Battlefield 2142 comes with spyware

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This very much reminds me of the Sony hidden rootkits, though if you read full info it is there-if hidden deep within.

Watch where you surf, what your IP address is....sure seems like "Big Brother" to me.

We all know EA is a large uncaring corporation only out for profits, as seen by selling games in 5-10 parts for $20 US eachnot bad until you realize that you just paid $100-$200 for a complete game.



[edit on 10/18/2006 by mrmonsoon]

[edit on 10/18/2006 by mrmonsoon]

Well thats not the key problem: if you recall before BattleField 2 came out people said they had installed special programs to monitor how well you "kill" other people and how much you spend doing so. This information was made available to the army and recruiters so they could pick and choose who would be the best picked based on how well you kill others and how much you enjoy it (Time spent playing). Thats one reason why I have the game but NEVER use it when the internet is on. This spyware sounds like another addon to the whole package, first spy on you for military reasons now for economic reasons. Its still spying if you ask me.
Before you play BF:2142 I suggest you stand up and sing the Nazi national anthem and "heil hitler" salute the screen then play. Might impress them if they start putting cameras in these computers (forced) and start watching who you are.

Originally posted by mrmonsoon

We all know EA is a large uncaring corporation only out for profits, as seen by selling games in 5-10 parts for $20 US eachnot bad until you realize that you just paid $100-$200 for a complete game

Yeah I hate that about the games now-a-days. You have to buy extension pack after extension pack just to play a decent game. It sure is a scam to sell an incomplete game.

Not to mention 'they' dont even hide what their doing.
Is it just me or is GAMESPY putting it right in your face with thier name?
ALL the games I have use GAMESPY online.
Between that and all the cheaters in online games I avoid playing online as much as I can.
GAMESPY....do you guys use it? Do you know anything about it?
Like I said the name alone gives me willies.

Originally posted by Vekar how much you enjoy it (Time spent playing).

And how unfit you are. Games are totally different to real life battle situations especially games like the Battlefield series. It would be just stupid to recruit players based on statistics in a game.

Didn't they say the same thing about Counterstrike and a couple of other games? They claim that the VAC (Anti-Cheating) supposedly utilizes this software. Thats what they claim at least.


Pie

you rite punkbuster wasnt clean at all , im just surprise right now, dam i just realize i was always picking the terrorist team for no reason, oh dam im in trouble now lol.

Originally posted by Vekar
Well thats not the key problem: if you recall before BattleField 2 came out people said they had installed special programs to monitor how well you "kill" other people and how much you spend doing so. This information was made available to the army and recruiters so they could pick and choose who would be the best picked based on how well you kill others and how much you enjoy it (Time spent playing). Thats one reason why I have the game but NEVER use it when the internet is on. This spyware sounds like another addon to the whole package, first spy on you for military reasons now for economic reasons. Its still spying if you ask me.
Before you play BF:2142 I suggest you stand up and sing the Nazi national anthem and "heil hitler" salute the screen then play. Might impress them if they start putting cameras in these computers (forced) and start watching who you are.

Actualy the army has there own game for that and its free! America's Army Special forces The game

In my free time I do some servermaintenance for a pritty sizeable Game Service Provider and this spyware/adware installation by BF2142 isn't the only despicable thing EA is pulling.

They are also disallowing GSP's to sell gameservers without getting extra licenses from EA.

Up to now, its been a given that developers make a dedicated server binary for their games so that people can play online. This usualy involves little work other then to remove some subroutines from the binary (sound, graphics, ...) so the binary runs optimal as a dedicated gameserver.

There's some other things going on like this with BF2142 and other games comming from EA, but I can't go into them yet since they still fall under the NDA's.

Originally posted by 11Bravo
Is it just me or is GAMESPY putting it right in your face with thier name?
ALL the games I have use GAMESPY online.
Between that and all the cheaters in online games I avoid playing online as much as I can.
GAMESPY....do you guys use it? Do you know anything about it?
Like I said the name alone gives me willies.

GameSpy has been around for years mang... i used to use GameSpy Arcade, but i uninstalled it like 2 years ago and have never re-installed it... it does all kinds of things now... it's mainly a server browser but you can chat in the game room lobby with other gamers, it has it's own private message and IM feature, you can download patches, updates, mods etc. through it, and probably a whole lot more...

yee, most games anymore come with GS prepackaged, but it always asks you if you want to install it or not... there are tons of other (and better) apps out there you can use for server browsers...

as for cheaters, lol, they have infected all the games it seems like... i am an admin of few servers and i also run four of my own servers so i kind of try to keep up on the progess of the cheaters... you would not believe the time and effort these hackers put into making their lil cheats... it's absolutely mind-boggling...

anywayz, if you want some kick-ass multiplayer action, dig out an old game called Quake 2, grab a railgun and come frag!

Most of the controversy started with the following insert, included with boxed copies of the game:

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 to the Internet, the Advertising Technology may record your Internet Protocol Address and other anonymous 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 not 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 European Union. 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.

The legalese has led many gamers to wonder what exactly this technology will be tracking on their PCs. An EA spokesperson gave us the following comment:

The advertising program in Battlefield 2142 does not access any files which are not directly related to the game. It does not capture personal data such as cookies, account login detail, or surfing history. BF 2142 delivers ads by region. The advertising system uses a player's IP address to determine the region of the player, assisting to serve the appropriate ads by region and language. For instance, a player in Paris might be presented with ads in French. The information collected will not be repurposed for other uses. Battlefield 2142 also tracks "impression data" related to in-game advertisements: location of a billboard in the game, brand advertised, duration of advertisement impression, etc. This information is used to help advertisers qualify the reach of a given advertisement.

pc.gamespy.com...

There is also an ongoing discussion here at the PlanetBattlefield forum:
Details of BF2142 Advertisements



and more info here:

Q&A: IGA's Townsend On BF2142 In-Game Ads

Talking to Gamasutra, IGA Worldwide CEO Justin Townsend has explained his company's work with EA on Battlefield 2142's in-game ads, following earlier controversy over a disclaimer shipped with the European version of the game.

The disclaimer had some users concerned over what they termed 'spyware' related to the dynamic in-game advertising supplied by IGA. But Townsend made it clear that IGA "does not capture any personally identifiable information" for those playing BF2142, going on to explain exactly what details the game's users are supplying when they play.

whole story here:
www.gamasutra.com...

continued next post...

continued from above...



and another article here:

Battlefield 2142 In-Game Ad Disclaimer Causes Ruckus

A number of consumer game websites have expressed privacy-related concerns over the disclaimer for new Electronic Arts title Battlefield 2142 regarding its in-game ad system, which is powered by IGA Worldwide and includes certain anonymous tracking information.

whole story here:
www.gamasutra.com...

i won't be getting BF2142, but not because of this... i did the two FilePlanet Subscriber betas and didn't really care for the game... it has some nice graffix, but the game seems to be too involved for me... i have played many hours of BF2 and it's ok, but i think i would rather just stick to straight-up DM anymore... anywayz, frag on!

p.s. - Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is going to kick BF2142's ass anywayz!

[edit on 18 10Oct 06 by m3rlz]

Take a look at this IP blocker, Peer Guardian. I've been using it for about a year now.
It's an excellent tool to protect you while you're surfing/downloading.

You can see all the different 'spooks' your PC tries to connect to on a daily basis.

and it's free:

phoenixlabs.org...

Yeah I know about AMERICAS ARMY and the fact its free, I refuse to play that game... ugh... None the less BF series does have problems HOWEVER the NEWER ones are allot more real in some ways, if you think about it they are actually just looking for hand and eye coordination, the rest you get in basic training in the army. So using BF for recruiting on that basis is a good one, however AA (americas army) is allot worse when it comes to getting recruited and being spied on by the military while playing.

wtf i have battlefield 2 battlfield 2 special forces and battlefield 2142! i bet theyre watching me right now!


i heard theyve been doing this with americas army way longer than bf2.

This isn't something to be alarmed about.

The information collected is restricted to your regonal IP adress. Based on that, they send their in-game advertisments in the correct language and for relevent products.

It's sad that the games industry has gotten so bad that they're making this kind of money grab... but the whole thing is in a shambles right now.

Too many fat cats and the mice don't have enough cheese.

Please don't equate EA with "the gaming industry"

They are a publishing firm, all they are there for is to make money, they don't have the slightest thing to do with games other then that thats their main sales focus.

The point is they still sell these "spyware" games and dont care, thats the point. EA is to blame because of those very reasons, they are supporting these actions by selling these games. Yes they are in it for money and only money and that is the problem, they are so greedy they dont care if corporations are using the games they sell and produce to gleen more money off them by advertisements and also the fact the military uses them to find people to recruit.

Great, so now when we spend $50 on a game, we're not just buying a game, but a bunch of advertisement as well. Just great.

Originally posted by quintar
Take a look at this IP blocker, Peer Guardian. I've been using it for about a year now.
It's an excellent tool to protect you while you're surfing/downloading.

You can see all the different 'spooks' your PC tries to connect to on a daily basis.

and it's free:

phoenixlabs.org...

I have that program. It's very usefull and could save your butt.

[edit on 22-10-2006 by NuclearHead]

Well, somehow I got some crud on my computer that over-rides my browser and takes me to some website that is an ad for their "cleanware."

I subscribe to a legal service and am thinking about outleashing them on that software maker.

Can anyone else relate?

The spyware in this game simply logs your country so EA games can display advertisements relevant to your home country.

All it is... is a cheap way of making money off advertising. Not some global conspiracy to log everything you do. Sheesh.