Tipper Nic directs our attention to this forum post, where we read of a disheartening little slip of paper that suggests some seriously gross spyware will be installed along with Battlefield 2142, all in the name of in-game advertising:
So. In the latest CGW podcast, they received retail boxed copies of BF 2142.
When you open the box, a big slip of paper falls out first, preceeding any discs or manuals. The slip of paper says, essentially, that 2142 includes monitoring software which runs while your computer is online, and records "anonymous" information like your IP address, surfing habits (probably via cookie scans), and other "computing habits" in order to report this information back to ad companies and ad servers, which generates in-game ads.
Now, I can live with certain in-game ads (though apparently there will be Dodge truck and Neon ads in the bleak, futuristic world of 2142), but including a lengthy description - outside of even the Eula - seems to indicate even EA knows that this is some shady borderline spyware shit. I don't support it and won't be buying 2142 (for a host of other reasons, too).
Can you imagine how much the ad companies are paying for this information? Makes me feel a little ill.
Fuck EA.
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So be it. If saying "NO" means being alone, then to hell with love, with romance, with marriage, and all the shit life keeps pumping at me. I'll walk alone, but with freedom and a healed pride.
Massive Inc. is one of the companies that does this sort of online ingame advertising. EA games, however, is not listed with them.
I believe the simplest solution to this problem will be to use a packet sniffer/dumper and find out the ip addresses being connected to while you play the game and find out where the ad servers are. I'm betting money it's not EA games itself so you should be fine in blocking in through your HOSTS file or *nix equivilent.
Edit: I stand corrected. In their news they list EA games as having signed with them. It's not in their currently listed partners however.
Their servers:
madserver.net
ad.madserver.net
imp.madserver.net
media.madserver.net
Block em and chances are they won't be able to send you adware...
Last edited by B4UTRUST on Tue Oct 17, 2006 3:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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