Activision Blizzard Secretly Watermarking World of Warcraft Users

New submitter kgkoutzis writes "A few days ago I noticed some weird artifacts covering the screenshots I captured using the WoW game client application. I sharpened the images and found a repeating pattern secretly embedded inside. I posted this information on the OwnedCore forum and after an amazing three-day cooperation marathon, we managed to prove that all our WoW screenshots, since at least 2008, contain a custom watermark. This watermark includes our user IDs, the time the screenshot was captured and the IP address of the server we were on at the time. It can be used to track down activities which are against Blizzard's Terms of Service, like hacking the game or running a private server. The users were never notified by the ToS that this watermarking was going on so, for four years now, we have all been publicly sharing our account and realm information for hackers to decode and exploit. You can find more information on how to access the watermark in the aforementioned forum post which is still quite active."

*Insert X-Files theme song*

[Anonymous Coward]

*Tu du tu du du duuuuuuu*
*neh neh nah nah* [echo]
-----*neh neh nah nah*

Brain encoding.

[Valor958]

It's not actually a watermark on the picture. It's a watermark encoded in your brain from playing too much WoW.

Re:Just JPG artifacts

[Anonymous Coward]

"Watermarks do not work that way!!! Good night!"

Re:That's no watermark...

[Big Hairy Ian]

No it's a sail boat!

Re:Other games?

[Zocalo]

I know surfing the web using Internet Explorer can be a bit of an adventure, but even so, I think that's probably the first time I've seen it referred to as a "game".

Re:Absurd

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

Blizzard actually poisons the kernel entropy pool so cleverly that 'random' behaviors by the computer end up leaking identifiable information. Very sneaky of them...

Re:Other games?

[tepples]

So I take it the only way to win IE is not to play. In that case, how does one start with a store-bought PC and download something better such as Firefox, Chrome, or a whole different operating system, without playing?

Re:Substantiated Fact

[Yvan256]

I'm sorry but that's totally false. The moon isn't made of cheese.

Re:Ask Slashdot

[hawguy]

Sigh. This kind of story makes me miss ignorant Ask Slashdot questions. I wonder if the OP would mind if I told him how to select the best network cable for use at home.

I'd like to know - the cheap cables I keep buying on eBay often fail after a few plug/unplug cycles, and the $20 Systimax patch cables seem like overkill.

Re:Unsubstantiated Rubbish

[JustOK]

Why? What did it say?

Re:Substantiated Fact

[crazyjj]

Hell, sometimes I don't even read the comments before replying.

Re:That's no watermark...

[englishknnigits]

A schooner IS a sail boat stupid head!

Re:Bootstrap

[fisted]

son,

u r the h4x

Re:That's no watermark...

[Anonymous Coward]

My apologies- I thought your comment came across a bit like you (personally) were trying to excuse the company with that rationale, rather than merely explaining their position. I'm happy to accept that this was a misinterpretation.

What? No, dude, that's not how Internet debates are supposed to work! Dig in your heels, accuse the GP of backpedaling, and burn that strawman to the motherfucking ground!