To begin, let’s go through the steps of how this exploit works. First, you need to go to an area with minimal textures, such as the north end of the world or below Dalaran in Crystalsong Forest. Then, you type a command to adjust the screenshot quality to “9”. After taking a few screenshots of the clear, texture-less area, you open the image in an editing program and apply a sharpening filter three times.

What you are left with is a unique pattern, often referred to as a WoW waterm

ark or custom bar-code. This pattern contains account and realm information, as well as the time of the screenshot. It is important to note that this watermark does not contain sensitive information like passwords or personal details. However, it can be used by malicious hackers to link alt characters to accounts and target specific spam or scam attacks. Additionally, Blizzard can use this w

atermark

to track down private WoW servers.

The fact th

at this watermarking mechanism is unencrypted raises con

cerns about our privacy. While Blizzard is allowed to collect certain information about our systems, it is unclear why they would embed this data into every screenshot we capture. If their intention was solely for screenshot-authenticity reasons, they could have used a unique version of their logo or an encrypted key. However, the presence of account and realm information suggests that the aim is to secretly track users.

Several individuals, including Mike, schlumpf, and Master674, have managed to disassemble the watermark data and verify its contents. It has been confirmed that this covert watermarking has been in place since Patch 2.1.0 in 2007. This means that any JPG screenshots captured by WoW since then may contain this watermark and should be deleted or removed from the public domain.

The information contained in the watermark can be easily recovered and decrypted by malicious hackers. This poses a risk of stalking, phishing, and targeted attacks. Hackers could scan for WoW screenshots, decode the hidden watermark data, and create a comprehensive database of which account has which alts. This information could then be sold to anyone interested.

It

is worth noting that when this watermarking started, we were still using our account name to login. This means that between May 22, 2007, and November 11, 2009, hackers could have used a screenshot to find a user’s actual username and active realm and attempt to scam or brute-force their password.

Blizzard’s partnership with Digimarc, a company specializing in digital watermarks, is likely responsible for this watermarking service. While it has not been verified, it is possible that Blizzard is using an automated monitoring service to check for the presence of their embedded digital watermark data in image files across the internet.

To avoid further watermarking, you can set the screenshot quality to “10” or use a tool developed by l0l1dk to disable the addition of watermarks in lower quality screenshots. However, be aware that using this tool may corrupt the WoW client and go against the Terms of Service.

In conclusion, the WoW watermarking exploit in screenshots poses a threat to our privacy and security. It is important to be aware of this issue and take necessary precautions to protect ourselves. Deleting or removing JPG screenshots captured by WoW since 2007 is recommended. Additionally, adjusting the screenshot quality or using a disabling tool can help prevent further watermarking.