Warning! : World of Warcraft General Discussions

Blizzard makes heavy use of a system known as The Warden on the Windows version of the game in order to detect third-party programs, such as botting software. There has been some controversy as to the legality of The Warden. The Warden uses techniques similar to anti-virus software in order to analyze other running software on the players' PCs, as well as the file system. However, unlike anti-virus software, it sends a portion of this information back to Blizzard, which caused privacy advocates to accuse it of being spyware. The Warden's existence was acknowledged in the opening legal proceedings of MDY INDUSTRIES, LLC. vs. BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT, INC.

One example of the information Warden collects is the title of every window open on the system while WoW is running. This is a significant risk to the user; for example, a file with the player's Social Security Number in the title would result in that SSN being read by Warden. Blizzard have not stated what information is passed by Warden over the Internet, or if that information is encrypted, so it is entirely possible this information is passed over the Internet back to Blizzard.

Just a Friendly Reminder to anyone who is new to this!

The belief that they grab this kind of information in untrue, and shows your lack of understanding about what it does. In fact it does scan the information, but does hash checks against known game hacks. It's the hash that is sent, not any personal information. You don't have to worry about Blizzard spying on the websites you visit nor the furry friends you look at in your spare time.

However... Warden is off, at least the client side is, and has been for several months.