World of Warcraft == Spyware
Category: Toys, Tools, Tech
Are you one of the four million players of the popular online game World of Warcraft?
Did you know that it is watching you?
According to Greg Hoglund, co-author of ?Exploiting Software, How to Break Code,? this hidden program [installed by WoW] opens every process on a gamerâ??s computer, from email programs to privacy managers, and sniffs email addresses, website URLs open at the time of the scan, and the names of all running programsâ??whether or not those programs, emails, or websites could conceivably have anything to do with hacking.
Hoglund disassembled WoW?s spyware component, called ?The Warden?, and
? watched the warden sniff down the email addresses of people I was communicating with on MSN, the URL of several websites that I had open at the time, and the names of all my running programs, including those that were minimized or in the toolbar. These strings can easily contain social security numbers or credit card numbers, for example, if I have Microsoft Excel or Quickbooks open w/ my personal finances at the time.
Hoglund has made a utility program he calls ?The Governor? available for free download that lets you log the behavior of The Warden.
http://www.rootkit.com/newsread_print.php?newsid=371
Blizzard Entertainment, the makers of the game, does not deny that WoW incorporates this code. Their defense? It?s not illegal.
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/threa...blizzard-archive&t=33&p=1&tmp=1#post33
Whether it?s illegal or not, Blizzard should be ashamed of themselves. Lots of other publishers (EA and Valve jump to mind) manage to prevent cheating in their games without resorting to such gross and indiscriminate violations of privacy. There?s no reason why they can?t do the same for WoW.
Category: Toys, Tools, Tech
Are you one of the four million players of the popular online game World of Warcraft?
Did you know that it is watching you?
According to Greg Hoglund, co-author of ?Exploiting Software, How to Break Code,? this hidden program [installed by WoW] opens every process on a gamerâ??s computer, from email programs to privacy managers, and sniffs email addresses, website URLs open at the time of the scan, and the names of all running programsâ??whether or not those programs, emails, or websites could conceivably have anything to do with hacking.
Hoglund disassembled WoW?s spyware component, called ?The Warden?, and
? watched the warden sniff down the email addresses of people I was communicating with on MSN, the URL of several websites that I had open at the time, and the names of all my running programs, including those that were minimized or in the toolbar. These strings can easily contain social security numbers or credit card numbers, for example, if I have Microsoft Excel or Quickbooks open w/ my personal finances at the time.
Hoglund has made a utility program he calls ?The Governor? available for free download that lets you log the behavior of The Warden.
http://www.rootkit.com/newsread_print.php?newsid=371
Blizzard Entertainment, the makers of the game, does not deny that WoW incorporates this code. Their defense? It?s not illegal.
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/threa...blizzard-archive&t=33&p=1&tmp=1#post33
Whether it?s illegal or not, Blizzard should be ashamed of themselves. Lots of other publishers (EA and Valve jump to mind) manage to prevent cheating in their games without resorting to such gross and indiscriminate violations of privacy. There?s no reason why they can?t do the same for WoW.
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