Major Security Threat - Authenticator useless

Over the last few days i have been dealing with a compromised account, i traced the source of this back to a key logger on my computer. so after formatting my computer i called tech support and reset my account just to have it compromised again the next day. in the end i had to format all 4 of my drives and reset my routers security measures to stop this.

The part about this that eluded me was that i have an authenticator on my account (physical not mobile) and couldn't understand how my info was being changed hours after i had logged off. for those of you that don't know the authenticator provides an 8 digit numerical code that is constantly changing which you supposedly have to enter to change any account info / log in or even post on the forums.

Well i learned through my ordeal that since your Origin and SWTOR accounts are linked that if your Origin / EA account is compromised and the password or Email is changed it completely bypasses your security authenticator and changes your SWTOR info.

This is completely unacceptable the whole point of a security authenticator is to be a last line of defense in case of being compromised and Bioware / EA have designed a workaround to bypass it which is really easy to do if someone manages to get your info.

Please Bioware unlink the accounts so others can avoid this scenario.

Thats why you use Virus Protection.

stop popping onto websites that DOWNLOAD these keyloggers!

I know right?

I played Wow for 7 years (was in vanilla closed beta) and never used an authenticator.

I have never been hacked, or had a keylogger.....

I honestly have no idea how people let it happen

Anti Virus cannot stop everything. They can only catch thigns that have been IDENTIFIED. If it is a brand new logger, then it won't be in the AV's database....

blaming bioware for your shoddy computer security skills isnt a very nice thing to do. i have been playing mmos since before they had graphics(who else lost years of their lives MUD-ing?), and have never used an authenticator since they have been availaible...number of times my account has been hacked: 0. quit clicking on banner adds please.

Worked for me for over 7 years..

OP makes a really valid point, though. If there's a backdoor around the authenticators, that's a -major- issue.

Everyone is missing the point that the authenticator should never be bypassed. For gods sake they require it when I log into post in the forum, how can they not require it when changing this stuff?

Whatever happens with keyloggers on the system should have absolutely no impact.

With the authenticator active, there should be no way for the attacker to remove it short of calling the support - or using the authenticator to log into the account management pages and use it again to remove it from the account.

Not to mention that we do not have the option to go into the account management pages to remove it on our own. ...