Game Publishers Using Stealth P2P Clients 149
An anonymous reader writes "TorrentFreak has shed some light on the dark practice of installing stealth-mode P2P clients during game downloads and using unsuspecting gamers' PCs as 'bandwidth slaves.' The clients operate in the background and largely go unnoticed until problems arise that are caused by overactive uploading/seeding. While the Akamai NetSession Interface and Pando Media Booster are specifically called out, there appear to be other offenders as indicated in the comments left by TorrentFreak readers. A publisher called Solid State Networks is putting out a call for an industry-wide 'best practices' effort to promote transparency, control and privacy on behalf of gamers who are otherwise being abused for their bandwidth without their consent."
I can haz? (Score:5, Funny)
FAKE! (Score:5, Funny)
Despite the clever use of the misspelling "Hai", your grammar is obviously much too polished. You, sir, are no LOLcat. Buy your own damned cheeseburger.
Re:FAKE! (Score:5, Funny)
Yehbutt he has 720 times more feedback points than you, so he wins. Sorry newbie.
Re:FAKE! (Score:2, Funny)
I don't think those numbers mean what you think they mean...
Re:Don't you dare steal our games... (Score:1, Funny)
You mean that wall of text that you tried to write to my temp directory? The one that has a "read only" file named EULA.txt that says "While under normal circumstances installing this software would require all your base to belong to us, under these circumstances we're happy to say that all OUR base are belong to YOU"?
Thank you, Well Known Hero. (Score:3, Funny)
Pando Media Booster = slows down your internet connection
Norton Antivirus = makes your computer vulnerable to hacking
Trusted Computing = you can't be sure if you have control of your computer
etc.
Your contribution to this discussion is sort of depressing.
Re:Theft of service (Score:5, Funny)
>>Because you agreed to it in the TOS...
I did no such thing.
As I recall I might have clicked a checkbox and hit next, but that was just one of Many screens I had to correctly configure to get the game to install. I made no agreements after the exchange for the sale was finished.
If that is actually binding, then there is the additional problem for them that my bandwidth TOS is clearly posted on my website.
The first clause is I can change this "agreement" at any time without sending notification, and the second clause is they agree to my TOS by providing in their software a button with the text "I agree", which I can click on to confirm they indeed agree to my TOS.
The charges for my bandwidth are spelled out there, and I will be sending the bill in the mail now.
If they don't pay it by 90 days, I guess I will just have to submit the invoice to a collections agency or something...