A new patch for World of Warcraft is out, bumping it up to v1.80. We've got the patch from the previous version and the full patch up now. There is a massive changelog, which you can check out on the file download pages.

Read this article over on alternet.org about some spyware program Blizard may be bundling with their latest patch...

According to the World of Warcraft terms of service, when you install the latest version of the game, an anticheat program called Warden snoops through your entire computer looking for "unauthorized third-party programs" that allow users to "hack" or "modify" the online game environment or "cheating of any kind." Warden then "communicates the information" it finds back to Blizzard. This "communication" process is described in alarmingly capacious terms that make it clear Blizzard has the option of examining your PC's hard drive anytime it wants.

Can anyone say invasion of privacy?

Makes them look dirtier than Obes...

(I have not checked the accuracy of said article as I'm not inclined to download a patch that big for a game I don't own)

lols quick grab the tinfoil and make yourself a hat! This has been in for a few patches now....

Can anyone say invasion of privacy?

Maybe if it did it while you where not playing or collected records of things not specific in its goals of finding banned applications. Other wise your little cry is akin to complaining that the police saw drugs in your house after you invited them in.

yeah you can always not play the game.. if you are playing on their servers(even if you are paying $15 a month for the privaledge) you play to their rules not your own

Other wise your little cry is akin to complaining that the police saw drugs in your house after you invited them in.

Bad analogy.

It's more like: the condition of your being able to move into the suburb was that you would allow the police to enter whenever they like. But seeing as no-one expected the police to really do so (even the officers themselves at the time) .. and that there were no reports from current residents that they've done so, the newcomers to the suburb agreed and signed their rights away.

Now, all of a sudden the police decide to enter without telling you what they plan to look through and what they will take notes/photos of. It's all in the generic name of 'neighbourhood security'. Sure you agreed to be searched upon entering the suburb, but some level of unspoken trust was broken. You assumed that if you've done nothing wrong, the police would leave you alone without searching your house. You are now being treated like a criminal.

That's an analogy.

(edit: left a letter out)

last edited by parabol at 16:52:42 15/Oct/05

Good analogy, bad reasoning.

Real life is different to computer life. Thus the principles should be different. There are no people coming into your house, there are no photos or notes being taken. Simply, data is being sent to Blizzard showing whether or not you are cheating / hacking. It is the same principle to punkbuster or an admin for each and every player.

Yes, I can see where you are coming from, but there needs to be some specifics applied to each case, not a broad "breach of security / privacy / trust" overview. This is Blizzard we are talking about, they're a very trustworthy company in my opinion, this is also people's money we're talking about - a small breach of privacy / trust is preferential to me compared to spending all this money and realising cheaters can get XP, Items, etc for less effort.

If this (client-side scanning) started happening in every game, from multiple companies, then it may be time to start worrying. However millions of people and their happiness is at stake. It's time to ditch the bag checks and have a simple checkout scanner that everyone must pass through. You could say we're being treated like criminals, but the truth is we know it's there to protect us, not persecute us. Unless of course we are the "bad guy hackers / cheaters".

As someone else said, they already have my credit card details, they're welcome to browse my porn collection.

This is Blizzard we are talking about, they're a very trustworthy company in my opinion,

Blizzard has gone down hill in recent years. Thats why people are whinging and they should.

You could say we're being treated like criminals, but the truth is we know it's there to protect us, not persecute us. Unless of course we are the "bad guy hackers / cheaters".

Exactly, I dont feel like I'm being violated by this, I mean, I'm not running any hacks, so they can check all they want if it means it gives me a hack-free enviornment to play in. Like Seven said, this isn't just some two-bit startup company nobody has ever heard of, this is Blizzard, they've earnt the benefit of the doubt, at least from me. When they say they are hashing the data and not storing/reading any personal details, I believe them. They already have my name, address, phone number, and credit card details from when I created my account, so theres a certain amount of implicit trust already there.

Its not like theres some guy at Blizzard sitting at a computer, sifting through my hard drive and looking at my porn. Its just an automated check for hacks, I can deal with that.

Edit: No longer participating in this thread. Have fun with your Warden.

last edited by parabol at 17:37:00 15/Oct/05

stop your bitching
its just looking for nasty hacks thats it

who cares?
wow playas get what they deserve

did anyone even notice this happening :/ not even any new processes popped up when i ran the patcher on either of my machines, nor are there any new things popping up when im running the game

unless its all ran through wow.exe :/

Exactly, I dont feel like I'm being violated by this, I mean, I'm not running any hacks, so they can check all they want if it means it gives me a hack-free enviornment to play in.

I don't mind them doing it either AS LONG AS THEY:

1) Are UTTERLY up-front about it and don't hide it away in an EULA
2) Explain the process by which it works so that I can be confident about my private data not being beamed up to Scotty.

2) might be hard because they don't want to give information away to hack creators, but unless they're going to tell me what they're actually doing with stuff on my system, I don't want it happening.

2) might be hard because they

Trog can't count.

Trog can't count.

lol maybe you should read that third one before you post..

As someone else said, they already have my credit card details, they're welcome to browse my porn collection.

QFT

Can anyone say invasion of privacy?

Can anyone say STFU...f***ing crazies.

A couple of more links on the pile...

EFF DeepLinks has the same info but also links to a utility called The Governor that sniffs Warden activity.

Enjoy