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Warden (also known as Warden Client) is an anti-cheating tool integrated in Blizzard Entertainment games such as Diablo II (since patch 1.11), StarCraft (since patch 1.15), Warcraft III (since 2009-04-14, patch 1.23) and most notably World of Warcraft. While the game is running, Warden uses operating system APIs to collect information about certain software running on the user's computer (specifics outlined below) and sends it back to Blizzard servers as hash values to be compared to those of known cheating programs or simply as a yes/no response (whether a cheat was found).[1] Privacy advocates consider the program to be spyware.[2] Warden now scans Warcraft game memory space only, with exception of a few tools. The things Warden currently looks for in-process includes but is not limited to:
The things Warden currently looks for out-of-process includes but is not limited to:
[edit] Operating SystemsWorld of Warcraft can be played on both Macintosh and Windows systems, but only the Windows version has a full Warden client. As such, although a full Mac version of Warden is possible to implement, currently only the skeleton of Warden exists in the client and with no actual scans. WoW can be run under Wine in Linux. Warden currently detects whether it is running under Wine so it can modify its behavior slightly, it remains fully functional though. [edit] Privacy ConcernsThe Electronic Frontier Foundation and other groups have labeled Warden as spyware.[3] Blizzard has said that Warden does not gather any personally identifiable information about players other than the account being used. It also states that the data collected is only used for finding evidence of malicious programs and cheating. [edit] Moderation Bots"Moderation Bots" are third-party game clients written to monitor, administer, or moderate in game chat channels. While they are not used for cheating, Warden still disables them. Blizzard's stance on moderation bots calls them "Third-Party Programs". [edit] MDY Industries v. Blizzard EntertainmentWarden has been brought to light by Blizzard's lawsuit with MDY Industries, LLC., the creator of the gameplay automation software Glider (more popularly known as WoWGlider or MMOGlider). Blizzard has alleged in legal filings that Warden prevents players from creating unauthorized copies of the game client, which was previously an unknown function. Blizzard makes no mention of its known function of collecting data on open programs. Furthermore, it is actually referred to as "Warden," the first time Blizzard has confirmed its name.[4] Presiding Judge David Campbell ordered against MDY in July, carrying Blizzard’s infringement claims and that the third party program tortiously interfered with World of Warcraft's sales and impacted Blizzard's relationship in a negative fashion with their customers. More information about Judge Campbell's order can be found here. The US district court awarded Blizzard $6.5 million in damages against MDY Industries, and have held Merc personally liable for the awarded money. MDY is appealing the ruling to the Ninth District Court of Appeals.[5][6] [edit] Legal NoticesLegal actions have been taken up against Blizzard's RAM scanning, for privacy reasons, as far back as its first implementation - in the World of Warcraft alpha test, to watch if users were breaking their confidentiality contract. Within days of the beta test new lines were added to World of Warcraft's EULA. [edit] See also[edit] References
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