EA Germany: "Origin Is Not Spyware"

[ROBO_LEADER]

And yet it still collects data from your computer that they give to third parties.

Read section 2 of the Origin ToS here: http://eacom.s3.amazonaws.com/EULA_Origin_9.16.11.pdf as it gives you a vague idea (including but not limited to...) of the data it collects, detailing what data they consider "non-personally identifiable". This 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.

At the end of section 2, you will find this statement:

This and all other data provided to EA and/or collected by EA in
connection with your installation and use of this Application is collected, used,
stored and transmitted in accordance with EA?s Privacy Policy located at
www.ea.com. To the extent that anything in this section conflicts or is
inconsistent with the terms of EA?s Privacy Policy, the terms of the Privacy Policy
shall control.

In EA's Privacy Policy (found here: http://tos.ea.com/legalapp/WEBPRIVACY/US/en/PC/) section VI subsection B:

We may, however, share anonymous, non-personal, aggregated and/or public information with third parties.

Now that that is out of the way, let me put this in plain English from my perspective. EA shares information it deems anonymous or non-personal, which as detailed above is quite a lot, and given Origin's "thoroughness" in collecting data (evidenced here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lGUOFjMuQA) the last thing I want is to have a program installed that collects that much "anonymous" data about me and then have that program's creator give that data to whom they wish. That, my friends, is spyware, the Oxford dictionary definition of which can be found here: http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/spyware?region=us

As much as I've longed for it, I am still boycotting Battlefield 3.

 

[Treblaine]

"EA takes the privacy of its users very seriously"

Yes... we plan to make a serious amount of money spying on the contents of your computer. We're not joking around, we're going to run your hard-drive tit for tuesday, we'll know more things about you than you know about yourself.

PS: anyone else depressed at how many games are published by EA? All of Bioware, DICE, Bungie's new game... why. WHYY!!!?!? Why can't this company just go bankrupt and burn!

HOW!?? Please tell me this EA, How after all the shit Activision has pulled do they now look like a more trusted publisher than you? How after all that they have milked the COD franchise by your Origin bullshit MW3 is looking like a safer bet? God damn it EA, you knew we were all fed up with activision, this was a chance to earn some good will but what did you do? You took that as your queue to be even WORSE!

What happened to just making a good game and selling it, why do you want to spy on us as well? What is your possible benefit except profit?

 

[CleverCover]

This whole thing honestly frightens me...and I think it's on my computer because I had an EA account a while ago for ME2. I checked and now it's an Origin account.

Can I get rid of it, but still play EA games? I like Bioware, and I don't want to give up ME3 because EA is full of greedy, creepy pricks.

I don't want Origin on my computer. That...really scares me.

Please tell me it's not on my computer just because I signed up for ME2 and the Sims 3 three years ago.

Maybe if Germany has enough of a rage moment, it will get changed?

 

[Giest4life]

I only wish North American gamers weren't such pushovers. It's sickening that they have amassed to defend EA for its lowly practices. I boycotted Battlefield 3 and anything else EA has to offer me and I haven't experienced a drop in my entertainment. There are plenty of good games to go around without us showing up at EA's doorstep and begging it to take our money.

 

[Nouw]

sigh... this again... im sorry but i couldnt care less what origin does.. i have a facebook acount, i have a steam acount, i have a itunes acount, my info is prob passed around all over from those companies yet origin keeps taking the flak for something that just about every other company does

This so much. Coming to this site pretty much allows Facebook access to all the browsing I do here. So if someone is reading this, a computer or employee, screw you Facebook! But I still use it >.>

 

[Leopotamus]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lGUOFjMuQA

It isn't just scanning for .exe's its checking out everything including their gayMessenger chat logs (classic). That is a very curious program.

I'd be curious to see if Steam did the same thing.

 

[Treblaine]

sigh... this again... im sorry but i couldnt care less what origin does.. i have a facebook acount, i have a steam acount, i have a itunes acount, my info is prob passed around all over from those companies yet origin keeps taking the flak for something that just about every other company does

Here is the thing, Facebook only knows what YOU TELL IT! And you literally advertise your life for your friends precisely for that purpose. You don't have to give up this info for anything else. The problem with facebook is the line between what you set as private and what you set as public, and how Facebook uses the date you GIVE THEM!

I use Facebook, but I never tell them anything. No problem.

Origin is FAR WORSE! You HAVE to allow them to worm right into your system, spying on everything you never wanted to get out there in the grubby hands of marketers or whoever, and you HAVE to allow this in order to play games like Mass Effect, Crysis 2, Battlefield 3, Old Republic and so many other games.

And the quid pro quo with Facebook is they are giving you a social network FOR FREE in exchange for using your data (that you willingly give up) for targeted ads.

But Origin, you've ALREADY FUGGING PAID! You forked over a LOT of money for these games and they STILL want your data for profit?!?!? And they don't just want the data that you have entered specifically, they want to worm in an get at data they know that no reasonable person would ever give up if they were asked!!!

 

[Bostur]

Alright, guys. None of you seem to know what Origin is actually accessing or what it is doing with that access.

Origin "scans" four things. Its own folders, several Windows DLLs (necessary for the program to work), some MS registry entries, and the ProgramData directory (the guy's tax and cellphone stuff was in this directory, for some reason).
When it accesses ProgramData, it does a check on each file (I am not sure what this check is).
The operation the process uses is not ReadFile. It isn't reading anything. What it is doing is unnecessary, but harmless. It only uses ReadFile on C: (It isn't reading everything on your drive, it is just identifying it) and its own files.
EDIT: While I have tested it several times, another test indicates some sporadic ReadFile operations on files in my ProgramData directory. I tried it again and it did not do it. Keep in mind that this is still just ProgramData.

So does Origin do unnecessary crap? Yes. Is it spyware? Not really. I believe the post the article references also mentioned forthcoming updates to the software to cut down on the bullshit.

Stop kneejerkin' guys. You can use Process Monitor to see exactly what I'm on about.

Thanks for the info. I think scanning files unrelated to its normal functionality is quite suspicious. It's true that personal documents shouldn't reside in the ProgramData directory, but some applications dump a lot of data there anyway.

Of course Origin doesn't open every file on the filesystem, that would be stupid even for a spyware program. But the behaviour you describe and the behaviour seen in some of the screenshots is worrying. My best bet is that it checks filesizes or filenames because it is looking for something specific. What those specific files are we have no way of knowing, but it really doesn't have any business snooping in random folders. Your observation that it makes sporadic ReadFile calls only further supports this. What files does it read? That would be interesting to know.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

Good on you my fellow gamers of Germany. I salute you for doing what we British could never do, namely taking a stand and hitting the publisher where it hurts. I salute you.

 

[bakan]

sigh... this again... im sorry but i couldnt care less what origin does.. i have a facebook acount, i have a steam acount, i have a itunes acount, my info is prob passed around all over from those companies yet origin keeps taking the flak for something that just about every other company does

This so much. Coming to this site pretty much allows Facebook access to all the browsing I do here. So if someone is reading this, a computer or employee, screw you Facebook! But I still use it >.>

You know, it is pretty easy to block Facebook & co.
I actually do it and also block every other social network because of the programs they use to monitor us.

I decide which information I give away and I don't know why I should reveal my habits to some corporation who sells the information to third parties.

Willingly giving away your privacy and not caring to what it could lead to is just ignorant.

edit:

sigh... this again... im sorry but i couldnt care less what origin does.. i have a facebook acount, i have a steam acount, i have a itunes acount, my info is prob passed around all over from those companies yet origin keeps taking the flak for something that just about every other company does

Here is the thing, Facebook only knows what YOU TELL IT! And you literally advertise your life for your friends precisely for that purpose. You don't have to give up this info for anything else. The problem with facebook is the line between what you set as private and what you set as public, and how Facebook uses the date you GIVE THEM!

I use Facebook, but I never tell them anything. No problem.

Everytime you load the 'Facebook like button' on any site you get the facebook tracking tool which monitors your internet history and you don't even need to be a member of facebook.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Well of course they would say that. It's not like they're going around saying: "hey, use Origin. It's spyware but use it because it's good for you."

Of course it's a spyware. They wouldn't have that little section in ToS is they didn't think they can get away with collecting YOUR PERSONAL DATA! As long as they can do that, I know who's not gonna buy Origin exclusive games.

 

[MorphingDragon]

I don't have a penis.

I can lie too EA, you're not special.

 

[Poster1234]

"EA takes the privacy of its users very seriously. We have taken every precaution to protect the personal and anonymous user data collected."

Oh great.
Wait a minute : privacy doesn't mean the guy who took pictures of you in the shower shouldn't post them on the web : it means he shouldn't be taking the pictures in the first place.

Same here : if they are "protecting" some personal data about their customers, it means that they already have something to protect, which is bloody outreageous.

 

[Vicarious Reality]

I can't help but wonder about the loss of revenue that overly complicated EULA's cause
Knowledge is power

 

[Ruwrak]

You can say about the Germans whatever they want, but they really are keen on their privacy.

More power to them I guess?

 

[kebab4you]

"We do not have access to information such as pictures, documents or personal data, which have nothing to do with the execution of the Origin program on the system of the player, neither will they be collected by us,"

A picture I saw tanis1lionheart post yesterday:
http://s1.directupload.net/images/111028/fglehhsj.jpg

What was that they didn't have access to private information?

 

[frehls]

hue

 

[Casper Andersen]

I think I may actually have to pass on Mass Effect 3, until I can install it without Origin or if they clear up what data it does and does not collect (ideally nothing). What is the official excuse for wanting to collect that data anyway?

I am so sad that EA has put up this gate between me and Bioware games, even if the games are declining in quality, but that is a whole other discussion (but also related to EA). Last I heard I wont have to install Origin to try out The Old Repuplic at least.

 

[kebab4you]

snip.

snip

snip

snip

snip

I don't want to toot my own horn, but you guys need to read my post. You certainly don't have to accept it 100%, and I'd be glad to see any refuting evidence, but please read that.

Ah, I did not know his tax program stored that information at the program data directory, made my argument moot.