Launcher adding Adware?
By
all_hell,
Posted on: 2011-03-14 10:37 in ALL ACCESS Gameplay Technical Issues Bugs
The old patcher will be supported for the time being according to Tex. How long that period will be is unknown.
Unfortunately, the NCSoft launcher itself is crap-ware:
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showp...13&postcount=9
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showp...5&postcount=21
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showp...0&postcount=84
It is possible that an adware engine hidden on your computer is using exploits in the .NET framework to download advertising programs through the net connection established by the NCSoft launcher.
Haven't seen or detected anything here since I added the launcher.
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
Quote:
Nor here either
|
Originally Posted by Father Xmas
Haven't seen or detected anything here since I added the launcher.
|
No unusual behavior or reports here either
Maybe the adware sniffer is interpreting the cookies the launcher uses for its mini-web-page with targeted content as adware? Cause, technically, it is adware. But it is reasonable to expect the NCSoft launcher window show us targeted CoH and NSCoft info.
Speeding Through New DA Repeatables || Spreadsheet o' Enhancements || Zombie Skins: better skins for these forums || Guide to Guides
Quote:
That is a potential possibility depending on what software is loaded. However most scanners that I'm aware of don't trip on cookies / downloads through the NCSoft launcher.|
Originally Posted by Zombie Man
Maybe the adware sniffer is interpreting the cookies the launcher uses for its mini-web-page with targeted content as adware? Cause, technically, it is adware. But it is reasonable to expect the NCSoft launcher window show us targeted CoH and NSCoft info.
|
I am, however, aware of several exploits on the malware market that are not caught by most common scanners, and do exploit loopholes in .NET software that are making Internet Connections.
I'll post a list of the adware that shows up on my scan tomorrow from that machine, all of them are showing up as cookies in Temp Files so it could be piggy backing on the launcher, or could be from the launcher itself.
In either case, I'm not really happy about it.
Also what is the path that they are located in, just so we can check ourselves....
(if under users, you can skip out your username and replace with <user>)
Asking as I am curious, but my scans havent picked anything up on my system (and cookies are set to auto clear on my browser).
Depending on the software, if you have it set too strict, it will flag cookies up
Quote:
What are you scanning with? After reading your first post, I did a full scan with Malwarebytes and it came up clean.
|
Originally Posted by LyteInVirtue
I'll post a list of the adware that shows up on my scan tomorrow from that machine,
|
Paragon City Search And Rescue
The Mentor Project
The *only* thing that i could think of, would be the .tmp files that the launcher generates down in your user directory.
I would assume that they are there to load/maintain the launcher info without hammering the Ncsoft server every so often.
I have two computers I game one, the main one I do some casual web browsing but the second is specifically used for running a second account. Before the launcher, I would run scans regularly on both computers, and I have never had any adware show up on my second computer (redunancy rules force me to run them on both machines 'to be safe').
Since the launcher was added to my access, I get somewhere between 20-50 peices of adware in my temp files a day. As the only access I do on the second computer is using the Launcher, windows updates and updating the infection files.
Does this launcher do something beneficial beyond what the old patcher did? Before with the patcher I updated the one game I played and had nothing running in the background, nothing using resources and nothing adding Adware onto my computer. I understand it's designed to 'keep my games updated' but the old patcher used to do that fine... for 6 years. This launcher seems like something that's constantly using my resources and apparently in a malicious fashion.
Does the Launcher use adware type files? I just want to play the game not uninstall adware files every time I use it. Can I uninstall the launcher and go back to the patcher?