Privacy is a right that you must actively protect. Sadly, so many people do not fully understand how their privacy or more specifically, how their information can be gathered.

I am constantly amazed the amount of information people provide. I am even more amazed that they seem shocked when someone finds out about their bondage secret life or how they use cough syrup.

The best analogy I have ever heard about the internet and privacy is, “do not post anything on the internet that you would not want to be seen on Time Square.” Basically, if you do not want millions of people to see it, then do not post it.

But it isn’t always about what you post, but what you provide.

Below is a running list of suggestions for protecting your privacy.

-Create an Online Identity
Create a username that is anything but unique. Sure you want to be special and recognized, but a unique name is easy to follow. A slip up here and a slip up there and a person can put together a lot of information about you. Most people use the same online handle over and over again. So on one site you registered and put your first name in the profile. You were smart enough to only put the last initial for your last name. So you gave up “Joe”. Several years later and a few times smarter, you register on a professional site and use your real last name in the profile and only a “J” for your first name.
TA DA, you have successfully given up your real first name.
Action points to names to avoid:
- The year you were born
- The city you live in (address, street number etc)
- The year you graduate college or high school
- Anything to do with the school you attend or the work you do
- Any version of your real name (first, middle, last or even nickname)
- Anything referring to your physical attributes

-Use a fake free email account for all internet related postings.
There are a number of free email accounts out there. Go directly to the site. Do not use referral emails and do not provide an alternative email when signing up. This means a few extra steps, but the goal is to not create links between who you are who you are online.
Even though this is a fake email address, do not include it in your profile on any site that posts it publicly. As with usernames, people tend to hold on to email addresses and they are as easy, if not easier, to track then a username.

-Make up where you are from
Fine you just signed up for a dating site. Get creative. Location: Waiting by phone. Once again, it is the little traces that you leave around that add up to real information. Using the example above, Joe S. aka J. Smith is now Joe Smith. Smith is a rather common name. How common is a Joe Smith that lives in Charleston, West Virginia? We also have a username and email address that can further verify.

So you are thinking, “fine. They have my real name and where I live. Who is really going to act on that?”
Depends. If you are a minor, I really do not want to go there. Parents need to really be vigilant about this.
But Joe, you’re an adult now. So what could happen?
Well, Joe… all of this was found via your username. The same name points to a bunch of things that you are interested in. It also provides an email address. Seeing how I am posting this on a gaming forum, lets pose you receive the following email:

“Joe Smith,
My name is Gregory Williams and I am the Test Developer for an online game in development. Due to your past interest in EQ, WoW and LOTRO we would like to invite you to participate in our closed testing.
If you are interested, please sign the non-disclosure agreement and email it back to closedtestingmmorpg@lordsofthe underworld.com.”

Joe cheerfully signs up. He creates a profile on this fake page and odds are, Joe will use the same password he has always used. 1) First way in.
Perhaps Joe is smart enough and creates a unique password. IP is tracked 2) Second way in.
And lastly, Joe is asked to download a program that will allow the company to match his hardware to the version they are testing. 3) Complete open door
A stretch? Perhaps. I guess they could just say they are from Nigeria and claim he won the lottery.

- Strong Passwords and Change them as often as you do your socks
Perhaps that is a bit often, but you need to do it more then you would think. And for the obvious statement… never give out your password to anyone.

- Online Chat with armor on!
If you have to use voice chat servers when online, be overly cautious of the information you say, and those that are you around you. It only takes one slip up by a person in the same room to provide information. “Joe!!! Dinner’s ready.” “Joseph Michael Smith! Turn off that game and come to dinner.”

Sure your guild mates will be rolling laughing, but you better believe that if anyone was recording the experience, you will surely end up being the next LEROY JENKINS!!!

-Stop posting your Instant Messaging Addresses.
Give these out to true friends or co-workers only. It is yet another identifying piece left behind to verify Joe Smith is Joe Smith and now I can chat with him.
If you receive a chat request from someone you are not sure you know, do not accept. Even more so, put them on your ignore. Joe had a pleasant almost flirtatious discussion on a game board with user “16yrblond”. He gets an AIM from 16yrblond immediately after. Awww… cute. Except, 16yrblond is really our fake Gregory Williams making yet another connection with Joe.

- Work sites are just as viewable
More and more companies are recognizing this and going the extra mile to protect their employees. Today’s co-worker is tomorrow’s disgruntled employee. Same rules apply, but now you have to be political about it to your employer.

I realize that much of this seems over the top to some, but it is all realistic. What someone can do with your information is numerous and dangerous. Everything from stealing a game account, to identity theft to actually breaking into your home.

Below are a few computer related and marketing related pieces that I have added. The lines are being blurred everyday and invading someone’s privacy can occur online, via phone or even via the mail.

Watch out for cookies
Cookies are files that websites use to store information about you between sessions. Most of the time they are innocuous. They do things like keep track of your username so that you don’t have to log into a website every time you visit it. However, some of them are used by bad guys to track your browsing habits so that they can target adverts at you or to build a profile of your interests and activities with a view to fraud.

· Set your browser to warn you when a cookie is installed. Note that some sites will not work if you block cookies completely.

· Microsoft Internet Explorer will let you enable and disable cookies on a site by site basis so you can allow them on sites you trust.

· Use an anti-spyware program that scans for so-called tracker cookies (see Stop spyware).

· There are also cookie management programs that can delete old cookies and help manage them. In addition you can use settings in Internet Explorer (see Use Internet Explorer safely) and Mozilla Firefox (see Secure the Firefox web browser) to delete unwanted cookies.

· Use a plain text email display instead of HTML email so that tracking files and cookies can’t be included in email files (see Use Outlook Express safely).
Think about who might be listening.

Unencrypted email and most website interactions can be monitored by your employer, your internet service provider or by any company along the internet path between you and the email or web server you are talking to. Transmission over an insecure Wi-Fi (wireless) network means anyone within radio range can listen in too. In the UK there are strict guidelines about employee monitoring and bugging but, unfortunately, just because it is illegal doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.

· Use encrypted links for sensitive communications; for example a VPN to connect to the office (see Secure remote access).

· Use an SSL-encrypted web mail account or use encrypted email (see Learn about secure web pages).

· Assume anything that is sent without encryption can be read by third parties.

· Use encryption.

· Spyware or viruses that install keyboard trackers can actually log the keys you press as you type and send them back to the hacker who installed it. These are commonly called ‘keylogger viruses.’ Check your computer regularly for spyware and viruses (see Install anti-virus software and Stop spyware).

· In a public or work environment, if you are concerned about being spied on, check your computer physically for any unusual devices that may be plugged in, especially on the keyboard cable.

· Use secure websites when shopping or banking online.

· Avoid using a work email address for personal use. Have a separate, private email address for private business.

· Be careful about using public computers and public Wi-Fi (wireless) networking hotspots (see Use public computers carefully).

Browse defensively
· Switch off Java, Javascript and ActiveX in your browser and only enable it on a site-by-site basis. See Use Internet Explorer safely.

· Check to see if the website has a real-world presence, such as a helpline number or mailing address.

· Read any ‘privacy’ policy. Many are, in fact, grossly misnamed waivers of all privacy.

· Look for trust signs from organisations like Which that validate minimum standards of privacy and other good practice.

· Remember that a secure link, with a padlock and https, doesn’t say anything about the site’s business practices or attitude to privacy.

I got into LOTRO last fall before Moria was released and initially started out gaming with a friend with whom I did everything, either just the two of us in fellowship or recruiting others as needed. The friend always took the lead in gathering people and making things work, which I never minded because I’m quiet and shy around strangers (real or virtual).

Then Moria came out, and all the friend’s Level 50 characters were on another server, so I found myself alone with my Level 29 minstrel. I created a couple more characters to see if I could find one more solo-friendly, and while I was finding each of them fun to play, when it came to fellowship quests I found struggle. I’d wait around until someone called out for a quest I was on and joined them, but the groups were always disorganized with people only joined to finish the quest and never to cooperate.

Very recently, I also now have characters on the server where the friend is, but the levels are so different between us plus the rules of the kin my friend is in there making gaming prohibitive.

I knew my friend had kin memberships, and I have to admit I was very leery of kins, thinking I would be too inexperienced for them or that my social skills would be not up to par. I held out from going this route for the longest time.

So in recent weeks, I decided to start paying attention to kin recruitments to see if any sounded interesting. I took up a kin recruitment offer on each server. Both advertised as casual, mature kin… but in one case the kin has turned out to be anything but. Not all their membership is bad by any means, I’ve had good help from a couple people, but generally I don’t connect with this crowd.

And in neither case has kin been a great help for overcoming the fellowship hurdle, which I can’t tell is the mechanics of a faulty kin, or if the problem lies on my side, or both.

So, what are recommendations to assess:

1) if a kin is a bad fit, and if so, how to leave it;
2) if being in a kin in general is a bad fit for a player?

Yes, I’m going to rant a bit. Sorry if it bothers some of you, but I rarely get upset at the game, or the players in it. And being upset, not all of it may be rational, but I hope you understand. If not, to bad!

So I’m trying to do the Cooling Chambers quest for the umpteenth time (ok, really it’s probably the 5th) and I can’t beat the mother. I just absolutely can not do it, at least not with my skill set as it is now, and it being a dark blue quest to me. Or is there some secret I don’t know about?

I stay close to the guy so he can heal me, and I can get to the main boss and drop him- difficult, but I’ve managed it. But I can’t get past the 3 siggie warg riders that drop in afterwards. They just pound the **** out of us and the guy can’t heal us fast enough. Pots, food, and every strategy I’ve got doesn’t work.

So I ask on the advice channel if there’s some special secret for hunters to finish this thing. First I get 2 people arguing that I should take others. It’s explicitly a solo quest. First time I tried it I was in a group and it wouldn’t let me do it till I dropped the group. So then I get some telling me to use a couple of skills I just don’t have.

I don’t have rain of thorns yet (sorry, I’m not paying 5 flipping gold pieces for each page, and I’ve had horrible luck on the drops. Finished mistys and angmar and didn’t get all the pages). I don’t have bard’s arrow yet (never even got the stupid book to drop, even with all of Angmar and Misty’s, grrrrrrr).

So then I get some brilliant person telling me that, as a character in Moria, it’s my “duty” (their word, not mine) to make sure I have those skills earned adn shouldn’t be there without them. Well good for them, but I don’t have a lot of playtime, and I’m not going to waste what time I get grinding out kills in Angmar and MM that doesn’t want to drop for me anyways. If you’ve seen my posts in the past you may recall I have horrible luck with drops (e.g. only 2 taxidermy trophies in over a year, and both of those in Forochel, etc.) And since I couldn’t get those stupid things to drop as part of the regular quest line, I’m not going to spend God knows how long trying to grind it out in a vain hope they might eventually actually drop for me.

So, does anyone have some real advice on this quest or these items? Something that might help without me having to dedicate my life to the game, since my family (who is now waiting for me to join them for a movie) would really appreciate something other than “so spend hours grinding to get a lucky drop to get a skill you can’t complete this quest without.”?

Thanks for putting up with the rant. Gotta run, wife is giving me one of those looks.

Until we get official word that micro-transactions won’t be put into LOTRO, there’s going to be alot of discussion about this.

Here’s 2 reasons why I think micro-transactions shouldn’t be put into LOTRO:

1. It will turn the game into Lord of the Rings Barbie for rich kids.

2. Many will quit, including me. I will never allow myself to spend money on pixels.

Now people might say, “Well, fine, but why can’t I? What does it matter to you?” Well, we’re playing the same game, and cosmetic items do have a very high value in the game we’re playing. Everyone wants to have unique and cool-looking things in the game, including myself. Look at cosmetic items on the AH. They are often some of the most expensive items. Everybody wants them.

If someone else was able to get really cool looking clothes, housing items and other nicknacks, like pets, and I’m stuck in my shabby clothes sitting in my house with my dirty pesky door-mouse, I will feel like a loser.

Heck, I might even be tempted to spend some money on pixels, and if that point ever comes, I know I will quit the game, because that’s beyond a reasonable expense to me.

I’m being honest here, by the way. Everyone wants to skirt around the issue, but the basic underlying issue is if you can get something in game, I want to be able to get it too.

****

So, bottom-line is: Short-term it will make alot of money, but it’s unclear if it will make money or lose money long-term, and I always considered MMORPG’s to be long-term labors of love. I know that I can see myself playing this for years if not for as long as the game is running, as it stands now.

If MTs were put in, I could see myself easily unsubscribing in a month or two.

****

It should be noted that Turbine runs other MMORPGs besides Lord of the Rings Online. They’ve hired someone to do micro-transactions, but it may just be for Asheron’s Call or D&D. Hopefully we can get official word on this board sometime soon, because I, for one, am concerned.

Turbine apparently believes that some Canadian residents may be a little too… medicated… to be able to win a prize from Moria Instant Win Sweepstakes. And by medicated, I mean that which is legal in West Hollywood or San Francisco, if you know what I mean. I hear it’s legal all over Canada. I was looking through the Sweepstakes rules for the Moria Sweepstakes: http://moria.lotro.com/ and I found this section:

Hey guys Kastus here, I was thinking about how Rohan will probably be the next paid expansion next year more than likely. I read a lot of people’s opinions on horse customization and even that it should be similar to the Legendary Weapons system in that you can find stray horses and be able to tame them so I came up with some ideas (and a logo :P)

EDIT: I usually write in violet but I will put the ideas in white so it’s easier to read

Okay here go the ideas I will number them

1) You are out adventuring and you notice a stray untamed horse wandering about so you go up to the horse and try to get it to follow you. The horse will either decide to follow or not follow you depending on either a random chance or set conditions; this chance can be improved by feeding the horse or petting it etc. Afterwards if the horse decides to follow you he becomes an icon in your inventory and is stored there to be released at any time you wish.

2) After the horse is in your inventory you will then seek out a Stable-Master, which will be granted certain abilities or maybe even an entire new NPC, to tame the horse such as with a forge master and Legendary Weapons. The taming of the horse will cost you the cost of a new horse unless you already have one in which case you must trade it in for the new “legendary horse” and after you can ride the horse and he is yours. The horse will start out with the same capabilities as with a regular horse or your previous horse.

3) Now your horse is tamed you may ride him as you like but he is able to grow in power and ability. Sort of like leveling a Legendary Weapon, the more you ride your horse and fight with your horse through the Mounted Combat system the more experience he gains and the stronger he becomes.

4) There will be a designated NPC, as said earlier either a Stable-Master or a new NPC maybe a “Horse-Master” or “Horse-Lord”, that you will go to in order to customize and improve your horse. The “Horse-Master” will provide you with everything from cosmetic blankets to armor pieces for your horse. Cosmetic items include different pattern blankets, and horses will be able to have 2 different outfit slots for cosmetic. Horses will also be able to wear Representation Tabards that can have your Kinship’s logo or any type of logo, different saddle designs if you use a saddle and robes such as this –

http://images.elfwood.com/art/l/s/ls….rZd.42296.jpg
(Just the robes in that picture I know it’s a unicorn but you get it)

5) As we all know The Horse-Lords of Rohan didn’t charge into battle with bare-naked horses they had armour on themselves as well as on their worthy steeds. Horses could have different tiers of armor starting out from the most basic with minimal protection to heavy armour, which they could only wear when strong enough through combat that gives them a lot of protection. These armor sets would have a head piece, leg pieces, chest pieces (underbelly and chest area under neck), rear pieces, and armored horse shoes. The armour protection of a horse determines how long the rider can stay upon the horse and how many blows the horse can sustain before his rider falls. The more armour on the horse the slower it will be but the more damage it can take. Over time horses armour will require repair in order to be able to sustain it.

6) The “Horse-Master’ also provides riders with buffs they can apply to their horses and special “horse-shoe” buffs that give the horse much more speed. These “shoes” will vary and are permanent but are not cheap and are only available to certain horses who have met the requirements and the riders can purchase them. The armour level will also affect speed so the shoes will help. Also a short term, timed, horse run buff could be added to the Destiny Point system.

In conclusion before anybody says “omg this isn’t farmer billy’s horse extravaganza” there is so much we could do with a system like this sure there are problems but feel free to add and voice your own opinions too without any flamage. Rohan will be an awesome expansion and Turbine intended to have mounted combat in sometime and Rohan is the perfect time to do it. Also being able to cosmetically improve your horses can make them unique or you and your whole kin can have one design and that will go great once we can have kin clothing and cloaks.

~Kastus~

Hey guys Kastus here, I was thinking about how Rohan will probably be the next paid expansion next year more than likely. I read a lot of people’s opinions on horse customization and even that it should be similar to the Legendary Weapons system in that you can find stray horses and be able to tame them so I came up with some ideas (and a logo :P)

EDIT: I usually write in violet but I will put the ideas in white so it’s easier to read

Okay here go the ideas I will number them

1) You are out adventuring and you notice a stray untamed horse wandering about so you go up to the horse and try to get it to follow you. The horse will either decide to follow or not follow you depending on either a random chance or set conditions; this chance can be improved by feeding the horse or petting it etc. Afterwards if the horse decides to follow you he becomes an icon in your inventory and is stored there to be released at any time you wish.

2) After the horse is in your inventory you will then seek out a Stable-Master, which will be granted certain abilities or maybe even an entire new NPC, to tame the horse such as with a forge master and Legendary Weapons. The taming of the horse will cost you the cost of a new horse unless you already have one in which case you must trade it in for the new “legendary horse” and after you can ride the horse and he is yours. The horse will start out with the same capabilities as with a regular horse or your previous horse.

3) Now your horse is tamed you may ride him as you like but he is able to grow in power and ability. Sort of like leveling a Legendary Weapon, the more you ride your horse and fight with your horse through the Mounted Combat system the more experience he gains and the stronger he becomes.

4) There will be a designated NPC, as said earlier either a Stable-Master or a new NPC maybe a “Horse-Master” or “Horse-Lord”, that you will go to in order to customize and improve your horse. The “Horse-Master” will provide you with everything from cosmetic blankets to armor pieces for your horse. Cosmetic items include different pattern blankets, and horses will be able to have 2 different outfit slots for cosmetic. Horses will also be able to wear Representation Tabards that can have your Kinship’s logo or any type of logo, different saddle designs if you use a saddle and robes such as this –

http://images.elfwood.com/art/l/s/ls….rZd.42296.jpg
(Just the robes in that picture I know it’s a unicorn but you get it)

5) As we all know The Horse-Lords of Rohan didn’t charge into battle with bare-naked horses they had armour on themselves as well as on their worthy steeds. Horses could have different tiers of armor starting out from the most basic with minimal protection to heavy armour, which they could only wear when strong enough through combat that gives them a lot of protection. These armor sets would have a head piece, leg pieces, chest pieces (underbelly and chest area under neck), rear pieces, and armored horse shoes. The armour protection of a horse determines how long the rider can stay upon the horse and how many blows the horse can sustain before his rider falls. The more armour on the horse the slower it will be but the more damage it can take. Over time horses armour will require repair in order to be able to sustain it.

6) The “Horse-Master’ also provides riders with buffs they can apply to their horses and special “horse-shoe” buffs that give the horse much more speed. These “shoes” will vary and are permanent but are not cheap and are only available to certain horses who have met the requirements and the riders can purchase them. The armour level will also affect speed so the shoes will help. Also a short term, timed, horse run buff could be added to the Destiny Point system.

In conclusion before anybody says “omg this isn’t farmer billy’s horse extravaganza” there is so much we could do with a system like this sure there are problems but feel free to add and voice your own opinions too without any flamage. Rohan will be an awesome expansion and Turbine intended to have mounted combat in sometime and Rohan is the perfect time to do it. Also being able to cosmetically improve your horses can make them unique or you and your whole kin can have one design and that will go great once we can have kin clothing and cloaks.

~Kastus~

You can’t even feel good about helping someone out. There I was on an alt, coming up from the depths of the Silvertine Lodes after clearing away some foul creatures when I came across another player with two Goblins on them. After checking that both had been tagged (Wouldn’t want to be called a ninja for “stealing” a mob), I thought I’d give them a hand. Make the fight a little easier, a little quicker. Nothing in it for me, no XP, no item XP, just lend a hand to someone. Plenty of times I have been in a spot and someone rolled up to help so I like to do likewise.

Anyway, mobs quickly despatched and I moved on when a “tell” pops up telling me to “Don’t do that!”. Well I was shocked. Thought I was helping someone out. First thought was that they thought I had taken a mob off them so I replied that the mobs were tagged and I got nothing out of it. I was then told that the person lost half the item xp they otherwise would have got. News to me I thought so I apologised and told them I thought I was being thoughtful. Then came the tell that really floored me … “Sorry but your wrong”

I am wrong because I thought I was being thoughtful? Sorry but when common courtsey goes out the window for the sake of a bit of item XP, then there is a problem.

I love LOTRO (keep up the great work Turbine). I think I am a fairly decent player but hell, if it means that I have to sink to that sort of low to be good, I’ll stick to being a noob that falls in the green water in CD (running Kin joke). I’ll keep aggro’ing too many mobs and doing away with all my hard earned gold on repairs. I’d rather have some fun and laughs than be that serious about what is, at the end of the day, a game

Anyway, to the other person involved you won’t have to worry about my help anymore. Welcome to one of the few real life (as opposed to gold spammers) on my ignore list.

BTW Turbine, if what I was told is true (lost half item xp for being involved), you might want to revisit that. Could cause a few more problems with some “hardcore” players

Learning as I go, but here are a couple notes I’ve found on legendary items during my travels that I felt would be beneficial to folks entering the new experience after level 50:

- Equipping as many as possible will advance them all at once. The exp is spread at approx 40% on each item on the total exp earned (with 6 bound), which is efficient spreading over 6 items. I’ve been leaving four extra in the bags at all times.

- The first legendary weapon from the epic quest must be equipped to receive exp but the others don’t matter whether they’re equipped on not.

- The most efficient cutoff times for deconstructing are at item levels 11 and 21. At level 11 for instance, you’ll get the benefit of the the tier 2 relics gained from reaching a level past 10.

- Definitions: Relics are the items placed in the the legendary items for bonuses. They are settings/gems/runes.

- The combination of relics (5 at tier 1 will = 1 at tier 2) seem to be completely random for crits. The chance of gaining an extra ‘crit’ remains the same whether combining 5 of the same type or mixing it up. Crits will give an extra relic, usually a gem type and on occasion a rune. The runes are the rarest. …keep them secret, keep them safe

- Combining relics to a higher tier is obviously progress, but you may not get what you want so be careful while advancing them, and leave behind what you can use in the near future.

- IMPORTANT - You will will only get back the relics from an item during a ‘Reforge’, and will not get them back during a ‘Deconstruct’. If you’re planning ahead, try to time a reforge close to your level advancements. The big jumps for items are at 53, 55, 57 and 59 because you’ll get several to choose from (below).

- The class trader at Durin’s Way will offer new legendary items at levels 53, 55, 57 and 59 for your barter items. Gather a bunch at once, and keep the best to keep for yourself. They’re all different and barter across as pure chance. The ‘garbage’ can be immediately deconstructed, traded or sold. Identify them first at the Forge Master.

- The AH does accept identified items and they’ll sell a lot better that way. This is not what was in the forums prior to the expansion.

- Be careful equipping relics that you may like to save for a later level. Relics can only be recovered during a ‘Reforge’, and will not be available after a ‘Deconstruct’. Reforge is only available at item levels 10 and 20. You cannot reforge an item after it’s maxed. Put some thought into what you’ll need for the next couple levels versus what relics you’ll want to keep or advance.