PlaySmart is a public service program, initiated by NCsoft® in partnership with the Entertainment Consumers Association®, which delivers simple guidelines that focus on personal safety and data security. Personal safety includes tips for families who play online games and data security covers issues such as data loss or online scams. NCsoft has chosen to develop this program to help make playing online games a more positive experience reducing risk factors that are part of any online interaction.

Top Issues:

Account security is very important. Please review these top issues to combat potential threats to your account.

• Do not share your account information with anyone. Many customers have their accounts compromised purely by providing account information to other players in the game. Sharing personal or account information should never be done under any circumstances, including with friends or guild-mates. NCsoft employees will never ask you for your password either through email or in-game. If you are ever unsure please contact NCsoft's account support for further information at http://help.ncsoft.com/cgi-bin/ncsoft.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php.
• Beware of phishing websites. Be very careful about going to hyperlinks that claim to be official NCsoft websites, but are in fact fake sites designed to steal account information. These websites are created to look identical to the official NCsoft websites, and have hyperlinks that look very close to those for the official NCsoft websites. It is always better for you to navigate to the official web site yourself, rather than using hyperlinks provided by others.
• Keep your antivirus software up to date and running. Although we do not endorse or recommend any specific program here are a few examples:
  • AVG: http://free.avg.com/
  • McAfee: http://www.mcafee.com/
  • Avast!: http://www.avast.com/
  • Nod32 : http://www.eset.com/products/nod32.php
• Keep your Operating System up to date. Please regularly ensure that you visit Microsoft's update website to ensure you have all critical updates installed. Windows updates can be downloaded from: http://update.microsoft.com/
• Do not download third-party programs that purport to enhance game-play. Using "helper" programs could result in your account information being compromised by computer viruses hidden inside the program; these viruses are unlikely to be detected by antivirus software. Also, do not visit suspicious websites as they may contain viruses that can infect your computer.

Further suggestions for Data Security:

• Never give out your credit card information to prevent others from masquerading as you and making unauthorized charges.
• Never give out personal information such as your full name or address to anyone; that information can be used by hackers to masquerade as you.
• Do not give out passwords or account information to friends so they may play on your account.
• Use strong passwords to help protect your personal information such as using passwords that have at least eight characters and include numerals and symbols.
• Use different passwords for your NCsoft game account than you use for other web sites and games so that a successful hack against those sites won't compromise your NCsoft account.
• Report suspicious behavior including strangers who unexpectedly ask for account or personal information. NCsoft will ban players who attempt to defraud other users.

Further suggestions for personal safety:

• Parents should review game ratings to ensure they are age-appropriate for their children.
• Parents should monitor or even play computer games with their children.
• Parents should be aware of the social interaction their children have in games, including all chat features and email exchanges.
• Parents should create the game accounts and limit their child's access to credit card numbers or other critical account data.
• Report players for harassing or offensive behavior or those who ask personal questions or are asking for account information. Please make any reports to http://help.ncsoft.com/cgi-bin/ncsoft.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php.

Additional Reading:

Good information about these issues can be found on the following websites:

• NCsoft Account Security FAQ: http://help.ncsoft.com/cgi-bin/ncsoft.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=993
• US Computer Emergency Readiness Team's "Avoiding Online Gaming Risks" article: http://www.us-cert.gov/reading_room/gaming.pdf
• US Computer Emergency Readiness Team's Computer Security Publications: http://www.us-cert.gov/reading_room/
• Microsoft Security TechCenter: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/default.mspx

*Information on PlaySmart is always available at NCsoft.com. For more information about online safety and security go to ESRB.org or Staysafeonline.org.

**PlaySmart is a public service of NCsoft and is for educational purposes only. NCsoft players should consult their user agreement for all guidelines pertaining to online play.

PlaySmart™, a public service of the ECA® (Entertainment Consumers Association), is an educational initiative launched initially by NC Interactive and now promoted jointly with the ECA.

© 2009 Entertainment Consumers Association, Inc. All rights reserved. ECA and all associated logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of Entertainment Consumers Association. PlaySmart, NCsoft, PlayNC, and all associated logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of NCsoft Corporation. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.