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Under the Surface of Azeroth:
A Network Baseline and Security Analysis
of Blizzard's World of Warcraft
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Section 2: Analyzing World of Warcraft on the Network
Overview
Although World of Warcraft provides an expansive environment that's rich in colors, sounds, and interaction, the underlying network communication can best be described as one-dimensional and even a bit boring. Although this might seem to be an uncomplimentary description of its operation, it's this simplicity of operation that provides the end user with a reliable game-playing experience.
There are a number of processes that begin every World of Warcraft session:
Step 1: The latest World of Warcraft news is displayed in the Blizzard Launcher. The launcher can be disabled, making this step optional for the end user.
Step 2: The version of World of Warcraft client software running on the local workstation is checked to ensure it's all up to date. This step is required.
Step 3: If the software needs to be updated, the Blizzard Downloader is retrieved and the updated software is downloaded to the local computer. This step is conditional on the version check in step 2.
Step 4: Once the latest software is downloaded, the Blizzard Updater patches the local client. This step is only necessary if an update was available, downloaded, and ready for install.
Step 5: Once the client version is verified, the World of Warcraft player can logon with their account name and password. This step is required.
Step 6: Once the account is authenticated, the World of Warcraft player is prompted to select the game character they will use for this session. This step is required.
Step 7: Finally, the main gaming environment is launched and the gamer enters the World of Warcraft. This step is required.
Step 1: The World of Warcraft News of the Day
Many programs include a "message of the day," and World of Warcraft is no exception. The first window most people see when they start World of Warcraft is the launcher, and it's the only part of the World of Warcraft startup process that can be disabled by the user from a setting on the authentication screen.
The launcher window is a small display that shows information in a way that looks very similar to a web page. This isn't a coincidence, since the displayed news summary is using the web browser engine on your computer to display a web page from the hostname launcher.worldofwarcraft.com. Any web browser can display this page by simply browsing to http://launcher.worldofwarcraft.com.
