World of Warcraft Privacy Spat > Problem with Warden

Problem with Warden

I see no problem with the program snooping your computer to see what programs are running.... unless you're cheating and trying to hide something from Blizzard. I could care less if some employee for Blizzard knows that I have some porn site opened on my computer or whatever.

All right, your local law enforcement wants to install a camera in your house to make sure that your not doing anything illegal. Would you let them?
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Untie the hands that bind your mind.

reply to mitchhoward

reply to Otterboyy
This isn't like the local law enforcement wanting to install a camera in your house, as the 'camera' doesn't look unless you're already running their software..

This is more akin to: as you pass thru a guardstation going into a military base, a guard glances into your car, and the backseat. If they see something suspicious, they can deny you entrance, or call the police. If while you're on base, they see something strange going on inside your car, they can investigate it.

And before someone argues that Police can't do this because they need a warrant... you need to read up on legal matters. Police can, and will, look into your car without your permission. They can't go snooping into your glovebox or trunk however. This software does not invasively search your machine for programs you don't have open, or personal information you don't have open either.

Do I LIKE the fact they can sniff all that info on running programs? No.. but then again, I don't mind it as much as some, because I have nothing to hide from them. When I play games, or even browse on the net... I close down all non-essential processes, because I've been in this business long enough to know programs can cause problems with other programs.

Shadowlore

reply to kalphearion
yea...... and why would you be checking your bank account WHILE playing World of Warcraft? Of course I agree with your point, they should not be able to retrieve that information in any way shape or form.

However, I feel that they do have the right to monitor for hacking and/or cheaters. So the program should be limited to processing outgoing packets targeted at the IP address of the server you're connected to...... which it probably is. If this is the case, you have nothing to worry about unless your bank hosts their site on one of World of Warcraft's servers.... they don't.

reply to Otterboyy
I would be ok with this if I was paying a low monthly rent to my local law enforcement for my house and in the contract that I agreed to I was informed that there would be possible monitoring of my activity while in the home.

reply to mitchhoward
"yea...... and why would you be checking your bank account WHILE playing World of Warcraft? Of course I agree with your point, they should not be able to retrieve that information in any way shape or form."

Ever play a mmorpg? I've played three, and I frequently alt-tabbed in and out of the game to either browse or take care of stuff or chat with people while waiting for a group, or waiting for a death penalty to go away, or simply because the mood struck me. And yes, on occasion, that would include looking at bank information or even ordering something online - sometimes food, sometimes larger items.

I haven't played WoW. Hearing this certainly doesn't make me want to. None of the other games I've played used these methods either. The people cheating in those games weren't using programs or other things that *could* be externally monitored. The fact that WoW is prone to this kind of issue made me stay away in the first place. I haven't seen any illicit City of Heroes or Matrix Online servers floating around - however, there were plenty of unofficial WoW servers floating around during beta - bad sign right there.

I'm just...I don't care if people cheat. I play for myself. I don't cheat or exploit. Ignore those people. Don't group with them. If you don't want to be PVP'd by people like that, don't play on a PVP server. If the worst problem you have in your life is that some jackass is cheating in an online game and it's ruining the atmosphere of the game for you, you need to live in the real world.

For many of us, it's simply the principle of the matter. It's the fact that they even have to sink to this level. And as numerous other people have pointed out, imagine if it were Microsoft who were perpetuating in this kind of behavior. People had hissyfits (and still do) over Windows Activation and things like that.

reply to Nagrom Nniuq

quote:

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The main thing to remember is DO NOT have any windows open that have any sensitive financial or personal information in them, as Warden can easily read and record all of it for anyone on Blizzards end to read at will.

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reply to kalphearion

reply to Nagrom Nniuq
One problem
The program is NOT reading the entire screen--it's reading window titles. Is your sensitive information in the title of the window? No, it's not.
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Learn about Real ID and why it's so horrible.

reply to Nagrom Nniuq
Actually yes it is. Again, why would you be looking at sensitive stuff while playing WoW. But yes, my airline order and confirmation numbers show up in window titles. Enough info there to steal my tickets. That was just one simple example. I have no idea how many others there may be. But I'm sure that is not the only one.