BF2142 has Spyware? /dropkick

[Soln]

An almighty WTF? via EvilAvatar

When you open the box, a big slip of paper falls out first, preceeding any discs or manuals. The slip of paper says, essentially, that 2142 includes monitoring software which runs while your computer is online, and records "anonymous" information like your IP address, surfing habits (probably via cookie scans), and other "computing habits" in order to report this information back to ad companies and ad servers, which generates in-game ads.

true/false/still-unverifiable?

[sinij]

They got to be kidding. WTF? They pay you to get this game, right?

As to in-game adds, they are 127.0.0.1-able, right?

[Trippy]

They got to be kidding. WTF? They pay you to get this game, right?

As to in-game adds, they are 127.0.0.1-able, right?

Depnds on where the ads are coming from. If I was EA, I'd have them served/proxied from/through the auth/auth servers so you couldn't just host file block them like you can with some other in-game ad systems *cough*Massive*cough.

[sinij]

Still I don't think EA wants to deal with all negative-PR bundling with spyware will generate. I can understand trying to hide this somewhere in EULA, but outright admitting it?

[Miasma]

Looks like it's true.

Some other thread also said the DVD version of the game has to be patched before it will play.  Then they say the patch either is not available or the downloader estimates it will take days.  Sounds like typical DICE quality.  I'm glad I skipped this one.

Edit: And how the hell do they call your ip address "anonymous information", that is your full legal name as far as the internet is concerned.

[Trippy]

Edit: And how the hell do they call your ip address "anonymous information", that is your full legal name as far as the internet is concerned.

A lot of people still have dynamic IP addresses.

[schild]

And people wonder why I don't buy EA games.

[Trippy]

SOE and other companies were doing this long before EA did.

[schild]

SOE was watching my browsing habits? That's new information to me.

[Sky]

Woohoo! I can't wait to get a screenshot of hentai tentacle rape in an EA game :P

[Trippy]

SOE was watching my browsing habits? That's new information to me.

Where does it say on that sheet of paper that EA is tracking your browsing habits?

[sinij]

Can someone post what exactly is written on that paper and what exactly they are collecting? My IP address they will know anyways, since I have to log-in to play multiplayer. As to my browsing habbits - what they are looking at and using what? Cookies? Sites I visit? Keylogger?

[Sky]

I just spent some time reading up on IGA. I won't be buying 2142 unless there is a 100% block to that bullshit. Even then, maybe not. I have a deep and abiding hatred of advertising. Even if they aren't tracking browsing, I don't play games with ingame ads.

IGA claims 70% of gamers think ingame ads make the game more immersive, whereas I would go out of my way to avoid any product ruining immersion like Deuce Bigalow in PS or Motley Crue in Anarchy Online.

Ah, well. I've said for years you should enjoy technology while you can because some money-grubbing douchebags will show up to ruin it eventually. See also: HDCP, tiered Internet, DRM, etc. Fucking Mickey Mouse.

[Strazos]

The Software may incorporate technology developed by IGA Worldwide Inc. ("IGA") (the "Advertising Technology"). The purpose of the Advertising TEchnology is to deliver in-game advertisements to you when you use the Software while connected to the Internet. When you use the Software while connected ot the Internet, the Advertising Technlogy may record your IP address and other anonymouse information ("Advertising Data"). The Advertising Data is temporarily used by IGA to enable the presentation and measurement of in-game advertisements and other in-game objects which are uploaded temporarily to your personal computer or game console and changed during online game play. The Advertising Technology does not collect any personally identifiable information about you, and EA will ont provide IGA with any of your personally identifiable information. The servers used by the Advertising Technology may, from time to time, be located outside your country of residence. If you are located within the European Union, the servers may be located outside the EU.

By installing and using the Software, you agree to: (i) the transfer of the Advertising Data to servers located outside your country of residence and, if applicable, outside the European Union; (ii)the collection and use of the Advertising Data as described in this Section; and (iii) the delivery of advertising and marketing content by the Advertising Technology. IF YOU DO NOT WANT IGA TO COLLECT, USE, STORE, OR TRANSMIT THE DATA DESCRIBED IN THIS SECTION, DO NOT INSTALL OR PLAY THE SOFTWARE ON ANY PLATFORM THAT IS USED TO CONNECT TO THE INTERNET.

[sinij]

I read a post suggesting that you can opt-out of this tracking by clicking "disagree" at install and still play BF 2.25

[Sky]

Just removed 2142 from my Amazon list and emailed family/friends to take it off my xmas list (they know I like BF).

[WayAbvPar]

This makes me feel even better about my decision not to buy 2142.

[Nija]

They got to be kidding. WTF? They pay you to get this game, right?

As to in-game adds, they are 127.0.0.1-able, right?

KICKED BY PUNKBUSTER - Unable to contact advertisement server

[sinij]

Is this your guess or tried and true fact?

[Akkori]

Okay you whiz kids out there. Someone figure out the nitty gritty of what they are doing and if we can block them. Maybe fake cookies and stuff to throw them off?

[HaemishM]

How do you block them?

DON'T BUY THE GAME. Otherwise, you're probably fucked. Or if you buy it, you're committing a DMCA violation like the filthy pirate you are and must pay.

[WayAbvPar]

Wouldn't it be nice to find the chucklefuck that greenlit this idea and give him the old "A Clockwork Orange" treatment with some IGAs? I think a steady diet of lemonparty, goatse, Tubgirl, and few other choices would be a nice start.

[HaemishM]

The worst part about the whole thing is how LAZY it seems like these guys are about the program. An in-game advert program does not have to be connected to the Net at all times. It doesn't have to have its own connection. Shit, build it so that the program either grabs new ads on every patch, or since it's an online game (mostly), every time you connect to the game servers, it checks the central ad server to see if there are new ads to serve and send them down in a tiny patch (since the ads really shouldn't be larger in KB than an ad banner unless they really suck). If you have to track something like clicks, you can grab that information when the click happens at the server end. And if you really have to track idiotic metrics like "time spent looking at ad" you can just grab that information when they connect to the game servers. Shit, give the players incentives in-game for subjecting themselves to ads. Like if you click 30 ads, give them a free gun, or larger ammo clips. Something.

Advertisement doesn't have to be intrusive to be effective. It just requires thought, and not being a douchebag. But this is EA we're talking about here.

[Soln]

SOE has spyware?? which game plz

yes, I can't remember the last EA game I bought.  Wonder what this will mean for people like Mythic, since I won't be going near them either if that stuff gets built in.

[Sky]

Advertisement doesn't have to be intrusive to be effective. It just requires thought, and not being a douchebag. But this is EA we're talking about here.

I want my Sword of Doom +2, brought to you by Coke™, Enjoy Coke™ while slaying your foes.

“When you buy a virtual item, we’re going to do a search to see if any advertiser in real-time is willing to pick up the cost of that item,” said Perry. “That allows the advertisers to bid against each other to start picking up the items for these people. If you want this sword, it would put up a message and asks if you would like Coca-Cola to buy this item for you. The customer is happy because they get the item for free and Coke is happy because they’ve had a positive exchange with you. This could radically change the concept of what virtual item sales are. If we can get enough advertisers that are willing to pick up the sales of in-game items then we can offer completely free games.”

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3719&Itemid=2

This is why the terrorists hate us.

Another choice titbit:

Because the speed at which a player levels up in an MMO game is important--but is also a gameplay element that does not impact the balance of the game--2Moons will allow players who keep the advertising window on to level up faster than those who keep it off.

This guy blew all the credibility he had with me (because I'm so important to be credible with!) for making Sacrifice, a great game.

[Trippy]

SOE has spyware?? which game plz

PlanetSide uses the Massive in-game ad technology.

[Yoru]

It's probably possible to selectively block the ads if they use a connection on a different port than the game uses to connect to servers and the master server.

What you'd have to do is watch all outgoing network activity for the BF2142 process. See if it connects to certain IPs or tries to resolve certain domains that seem dedicated to advertising, and see what ports it uses for the game client itself. If they're different, you may be able to use an outbound firewall to block BF2142 from sending any data back and/or receiving any ads. If it looks to resolve certain domains to grab the ads, you may be able to modify your hosts file to blackhole that domain or set of domains.

If you're unlucky, it may prevent you from playing if it can't connect to the ad servers. At that point, you need to do something more complex, essentially akin to cracking the binary, but bypassing the advertising checks instead of copy-protection checks. This will probably prevent you from playing since you'll be using modified binaries. If you're really lucky and they're really stupid, the ad technology might be in a separate DLL; if this is true, you may be able to step through BF2142 in a good debugger, watch for calls into that DLL and examine the contents of the stack and registers after it returns, then modify that DLL's exports to set up a valid stack/register state without actually going out to the ad servers.

Me, I'm going to go the simpler route and simply not buy it, like I do for almost all EA games.

[Yoru]

SOE has spyware?? which game plz

PlanetSide uses the Massive in-game ad technology.

Massive's technology was written by a simpleton and can be blocked by merely editing your hosts file. Details, as they apply to SWAT4. Probably similar for Planetside.

[Big Gulp]

The worst part about the whole thing is how LAZY it seems like these guys are about the program. An in-game advert program does not have to be connected to the Net at all times.

They're not looking to do a traditional wide-spectrum ad-dump.  They're looking to target ads directly towards you and whatever your browsing habits are.

Yeah, this is insidious, and instead of trying to block it everyone just needs to not buy the damned game.

[HaemishM]

The worst part about the whole thing is how LAZY it seems like these guys are about the program. An in-game advert program does not have to be connected to the Net at all times.

They're not looking to do a traditional wide-spectrum ad-dump.  They're looking to target ads directly towards you and whatever your browsing habits are.

But they don't need to do it this way even if that is the case. There are about 3 or 4 better ways to do targeted ads than this that don't require being an intrusive prick. Being intrusive is lazy.

[Furiously]

I think insidious is the right word to be using.

[Yegolev]

How do you block them?

DON'T BUY THE GAME.

Everyone please listen to the man.  The only input acknowledged by corporations is cash.  If they don't get any sales, they know this is a bad idea.  They don't give a shit about anything else as long as you fork over the cash.  Naturally.

[climbjtree]

I was going to say more or less the same thing Yegolev said.

Gamers should go picket outside EA's main office, and they should carry witty, gamer-themed slogans which the general public won't understand.

On second thought, since the douchebag who came up with this idea is probably a suit, said slogans would go to waste.

[schild]

Why picket? Waste of time. Play better games with a higher production value by companies that aren't run by dirtbags.

[Krakrok]

I was going to buy this. Fuck you EA.