WoW = Spyware

[MyndFyre]

I'm not here to suggest how they stop hacks, there is a bigger issue here: Privacy.

Don't like their invasion of your privacy?  Then don't buy their product.  You're paying for their product, every month.  It's clear to you how they deliver it, and they've stated explicitly that they're out to stop cheaters.  If you don't like what they're doing, stop paying for their product.  That's how capitalism works.

[TheSickEmpire]

I'm not here to suggest how they stop hacks, there is a bigger issue here: Privacy.

Don't like their invasion of your privacy?  Then don't buy their product.  You're paying for their product, every month.  It's clear to you how they deliver it, and they've stated explicitly that they're out to stop cheaters.  If you don't like what they're doing, stop paying for their product.  That's how capitalism works.

I was waiting for someone to say this.

I don't believe you read my earlier post. Here, I'll quote myself:

EULA's in general have gotten out of control. They can state just about anything in their EULA, and it becomes a binding contract. Let's say you go all out and buy Microsoft XP, is there a complete readout of the EULA before you buy it at the store? No. On the box? No. After you've opened it? Possibly. After you've inserted the CD and possibly already installed it? Yes.

Now, by the time you've opened the box and read the EULA, you're already out $150. With no chance of getting it back at a store. It's either Accept or Disagree. What do you do? Accept, obviously. You really don't have much of a choice, by the time you read it, you've already opened the box.

The fact is, if enough people did get pissed off, Blizzard wouldn't have much choice but to remove Warden from WoW. I'll sit tight and hopefully just that will happen.

[Blaze]

Blizzard wouldn't remove Warden from WoW, they would just optimize it, or replace it with some better system.

[TheSickEmpire]

Blizzard wouldn't remove Warden from WoW, they would just optimize it, or replace it with some better system.

Sure they would.

[Newby]

The data is hashed and compared against a list. It's never read by human eyes.

Stop your paranoid whining.

What if they flag people who have "WoW is gay" open, and ban them because they have said window open? My point is, computer or not, they have no right to read what windows I have opened.

I seriously doubt that, in their list of windows that are bad, there is a hashing even remotely similar to the result of the hash of "WoW is gay"...

[Armin]

The data is hashed and compared against a list. It's never read by human eyes.

Stop your paranoid whining.

What if they flag people who have "WoW is gay" open, and ban them because they have said window open? My point is, computer or not, they have no right to read what windows I have opened.

I highly doubt they'll ban you for that. They probably for already known malicious programs.

[Joe]

The data is hashed and compared against a list. It's never read by human eyes.

Stop your paranoid whining.

What if they flag people who have "WoW is gay" open, and ban them because they have said window open? My point is, computer or not, they have no right to read what windows I have opened.

To tell you the truth, I could care less if they see what I'm running. When I'm set back up, I'll have WoW running in windows, along with Windows itself, and perhaps Firefox and Gaim. gaim.exe, wow.exe, svchost.exe, explorer.exe, firefox.exe. Oh em gee blizzard r spying on mez0rz! Wait.. kagjkdlksgjlsdkjglksgj OMG BLIZZARD HAS MY INFO (its hashed =p).

[MyndFyre]

The fact is, if enough people did get pissed off, Blizzard wouldn't have much choice but to remove Warden from WoW. I'll sit tight and hopefully just that will happen.

No, the fact isn't that.  The only way they'd change is if enough people got pissed off and quit WoW citing the reason that Warden is invading their privacy before they took Warden from WoW.  It won't happen.

[TheSickEmpire]

The fact is, if enough people did get pissed off, Blizzard wouldn't have much choice but to remove Warden from WoW. I'll sit tight and hopefully just that will happen.

No, the fact isn't that.  The only way they'd change is if enough people got pissed off and quit WoW citing the reason that Warden is invading their privacy before they took Warden from WoW.  It won't happen.

They may not lose many current customers, but people who read this will quite possibly not buy WoW because of Warden, and only Warden.

They have the compacity to invade my privacy. Even though I doubt they would, I still dislike that they're doing so. I mean, really, do you like the fact that you're being monitored?

I seriously doubt that, in their list of windows that are bad, there is a hashing even remotely similar to the result of the hash of "WoW is gay"...

It was an example as to the compacity for their program to do something similar.

[Blaze]

It only checks up on you when your playing it, so don't play it when you have all your illegal stuff up.

[Furious]

You all seem to be missing TSE's point, how does buying their game give them the right to monitor your computer, and I think it's wrong, they shouldn't have the right to do it, and I think eventually, when the general population is more aware of what it does, they will essentially boycott WoW.

[Newby]

You signed your rights away in the EULA.

[Sidoh]

You signed your rights away in the EULA.

Rights I frankly don't give a shit about.

[Furious]

I'm sure there is some privacy act which it interferes with, or can be interpreted to interfere with.

[Sidoh]

I'm sure there is some privacy act which it interferes with, or can be interpreted to interfere with.

I personally think it's a good thing.  There were serious problems with people using hacks for WoW that gave them an extreme advantage.