Porn Pirates Busted by Fake Game Installer

[Sevre]

That's getting creative, makes me proud, yet want to read the TOS once in a while.

 

[SnipErlite]

Turns out that the fake installer actually explained exactly what it was going to do in its terms of service, which of course nobody ever reads.

Hahahahahahahaaha oh my that is great.

Congrats to whoever made that. Just...genius.

Hahahaha

 

[asinann]

Always read the comments... always read the comments. (and the EULA in this instance )

As funny as it is, and as effective as it would be, the EULA will provide zero protection if this grabs any personally identifiable information from the computer. A line in the EULA isn't enough to protect against lawsuits when the law is very clear that unless it is clear and in it's own separate agreement then the collecting agency can be sued just for collecting the data, never mind if that data gets out somehow. And this looks like the information would just be publicly posted for any identity thief to snag potentially putting the company on the line for billions in liability if ANY of the information is personally identifiable and usable.

 

[zidine100]

Im somewhat perplext here......

they are taking someones private data and trying to catch pirates, but in doing so dont they compromise there own case to a point? since they never actually pirated the game theoretically (instead they got a trojan) in turn making any piracy case well somewhat void, can you sue someone for intent to pirate? Also wouldnt this somehow violate the computer missuse act?(the eula may save in this point)

but users must first click a button acknowledging that they did in fact try to download the game illegally.

wouldnt this go against the data protection act, since they are resorting to blackmail for you to remove the data, herby refusing to remove data and since organisations have to remove your data if you request and they can charge a small fee for this(the police and other government organisations are immune). (limited knowledge of the act so prob bs, just what i picked up i school a while back)

and i would mention entrapment but i virtually have no idea how that works so i wont.

im not arguing against this method, it is somewhat interesting, im just genuinely interested on the legality behind this.

edit: wow im an idiot i forgot this was japan and i have no idea of the laws over there, i was basing this on some small knowledge of British law.

also id like to point out, i know pritty much nothing about law in general so this is probably just bs.

 

[Eri]

And how does spying on people in that manner aid the state, nation or population as a whole?

Well, it only spys on people who've pirated the game, so legally it's under copyright protection. It'd be like taking photos of trespassers.

Under British Law, you could utilise the DPA, but I doubt that works over the 'net.

Taking pictures of criminals is fine but that virus goes through files and personal information.

So it is okay for you to steal but not to have something (info) stolen back? Right, that makes sense. *note I don't care if you pirated it or not, the argument stands

 

[Iampringles]

Being a porn pirate sounds so awesome until you realise what it actually means...

 

[Samurai Goomba]

The funniest and the scariest thing about this? It's all completely legal.

Now...given Blizzard, Bungie, Valve, Zynga or anyone else in the top 32 could do this...to a non-pirated game...can the big companies understand why things like DRM etc. scare us so?

So that installer is basically spyware.

And says so, in the EULA. That's how powerful a EULA can be.

And why we need to enact some new laws to protect consumers as widespread piracy paranoia among developers and publishers seems to be trumping the individual's right to privacy. EULAs in particular need some sort of legislature passed which limits the kind of things they can absolve themselves from.

 

[asdasdasdasda]

This is awesome. If only we had this instead of DRM.

 

[Knight Templar]

Seeing this story on Gamepolitics I thought it was a nasty a foolish move, but thats was before I knew about the EULA. Now its still foolish, but very very clever.

Personaly I wouldn't piss off a bunch of pirates, any number of who might respond through attacks to my site, but its still clever.

 

[thatstheguy]

Best idea for DRM ever. Developers/Publishers should take note of this.

 

[DarkRyter]

The people who actually purchased cross days got an even bigger surprise.

Here's a hint.

There's a reason it's called Cross days.

 

[BehattedWanderer]

Haha silly fools. Always check the comments, and run sweeps for that crap as it downloads. Kinda reminds me of that ENN report about Nintendo owning all our asses without our knowledge.

 

[Worgen]

sounds very effective in japan but here in the states I doubt it would really do much

I think in the states doing this as a company will get you arrested.. At least in a lot of western countries it will..

it would certainly have dubious legality but shame isnt as effective here especialy since we dont really have porn games here

 

[Yopaz]

That is a huge invasion of privacy and is illegal.
I am pissed off now.

EDIT:
I DID NOT PIRATE THAT GAME, I AM PISSED OFF FOR OTHER REASONS!

Actually it stops being illegal the moment you check the box that says "I agree" If you don't read the terms of service you'll have to pay the price for it. Like in Hidden: Source it said in the ToS that they were not responsible if the game caused the death of any of your family members. If it did they would have no legal problems since they had warded themselves against it. If you know the monitoring software 3ami that's a program that takes a screenshot of your computer and logs activity. We had to use it through school, it's legal because we agreed to use it, that meaning the laptop would shut down if we didn't agree... That also revealed passwords if you wrote them down while the software was running. Also last time I checked piracy was illegal.

This is hilarious though. Punish those who try to steal your games in a different way, I like this better than Ubisoft's way, by far.

I personally think that this is HILARIOUS, especially after having heard dozens of TOS jokes over the years.

Yeah me too. All that about stealing your soul or killing your family (such as Hidden actually did say) the truth is revealed. It will reveal your perverted desires to the world! Beats the crap out of DRM.

Edit:

Being a porn pirate sounds so awesome until you realise what it actually means...

This made me laugh. I think you made my day there. Thank you very much.

Haha silly fools. Always check the comments, and run sweeps for that crap as it downloads. Kinda reminds me of that ENN report about Nintendo owning all our asses without our knowledge.

Yeah, that struck my mind too. No-one reads terms of service... Actually I usually skim over it when I register on web sites, but with games I click I agree so fast I barely know it even was there.

 

[Yopaz]

Edit: Forum messed up and created a double post.

 

[Jared]

Well thats certainly one way to go...but, I hardly see it as a major thing for those involved...after all who is actually going to read it?

 

[Weaver]

So it's illegal to pirate games but legal for companies to spread Trojans?

 

[Gigano]

Hehe, Nice DRM (assuming that the "Trojan" only uploads non-vital information concentually given out and accepted in the EULA by the pirate). When porn pirates move forward, move backwards to a good old fashioned wall of shame to take them by surprise.

Wouldn't work where I'm from though: The general public are extremely lenient when it comes to (the more ordinary kinds of) pornography and infringements on copyrights, so there wouldn't really be any "shame" involved. Just a bit of discomfort, perhaps...

 

[ssgt splatter]

Every man should have 2 computers: One for normal things, the other for "questionable" materials

B-E-A-UTIFUL.

 

[Regiment]

I really love the idea of a scam that asks you beforehand, in no uncertain terms, "do you want to be scammed?"

Also: While I'm not sure I like the idea of sending viruses to people (even criminals), this is fairly awesome.