Hacked, Survived: Rift

Here's a 2011 trend I'd hoped had wound down by now: the hacking of games, game services and game websites. Seems Trion Worlds, makers of Rift, suffered an incursion lately, with hackers finding their way into a database containing "user names, encrypted passwords, dates of birth, email addresses, billing addresses, and the first and last four digits and expiration dates of customer credit cards." Aieee!

However, Trion have declared that "There is no evidence, and we have no reason to believe, that full credit card information was accessed or compromised in any way." Phew?

Nasty business, but hopefully not too much ill will come of it. Despite this drama, Trion have kept Rift running rather than shut it down in a panic, and seem confident that they've closed off the exploited security hole. However, all users are required to change their passwords and security questions.

As apology for the anxiety and inconvenience, all Rift players are getting three days of free play time and a hoojum called the Moneybags’ Purse, which gives you a 10% bonus of money-looting.

Full statement and advice on how to check no-one's nicked your identity here.