.NET Passport Tips

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I've been following the new log-in discussions pretty closely and have some suggestions to pass along for those of you who may be concerned. To minimize the risk, and to keep my account flexible for the future, I plan to follow these suggestions myself.

1) Players should create a dummy email account for *each* AC account. Since your Passport ID is an email address, you should create a separate Passport for each AC account you have. According to the FAQ, the association of the AC account with the Passport account is permanent. If you want to sell or trade or share an account in the future (which, of course, you won't, because it's against the rules! ;-), you will not want to lose a functioning email address. Another reason is to minimize the risk of hackers. Currently, people need your Zone ID and a password to access an account. Since many people's email addresses are public, they would now only need to get your password. Using a dummy email account which you keep private (and which you use *only* for the purpose of creating a Passport for your AC account) will ensure an extra layer of security.

2) Players should consider not using Hotmail or MSN as their dummy email address for their Passport accounts. Hotmail accounts automatically expire after 30 days if you don't log in (logging in to Passport doesn't count). It is unclear how this affects your AC Account (even after the Zone chat and Passport FAQ). In addition, the Passport help files seem to indicate that it is currently possible to change the email address associated with your Passport account (which would be necessary if your ISP went under), but not if it is a Hotmail or an MSN account. Those associations are permanent.

3) Yahoo mail may be a good choice for a dummy email address. They do not discontinue the account for 4 months of not logging in (opposed to the 30 days for Hotmail). They also appear to keep IDs reserved, even for expired accounts, for *very* long periods of time. An old one of mine was still reserved for me from 1998! (By the way, the email address must actually function and be a real one to work for a Passport account. You'll need to verify it via a link emailed to you.)

4) Always remember to LOG OUT of a Passport site when you are finished.

5) This is not a recommendation, but just an additional point. Many of the current AC 3rd party developers seem to think that it will still be possible to dual-log after the changes. Although the FAQ says two accounts may not be logged on to the same computer at the same time, this is not a new statement with the Passport log-in. This has always been the official stance of the powers-that-be regarding dual-logging. Technically dual-logging can be considered a hack, so they cannot make any public statements of support.

Um... use these tips and suggestions at your own risk! ;-)

Links

.NET Passport Member Services
(If you were automatically given a Passport account through Hotmail or MSN, you will want to check your default privacy settings.)

Zone Passport FAQ

Unofficial .NET Support Page
(Answers many questions about your Zone Chat nicknames.)