers even offer that for $5 a month. It's completely different to what communication media that we (still) use a few years back which is sms that may cost up to $100 a month on heavy usage.

But yes, the market in Indonesia is that people want flexibility with their network providers and their phones, not just me. Heck, most of us change phone numbers and/or phone models three times a year on average. There have been efforts of network providers to sell bundled product on plans for 3 years, like yours. I knew that when I live in Australia and I find it really weird (because it's a business model that I'm not accustomed to). That plan was not popular with the people, and most providers dropped that scheme since that costs a lot more than they gain revenue. Which is why Blackberry and other phones here are sold retail. Except for iPhone due to its MicroSIM technology, we still have that as bundled deals from one provider. Yep, monopolizing the iPhone market.. Imagine the prices they put with no other providers to compete with.

With people like to change their phones very often because their mindset is like "I'm going to get this phone now, and will change to a new one when it comes out in three months time. And will continue to change to a new one when it comes out in the next three months." So generally, people here prefer to buy retail, then sell it again and buy a different model when they desire. With a three year locked plan, they're not only locked on their provider, but also on their phone, and they dislike this very much.

So yea, iPhones and Android here can only be bought by the most priviledged upper class society due to their inhumane retail prices. But Blackberry is getting a very successful market segment, because their prices are affordable, and they offer a very cheap and (somewhat) reliable instant messaging service, which is what most people want in their smartphones.

[Winterbay]

Also note, for people running a webOS smartphone (such as myself), there is an app called GAuth you can download for free from the catalog. After you enter your information you will need to swipe back to get your code. Enter that 6-digit code on your security page. Works as intended.

And here I was thinking I was the only person still using webOS with my Palm Pre phone

Also, has anyone else noticed that this is not working at all lately? I.e. when I try to log in it just lets me, no authenticator message popping up. It worked fine just a week ago or so.

[King Arthur]

I assume this mobile authentication thingy won't work on Nokia 1100 ??

[Izzy]

And here I was thinking I was the only person still using webOS with my Palm Pre phone

Also, has anyone else noticed that this is not working at all lately? I.e. when I try to log in it just lets me, no authenticator message popping up. It worked fine just a week ago or so.

Yeah, I've noticed that on mine too. I'm not sure if it's just remembering the network now or if it's not working at all. I'll have to find out with another IP and get back to you.

[Centaur]

this recent update (from November 6) might have something to do with that. Mike Lewis explains:

Hi all,

First and foremost: please be aware that your accounts are still protected by the mobile authenticator at this time.

Here’s what has happened:

- We have been developing a “remember this network” feature for the mobile authenticator in line with the same feature used by email authentication

- This feature became active tonight during the planned maintenance updates

- For any account which has already selected to remember a network, the mobile authenticator will respect your existing settings

- This means that if you are logging in from a location that you permitted via email authentication, the mobile authenticator will not currently prompt you for a secondary code

Your account is still covered by the authenticator for logins from unverified locations.

This is the result of an oversight on my part and I’d like to apologize for any uncertainty and worry. We’ve double checked the systems and authentication is working correctly for unverified logins.

Unlinking the authenticator was temporarily disabled due to a configuration accident; this has been corrected and should work again.

For the moment we do not have a user interface for editing your “remembered” network locations. As a result, please be very cautious when selecting to allow new locations from the emails (or, in the near future, from the mobile authenticator login screen).

Thanks for bearing with us while we get the rest of the mobile authenticator features ready to go.

[Winterbay]

Interesting. I've never had an email for this computer (I got one when I allowed my brother to use my account for a short while to do the stupid clock tower which my computer couldn't handle but his could). So, I've never said it is an "ok" network, although I have used the authenticator quite often on it so it may be that I guess.