Diablo 3 Madness: Survey Scams, Malware, & Legitimate D3 Sweepstakes

Tread carefully if you’re on the hunt for a free Diablo 3 download.

As millions of gamers worldwide know, Diablo 3 was finally released today and cybercriminals have prepared for the highly anticipated launch of the third-installment of the Diablo series by setting up survey scams and malicious D3 game downloads.

The survey scams can easily be spotted as they typically request that you share the “download offer” on Facebook (or another social network site) and, of course, require that you complete a survey or two.

Malware disguised as a full copy of Diablo 3 can also be avoided by downloading it through your Battle.net account versus some third-party site with a random domain name like “free-diablo3-download.com.”  Or you could always pick up a copy in-store (just verify that it’s in stock before heading there).

Are there FREE copies of Diablo 3 out there?

Scammers were using the word “free” to lure people into their D3 survey traps, but can you really get a copy of D3 without paying for it?

As luck would have it, there are some freebie offers out there – with a catch.

Enter the Diablo 3 Sweepstakes

This sweepstakes ended on May 19th.

The full details were on PCMag.com.

Go for the Diablo 3 Starter Edition

The catch? This is NOT the full version of the game and is mostly just for test drive purposes.

If a buddy of yours picked up a box copy of Diablo 3, then they may be willing to hand over the Guest Pass that was included. Once you have a Guest Pass, you can login to your Battle.net account and download the game client from the Account Management page.

Again, the Diablo 3 Starter Edition is just a way for you to test drive the game before making the full purchase and has the following restrictions:

• Act I up to the Skeleton King is available


• Level 13 cap


• Matchmaking available only with other Starter Edition players


• No Real Money Auction House access

As far as I know, those are the only two real ways to get "free" copies of Diablo 3.

Be smart about getting your copy and have fun gaming!

Don’t miss out on the latest tech news and computer security alerts! Follow us on Twitter at @hyphenet,  “Like” us on Facebook or add us to your circle on Google+.