Some interesting login and player security changes are coming to SWTOR. Details here.

Earlier this week the team behind Star Wars: The Old Republic announced a simple, yet significant change to how users will be able to log in to their accounts. Instead of using your associated Email address to log into the game or their official website, players will soon be asked to use their Display Name instead.The change will be fully implemented on April 2nd, however players can begin using their Display Names to log in to the game and website immediately if they choose to do so.

"This new change to the log in procedure is being implemented for several reasons. This change increases the security of our game authentication system, which helps continue to keep the game protected from many security threats including account takeovers."

Increased account security measures are always good for the health of a game, but this new change has brought some valid concerns to some users. Primarily because this change also means that others will now be able to see at least part of what they're using to log in, which is their Display Name, that can also be seen on the official forums. It's important to note however, that if another user is detected trying to log in from another IP address, the system will still prompt them to answer any security questions associated with the account.

While concerns about your Display Name being out in the open are definitely still valid, a Display Name gives a hacker a lot less to work with then if they managed to figure out your Email address, which in turn could give them access to several accounts, websites, or personal information that are associated with it.

As MMO gamers we know that hackers will always be a threat and while no solution is absolutely problem free, it seems like the "lesser of the two evils" is what the SWTOR team seems to be trying to push towards.

In the coming months I'm sure we'll see if this change helps combat security threats in Star Wars: The Old Republic.