Gabe Newell Speaks On Recent VAC Controversy

AstaresPanda

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Nov 5, 2009
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Tanis said:
'Trust us' is a line used by every corrupt company and government.

So, no, I won't 'trust you'.
Trust is EARNED, and they haven't earned it.
lol what !? First day on the job or somthing ? You know Valve ? the reason they have ppl lovng them is coz they HAVE earned that trust. Name me another time valve have been pulling shit ? No ? well then lets cut the shit. Valve make MORE then enough money selling bullshit hats Steam itself has them set for life. So why do a 360 and start being greedy EA for your browser history ? It does not add up.

After this NSA thing everyone is getting abit weird, the NSA is has been gathering info on you thats bad, but facebook is ok for everyone to post their every step on. Logic whoooo
 

thewatergamer

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Ehhhhhh sorry valve more and more I am questioning your motives...

Your too damn secretive and won't tell us anything, so when you come out and be open about something finally, I find it hard to trust you, especially since the only reason you came out of your shell is to cover your own ass...
 

Lvl 64 Klutz

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Apr 8, 2008
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I don't even know how this got to be such a big deal. Someone you don't know and who doesn't know you can see what you're doing on the Internet. How is that even a big deal? It's not like they're hacking webcams or tracking credit card numbers. There's literally no risk other than someone who doesn't give two shits about who you are knowing you have a BDSM fetish.
 

misg

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T3nno said:
i swear, gabe could be caught as the head of an international child pornography ring and the gaming comunity would just forgive him, give him a pass, probably even rage and lobby for his release, all while making half life 3 jokes
That is not even funny. I don't think the gaming community would stand for this even slightly, I've gamed for a long time part of that is protecting the new young gamers, sure you raz them give them a hard time and make them earn respect. But if sort of thing happens the response is swift and vengeful.

Personally I don't see an issue with Vac, so they grab websites so does every other company out there. Facebook has tracked everything you look at with cookies for years. Also What Gabe said was "We try really hard to earn and keep your trust." That isn't simply saying "trust us" it's saying they know the value of trust and that it's earn and needs to be guarded or it will be lost.

End of the day it's a arms race to keep the games you like safe from hackers and cheats. Now maybe this wasn't the best choice of move on valve's part but as stated in the article it's not even used anymore.
 

CelestDaer

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Mar 25, 2013
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I literally only came into this thread to comment on Gabe's beard... and how old he's starting to look. Now I have, so... goo'bye.
 

WarpZone

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Mar 9, 2008
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Steven Bogos said:
Second, he said that this protocol isn't actually in use anymore. Whenever VAC makes a new protocol, it's basically an "arms-race" for the cheaters to try and circumvent it, which is why Valve is so secretive about how VAC works in the first place. Newell says that the cheat providers have already worked around this particular protocol by manipulating the DNS cache of their customers' client machines.
Please clarify. Does this mean that VAC currently does NOT track what websites Steam users have visited?
 

freaper

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Apr 3, 2010
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Sir Thomas Sean Connery said:
OT:
Pretty fascinating stuff about the cheating. I can't possibly imagine actually paying someone to have an advantage in a game.
Hah, you mean Pay to Win isn't a thing? It just depends on who you're paying, I guess ;)

I trust Valve, and as long as they don't do anything particularly evil I have no reason to doubt them.
 

Combustion Kevin

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Nov 17, 2011
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Trust someone? what, and lose my "grim, mature and realist" card in the process?
hell no! noone can be trusted, ever, it only ever sets you up for betrayal and disappointment at all times because the world is cruel and unkind, and people are a plague.

...

wow, I don't know what came over me. >.>

My experience with this program has at been only marginally better than the one I had with punkbuster, who kicks your ass for even the slightest anomaly in the system, or player managed servers, who kick your ass for pissing off the owner.
Besides, internet sites we visit are already being tracked by security agencies and advertisement companies, and I got problems with neither.
 

Abomination

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Dec 17, 2012
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The amount of paranoia surrounding privacy of internet searches is just staggering. If it ever came to a time that you were actually harmed by this breach of privacy you could sue the offending party to kingdom come.

I wish a company like Valve would violate my privacy, I could do with some extra cash.
 
Aug 1, 2010
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freaper said:
Sir Thomas Sean Connery said:
OT:
Pretty fascinating stuff about the cheating. I can't possibly imagine actually paying someone to have an advantage in a game.
Hah, you mean Pay to Win isn't a thing? It just depends on who you're paying, I guess ;)
You just blew my goddamn mind.

I don't know how the hell I typed my original post without realizing that. Seems really obvious now, but still... Woah.
 

Timmey

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May 29, 2010
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llagrok said:
Warpzone, it means that they've stopped using that particular method.

Timmey said:
This thread Jesus the amount of bullshit in here. CEO of a billion dollar company goes online himself to answer questions over fears about the way VAC works, and instead of people saying fair play thanks for explaining it etc, they decide to shit all over it.

Whilst not the most popular answer, if your unhappy with the way steam works, don't use it, problem solved.
How dare we not grovel in the rich man's greatness!

Those dang peasants.
Good reply really addressed my points, he clearly laid out how VAC worked and why they had been using it in that way, whats the problem?
 

RA92

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Jan 1, 2011
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Zachary Amaranth said:
The amount of "it's Valve, so it's different" in this thread disappoints me dearly.
The amount of people who missed the fact that they don't even use it anymore after cheaters circumvented it disappoints me dearly.
 

shiajun

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Jun 12, 2008
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No company should just "deserve" our trust. No matter how much good will they've built up, it should always show that its policies are in your benefit and not ask you to base that on faith. That said, it's just stupid that people would react angrily to this.

1) It only looked for DNS of cheat programs in your DNS cache, much like an antivirus searches for signatures in your drive. That's it.
2) It's not doing it anymore, since like antivirus programs, they have to keep changing the strategy.
3) Valve has no commercial use for your browser history. It would be clogging up their servers with info they don't need to be profitable.
4) Even it was still on, there's a simple way for your DNS cache not to get to Valve through VAC. Don't turn on Steam if you plan to do something that you would rather not be known, then flush it afterwards. It can only be scanned if Steam is running. The End.

Seriously, it's just good PC habit to start up your computer with the least programs running. Also, if you don't like Steam limiting the installation of trainers, don't use it. That's it. It's not like the NSA hijacking systems that are vital to everyday communications and services. You can just not use it.

On a side note, it's just sad that fun cheats now have to be paid for, like some bizarre DLC package.
 

Something Amyss

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Dec 3, 2008
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RA92 said:
The amount of people who missed the fact that they don't even use it anymore after cheaters circumvented it disappoints me dearly.
Well, yes, that's a problem. How does it relate to what I said, though?
 

Timmey

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May 29, 2010
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llagrok said:
Timmey said:
Good reply really addressed my points, he clearly laid out how VAC worked and why they had been using it in that way, whats the problem?
I didn't have a problem with your initial point, just the idea that a "CEO of a billion dollar company" shouldn't take the time to go and explain why they've been doing something incredibly sketchy. It's like you're implying that people aren't being grateful that they're given an explanation. Transparency should be a given, especially when it boils down to one of their former anti-cheating methods basically spying on users.

And the problem is probably that some people consider this a violation of their privacy, that steam's been dabbling in their browsing history. Even if they didn't do anything with it, and even if it happens to be the oudated measure, it still means that Steam has had free access to people's browser history for a long time, without anyone knowing. The only line that I thought was really, really stupid was the "if you don't like it, don't use it."

It doesn't really work that well when this was revealed years into the steam-service when a lot of people have already spent a lot of money on steam games. Those games are tied to the steam library and simply upping and leaving when Steam changed the rules mid-game isn't that easy for a lot of people. Those games weren't bought when people knew about this, which is why it's not fair to simply claim "don't like it, don't use it". Steam has already sold a ton of people games without revealing that they have had free access to their browser history.
I understand and agree with what your saying sorry if I came across as an ass.

Your right as well I hadn't considered those with money already invested in their steam accounts who could be turned off by something like this, I guess the best, and perhaps only, real option is to try and get steam to turn around practices like this, which in this case they appear to have done.

Also your right again in saying transparency should be a given, but due to the fact transparency certainly isn't a given when it comes to numerous online corporations, I think when a company does do the right thing then that company deserves at least a modicum of respect. This is because if other companies see steam gaining good will by being transparent, it might encourage them to do the same.
 

Bravo Company

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Feb 21, 2010
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I'm just saying, I would rather VAC in every game just so I wouldn't be required to use the horrible "anti-cheat" program that is called punkbuster.

Just go to punkbuster's website, it even looks sketchy. I can't tell you how many times I've been kicked from servers because my punkbuster couldn't do whatever the fuck it wants to do. I'm fairly certain more legitimate players get kicked by punkbuster than actual hackers. Whereas I've never had one single issue with VAC in my 6 years of using it.
 

RA92

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Zachary Amaranth said:
RA92 said:
The amount of people who missed the fact that they don't even use it anymore after cheaters circumvented it disappoints me dearly.
Well, yes, that's a problem. How does it relate to what I said, though?
People aren't giving Valve slack out of any because-it's-Valve exceptionalism (which you seemed to bemoan). It's because Valve has been forthcoming about it all and isn't actually doing it any more once it stopped working (so there's no case of Facebook-esque data-mining).