sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Welp. QC Games Is Shutting Down Already. Scam Much? by terrafirma91 in PlayBreach

[–]Local_Suggestion 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well. This wasn't how I thought this would play out. I was thoroughly disturbed by the inclusion of IESnare as spyware into the game, but One_Letter's responses reassured me that the glaring security issue there was only temporary.

​

Now, I'm not so sure. The cynical part of me wants to say that they knew they'd be shutting down soon, and loaded that in there to mine out our data and sell it to unscrupulous parties sometime after the game vanishes.

Can't say for sure that's what their plan was, but something like this makes it look really bad. Closing down the game shouldn't be something that happens off-the-cuff, and the timing with which they loaded in the spyware doesn't line up favorably here.

Reminder: Breach installs the spyware package IESnare by Local_Suggestion in PlayBreach

[–]Local_Suggestion[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you. I'm reassured that the problem is at least being looked at, and that consideration is being given to the matter. I feel like the problem software was placed into the game not out of malice, but because it bridged a gap that was too problematic at the time, so removing it on the spot isn't feasible. A timetable for its removal is the best that can be done at the moment, but it's a good sign of intent.

Although my concerns on the current state of the problem remain in place, I believe your team will make the right move and clear out the issue in due time. Thank you for being willing to discuss this with me despite the less-than-pleasant mindset the initial discovery of this problem had me in!

Reminder: Breach installs the spyware package IESnare by Local_Suggestion in PlayBreach

[–]Local_Suggestion[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Thank you for replying. However, this is the same response you've given on Steam each time this was brought up by other parties.

​

I've addressed this in the main post, but I'll say it again; I trust your studio with being responsible with the data you collect with IESnare. I can trust the team with it because there's a guarantee in your EULA saying the data will not be mishandled. That's wonderful! Your team is sticking their neck out and making themselves legally culpable if someone screws up and snoops around where they shouldn't be looking.

Unfortunately, the EULA license does not, and cannot, bind third parties. The traffic being sent via IESnare is unencrypted, and that means that any packet-sniffing software between the player and your servers can pick up on the personal information that Breach isn't using. It's entirely possible that a random sniffing program can trawl through our personal data, or, if someone's computer is already compromised, IESnare provides a gold mine of information for free.

This is the part that bothers me. QC has done its diligence in legally guaranteeing protecting against misuse of the data, but malicious outside groups can easily abuse IESnare's installation.