[DoctorEldritch]

@DracoTarot So you'll be able to get paid for playing games? That'd be the life...

Ah, well, regions could be why. We've had a few discussions here about how certain games are not easily accessible in certain places. Could be type of the same thing.

Maybe they will get back to you still at some point and provide some sort of explanation? Chances are, if you are not alone and it is a widespread occurrence, they are swamped with these questions and are thus slow to reply.

Bloadware sounds bad. What kind exactly?

A weekend is not long, but better than nothing at all. Does it have to be a shooter?

[DracoTarot]

@DoctorEldritch I know of many people who get paid for playing games the whole day. Most of them are testers or people who promote certain games via YouTube and Discord.

Same here, most games are accessible here but there are instances where not all of the game content is available to download or access.

It's a widespread occurrence and I have seen many gamers complain about the huge downloads. Till today the mail had gone unanswered.

The Bloatware installs a third-party app within a browser which mainly runs ads and popups on your browser and PC. When you try and close the ads and popups they open new windows within the bowers and redirect you to the links automatically. Then there are ads within ads within ads and does not stop.

Some of the ads are clickbait of course and infiltrate your database with Trojans and all other nasty stuff.

It's a DLL File that causes the issues.

I've seen Steam also had a game on their platform called Pirate FL containing Malware. Earlier this month, researchers discovered that a free-to-play game called PirateFi was distributing the Vidar information-stealing malware to users on the gaming platform Steam. From Feb. 6-12, as many as 1,500 users downloaded the game before Steam removed it from the platform.

Users started receiving messages on Telegram about an in-game chat moderator job that paid $17 an hour. The idea of getting paid to play and interact in the game — something they probably would’ve done for free — sounded too good to be true. One user in particular found this to be suspicious and did some digging.

After some review, it appeared that the “game” included other software that once PirateFi was installed and launched. A file called Howard.exe would be added to the user’s /AppData/Temp/****/ directory with a parameter called /VERYSILENT.

This message on the Steam Games forum that they translated with Google shows that a user tried to install the game, but his antivirus software blocked it from being downloaded because it contained a file known as “Trojan.Win32.Lazzy.gen.”

So if you know of someone who may be interested in Pirate FL and wants to play the game, tell them not to trust the downloads from any source.

It does not have to be a shooter. We haven't played shooters in a while so we thought it would be fun to try a few out again. 😊

[DoctorEldritch]

@DracoTarot I used to be a tester, but that's somewhat different, I think: you don't get to choose what you play, and you do not play a finished product, in essence, you are part of the team that finishes it. I was thinking more along the lines of getting paid for playing for fun and what you want to play...

Oh, I know what Bloatware is, I was just thinking about what type exactly was there in this instance. Seems like a whole bunch of stuff, it is good to know of the dangers. Though I do not know anyone who is interested in Pirate FL, but just as well.

Ah, well, now you have that World War Z option 😉

[DracoTarot]

@DoctorEldritch, I guess the only way to get paid for playing for fun and for what you want to play is when you can sell something through networking. Other gamers may not be interested in putting in hours and hours of gameplay to collect certain gear or level up characters.

In return, you can sell your saved files if possible when you get tired of a certain game or; lose interest. My friend did it a while back and I did it years ago with Diablo 2

It seems to be getting worse and it's hard for download sites and companies to pick up some of these bloatware and viruses. They are hidden well within the software.

[DoctorEldritch]

@DracoTarot Some famous gamers on YouTube may get some money out of it, but I would not call it playing what you want all the time either, often they play what is popular or trending, and some showmanship is needed there too...

How come they are there in the first place? Surely if game developers put any of that stuff in, then no one will want to work with them anymore?

[DracoTarot]

@DoctorEldritch Famous YouTubers do get paid quite a bit to promote games, and yes, unfortunately, they can't play what they want and have to keep up with the trends.

I don't think it's game developers. There must be hackers or people out there who can get hold of the game and files beforehand and put all that nasty stuff in there. Or there may be some developers who would do that for some reason.

[DoctorEldritch]

@DracoTarot Ah well, as told by Fox in The Little Prince, nothing is perfect...

That is curious, I wonder if anyone investigated how Bloatware got in, I mean, surely, after it's been discovered that there is Bloatware somewhere, there should be an external or internal investigation launched to discover as to why and how, and some sort of conclusion drawn? Maybe some are even shared with the public, especially affected, those who bought the game. I'll see if I can find something like that when I have some time...

[DracoTarot]

@DoctorEldritch I don't know how it slips through but it does. I'll recon after discovering the Bloatware there will be an investigation launched and they will do a proper one to ensure it won't happen in the future.

All I know there are very sneaky and smart people out there who have wrong intentions. I mean here in SA last year I've seen so many gamers complain about their STEAM accounts being hacked. No matter what kind of security they used to protect their info, they still lost their whole profiles and games. The worst of all is all the money they spend.

So it seems no matter what developers do to protect their files, games and private information, there's always a threat out there.

[DoctorEldritch]

@DracoTarot They better, it is such a breach of trust...

It is unfortunate, but I guess the expected element of digitization. Ways to secure and hack data are always evolving one after the other in a neverending race...

[DracoTarot]

@DoctorEldritch The question is, who can you trust? We might think developers are taking all the precautions to avoid such things, but there are a few examples of well-known software companies that have intentionally done it. One of those companies is part of the software we use daily on our PCs and mobile phones. They even confessed they had done it in the past and were given orders to do it.

I don't think they even cared about crossing the trust barrier. All I know is they said it was in the best interest of central intelligence.

In certain cases, it's ok to be a hacker and have an interest in doing it. Hacking can be used with good intentions. Th issue is most seem to hack and destroy people's lives for self-gratification. Most hackers do seem to be narcissistic.

Hacking a profile for a purpose I can deal with. It's not in any way right to do and a vile move but hacking someone's profile just to let the person lose everything they have worked for or collected over the years deserves a death sentence. 😂