News EA denies Origin spies on Battlefield 3 PC players

Where does the EULA say that EA have any interest in having access to applications or any other data on your PC that has nothing to do with the game? Or indeed that's what they're doing?

Firstly can we stop using what was said in a now defunct EULA as a basis for claims about what EA and Origin are doing on our PCs? Secondly could we try basing claims on what Origin is actually doing as opposed to what someone thinks it might be doing because of the way they've decided to interpret a now defunct EULA?

 

Right here. It does not clearly state whether it refers to general applications or EA specific Origin software.
This is taken from the link you posted earlier, and it is this which I find unclear.
I dont care about my IP and stuff as its all relevant and needed to play the game online, what gets me is the last 2 lines.

The non-personally identifiable information that EA
collects includes technical and related information that identifies your computer
(including the Internet Protocol Address) and operating system, as well as
information about your Application usage (including but not limited to successful
installation and/or removal), software, software usage and peripheral hardware.

 

Application refers to Origin. And you're right that it doesn't give specifics about the software but how would you expect them to do that? Update the EULA everytime a new game is released on Origin? And where does that leave them when they need to collect data for things like bug/crash reports?

It's no different to Steam which has provisions in it's user agreement to allow it to identify software or hardware processes that allow you to cheat or to include details of other software and hardware in automated bug reports. It's simply not possible to be explicit about what software or hardware details will be included because every PC is different.

 

The simple fact of the matter is that I don't trust EA and I don't feel that Origin should be doing anything outside of what it needs to for me to run Battlefield 3.
Like many people, I'd prefer if I didn't have to run Origin at all and the fact that people have been able to play the game online without Origin by using a crack suggests to me that Origin is necessary only because EA want it to be - Because EA want us all running it either for reasons of marketing and mindshare or so that they can observe what software we've got installed.

For that reason, I run it Sandboxed. Paranoid, tinfoil hat, whatever. It's pretty hard to get your rights back when you willingly give them up for the sake of playing a game and I'm an extremely private person to begin with.

It took me about 30 minutes to get Origin, BF3 and Battelog all working under a Sandbox and since then it's been working flawlessly for me while still giving me peace of mind that EA aren't getting any more information about me from my system than they need to for BF3 to work.

It doesn't bother me much if apologists, fanboys and people with little regard for their own privacy think I'm a fool. The end result is that I get to enjoy BF3 and maintain my privacy for the sake of a half an hour's work.

 

Reading terms and conditions, eula's and other such tripe is for cowards anyway. Much like reading instructions when building flat pack furniture and cooking to recipes. Cowards.

I find it truly astounding as to how many people are up in arms about this. If you really cared that much about your super secret personal data why not keep it on an external drive and keep it disconnected until you need it?

 

Meh. See you at Caspian when you're done whinging.

 

It doesn't have to be super-secret for someone to reasonably not want a company like EA sniffing around in it; and the reason 'why not' is because nobody should have to.

You may not see why people are up in arms about this, and I don't see why you couldn't accept that other people might be more protective of their privacy and rights than you are.
You may not care - Why try to demean the people who do?

 

The only problem I have with people being up in arms about it is that it's all based on nothing. Present some credible evidence of Origin scanning and uploading the content of files that have sod all to do with it or any of the software running through it and I'll happily climb onboard the "I hate EA and they're stealing all my data" bandwagon. But at the moment there isn't any evidence of that nature and it's nothing more than people getting worked up about the way an old EULA was worded.

 

from what i read 'the application' means origin, or games installed with origin, i suppose if you read 'the application' as any application, it sounds wrong.

i suppose they could have written something along the lines of 'i had sex with the wife' now some people would read that as 'i had sex with your wife'

how many people used ea downloader? thats all origin is but with more features

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/lsoj6/still_thinking_eas_origin_is_harmless/c2vbjty
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/960869-battlefield-3/60145714

Sup?

I'm no fan of origin. But this whiling from PC gamers (of which I'm one) is getting old.

 

FTFY and I agree.

 

I simply think that the information that Origin collect's is mainly related to driver version's, software for Keyboard's and mice etc and also the likes of Frap's and X-Fire.

If I ever found out that EA were taking information from my pc that could mean someone could steal money from my, bank or steal my identidy etc then I simply would uninstall Origin (EA Download Manager) and stop using it for good, and then seek legal advice about it.

I seriously doubt that EA would leave themselves wide open to lawsuit's for doing that sort of thing, granted they may collect information on OS and IP but seriously it's not that hard to change your IP or OS and program's for, recording gameplay video's etc that people do.

I think this is just another way for people to say "I'm not buying the game because Origin is looking at my files on my pc that are related to the game and also to Origin".

I think this is the same thing that Valve does with Steam but, a little more detailed than Steam does.

Up to now since I have been using Origin and EA Download Manager as it was known before, I have never had anyone say to me "Oh you have pictures of this person" or "You have a illegal copy of X on your system we will report you" I don't need a tin foil hat or any conspiracy theory nut job's trying to tell me that I shouldn't play a game, because I might get spyed on, considering I am most of the time under CCTV just walking down street's and that doesn't bother me so why should this.

Most of the people have said they were not buying this game because of it not being on Steam and now, it's because they are doing the same thing as what Steam does but in more detail.

I would prefer not to have to use Origin or Steam but because I want to play the games that I play, I accept that there is some information that I can give to help them create better patches and allow companies to figure out who's hardware and software is used most, to make them better then so be it.

 

Same. My interpretation of the EULA and EA's intentions makes it seem pretty similar to Valve's hardware survey which I happily agree to.

EA's a video game publisher, the information they want is on your hardware, your usage stats for their games/Origin, and what other software you have installed. They don't care about your personal files and aren't going to open themselves up to a legal ****storm by trying to get them.

 

Paragraph 1 of the EULA :
This End User License Agreement (“Licenseâ€￾) is an agreement between you and
Electronic Arts Inc, its subsidiaries and affiliates ("EA"). This License governs
your use of this application and all related software, documentation, and updates
and upgrades that replace or supplement the application and are not distributed
with a separate license (together, the “Applicationâ€￾). This Application is licensed
to you free of charge. You do not own the Application.

The essense of the section which is being panicked about is covered in this, the application is the application to which the EULA applies, not any arbitrary application. Which when properly considered should clarify things.

 

Anyway, what kind of personal information are they going to get from my PC that the Government doesn't already know and probably has already left on a CD or unencrypted laptop in Peckham?

 

I'm not playing FPS, so I couldn't care less about BF3, but....

If any company forces me to install services like Origin, Steam, Valve, Punkbuster, etc, etc, etc then I'm simply going to say: NO THANKS!

If I'm going to buy a CD/DVD/BD then I want to have the possibility to install and play the damn game without being connected to the internet. And sure I don't want any service installed that scans my PC, regardless of what type of files they're scanning with this service.

I don't trust noone

 

jrs77, if you trust no-one then why did you give bittech your info for your account? Why do you have email? Why do you have the Internet? Why do you have a phone, mobile or landline?

Anyway, if the same people pulled apart other EULA's for other software packages they would probably start crying about them too.. Can't wait to see all you boycotters playing in 3 months time just like that steam group that boycotted MW2...

 

Nono...we're not claiming they're doing something.
...but they reserve the right to do something in the (current) EULA.

"Sign here, in the future, I may rob your house, but it's okay, I'm not doing it right now"

Also: In Germany, a EULA that can be read only after the software is purchased, or is shown on Installation AFTER purchase, is not legally binding.

 

*tin hat on*
This, is obviously a ploy from Valve!
Prepare as they will announce Half Life 3: Origin soon!
*tin hat off*
read the EULA yourselves, test Origin yourselves, don't act upon some dumbass' post on the internet...
seriously... it's where "Trolls abound" and all that stuff?
come on BT community... I thought you were maturer than this!

 

And which bit of the EULA are you figuring reserves them the right to look through my PC at will and upload whatever they want?