Who keeps the box after 7 years?


Ael Rhiana

 

Posted

I'm trying to pay for my son's account and can't get in because of the new security stuff. The answer is to send them all this info like the serial number on the box and the original activation code. Well almost 7 years later, guess what? I don't have it. Why am I wasting my time with this additional security foolishness? Who exactly is it for and do they realize they are going to be loosing customers because of it?


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Posted

nobody, i happened to get lucky and use a security question that i knew would never change and i would always know, but i think the security question is just kind of silly. good luck with it.


 

Posted

sorry wrong place.


 

Posted

Call CoH/CoV billing support,they're very helpful and fast. All I was asked to provide was D.O.B. and postal code to confirm my account and the Support Rep enabled me to log into my Master account with just the D.O.B.,which was really nice. You'll be put in a queue list but it shouldn't take too long,provided you call them early enough. If you send them e-mail on the issue,they'll of course want you provide as much as the codes as possible along with the usual info needed. Having two accounts,I was able to get both of mine unlocked from putting in the wrong security answers(most don't remember them or have them anymore.)

(I keep the boxes with the serial codes but was locked out due to incorrectly guessing the security question's answers,like many others and called in since it seemed more better for me;e-mailing required you to list down as much serial codes as you can along with the other required info,calling bypassed it.)



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Posted

I still have the original box, in a filing cabinet full of other stuff. I am a pack rat and an exception to norm. The 'security question' system is antiquated at best and downright ridiculous at worst.

I am sorry for your pain.


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Posted

I still have my City of Heroes and City of Villains boxes.


 

Posted

Doesn't everyone keep their codes just in case you might need them, if not the entire box? I thought that was common sense. That's your proof that you have a legit copy of the program.


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by White Hot Flash View Post
Doesn't everyone keep their codes just in case you might need them, if not the entire box? I thought that was common sense. That's your proof that you have a legit copy of the program.
I imagine people that buy a digital copy do not keep the entire box, but that's just me.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruff_Tuff_n_Buff View Post
I still have my City of Heroes and City of Villains boxes.
As do I, but AFAIK any code that you've applied to the game, from the original CoH through the recent booster packs and GR will do this resetting your account access and even if you don't have any of those the support guys will usually find other ways to verify your account info and get you access.


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruff_Tuff_n_Buff View Post
I imagine people that buy a digital copy do not keep the entire box, but that's just me.
Correct. With the exception of a Hero Gear pack that I had a friend pick up for me from one of the conventions, all of my CoH purchases have been digital copies. I do have the hardcopy from that one pack though.

Quote:
Originally Posted by darkangel32 View Post
nobody, i happened to get lucky and use a security question that i knew would never change and i would always know
I'm not sure how that qualifies as "getting lucky", but that's what I did, and I had no problem.

Seriously, the majority of people with this problem seem to be ones who, when setting up their accounts, just enter whatever the hell comes to mind when setting up the account so they can play RIGHT NAO, instead of taking the ten seconds extra to provide answers to the security question that they'll actually remember, and others probably won't guess.

There was actually one post on the forums where the person claimed that they just entered "slkjdasadg" for their security question answers, because they knew nobody would hack their account, and they'd never need the security answers again. Not saying the OP did this, but for those who did... Whose fault is it when you get locked out?


@Roderick

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by darkangel32 View Post
nobody, i happened to get lucky and use a security question that i knew would never change and i would always know, but i think the security question is just kind of silly. good luck with it.
Please don't presume to speak for everybody. I also keep all that information, and I keep it in multiple locations.

1. I have a fireproof lock box where I keep the actual hard copy. This includes copies of all my emails that I recieve confirming any online purchases I make for the games I play

2. I keep a copy of all that information in a document on my computer for easy access if I need it.

3. Finally I keep a copy of all information saved in a file under my GMail account online where I can access it from any computer.


And let me say my precautions saved me a lot of grief 2 years ago when Guild Wars changed their security measures and gave me a hard time about me having to prove I owned my account. I was able to respond with an email that contained every single activation code I ever purchased, along with a description of what each code was for, and the exact date and time each purchase was made.

They still drug their feet about responding but that's probably because it was over christmas and they were swamped with account hacking issues at that time.



Edit: forgot to add My sympathies are with the OP and I hope this gets resolved satisfactorily.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wrong_Number View Post
I'm trying to pay for my son's account and can't get in because of the new security stuff. The answer is to send them all this info like the serial number on the box and the original activation code. Well almost 7 years later, guess what? I don't have it. Why am I wasting my time with this additional security foolishness? Who exactly is it for and do they realize they are going to be loosing customers because of it?


WN
I already dealt with this about a day after they put this in place, to reactivate my account after ~6 months. You do not need all the information. I filled out everything else, and just for that put that I didn't have the boxes with me, and it was no issue. In fact, IIRC, I listed two different answers for one of them as well, not sure which it was.

They had it sorted out for me in less than 24 hours, it certainly wasn't the end of the world. Calm down, take a breath, it's not the end of the world. You most certainly spent more effort on starting this thread than sending what info you did know to support would have required!

(bolded, italicized, underlined, and increased the font, since I wouldn't be surprised if no one actually reads the most important part)


Quote:
Originally Posted by ShadowNate
;_; ?!?! What the heck is wrong with you, my god, I have never been so confused in my life!

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Forbin_Project View Post
Please don't presume to speak for everybody. I also keep all that information, and I keep it in multiple locations.
My problem is that as a rule I refuse to provide "correct" answers to security questions* and up until a couple of years ago didn't make a note of the answers I did provide.

*Security questions are not the same as, as good as, or a suitable replacement for two factor authentication, in fact they weaken security by making it easier for 3rd parties to gain information about how to access your account because facts about you are much easier to find out that what is essentially an entirely arbitrary password</rant>


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Posted

Please, I still have the boxes for some of my old SNES games.


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Posted

Well, in all honestly I would be hard pressed to FIND it if I needed ALL of my serial codes. However, I know I have the original manual from the box purchased when the game was released. I also have my City of Villains box (I believe it is with my sister, so she'll have a copy of the CDs) and my Going Rogue box is sitting on my desk at home.

Although I'm sure the latter will get lost eventually, just as the first two have.

Heck, I still have my boxes for Auto Assault, Star Wars Galaxies, and Earth and Beyond. I'm definately one of those packrats.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkGob View Post
Please, I still have the boxes for some of my old SNES games.
Heh, now if I had any of the boxes for my old Atari 2600 games...


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Spad_EU View Post
My problem is that as a rule I refuse to provide "correct" answers to security questions* and up until a couple of years ago didn't make a note of the answers I did provide.
I have no idea what to say to that. At least it's quoted for posterity.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by White Hot Flash View Post
Doesn't everyone keep their codes just in case you might need them, if not the entire box? I thought that was common sense. That's your proof that you have a legit copy of the program.
The fact that I've been paying them with my credit card for 7 years.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruff_Tuff_n_Buff View Post
I have no idea what to say to that. At least it's quoted for posterity.
I, personally, loath those 'security' questions, as they're generally something that's INCREDIBLY easy to figure out (it's a wet dream for a social engineer). Security questions generally only LOWER your security, not improve it in any way. The new way NC is using them at least doesn't hurt your security anymore (then again, are they still using them in the old manner as well?).

It always amused me the security questions the bank would ask... amuse me, because you didn't provide them the info!


Quote:
Originally Posted by ShadowNate
;_; ?!?! What the heck is wrong with you, my god, I have never been so confused in my life!

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruff_Tuff_n_Buff View Post
I have no idea what to say to that. At least it's quoted for posterity.
90% of security questions are only ever used in "forgotten password" scenarios - which is actually slightly worse than using them as part of the logon process - and as I keep all my passwords in secure storage I never need that process, thus I didn't bother to record my answers to the questions.

Then some idiot site decided to do what NCSoft have done, only they at least bothered to give notice before enabling it, so after that I started recording the non-answers that I gave for security questions, but couldn't necessarily remember all the places I'd previously given them in order to go back and record them all (at least for the places that even *let* you change the answers to your security questions).

Security questions are bad security. No two ways about it. They are neither something you have nor something you know, they are in fact something that anyone knows. Finding out someone's maiden name, city of birth or pet's name is trivial these days, especially as most people have no problem with plastering that information all over Facebook.


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Posted

I ran into this today when trying to reactivate my count. You're much better off calling support. They sorted it out for me in 5 minutes. Just need DOB for the account holder. Waiting on support to be open on the other hand is a pain. Who operates 12-5?


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by White Hot Flash View Post
Doesn't everyone keep their codes just in case you might need them, if not the entire box? I thought that was common sense. That's your proof that you have a legit copy of the program.
If I know I'll need the serial / CD Key I make a record of it.

Problem is that for CoH it wasn't needed to install the game or run it. Until the goalposts were moved.

But as far as I understand it the reps are fairly flexible with it anyway so you don't necessarily need it, as others have said.


 

Posted

I have logged onto my account and I haven't seen this new security stuff. Last time I logged on was when the Animal pack went live. Maybe I should go check this out.




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Posted

As an subscription based game, I kept everything. As for e-mails, I have all of them since 1988 when I first went online with Compuserve, archieved away. Having all of the ones for NCSoft that list all of the codes I've used since 2004 is trivial in comparison.


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Posted

My biggest problem with the whole "we need all the codes" thing was the sheer number of codes that would entail. I'm glad to hear you do not require all of them, else I would have been in trouble.

Accounts can have, literally, 25 or so codes associated with them counting all the retail editions, CE Editions, Pre-orders, boosters and costume codes, and the odds of anyone actually having them all over the course of 7 years is fairly low especially with some of them being digital codes that may or may not have been jotted down when the confirmation emails showed. Beyond that, the way the codes are listed on the account page doesn't give a clue as to what a number of them are, since many are listed simply as "Perk," which makes tracking what code is for what and what codes are missing more difficult. I could locate only about 75% of the ones associated with my account. I'm just glad I didn't need to know them all.