Does KSP really have spyware in it?

[DoctorDavinci]

9 minutes ago, linuxgurugamer said:

When you first start KSP, you get asked a question about sending info back to Squad.  Don't you think that's kind of up front?

Not in the 1.4 version ... that is missing now

[razark]

1 minute ago, DoctorDavinci said:

Not in the 1.4 version ... that is missing now

Is it really missing, or is it not asked because a previous version already asked and the setting was carried forward?

[Mr. Peabody]

1 minute ago, razark said:

Is it really missing, or is it not asked because a previous version already asked and the setting was carried forward?

I don't think the latter is the case.

[TheSystem]

1 hour ago, NoMrBond said:

Some people were complaining that this .dll was (the) spyware, oh well.

Otherwise KSP already collected non-specific data (play session time/s, progress and technical info) but you could sort of control the extent (well, pick one of two options). This data would now be available to T2.

Most of the T2 data policy involves data from a T2 account, which is not required for KSP so wouldn't apply in this case.

Kinda, the "WHAT PERSONAL AND OTHER INFORMATION DOES THE COMPANY COLLECT?" section is taken from http://www.take2games.com/privacy/ which is specifically for their online services account, and doesn't apply for KSP because you don't sign up for a T2 account to play it.

 

 

Funny how the people who are most outraged over this are the people who either do not understand it or didn't read it.

[DoctorDavinci]

1 hour ago, razark said:

Is it really missing, or is it not asked because a previous version already asked and the setting was carried forward?

It is missing ... I install fresh from the store a new directory for each of my installs so no, the settings were not carried over

[razark]

1 minute ago, DoctorDavinci said:

It is missing ... I install fresh from the store a new directory for each of my installs so no, the settings were not carried over

Yeah, after I asked, I unpacked 1.4 and ran it.  No message appeared.  Thought it might have been a possibility.

[DoctorDavinci]

9 minutes ago, razark said:

Yeah, after I asked, I unpacked 1.4 and ran it.  No message appeared.  Thought it might have been a possibility.

Doesn't hurt to ask ... well, in my case there are those trying to make it painful to have asked the question but that is to be expected

[Van Disaster]

Clean install in clean directory, got the same firewall popup as every previous version has without any choices. There might be some in the launcher I suppose, but I never use it.

[Cydonian Monk]

Spyware? Who knows. I doubt it, but there’s always the chance some Unity plugin has been compromised.

Anonymized user stats and game progress data? Absolutely. And it _used_ to warn you about this, giving the option to disable it. 

...

I’ve not run a packet trap on KSP since downloading 1.4.0, so I can’t speak to whether or not anything has changed between now and last week. 

Edited March 9, 2018 by Cydonian Monk

[Dman979]

Hey guys,

I've had to remove and edit a few posts in this thread. Let's take a second to calm down, and remember that personal attacks, flame-baiting, and sniping at one another are not allowed on this forum.

Carry on!

[Mr. Peabody]

Guys, can't we simply switch the internet connection off if Squad is indeed doing this?

[Wallygator]

@SQUAD could easily answer this.  Hello?...

Frankly, since ANY data collection is definitely of importance or concern to most players, it is reasonable to expect (and demand) that the game start dialogue must allow a player to TOTALLY DENY OR ACCEPT data transmission - regardless of a clean or dirty install.

 

Edited March 9, 2018 by Wallygator

[Mr. Peabody]

8 minutes ago, Wallygator said:

@SQUAD could easily answer this.  Hello?...

Frankly, since ANY data collection is definitely of importance or concern to most players, it is reasonable to expect (and demand) that the game start dialogue must allow a player to TOTALLY DENY OR ACCEPT data transmission - regardless of a clean or dirty install.

 

If they are not answering that means guilty as charged.

[Dman979]

1 minute ago, The Dunatian said:

If they are not answering that means guilty as charged.

It might also mean that it's 9:31 (four and a half hours after work ended) and they've logged off for the night.

[Starman4308]

6 minutes ago, The Dunatian said:

If they are not answering that means guilty as charged.

Whatever happened to "innocent until proven guilty"?

There's also the strong probability that the Take Two legal team has told Squad not to say anything on the matter, and that if it's anything urgent, to refer it to them instead of saying anything themselves.

[razark]

2 minutes ago, Dman979 said:

It might also mean that it's 9:31 (four and a half hours after work ended) and they've logged off for the night.

Now, that's way too convenient an excuse, don't you think?

 

Just now, Starman4308 said:

Whatever happened to "innocent until proven guilty"?

Haven't you heard?  "Burden of proof" isn't a thing on the internet.

Edited March 9, 2018 by razark

[Gordon Fecyk]

Would posting an example of how to circumvent monitoring be a violation of forum rules?

In prior versions I've noticed KSP taking a very long time to launch when internet connectivity was spotty. It got to the point where I made changes to my network infrastructure to prevent this; I do IT for a living and know how to manipulate such things without hacking the software or the host PC it runs on.

[Dman979]

Just now, Gordon Fecyk said:

Would posting an example of how to circumvent monitoring be a violation of forum rules?

In prior versions I've noticed KSP taking a very long time to launch when internet connectivity was spotty. It got to the point where I made changes to my network infrastructure to prevent this; I do IT for a living and know how to manipulate such things without hacking the software or the host PC it runs on.

That depends. It's probably a better question to ask over PM or in the Ask the Mods Questions About the Forums thread, so we can look at your question and give a detailed response without derailing a thread.

[Clockwork13]

If the deal with spyware/data collection/etc here turns out to be as shady as it seems from scrolling through this thread, then I guess 1.2.2 is the end of the line for me.

EDIT: Might I add that the KSP steam ratings plummeted 20% after the update was released.

Edited March 9, 2018 by Clockwork13

[Mr. Peabody]

13 minutes ago, Dman979 said:

It might also mean that it's 9:31 (four and a half hours after work ended) and they've logged off for the night.

There is Squad staff online as we speak.

[linuxgurugamer]

2 hours ago, razark said:

Is it really missing, or is it not asked because a previous version already asked and the setting was carried forward?

I just checked on a clean install, it isn't there anymore.

But, it was there in previous versions.  Why are people so upset about it now?

Frankly, if you are concerned, you can always block network access to it

[Dman979]

Just now, The Dunatian said:

There is Squad staff online as we speak.

Yes, but the only one who would know- and have the authorization to make a public reply- is @Darth Badie, and she is offline.

Also, for the record, pinging @SQUAD pings the Squad account, not any or all users from Squad.

[razark]

11 minutes ago, linuxgurugamer said:

I just checked on a clean install, it isn't there anymore.

If you read my later comment, I did the same and noted the same results.

12 minutes ago, linuxgurugamer said:

Frankly, if you are concerned, you can always block network access to it

This is true.  I was merely trying to address concerns, not to throw accusations.

[Ultimate Steve]

I've been told by someone who knows more about this than I do that KSP 1.4 appears to be sending data to Unity, Redshell, and Ghostery.

[netbumbler]

Grab an old version of Glasswire and just firewall it.  Of course if you really like your mods to let you know when an update is available then firewalling KSP will break that functionality, but you can still just manually check CurseForge, Spacedock, etc., for the mod updates.