TruthScape.com  9  The Truth About RuneScape Account and Password Scamming and “Hacking”       9  How to Improve Your Account Security

Choose a Good, Strong Password Set Appropriate Recovery Question Answers

Do you have a bank PIN? Do you even know what a bank PIN is? Well, if the answer to either of those questions was “no”, then you've got some homework to do!

PIN is an acronym for personal identification number, and as that name suggests, is a number that can be used by an individual to identify themselves to a system. PINs increase security by requiring the knowledge of a secrete number; they are most commonly used by financial institutions, for example, to allow customers to withdraw money at ATM machines or use debit cards. You may also have used PINs on telephone calling cards.

Jagex wisely implemented a PIN feature in RuneScape as well, and it serves the same purpose. The PIN is a four-digit number that you can set on your account; when enabled, you are required to enter it every time you log into the game before you can open your bank to withdraw items (see Figure 114). You also have to use your PIN in certain other places, such as entering building mode on your house. (For convenience, you can store items using a bank deposit box without entering your PIN.)

Why set a PIN? Simple: it's an extra level of security to protect all the valuables in your bank. In the event that your account gets stolen, the scammer will be able to log into your account and take the items that happened to be on your character at that time, but without knowing your PIN, will be unable to get into your bank and clean it out. For this reason, I recommend that everyone put a PIN on all their RuneScape accounts.

There is one drawback to PINs, however: they are a little extra work each time you log in and access your bank. To help safeguard against keyloggers, Jagex requires you to click the four digits one at a time instead of typing them, and they are located in random spots on the popup “keypad” displayed in game to prevent mouse logging. This means that it takes a few seconds each time you log into the game before you can get into your bank. This isn't a huge deal for most people, but those few seconds can add up, especially if you do something that requires a lot of world hopping.

In essence, then, the bank PIN is a bit like a seat belt: a few seconds of inconvenience to get some peace of mind. You have to decide what's more important to you. I know that I have worked too hard for the items on my account to lose them to a password scammer!

The same general principles involved in selecting a password also apply to choosing a bank PIN, except that obviously, a PIN is much simpler: only four symbols, and they must be numbers. As with your password, the goal is to find something that is easy for you to remember but is not obvious to others. For example, you should not use as a PIN the last four digits of your phone number, your birth date, your significant other's birth date, or anything else that someone could easily guess.

Pick a number that means something to you but that nobody else would likely figure out. For example, how about the birth year of your favorite musician in reverse order? Or the last four digits of not your phone number, but the one of your favorite restaurant? Perhaps the price you paid for your first used car? J Use your imagination. Just make sure that it is a number you can remember, because if you forget it, you'll be locked out of your bank for several days.

Also like passwords, you should manage your PIN carefully. Be especially cautious of someone seeing you enter it, since unlike your password, it can be figured out just by watching your monitor. And never write it down—it's just four digits, anyone can remember that!

Choose a Good, Strong Password Set Appropriate Recovery Question Answers