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Let me get this right - Blizzard is randomly scanning hard drives?
Wepps
Member Posts: 1,322
Oh man this is beautiful.
I got this from some friends who recently were playing World of Warcraft, and today they have been sending me links and quotes from the scandal that appears to be brewing over their possible major violation of player's rights.
So far this is my favorite post, and I quote....
Q u o t e:
I am saying that, as I'm sure you're aware, it's very important that we say what we can while still remaining within policy. It's vague, we know that, but specifics would only further the cause of the very practice we're trying to prevent. What I have to give you on this subject is what I've already given, and no more.
What pisses me off royally Caydiem is that I just reupped my account to see what was happening in-game.I did not see this piece of the ToS, and I would have never guessed a game company would actually try to pull this one on me.
No, I do not agree to the Terms of Service under these conditions, especially for two very major reasons...
1) You are not providing me adequate information in regards to precisely what you are scanning.
2) The Starcraft Caper in the past proves that Blizzard has, and may again, share my information regardless of what is stated in that ToS.
Given these issues, and Blizzard's total lack of comprehensive information concerning this subject I am forced to cancel my account.
But I'll be god damned if I am letting you take the money and run THIS TIME.
I expect my money back, and as has been demanded in the past during the Starcraft issue, I want it all back.
This is not my fault, and changing the terms to reflect this practice without notifications in bold letters in my opinion shows your lack of respect for me as a customer.
Dammit, I liked the things being done to this game. Why did Blizzard have to go and screw it up so badly with something as lame and stupid as THIS?
Oh well. MY policy is that I will not allow you to receive the monies that were taken from my account for this breach of trust, and there had better be some cooperation with this.
I am forced to agree with this guy.
Whatever gave the game companies the right to scan your hard drives?
Have they really gotten that stupid? Do they really think they are going to get away with it? In my case, no they would never get away with it. Anybody that agrees to any terms in which you are surrendering your basic rights and handing them over to incompetent and irresponsible individuals, especially individuals who work for an overseas company (Vivendi, Paris), doesn't deserve to have those basic rights.
I can't hardly believe my eyes. The more I read these posts today, the more I'm convinced that game players are among the dumbest animals on earth. But I'm also convinced that game companies are not all that far behind in that food chain.
__________________________
"For one who seeks what he cannot obtain suffers torture; one who has what is not desirable is cheated; and one who does not seek what is worth seeking is diseased." - Augustine of Hippo
Comments
Wow... i never would have guessed that they would be scanning hard drives. I do wonder for what? For illegal hacks...so they never make it in game? Or is it just a plain invasion of privacy. Do you know when this new ToS came out in which they were allowed to do this action?
I have very little information as it seems that Blizzard is keeping it very quiet. No idea when it came out, but i do know that they are scanning for third party hacks.
The problem is the terms themselves in the agreement. The player is forced to agree now that your processor, your ram, and any drive on your system is subject to a random scan.
My God. Do I have to pass through an airport metal detector now to play a game? Take my shoes off?
I just don't get this but Im convinced that the FBI will be involved in this one. No company has the right to force people to deny their own rights in order to experience their product. Whoever thinks Blizzard can just randomly change the constitution to suit them has got to be a complete moron lol.
__________________________
"For one who seeks what he cannot obtain suffers torture; one who has what is not desirable is cheated; and one who does not seek what is worth seeking is diseased." - Augustine of Hippo
First I've heard of this.. thanks for bringing it up OP.
I just renewed my account yesterday... grrr
so...
you're welcome, and very sorry to hear it
I know all of my friends currently playing WoW have just cancelled their accounts, and they are absolutely furious over this. I think this warrants futher review in the future as things pan out.
__________________________
"For one who seeks what he cannot obtain suffers torture; one who has what is not desirable is cheated; and one who does not seek what is worth seeking is diseased." - Augustine of Hippo
milhoan6, I just got this from one of my friends concerning what is being scanned on the players' computers.
Yeah, I think that this is completely invasive to one's privacy, don't you?
I actually would never play this game if they gave me a free copy and subscription under these circumstances.
__________________________
"For one who seeks what he cannot obtain suffers torture; one who has what is not desirable is cheated; and one who does not seek what is worth seeking is diseased." - Augustine of Hippo
I don't know whether they're scanning your hard drive but they are scanning your RAM. Many popular online games have some sort of memory scan similar to punk buster to prevent/catch cheaters and hacking. BTW it is in the EULA:
D. In order to assist Blizzard Entertainment to police users who may use "hacks," or "cheats" to gain an advantage over other players, you acknowledge that Blizzard Entertainment shall have the right to obtain certain information from your computer and its component parts, including your computer's random access memory, video card, central processing unit, and storage devices. This information will only be used for the purpose of identifying "cheaters," and for no other reason.
don't like contract's? don't sign them.
in all actuallity they are doing nothing wrong at all.. you guys just have a bug up your arses for Blizzard.
you have more to worry about from using p2p programs, or even just visiting a webpage in regards to scanning your computer than you do from blizz. unless your using hacks. which is what they are scanning for. knucklheads.
I'm not a computer know it all, but that doesnt look like just RAM they are scanning.
Maybe Vivendi thought they'd put those millions of players to good use and use them for market research.
thats right.. they also said that they would scan certain parts of your harddrive. but what the wannabe lawyer kids are leaving out is that no information is sent back to blizzard UNLESS you have a hack running. and even then they don't receive any information of what hack it is.. or what programs you are running.. it just flags your account as possibly running hacks for the game.
almost every MMO or game with online play that does not support cheating does this. this isnt an issue of privacy.. it's an issue of kids that hate blizzard that will take anything that could be interpreted as negative by a person with an IQ of 30, and blasting it over every forum they can hit to get everyone to quit the game and join the one they play.
Oh Noes!!! Blizzard has my credit Card number! They got it from me when i willingly gave it to them. Like you willigly agreed to to submit to hack scans when you accept EULA contracts. If you dont like it read what you sign
Yeah, I think that this is completely invasive to one's privacy, don't you?
I actually would never play this game if they gave me a free copy and subscription under these circumstances.
Wow! Why are they doing this??? This is a SEVERE invasion of privacy...I mean I can kind of see why they MIGHT want to see what websites we are visiting (even though that is an invasion of privacy, too) but why must they know what wallpapers we are using or what programs we use at start-up. I really hope that the FBI gets involved with this one.
I was going to quit SWG and move back to WoW...but until they get this sorted out i'm staying with SWG...at least SOE doesn't read your harddrives!
Well, I'm pretty sure Wepps doesn't play WoW he's just telling us about this. Why should they be allowed to scan our HD's for anything? I consider it a BIG invasion of privacy. I love the game and wnat to play it, but I'm not signing that ToS until it gets changed back into what it used to be.
Thanks Wepps, if it wasn't for you I would have gone back to WoW and (unknowingly) submitted to HD scans by Blizzard.
A further update, I received this from another party - the actual terms of service agreement in dispute.
Can Blizzard guaratee the last part?
No, they can't. In fact they violated this during a great scandle with Starcraft, where user information was sold to third parties without the players' permissions, even though they claimed it wasn't.
Secondly, it seems that Blizzard is willing to change constitutional law in order to achieve this. This is a monumental task, even for a US congressman, but for a game company to do it? BRILLIANT!
Third, it's not a question what they are doing it seems, but what precisely they can do if they want to!
Read this EULA again.
They identified the entire computer system, from RAM, to video card, to processor, to hard drive. They are giving themselves the right to invade your privacy.
Accept it. Or, quit the game and lose all the money you just invested in it. It is not Blizzard's policy to return that money once you have established an account.
BRILLIANT! Absolutely brilliant!
However, quite illegal, as I believe they are about to experience the hammer of justice for trying to pull this one lol.
Didn't SOE try this a couple years back and when they were found out by uncle sam they apologized and removed that from the agreement?
I doubt the poor people at Blizz are going to have much more success with it.
__________________________
"For one who seeks what he cannot obtain suffers torture; one who has what is not desirable is cheated; and one who does not seek what is worth seeking is diseased." - Augustine of Hippo
Well, I'm pretty sure Wepps doesn't play WoW he's just telling us about this. Why should they be allowed to scan our HD's for anything? I consider it a BIG invasion of privacy. I love the game and wnat to play it, but I'm not signing that ToS until it gets changed back into what it used to be.
Thanks Wepps, if it wasn't for you I would have gone back to WoW and (unknowingly) submitted to HD scans by Blizzard.
why?
1. if you play the game you consented to allowing them to scan your computer for programs that you might be using to gain an unfair advantage against other players
2. This is clearly printed in their ToS and EULA. if you don't read it. then your the idiot
3. nothing is submited back to blizzard other than a "yes hacks are present on this machine" or a "no this machine if clean of hacks". they are searching for two different programs in very select areas of your computer. they are not reading your IM's or email. they are not using your machine as a marketing tool.
4. as I stated that blizzard reps said before.. they are looking for two cheating programs that you could use to gain an unfair advantage over other players.. if you don't have these programs on your machine, or are using them.. hence if your not a cheater you don't have to worry about anything
it's not an invasion if you consent to it. futher more this has been in the game since day one, and only now that blizzard is putting it to use to catch cheaters are people putting up a stink. which can only mean one of two things.
a. they are cheating
b. they are ignorant.
Can Blizzard guaratee the last part?
No, they can't. In fact they violated this during a great scandle with Starcraft, where user information was sold to third parties without the players' permissions, even though they claimed it wasn't.
Secondly, it seems that Blizzard is willing to change constitutional law in order to achieve this. This is a monumental task, even for a US congressman, but for a game company to do it? BRILLIANT!
Third, it's not a question what they are doing it seems, but what precisely they can do if they want to!
Read this EULA again.
They identified the entire computer system, from RAM, to video card, to processor, to hard drive. They are giving themselves the right to invade your privacy.
Accept it. Or, quit the game and lose all the money you just invested in it. It is not Blizzard's policy to return that money once you have established an account.
BRILLIANT! Absolutely brilliant!
However, quite illegal, as I believe they are about to experience the hammer of justice for trying to pull this one lol.
Didn't SOE try this a couple years back and when they were found out by uncle sam they apologized and removed that from the agreement?
I doubt the poor people at Blizz are going to have much more success with it.
constitutional law is there to protect citizens rights from the government. it has no bearing on this. you agree'd to terms with blizzard to allow them to do this. air tight case. i suppose you have a problem with an employer doing a background check on you before they hire you too eh? get over yourself. it's not illegal. there is nothing wrong with it. if you happen to have some warped sence of US law then un-install every program on your computer including your OS.
Um no Master_Shake, this is TOTALLY ILLEGAL lol!
They cannot force a customer to accept terms which remove their basic rights as Americans, after the fact of collecting their fee for the account term!
It's FRAUD!
LOL but like I said, it never ceases to amaze me how dumb the players of these games can be.
__________________________
"For one who seeks what he cannot obtain suffers torture; one who has what is not desirable is cheated; and one who does not seek what is worth seeking is diseased." - Augustine of Hippo
Well, I'm pretty sure Wepps doesn't play WoW he's just telling us about this. Why should they be allowed to scan our HD's for anything? I consider it a BIG invasion of privacy. I love the game and wnat to play it, but I'm not signing that ToS until it gets changed back into what it used to be.
Thanks Wepps, if it wasn't for you I would have gone back to WoW and (unknowingly) submitted to HD scans by Blizzard.
why?
1. if you play the game you consented to allowing them to scan your computer for programs that you might be using to gain an unfair advantage against other players
2. This is clearly printed in their ToS and EULA. if you don't read it. then your the idiot
3. nothing is submited back to blizzard other than a "yes hacks are present on this machine" or a "no this machine if clean of hacks". they are searching for two different programs in very select areas of your computer. they are not reading your IM's or email. they are not using your machine as a marketing tool.
4. as I stated that blizzard reps said before.. they are looking for two cheating programs that you could use to gain an unfair advantage over other players.. if you don't have these programs on your machine, or are using them.. hence if your not a cheater you don't have to worry about anything
it's not an invasion if you consent to it. futher more this has been in the game since day one, and only now that blizzard is putting it to use to catch cheaters are people putting up a stink. which can only mean one of two things.
a. they are cheating
b. they are ignorant.
I don't have anything to worry about as I am not cheating, but I still feel it is an invasion of privacy. And you don't have to be cheating or an idiot to feel this is wrong, some people just don't like gaming companies knowing everything about their lives.
All we need is to get people angry about this thing and Blizzrd will change it. Otherwise, they will ignore the cries of the minority and keep on doing what they are doing.
I can't believe that some of these people can think that Blizzard does no wrong. Even such an obvious thing like this, they still feel it is the players fault.
Well, unlike many others, I just don't care what happens to Blizzard. They didn't pee in my cheerios or take advantage of my sister, there's nothing personal.
Sometimes these game companies go too far and they have to be smacked back into place, like poorly raised children always pushing to see what they can get away with.
But this is the limit of my interest in Blizzard.
The situation is really fascinating though. I cant wait to see how this turns out for all parties involved.
My friends, however, have already contacted the FBI and are insisting upon investigation over this issue. I suspect that given the huge playerbase in this game that they wont be the only ones talking lawsuit over coffee at Dennys hehe.
__________________________
"For one who seeks what he cannot obtain suffers torture; one who has what is not desirable is cheated; and one who does not seek what is worth seeking is diseased." - Augustine of Hippo
Well, I'm pretty sure Wepps doesn't play WoW he's just telling us about this. Why should they be allowed to scan our HD's for anything? I consider it a BIG invasion of privacy. I love the game and wnat to play it, but I'm not signing that ToS until it gets changed back into what it used to be.
Thanks Wepps, if it wasn't for you I would have gone back to WoW and (unknowingly) submitted to HD scans by Blizzard.
why?
1. if you play the game you consented to allowing them to scan your computer for programs that you might be using to gain an unfair advantage against other players
2. This is clearly printed in their ToS and EULA. if you don't read it. then your the idiot
3. nothing is submited back to blizzard other than a "yes hacks are present on this machine" or a "no this machine if clean of hacks". they are searching for two different programs in very select areas of your computer. they are not reading your IM's or email. they are not using your machine as a marketing tool.
4. as I stated that blizzard reps said before.. they are looking for two cheating programs that you could use to gain an unfair advantage over other players.. if you don't have these programs on your machine, or are using them.. hence if your not a cheater you don't have to worry about anything
it's not an invasion if you consent to it. futher more this has been in the game since day one, and only now that blizzard is putting it to use to catch cheaters are people putting up a stink. which can only mean one of two things.
a. they are cheating
b. they are ignorant.
I don't have anything to worry about as I am not cheating, but I still feel it is an invasion of privacy. And you don't have to be cheating or an idiot to feel this is wrong, some people just don't like gaming companies knowing everything about their lives.
thats the thing.. blizzard is not receiving information about your life
repeat after me.
THEY WILL ONLY RECEIVE A NOTIFICATION THAT A CHEATING PROGRAM THAT HAS BEEN FLAGGED FOR DETECTION IS LOCATED ON YOUR MACHINE, OR IS BEING USED.
they do not RECEIVE that long scan list that wepps posted. blizzard only receives a "yes they are cheating" or a "no they are not cheating" notice.
this webpage knows more about your life than blizzard would with the scans for crying out loud.
now if they used this for malicious purposes such as disabling other MMO programs on your computer, or collecting your web surfing habits.. i could see a problem.. but seeing as no personal information is being sent to blizzard, and nothing is being sent to your machine. it only amounts to you and everyone else in a huff about it being ignorant.
I'm sorry for being uninformed, or maybe just dense.
But where do you see this in the EULA?
Or do you have a link from a representative from Blizzard that stated as much, that I have no access to?
Otherwise, the word of a player carries no weight whatsoever in these matters.
__________________________
"For one who seeks what he cannot obtain suffers torture; one who has what is not desirable is cheated; and one who does not seek what is worth seeking is diseased." - Augustine of Hippo
go to any non ambulance chasing lawyer and ask him if this is illegal. don't forget to provide all of the facts. not just the ones you think are relevant, and i guarantee he'll think that you have a flock of bird nesting where your brain should be.
this was not snuck up on you or anyone else.. it was in the EULA since the games release. before anyone paid for an account they accepted it. I know you would like to think that you know everything. and i'm very sorry, because i don't usually like telling people that single celled organisms are more intelligent than they are. but you man. you just take the cake for stupidity.
So what you are saying is that you made it up, and you are actually misinforming the people of this forum.
That you have no actual information to give, but are just simply defending Blizzard randomly, just as they are scanning your system hehe.
I think your own statements clearly show where the real ignorance resides.
__________________________
"For one who seeks what he cannot obtain suffers torture; one who has what is not desirable is cheated; and one who does not seek what is worth seeking is diseased." - Augustine of Hippo
I'm sorry for being uninformed, or maybe just dense.
But where do you see this in the EULA?
Or do you have a link from a representative from Blizzard that stated as much, that I have no access to?
Otherwise, the word of a player carries no weight whatsoever in these matters.
yes your dense. thank you for agreeing.
this is the same thing that every MMO or game with online play that does not support cheating has. remember punkbuster? same exact thing.
If you use a windows operating system. Microsoft actually collects the information when they scan before you d/l an update. perfectly legal.
I'll put money on your own government scanning and collecting the entire contents of your computer atleast once by now.. perfectly legal.
but if you wish to continue to complain about something that you know absolutley nothing about.. then by all means
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