OT: SPYWARE/TROJAN and Off Topic!

[Norfleet]

Originally posted by Bayushi Tasogare:
From your 'line in the sand' comment, I'm guessing (and it's only a guess) that you checked as Gandalf suggested, and probably found out that it is only a CD key.

I have not checked if it contains any MORE, but I did get an AWFUL lot of hits, some several kbs transmitted. That's far larger than the "CDkey" is. Also, I firmly suspect that CDkeys are actually individually identifiable tracking numbers: It's obvious, based on the distribution scheme of the game. Shrapnel probably has every CDkey leaving the shipping bay tracked to the individual buying it. To allow it to be correlated Online by the same source that sent them out would be suicide.

NWN and Bioware tried to pull this exact same stunt on me, although they did a better job trying to make it seem harmless. However, when I confronted them with this, their obvious and blatant denials immediately confirmed the truth of my suspicions....and unlike IW, they are definitely possessed with motive, being that they are a puppet of the evil Infogrames.

Originally posted by Demosthenes:
I have no reason to 'suspect' Illwinter for anything other than trying to protect their IP in the most innocuous manner that such a small company possibly can.

I'm absolutely sure that they may very well be trying to do so. I've done my share of programming, and you know what? The Last time I wired a "protection" method to protect *MY* IP, it was designed exactly like that, a nice phone-home verification check....and would destroy all of the files of any unauthorized user and hand over control of their shells to me if I pressed the big red button.

So I've been on their side of the fence before. I know what they're trying to do.

Originally posted by Graeme Dice:
Then you must be a murderer, since you certainly "can" kill someone.

Why don't you try and not suffer from paranoid delusions so much.

I am very much surrounded by potentially hostile people. Why do you think I've taken to the life of a hermit, wear kevlar, and travel heavily armed? It's not paranoia when they really are out to get you.

[ April 08, 2004, 02:04: Message edited by: Norfleet ]