Many people, myself included, are excited about the iPhone OS 3.0 update, which is released tomorrow for all iPhone and iPod Touch owners, though Touch users have to pay for it. If you use the Blizzard Mobile Authenticator app, though (and there's little reason not to; it is free, and extra security never hurts), you should take one precaution first.

Every so often, even the best-planned upgrades go awry. In case your iPhone 3.0 upgrade breaks and you have to restore the iPhone, you should make sure to write down the serial number of your Mobile Authenticator ahead of time (or take a screenshot of it and transfer it to your computer).

The serial number is found on the Setup screen of the Authenticator, and Blizzard will need this number from you if you need to detach the Authenticator from your account (because your iPhone needed to be restored the Authenticator got a new serial number).

For the majority of users, the upgrade process will probably go seamlessly and you won't need this. However, if you do, you'll be happy you have it.

[thanks, Tobbi]

We have a lot of reports of scams coming in to our tip line and many of us are receiving the same phishing emails you are. Even Scott Kurtz from PvPOnline was tweeting about getting one the other day. These scams can be initiated via email to any one of your email addresses. Or they may start in game. Regardless of where they attack you, most of the scams require some form of social engineering to get your info and therefore access to your in-game valuables.

What is social engineering? Social engineering is manipulating victims to volunteer personal information about themselves in order to perpetrate a con, scam, fraud, etc. If you have seen the movie Groundhog Day, then you have seen a very good example of it. Phil, a television weatherman, is living the same day over and over. One iteration of his morning, he asks an attractive woman her name, where she went to highschool and her English teacher. The next iteration of his morning, he "accidentally" runs into her and pretends to know her from highschool, resulting in her going to bed with him.

Recently, I wrote about a scam involving selling Spectral Tiger Mounts, but I never thought I would be able to actually interview the guy responsible. Luckily, this particular scammer was willing to discuss the scam candidly with my husband and I. He ended being very like a Ferengi in his attitude toward what he calls "business". Here is the story.

Late last night, The Spousal Unit saw someone spamming Trade Chat, supposedly offering a Spectral Tiger Mount for sale. Since he knew two people that had been scammed by this, he called the seller a scammer in Trade Chat. The scammer sent him a tell and they proceeded to debate the issue in whispers. TSU called me over to show me the conversation, so of course I had to log on and pursue the interview further. Following are both interviews, copied over from in-game whispers.

It's Wednesday once more in Europe and Blizzard has been busy. After the implementation of multilingual battle groups last week, they seemed to like it so much that they're merging some more, this time on a bigger scale. Hopefully all this should be happening between 3:00am and 11:00am CEST, but judging by some of the problems experienced by Americans yesterday, this could easily changed. Just keep calm and carry on.

So during the maintenance tomorrow, we will not only be getting patch 3.1.3, various battle groups will be shoved together and renamed.

• Bloodlust (hey that's me) and Cataclysme will become Cataclysm/Cataclysme
• Cyclone and Todbringer will become Cyclone/Wirbeisturm
• Conviction and Raserei will become Frenzy/Raserei
• Rampage and Ferocite will become Rampage/Saccage
• Reckoning and Verderbnis will become Reckoning/Abrechnung
• Ruin and Glutsturm will become Emberstorm/Glutsturm
• Vengeance and Schattenbrand will become Vengeance/Rache, and finally
• Sturmangroff and Represailles will become Sturmangriff/Charge

So while you're waiting for all this to happen, there's plenty to do. We've got patch notes for 3.1.3, there are the new Tauren kitty forms to drool over and you could even download the Battle.net authenticator app from EU iTunes stores. As usual one of my American colleagues - this week Alex Z. - has compiled a fun post to read that rounds up all the interesting tidbits which have been happening for your amusement to tide you over until the servers pop back up.

UpdatE: Maintenance has now been extended to 1pm CEST.

These things sometimes take a while, but Blizzard has finally made the Battle.net authenticator app available in the European iTunes stores (you can download it here). As with the NA version, the app is a freebie and designed to add an extra layer of security to your account thanks to a random number generator.

We've already posted a hands-on look at the app and I had a quick play with it while writing this post. It seems really easy to use once you sync the app to your Battle.net account and there's something very special about seeing the Blizzard logo pop up on my iPhone. The app should also work on the iPod Touch and is available now, so if you've already merged your WoW account then this might well be the app for you. I certainly carry my iPhone around with me more than my keys so this little app is a very welcome addition.

This is only slightly WoW-related, but it's worth a mention, I think, considering that when it happens, you'll be able to tell all your friends just what these things are. Our good friend Relmstein reports that Visa is planning to put an authenticator, of all things, in their credit cards. We of course all know how the Blizzard Authenticator works: you punch a button on the Authenticator, it gives you a code, and then that code can be used to synch up with the server. The Emue Card that Visa is testing right now works the same way: you punch in a PIN, it'll give you another code to enter on an online shopping site, and thus no one who just gets your card information can actually use your card (much like right now with a Blizzard Authenticator, no one who just gets your password can actually sign in). But it's all built in to the normal credit card.

Very interesting. What Visa's doing with their credit cards might not be completely relevant to WoW, but it is relevant to note that of all of the accounts and passwords in your life that you might like to keep secure, a Blizzard account with an Authenticator attached is probably the most locked-down. Companies have started using Authenticator-like technology to have their employees log in to local networks, and obviously credit card and banking companies are testing things like this. But when it comes down to actual widespread usage, Blizzard is way ahead of the curve. Odds are that your WoW account right now is even more protected than your checking account. We'll likely be using the same authenticator system for other secure connections in the future.

Here in Europe, we've been waiting patiently, watching as the Americans frolic with their shiny new Battle.net merged WoW accounts. Blizzard has just updated the news section of the European site with a welcome announcement. European players will now be able to finally merge their Battle.net and World of Warcraft accounts into one shiny new entity.

The process takes about a minute and, after a cool sound effect, you'll see Wrath of the Lich King appear in your games section. The only thing you need to remember is you will need to put in the email address associated with your Battle.net account in the WoW login screen rather than your user name. So, without further ado, go forth and merge!

New around here? WoW Rookie points WoW's newest players to the resources they need to get acclimated. Send us a note to suggest a WoW Rookie topic.

It doesn't take keyboard gymnastics to prevent your account from getting hacked. As a new player, you're bound to be concerned – and if you do any digging at all, you're also bound to uncover a tangle of acerbic, rather arcane-sounding comments (many of them on posts right here at WoW Insider) about what operating systems, browsers and browser add-ons are most secure.

You really don't have to change your entire computer system simply to keep your WoW account safe. This week, WoW Rookie rounds up a selection of WoW Insider posts that show you how (and why) to keep your WoW account from being hacked and prevent your computer from spilling its beans to the world at large.

So if you want/need one, head to the Blizzard store and get one before they're gone. What is €6.00/£4.80 for a little peace of mind?

Who doesn't love themselves some authentication goodness?

I sure do!

You following me camera guy?

For those of you who don't have an authenticator yet, you now can get one from the Blizzard Store. They are back in stock, hurry up and get them while you still can. The other option is to download it onto your iPod Touch or iPhone and enjoy your security that way.

Many users sent us this tip in over the last twenty-four hours, so be sure to order yours now if you want it!

There have been a lot of login server related issues lately with Battle.net accounts, and from all indication they don't all seem to be for the same reasons. Tom may not have the same issue as Sally who isn't necessarily getting the same error message as Jimbo. As much as the problems are annoying me, the more widespread problems tend to clear up pretty quickly. Usually. For some of the odd, lingering issues you may run into, Blizzard's Support page has added a section for Battle.net connection issues within World of Warcraft with some common solutions. Note that these won't necessarily fix every issue that crops up with the login servers, but it should solve some of them!

The most common solution that seems to work out for people is the suggested edit to the realmlist.wtf file, using something like Notepad. Look for the Data folder within your World of Warcraft folder, open it up, then open Realmlist.wtf with a simple text editor. Check to be sure all four of these lines are contained within:

There appears to be another round of login server issues tonight, and the many reports flooding into our inboxes here at WoW Insider suggest that this problem is exclusive to merged Battle.net accounts. As you can see by the error message above, my Battle.net account is having the same problem.

Now, I've been one of the louder advocates about switching to Battle.net account amongst my guildmates and the other WoW Insider writers, I absolutely think it's a great concept. Just as I fully support Steam, I support any Steam-esque services of a decent quality. This here? Quickly losing my favor. If the error message above is truly what it implies, that the login server is failing due to heavy traffic, I must repeat what we've said the last dozen times something on Blizzard's end has fallen apart due to too much traffic: Come on, really? You underestimated your service's popularity? Again?

If there are any further chapters to this story before it's fixed this evening, we'll be sure to let you know.

Update: The error is getting more sporadic as the night wears on, so I'm personally going to assume that it is, indeed, a traffic issue. None of us know that for a fact, of course. Still, if you try now, you'll have better luck getting in than you did a short while ago.