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One big plus for consoles is privacy.

Three

Member
OP is so full of shit. Every EULA you agree to signs your soul away. ESPECIALLY if the publisher makes you sign up for their shit. Also it's not spyware, it's kernal level security to make sure you're not running cheat software which also tries to run undetected in a similar manner
I think the OPs point is security via isolation of services while having good anticheat security.
 

Three

Member
And there are still cheaters on consoles. Cronus Zen still works on PS5

That stuff is still cheating by getting rid of recoil or using pistols like automatic rifles but it's nowhere near like the wall hacks with aimbot cheats you get on PC.

No it's worse because the console makers can't detect it.
You think they can on PC? If you can spoof and not detect a USB device on console you 100% can do the same on PC.
 
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You can't see them on console as it doesn't have any anti cheat and can't detect "XIM" adaptors.

Well I had no problem seeing my own teammates shoot through walls in R6 and apologize. Had no problem calling out guys who were clearly head tracking through walls in R6 and me and cousin letting the other team know he was hacking.

No it's worse because the console makers can't detect it.
Well we clearly aren't going to agree if that's your stance. I've played R6 on both PC and console and it was way worse on PC to the point me and my cousin stopped playing on PC and stuck to just consoles.
 

rodrigolfp

Haptic Gamepads 4 Life
Well I had no problem seeing my own teammates shoot through walls in R6 and apologize. Had no problem calling out guys who were clearly head tracking through walls in R6 and me and cousin letting the other team know he was hacking.
I have no problem seeing those cases too. Your point?
 

HogIsland

Member
A console is 100% a spying on you platform. The thing that makes it different is it's not useful enough to contain data you'd consider sensitive.

If you dedicated a gaming PC to only gaming like you do your PlayStation, it would be doing the same or probably less spying.
 

Three

Member
You can't see them on console as it doesn't have any anti cheat and can't detect "XIM" adaptors.
Nonsense, you cant "detect" them any better on PC than you can on console. All you're pointing out is the cat and mouse chase of blocking these devices. The blocks exist on console too but people figure out ways around them. Ways around them are even easier on PC. On PC you don't even need the device and can do things in software.
 

StereoVsn

Gold Member
Option 3 - simply avoid granting kernel level access by only playing good games.
Yep, that’s what I basically do. There is no way I want that shit on my PC.

Well, and to be fair, any sort of non gaming stuff I do on my MacBook anyhow. Still, f the kernel level MP crap.

And yes, I agree with OP, there is infinitely less info they say Sony has about me vs if my PC gets taken.

MS though is a tad different since they have all kinds of my info and not just gaming.
 

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
If you hack my computer, there is infinitely more information on there. Investment data, medical records, private conversations, etc.
Here is the problem with your logic. If you're concerned about this then why are you installing a program with kernel level access on a PC that you also store your medical records and investment data on?

Similarly, you can launch the Edge browser on Xbox and access those same documents.

Fried Rice Cooking GIF by Nigel Ng (Uncle Roger)
 

Roxkis_ii

Member
Even if companies are seeing everything you do on console, companies still get far less info from a console then they could from a PC.

Why is this even a comparison??? Are people just being contrarian?
 

rodrigolfp

Haptic Gamepads 4 Life
Nonsense, you cant "detect" them any better on PC than you can on console. All you're pointing out is the cat and mouse chase of blocking these devices. The blocks exist on console too but people figure out ways around them. Ways around them are even easier on PC. On PC you don't even need the device and can do things in software.
Yes you can as it much easier and faster to update the anti cheat then update console "detections".
 

Three

Member
Yes you can as it much easier and faster to update the anti cheat then update console "detections".
Why? So you think red tape is some issue now? You said you can't detect them. Things may move faster on PC but it moves just as fast for the cheat software creators there too. How long did it take for the PC COD beta cheaters to get wall hacks and headshot aimbots up and running:



I think you're grasping at straws trying to push the idea that it's not worse there.
 
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Magister

Member
Pretty much. Want privacy? Throw you smartphone away and go live in the woods.
True. Googled Revolut credit cards on my PC and now I constantly keep getting Revolut ads on my phone when I surf the web or when I play mobile games. It's also sometimes funny. For instance, one time I talked in-person with other people about shitty children's mascot branded sparkling water and after a few minutes I got the ad for the said water on my phone and I never even Googled it, only saw it on TV. Android is spyware, I guess.
 
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I think the OPs point is security via isolation of services while having good anticheat security.
Right but anti-cheat on consoles is the same as on PC, but more uniformly structured. It just seems scary on PC. Oddly enough, information is rarely stolen from my own PC, but rather retail, medical, and various other companies that get hacked on a daily basis and throw our social security numbers, home addresses, and credit card numbers out into the ether. I get the complaint, but our privacy is always in danger and it's not because of anti-cheat software.
 
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Here is the problem with your logic. If you're concerned about this then why are you installing a program with kernel level access on a PC that you also store your medical records and investment data on?

Similarly, you can launch the Edge browser on Xbox and access those same documents.

Fried Rice Cooking GIF by Nigel Ng (Uncle Roger)

Because a PC is a computing device for everything. It’s not unreasonable to store all sorts of records on it.
 

yurinka

Member
This is somewhat of an ironic statement considering PlayStation / Xbox is a locked down platform that is certainly tracking everything you’re doing. How can they possibly be more private than the average PC, which is inherently an open platform?

Anti-cheat.

Take something like BattlEye, which is kernel level surveillance. They create a fingerprint for you and have access to your whole computer. That doesn’t mean it’ll be used for malicious purposes, but if you’re someone like me, you don’t like such access being present to begin with.

Not too long ago, having a back-door installed was considered the most egregious spyware. Now gamers are forced to install something similar just to play games.

Take Vanguard used for League of Legends or Valorant, it’s running 24/7 in the background!

The nice thing about a console is the only thing on it is gaming data. With a PC, I would imagine most people have far more private data on it.

So as a PC gamer, your only options are:

1. Give in and install spyware
2. Dual boot / dual PCs / run an isolated environment

I’m glad Linux gaming is becoming bigger and bigger because it’ll help against these privacy invasions. Also, companies need to start being held accountable for not investing in better servers. Higher quality server-side processing would allow them to run the anti-cheat on them, instead of locally on your computer.
Microsoft's hardware, OS and apps (same goes with basically all the other major tech companies from US, like Apple/iOS, Google/Android or Meta/GB) provide backdoors to be used by several western intelligence agencies to spy people, as could be seen as an example with the NSA in the leaked PRISM program documents.
 

T4keD0wN

Member
Yep, that’s what I basically do. There is no way I want that shit on my PC.

Well, and to be fair, any sort of non gaming stuff I do on my MacBook anyhow. Still, f the kernel level MP crap.

And yes, I agree with OP, there is infinitely less info they say Sony has about me vs if my PC gets taken.

MS though is a tad different since they have all kinds of my info and not just gaming.
Yeah, OP is right about this, theres definitely way less sensitive and non-gaming related info at risk on consoles if you play such games, thing is it can be avoided in many ways on PC, but most are a hassle.

Theres some games i only dare to play through GeforceNOW because i want to avoid installing those aggressive anti-cheats on any of my PCs. Luckily such games very rarely interest me.

Having a second PC is probably the best thing for anyone concerned enough about this.
 

rodrigolfp

Haptic Gamepads 4 Life
Why? So you think red tape is some issue now? You said you can't detect them. Things may move faster on PC but it moves just as fast for the cheat software creators there too. How long did it take for the PC COD beta cheaters to get wall hacks and headshot aimbots up and running:



I think you're grasping at straws trying to push the idea that it's not worse there.

Console can't detect them as it literaly can't scan for them. They can only firmware block them.
 
I read the thread and OP has a point. Many aren't reading his points and are thinking he's talking console vs PC war points.


He's right anti-cheat software can be far more detrimental to you as an individual if used in a malicious way than the usual data breaches on a Sony or Microsoft server.


We as PC gamers choose to deal with the added risk so we can play our games but the risk is still there. I don't like it either but it's part of what being a modern gamer is about these days. Putting up with bullshit like launchers and forced anti-cheat software that these publishers force on us.
 

Hudo

Member
Take something like BattlEye, which is kernel level surveillance. They create a fingerprint for you and have access to your whole computer. That doesn’t mean it’ll be used for malicious purposes, but if you’re someone like me, you don’t like such access being present to begin with.
Well, neither Microsoft nor Sony nor Nintendo need to ask for kernel-level access because they already got that anyway.
You'd be foolish to think that consoles because they are "closed" are somehow more private. They are not.
In fact, I wouldn't consider any device hooked up to the internet, or receiving/sending any kind of signals for that matter, to be private.
 

StereoVsn

Gold Member
Yeah, OP is right about this, theres definitely way less sensitive and non-gaming related info at risk on consoles if you play such games, thing is it can be avoided in many ways on PC, but most are a hassle.

Theres some games i only dare to play through GeforceNOW because i want to avoid installing those aggressive anti-cheats on any of my PCs. Luckily such games very rarely interest me.

Having a second PC is probably the best thing for anyone concerned enough about this.
Yep, which is why I do finance stuff, email and rest of stuff on my MacBook for the most part.
 
Well, neither Microsoft nor Sony nor Nintendo need to ask for kernel-level access because they already got that anyway.
You'd be foolish to think that consoles because they are "closed" are somehow more private. They are not.
In fact, I wouldn't consider any device hooked up to the internet, or receiving/sending any kind of signals for that matter, to be private.

I think you missed the point I’m making.
 
Nah, I got your point. I just disagree.

There’s nothing to disagree with, it’s objectively true there is less personal information on a console than a gaming PC unless drastic steps are taken. Which is why a console is inherently more private than a gaming PC like for like.
 
If you don't get the point of my reply then that is a "you" issue
You're talking about a network breach on private Sony servers.

The OP is talking about how anticheat software on your PC, gives the developers root access to a device you own that stores all your private and personal info.

Can you spot the difference between the two?
 
You're talking about a network breach on private Sony servers.

The OP is talking about how anticheat software on your PC, gives the developers root access to a device you own that stores all your private and personal info.

Can you spot the difference between the two?
I can only spot someone who obviously has no idea about the modern IT world and just regurgitates sensationalistic bullshit. You don't get point of my reply, that's ok.
 
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Hudo

Member
There’s nothing to disagree with, it’s objectively true there is less personal information on a console than a gaming PC unless drastic steps are taken. Which is why a console is inherently more private than a gaming PC like for like.
You still have account and payment data being processed, just when you buy shit with a PC. And sure, only one company tracks your usage behavior instead of possibly multiple on PC, but the console manufacturers aren't the most trustworthy companies when it comes to keeping your data secure.
If you mean that these anti-cheat tools with kernel-level access can possibly open up your Word documents or your fetish-porn folder, yes, that is not impossible. But there are also ways to prevent that on PC. And it is also outside the common attack vectors, afaik. Most data gets stolen through database breaches and user incompetence (answering phishing mails, etc.).

By the way, the phishing attempts also happened to me multiple times on PSN on my Playstation. Where "pretty girls" chatted me up out of nowhere and tried to navigate me to open up links.
 
You still have account and payment data being processed, just when you buy shit with a PC. And sure, only one company tracks your usage behavior instead of possibly multiple on PC, but the console manufacturers aren't the most trustworthy companies when it comes to keeping your data secure.
If you mean that these anti-cheat tools with kernel-level access can possibly open up your Word documents or your fetish-porn folder, yes, that is not impossible. But there are also ways to prevent that on PC. And it is also outside the common attack vectors, afaik. Most data gets stolen through database breaches and user incompetence (answering phishing mails, etc.).

By the way, the phishing attempts also happened to me multiple times on PSN on my Playstation. Where "pretty girls" chatted me up out of nowhere and tried to navigate me to open up links.

I’m with you, I don’t think the console companies are benevolent entities either. They can just get to less of my data when I play their games on a console than my PC.
 

Hudo

Member
I’m with you, I don’t think the console companies are benevolent entities either. They can just get to less of my data when I play their games on a console than my PC.
If your usage behavior is that you have more sensitive data open for access and also play games with kernel-level anti cheat tools, yes. In this case, a console might give you "more privacy".
Then it seems we have misunderstood each other. You were talking about it from a usage behavior point of view, I was looking at it from a technical point of view, where both PCs and consoles are equally unsafe.
Mea culpa.
 
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