So that is what that noise was last night. Blizzard has sent its trained ninja cookie cats to read my cached cookies in my browser files. They must have realized I uninstalled WoW and sent the kitty brigade out. They must be desparate ...
However they don't realize I format my cache files in Rich Text format with a color combination that cats cannot read due to their black and white vision.
Originally posted by abbaba They're damned if they do and damned if they don't. If they do they get accused of spying and privacy invasion, if they don't they get accused of doing nothing to stop the hackers, cheaters, and gold famers.
um, i think there are a lot better ways to find hackers, cheater, and gold farmers. better as in, you don't intrude upon others' computers. if it's true, then blizzard is opening itself up for a world of lawsuits. it's not what you ARE doing with the information, it's what you CAN do with the information. it's not robots that work at blizzard, and people that work at companies truly aren't saints that will never perform a sin or crime.
just keep that in mind when dealing with any sort of big brother.
could we please get correspondent writers and moderators, on the eve forum at mmorpg.com, who are well-versed on eve-online and aren't just passersby pushing buttons? pretty please?
If you don't want 'em looking at your cookies/history you can allways delete 'em all once n a while... either way i guess it doesnt bother me but still it's rather cant think of a word for it atm but still what ever happened to privacy?
The point is that your perceived privacy on the net is non existant. In fact the american government doesn't recognize that items stored on your pc are your personal property thusly they don't need a warrant to search your computer. They do need a warrant to come into your home and search it but they can search it all they want remotely. It is in fact thinking like your that deludes the majority of internet users. Your computer is not private. They call the internet the information superhighway. Well think of your pc as the car that drives that highway. Your car has windows and anyone who drives by or walks by when its parked can see exactly what you have in it. They aren't breaking the law by doing so. Ultimately you have to forego any illusion of privacy on the net. You have to take responsibility for what sites you go to and what software you install. If you can't prevent rogue software from being installed you need to disconnect now. If you don't like companies spying on where you go then you should never surf. I'm not saying sit back and take it. By all means write your elected official and demand change. That is after all your only recourse outside of getting a masters in info tech and learning everything possible and defending yourself.
but they can't look inside your car, i.e. search the trunk, look under the seats, look in the glovebox, unless you give them explicit permission to so do.
i fail to see the comparison.
would that mean if my computer is next to an open window, then they could trespass upon my property, peek in thru my window and try to see what's on my screen?
other than your opinion, what have you read that backs up all that you're stating?
could we please get correspondent writers and moderators, on the eve forum at mmorpg.com, who are well-versed on eve-online and aren't just passersby pushing buttons? pretty please?
Originally posted by Roin Did any of you even both to read the comments posted.
Somone named SKT wrote:
The 'Breaking News' displayed on the login page uses an IE control to access the WoW site for the news. As it loads the IE control, it has to run through the standard IE start-up procedure. Which is what it's doing there.. It's not WoW accessing the folder, it's IE.
So what is the point of this thread again?
/agree
Seriously. The kind of uneducated crap that people say in these threads is remarkable.
Proof? A screenshot isn't proof. You don't even know if that screenshot has been edited, let alone if the information highlighted in the screenshot is actually what the OP says it is. People just read stuff on the Internet and automatically assume it's true.
Blizzard wouldn't break the law, and Blizzard isn't interested in what webpages you visit. AT ALL. Period. They have plenty of ways to determine whether or not you are cheating, and hacking your web-browser isn't one of them.
The quoted text above explains everything, and I suggest the people here actually take the 30 seconds to READ IT (and preferably the rest of the linked thread in the OP) because apparently people at MMOsite.com are smarter.
Originally posted by gestalt11 So that is what that noise was last night. Blizzard has sent its trained ninja cookie cats to read my cached cookies in my browser files. They must have realized I uninstalled WoW and sent the kitty brigade out. They must be desparate ...
However they don't realize I format my cache files in Rich Text format with a color combination that cats cannot read due to their black and white vision.
I thought it was the dogs that had B&W vision.
In any case. Just like SKT posted somewhere, I think WoW is simply using IE plugin to show news or something. I work for a small telecom company, and our billing software has several reports that are loaded into Internet Explorer WITHIN the program itself. So yeah, it may LOOK like its scanning cookies, but in fact its the Explorer that does that.
Also, im sure cookies are either encrypted or doesnt contain any personal info (I opened some and there were just a bunch of numbers there. The only thing that I could determin with a naked eye is part (or all) of the website URL. Basicaly what it means is they will know what sites you go to. They wont know your pin or bank account (that info is encrypted).
Best way to test is to check WoW when you are playing a char, not during login procedure. Also, disable all MODS, they might use IE plugin too.
If i was playing WoW, i wouldnt be worried much about them knowing my browsing history, I dont care that they will see all my night-elf-chick-porn websites. I would be much more pissed if they did nothing to ban bots and farmers.
Originally posted by Roin Did any of you even both to read the comments posted.
Somone named SKT wrote:
The 'Breaking News' displayed on the login page uses an IE control to access the WoW site for the news. As it loads the IE control, it has to run through the standard IE start-up procedure. Which is what it's doing there.. It's not WoW accessing the folder, it's IE.
So what is the point of this thread again?
A-that appeared after most of the discussion in this thread occurred
B-Its speculation, not confirmed fact
C-I posited that possibility in this thread before the comment you are talking about appeared. (There is no IE component, only Microsofts HTML rendering engine mshtml.dll, which instead of being built into the browser is built into the OS so MS could try and claim that the two were inseparable. To simply render html there isnt any particular need to access things like cookies and history, but this doesnt mean MS doesnt do this.)
All we really know at this point is that the process WoW.exe is opening your cookies and history, it isnt Internet explorer opening them because in that case the process name would be IExplore.exe. Its a possibility that this is related to WoW.exe making calls to Microsofts HTML engine, but until thats confirmed by Blizzard its just speculation.
Originally posted by lomiller Originally posted by Roin Did any of you even both to read the comments posted.
Somone named SKT wrote:
The 'Breaking News' displayed on the login page uses an IE control to access the WoW site for the news. As it loads the IE control, it has to run through the standard IE start-up procedure. Which is what it's doing there.. It's not WoW accessing the folder, it's IE.
So what is the point of this thread again?
A-that appeared after most of the discussion in this thread occurred
B-Its speculation, not confirmed fact
C-I posited that possibility in this thread before the comment you are talking about appeared. (There is no IE component, only Microsofts HTML rendering engine mshtml.dll, which instead of being built into the browser is built into the OS so MS could try and claim that the two were inseparable. To simply render html there isnt any particular need to access things like cookies and history, but this doesnt mean MS doesnt do this.)
All we really know at this point is that the process WoW.exe is opening your cookies and history, it isnt Internet explorer opening them because in that case the process name would be IExplore.exe. Its a possibility that this is related to WoW.exe making calls to Microsofts HTML engine, but until thats confirmed by Blizzard its just speculation.
Well, i just used the same tool on my personal billing software I wrote using VB and it is using temporary internet files, although not cookies. And im not even using anything IE related. No IE plugins. Just a regular VB code with VBA and several datareports. No other plugins.
Im guessing WoW is using cookies same way IE does to track user so next time you login, you dont have to enter your accountname, its just sitting there in the account name textbox.
Old news. Blizzard already admitted that the were using such programs against cheaters or bots. They lost thousands of players for this so called harasement. Unfortunately for those who quit, they all agreed and gave permision to Blizzard to use such scans. Next time read terms&conditions more properly!
I don't play Wow anymore, but even when I did I used Firefox. Does anyone know if it scans Firefox as well? What about some other browswers, Opera, Mac Safari, etc?
The point is that your perceived privacy on the net is non existant. In fact the american government doesn't recognize that items stored on your pc are your personal property thusly they don't need a warrant to search your computer. They do need a warrant to come into your home and search it but they can search it all they want remotely. It is in fact thinking like your that deludes the majority of internet users. Your computer is not private. They call the internet the information superhighway. Well think of your pc as the car that drives that highway. Your car has windows and anyone who drives by or walks by when its parked can see exactly what you have in it. They aren't breaking the law by doing so. Ultimately you have to forego any illusion of privacy on the net. You have to take responsibility for what sites you go to and what software you install. If you can't prevent rogue software from being installed you need to disconnect now. If you don't like companies spying on where you go then you should never surf. I'm not saying sit back and take it. By all means write your elected official and demand change. That is after all your only recourse outside of getting a masters in info tech and learning everything possible and defending yourself.
but they can't look inside your car, i.e. search the trunk, look under the seats, look in the glovebox, unless you give them explicit permission to so do.
Threadjack: But they (Highway patrol) can detain you, obtain a search warrent and then search the trunk, look under the seats, look in the glovebox without your explicit permission
happened to me nothing found, I was just grouchie, had a bad day and didn't want to cooperate \ waste of my time and the cops time \ Slashy McSlashy
your arguement is so persuasive, so filled with knowledge and insight. You back up your argument very articulately, with suggestions of improvements and raising examples to glorify your position....oh wait, you didn't
Originally posted by LHOO It may make some privacy-allergy gamers crazy: Blizzard is scanning your browsing history and cookies. The linked screenshot provides proof that WoW developer Blizzard is actively scanning players' browsing history and cookies. Early speculation is that this is a countermeasure against cheaters, but players are arguing that Blizzard has no right to access this highly private data.
I remember this topic coming up in one of the first couple patches after release. Someone noticed a new .exe file and said that the file scanned your computer for third party programs, but ultimately, could identify what all was on your hard drive if Blizzard chose to take a peak. It was quite a hot topic back then and quite a few players were highly ticked off and many stated they would cancel. I also remember a "blue" posting something along the lines of them not checking evry single computer/user, that it being in place was for if/when they suspect someone of running a third party program and computers were only checked for those programs, nothing more. Basically, I took it as something similar to "spybot" that would search for specific files, not actually make your entire drive readable on their end.
If it were more than that and was specified in the TOS or EUA, shame on me for not reading it as I never would have subscribed. The info on my computer is absolutely no ones business. Blizzard is not the FBI, CIA or Homeland Security. They have no business digging around in my PC. If they have issues, those need to be addressed through blocks on their end. This is not to say I have anything to hide, it's just that I don't want anyone sifting around in my computer anymore than I want them sifting around in my underwear drawer. How many pairs of thongs I own isn't anyone's business.
Originally posted by mehhem I don't play Wow anymore, but even when I did I used Firefox. Does anyone know if it scans Firefox as well? What about some other browswers, Opera, Mac Safari, etc?
I dont think they are "scanning" anything. Cookies are the way to track you during your login session. If cookies did not exist, then youd have to login everytime u do something on your account. You clidked change pasword? enter username/password. Entered payment? please enter username/password. clicked on account status? please enter username/password. clicked to read your mail? please enter username/password everytime u wanna read email (if u have 100 emails, you gotta enter username/pass 100 times).
Basicaly, EVERY time you click on a link, you have to confirm (with username/pass) who u r.
Thats how (i think) cookies work. Any cookie-guru wanna confirm/deny this plz?
Originally posted by CleffyII It isn't its against the Digital Millenia Act that they are suing the guy who made WoW Glider for, except in this case it actually is against the Act. This is the reason some companies haven't been able to publish anti-bot software in the US, because the Act prevents them from browsing a users PC.
go read the case details, the guy who made wowglider is suing blizz so they cant sue him. He is suing blizz for copyright infringement
What is this thread even about? There is about one page where someone quoted a quote of a quote of a quote, that was then quoted. There is a hot disscussion about downloading child pornography. There are also people just posting random pictures. I hope my computer internet history is scanned and someone reads this topic.
Its well known that WoW is very sucessfull game, becuase Blizz empoyees have been very busy working on it. So they had no time on.. *cough* personal pleasures. So, whats the best way to find out what sites offer best *cough* pleasures? By scanning peoples cookies and browsing history, of course!! Calm down people, Blizz admins just want to know what porn site is the most popular, thats all. They are also humans, you know? Everyone needs porn.
Comments
The tinfoil hat brigade is fantastic. Theyre amusing to no end.
However they don't realize I format my cache files in Rich Text format with a color combination that cats cannot read due to their black and white vision.
just keep that in mind when dealing with any sort of big brother.
could we please get correspondent writers and moderators, on the eve forum at mmorpg.com, who are well-versed on eve-online and aren't just passersby pushing buttons? pretty please?
The point is that your perceived privacy on the net is non existant. In fact the american government doesn't recognize that items stored on your pc are your personal property thusly they don't need a warrant to search your computer. They do need a warrant to come into your home and search it but they can search it all they want remotely. It is in fact thinking like your that deludes the majority of internet users. Your computer is not private. They call the internet the information superhighway. Well think of your pc as the car that drives that highway. Your car has windows and anyone who drives by or walks by when its parked can see exactly what you have in it. They aren't breaking the law by doing so. Ultimately you have to forego any illusion of privacy on the net. You have to take responsibility for what sites you go to and what software you install. If you can't prevent rogue software from being installed you need to disconnect now. If you don't like companies spying on where you go then you should never surf. I'm not saying sit back and take it. By all means write your elected official and demand change. That is after all your only recourse outside of getting a masters in info tech and learning everything possible and defending yourself.
but they can't look inside your car, i.e. search the trunk, look under the seats, look in the glovebox, unless you give them explicit permission to so do.
i fail to see the comparison.
would that mean if my computer is next to an open window, then they could trespass upon my property, peek in thru my window and try to see what's on my screen?
other than your opinion, what have you read that backs up all that you're stating?
could we please get correspondent writers and moderators, on the eve forum at mmorpg.com, who are well-versed on eve-online and aren't just passersby pushing buttons? pretty please?
/agree
Seriously. The kind of uneducated crap that people say in these threads is remarkable.
Proof? A screenshot isn't proof. You don't even know if that screenshot has been edited, let alone if the information highlighted in the screenshot is actually what the OP says it is. People just read stuff on the Internet and automatically assume it's true.
Blizzard wouldn't break the law, and Blizzard isn't interested in what webpages you visit. AT ALL. Period. They have plenty of ways to determine whether or not you are cheating, and hacking your web-browser isn't one of them.
The quoted text above explains everything, and I suggest the people here actually take the 30 seconds to READ IT (and preferably the rest of the linked thread in the OP) because apparently people at MMOsite.com are smarter.
In any case. Just like SKT posted somewhere, I think WoW is simply
using IE plugin to show news or something. I work for a small telecom
company, and our billing software has several reports that are loaded
into Internet Explorer WITHIN the program itself. So yeah, it may LOOK
like its scanning cookies, but in fact its the Explorer that does that.
Also, im sure cookies are either encrypted or doesnt contain any
personal info (I opened some and there were just a bunch of numbers
there. The only thing that I could determin with a naked eye is part
(or all) of the website URL. Basicaly what it means is they will know
what sites you go to. They wont know your pin or bank account (that
info is encrypted).
Best way to test is to check WoW when you are playing a char, not
during login procedure. Also, disable all MODS, they might use IE
plugin too.
If i was playing WoW, i wouldnt be worried much about them knowing my
browsing history, I dont care that they will see all my
night-elf-chick-porn websites. I would be much more pissed if they did
nothing to ban bots and farmers.
I am the type of player where I like to do everything and anything from time to time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor - pre-WW2 genocide.
A- that appeared after most of the discussion in this thread occurred
B- Its speculation, not confirmed fact
C- I posited that possibility in this thread before the comment you are talking about appeared. (There is no IE component, only Microsofts HTML rendering engine mshtml.dll, which instead of being built into the browser is built into the OS so MS could try and claim that the two were inseparable. To simply render html there isnt any particular need to access things like cookies and history, but this doesnt mean MS doesnt do this.)
All we really know at this point is that the process WoW.exe is opening your cookies and history, it isnt Internet explorer opening them because in that case the process name would be IExplore.exe. Its a possibility that this is related to WoW.exe making calls to Microsofts HTML engine, but until thats confirmed by Blizzard its just speculation.
A- that appeared after most of the discussion in this thread occurred
B- Its speculation, not confirmed fact
C- I posited that possibility in this thread before the comment you are talking about appeared. (There
is no IE component, only Microsofts HTML rendering engine
mshtml.dll, which instead of being built into the browser is built into
the OS so MS could try and claim that the two were inseparable. To
simply render html there isnt any particular need to access things
like cookies and history, but this doesnt mean MS doesnt do this.)
All
we really know at this point is that the process WoW.exe is opening
your cookies and history, it isnt Internet explorer opening them
because in that case the process name would be IExplore.exe. Its
a possibility that this is related to WoW.exe making calls to
Microsofts HTML engine, but until thats confirmed by Blizzard its
just speculation.
Well,
i just used the same tool on my personal billing software I wrote using
VB and it is using temporary internet files, although not cookies. And
im not even using anything IE related. No IE plugins. Just a regular VB
code with VBA and several datareports. No other plugins.
Im guessing WoW is using cookies same way IE does to track user so next
time you login, you dont have to enter your accountname, its just
sitting there in the account name textbox.
I am the type of player where I like to do everything and anything from time to time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor - pre-WW2 genocide.
The point is that your perceived privacy on the net is non existant. In fact the american government doesn't recognize that items stored on your pc are your personal property thusly they don't need a warrant to search your computer. They do need a warrant to come into your home and search it but they can search it all they want remotely. It is in fact thinking like your that deludes the majority of internet users. Your computer is not private. They call the internet the information superhighway. Well think of your pc as the car that drives that highway. Your car has windows and anyone who drives by or walks by when its parked can see exactly what you have in it. They aren't breaking the law by doing so. Ultimately you have to forego any illusion of privacy on the net. You have to take responsibility for what sites you go to and what software you install. If you can't prevent rogue software from being installed you need to disconnect now. If you don't like companies spying on where you go then you should never surf. I'm not saying sit back and take it. By all means write your elected official and demand change. That is after all your only recourse outside of getting a masters in info tech and learning everything possible and defending yourself.
but they can't look inside your car, i.e. search the trunk, look under the seats, look in the glovebox, unless you give them explicit permission to so do.
Threadjack: But they (Highway patrol) can detain you, obtain a search warrent and then search the trunk, look under the seats, look in the glovebox without your explicit permission
happened to me
nothing found, I was just grouchie, had a bad day and didn't want to cooperate
\ waste of my time and the cops time
\ Slashy McSlashy
your arguement is so persuasive, so filled with knowledge and insight. You back up your argument very articulately, with suggestions of improvements and raising examples to glorify your position....oh wait, you didn't
Boohoo!
Early speculation is that its a countermeasure to hacking.. but people are arguing Blizzard is slowly planning to take over the UNIVERSE.
Go go gadget conspiracy theorist
after 6 or so years, I had to change it a little...
I remember this topic coming up in one of the first couple patches after release. Someone noticed a new .exe file and said that the file scanned your computer for third party programs, but ultimately, could identify what all was on your hard drive if Blizzard chose to take a peak. It was quite a hot topic back then and quite a few players were highly ticked off and many stated they would cancel. I also remember a "blue" posting something along the lines of them not checking evry single computer/user, that it being in place was for if/when they suspect someone of running a third party program and computers were only checked for those programs, nothing more. Basically, I took it as something similar to "spybot" that would search for specific files, not actually make your entire drive readable on their end.
If it were more than that and was specified in the TOS or EUA, shame on me for not reading it as I never would have subscribed. The info on my computer is absolutely no ones business. Blizzard is not the FBI, CIA or Homeland Security. They have no business digging around in my PC. If they have issues, those need to be addressed through blocks on their end. This is not to say I have anything to hide, it's just that I don't want anyone sifting around in my computer anymore than I want them sifting around in my underwear drawer. How many pairs of thongs I own isn't anyone's business.
-Ashyn
"scanning" anything. Cookies are the way to track you during your login
session. If cookies did not exist, then youd have to login everytime u
do something on your account. You clidked change pasword? enter
username/password. Entered payment? please enter username/password.
clicked on account status? please enter username/password. clicked to
read your mail? please enter username/password everytime u wanna read
email (if u have 100 emails, you gotta enter username/pass 100 times).
Basicaly, EVERY time you click on a link, you have to confirm (with username/pass) who u r.
Thats how (i think) cookies work. Any cookie-guru wanna confirm/deny this plz?
I am the type of player where I like to do everything and anything from time to time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor - pre-WW2 genocide.
This thread amuses me. A+++, would read again.
Its well known that WoW is very sucessfull game, becuase Blizz empoyees have been very busy working on it. So they had no time on.. *cough* personal pleasures. So, whats the best way to find out what sites offer best *cough* pleasures? By scanning peoples cookies and browsing history, of course!! Calm down people, Blizz admins just want to know what porn site is the most popular, thats all. They are also humans, you know? Everyone needs porn.
I am the type of player where I like to do everything and anything from time to time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor - pre-WW2 genocide.