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Oculus 'Always On' Services and Privacy Policy May Be a Cause for Concern (uploadvr.com)
Will Mason, reporting for Upload VR: It turns out when you install the software to run Facebook's Oculus Rift, it creates a process with full system permissions called "VRServer_x64.exe." This process is always on, and regularly sends updates back to Facebook's servers. The process' main purpose is to help detect when the Rift is turned on and on your face so that it can launch Oculus Home, but the further reaching implications of it are potentially much more salacious. Digging into the Oculus Rift's Privacy Policy reveals that Facebook is not the only company that is able to collect your data, as under the policy "third parties may also collect information about you through the Services," this includes entities on the "related companies" list. The company plans to utilize your data to, among other things, "market to you." Surprised?
I tried executing ps -ax. Can't see this process?
Frosty piss
Comment removed based on user account deletion
They have 360 degree filming and viewing ability, and their entertainment value is only exceeded by their ability to gather information.
There's no Santa, even Easter rabbits don't lay eggs, and Facebook isn't really free.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
Someone signed up for Facebook is surprised that Facebook collects and sells their personal data? Really? That is literally how they make their money. It is the business they are in.
By now it is well known: if you don't want that kind of harvesting, you don't use Facebook. That means: blocking their address blocks in your firewall, so you don't load their "like" buttons and you don't use their services in any way. You most certainly don't run their software on your machine! If you do that, well, yeah... you get what you deserve.
If you are making a decision to use their services, whether Occulus or anything else, fine, that's your call! But don't complain when they do exactly what they told you they were going to do.
The solution is simple. Do not buy this shit. And, tell your less technical friends. They are actively hostile to their would-be consumers. Just don't fucking buy it. In fact, outright spread the word that Occulus=scum.
Wake up and smell the coffee, please, we're all doomed already because of our egotistical tendencies, and overly sociopathic managers and political leaders.
eNjoy
"Facebook" occulous rift.. wtf did that happen.. i thought the device was from dickstarter
Here's a list of reasons why I don't like the Internet of Things:
1) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I sleep.
2) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I pee.
3) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I make kaka.
4) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I pleasure myself.
5) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I wash my body in the shower.
6) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I relax in the tub.
7) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I brush my teeth.
8) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I make passionate love to my wife.
9) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I brush my hair.
10) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I read a book.
11) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I read Slashdot.
12) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I bake cake.
13) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I put in my contact lenses.
14) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I get ready to play golf.
15) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I do my laundry.
16) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I think about rugby.
17) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I tie my shoes.
18) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I celebrate the 4th of July.
19) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I water my flowers.
20) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I eat ham.
21) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I use my stapler to staple documents.
22) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I chew bubble gum.
23) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I check the oil in my car.
24) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I look for my TV remote.
25) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I blow my nose.
26) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I rearrange my stamp collection.
27) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I listen to the Backstreet Boys.
28) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I do my calisthenics.
29) Internet of Things devices could watch me while I search for a paper clip.
30) Internet of Things devices could send information about me to advertisers.
31) Internet of Things devices could let advertisers use the data unsuspectingly collected about me while I sleep.
32) Internet of Things devices could let advertisers use the data unsuspectingly collected about me while I pee.
33) Internet of Things devices could let advertisers use the data unsuspectingly collected about me while I make kaka.
34) Internet of Things devices could let advertisers use the data unsuspectingly collected about me while I pleasure myself.
35) Internet of Things devices could let advertisers use the data unsuspectingly collected about me while I wash my body in the shower.
36) Internet of Things devices could let advertisers use the data unsuspectingly collected about me while I relax in the tub.
37) Internet of Things devices could let advertisers use the data unsuspectingly collected about me while I brush my teeth.
38) Internet of Things devices could let advertisers use the data unsuspectingly collected about me while I make passionate love to my wife.
39) Internet of Things devices could let advertisers use the data unsuspectingly collected about me while I brush my hair.
40) Internet of Things devices could let advertisers use the data unsuspectingly collected about me while I read a book.
41) Internet of Things devices could let advertisers use the data unsuspectingly collected about me while I read Slashdot.
42) Internet of Things devices could let advertisers use the data unsuspectingly collected about me while I bake cake.
43) Internet of Things devices could let advertisers use the data unsuspectingly coll
Facebook is the worst thing that happened to Oculus.
I don't think that means what you think it means.
The exercise is now how to turn this into a device that YOU own.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Do you have a mobile phone? A Gmail account? You are being tracked already. Get over it. Why yes, I do own some FB stock.
Stuff like that pisses me off. That and how my new phone has facebook stuff pre-installed that you can't remove. Hey FB I don't agree to your terms of service and I want this shit off my phone.
You mean I might have to get an ad blocker for my Oculus rift O/S? How terrible...
Jesus you guys are worse than Tipper Gore.
If you watch VR porno with your oculus, they'll be able to use your movements to tell when you've run out of lube, and send you facefuck ads for a new vat of walrus grease. Not sure if want.
Just don't use it, then.
Facebook is a virus. Don't touch anything it touches.
It seems like the purpose of Facebook is to eradicate privacy, wherever it may be. Loneliness, and hate speech are to be eradicated by big Facebook.
Even better when people start disabling this background service only to later find their expensive toy no longer works thanks to this always on DRM.
WHY does a VR headset driver need to talk to Facebook, or ANYTHING on the Internet? Does Facebook have to RUIN EVERYTHING GOOD?!?
This is precisely why I lost all interest in Oculus the instant I heard that it had been acquired by Facebook.
Sure, Mark.
this times a billion.
i can't believe anyone thought it was going to turn out good with facebook owning it.
you've gotta be fucking stupid to believe thats not going to turn into a shitshow.
I fully expect within 5 years oculus will start doing something like 'watch this ad to continue playing your game with oculus'.
just wait til they start collecting data on all your interactions with VR porn... and posting your favorites on your page.
This, along with the insane costs, are why I never really batted much of an eye towards VR stuff even as it started to mature. After seeing facebook buy the rift, I knew exactly how it would end up.
I'd fully expect the PS VR to do similar to be honest. And while I'll reserve judgement until I actually see it, Steam's Vive is probably going to do the same as well.
Oculus was purchased by Facebook, what the hell did the "dumb fucks" think was going to happen?
Trusting ((Zuckerberg))...
Not even once.
Back in the early 90's, I thought the Internet would be a transformative technology for humanity. I suppose it has been, but using the Internet as a tool to sell crap to people that they don't need is a waste of the potential the Internet offers us.
It's a brand new product and the designers would like to know more about how people use it (collecting data about movements and such) so they might improve upon it and potentially suggest new experiences to you (marketing and related companies). They might even pass that data along to application developers (third parties) so they can improve their content too.
That's what internal testing is supposed to be about. By professional testers (including real usability and accessibility experts), by themselves, and through interviews with selected members of the public, who are volunteers for this specific task, and generally compensated in some way or another.
After that, you are supposed to rely on manual reports by users. If really required, you can ask them to install some internal diagnostic tool, but that should be quite rare.
It worked well enough for more than 30 years. And it's not as if things improved in the past five years, as incompetent statisticians and marketing imbeciles, with barely a basic mainstream computer culture (but much condescension and arrogance for geeks and specialists), have only been sabotaging the efforts of the previous generation... It's far from only being dumbing down and forced advertising through the destruction of all privacy... Many of the changes they brought about are just so plain stupid and incoherent, it is really the actual first step to a future idiocracy...
Is there ANYBODY with at least two brain cells who has not yet realized that anything connected with Zuckerberg/Facebook will be a privacy-killing spying manipulating sneaky scheme?
A guy who became a billionaire by studying his users like bugs under a microscope and selling everything he learns about them, their friends, their families, etc to the highest bidders ---- has a new product that insidiously spies on its users and compromises the security of their computers?!?!? I'm SHOCKED! There's Gambling in the Casino!!
If you are on Facebook, you have already proven you have no concerns about security or privacy and proven you have no common sense, so probably this Oculus news is nothing. If, however, you are smart enough not to be on Facebook, you need to be explaining to friends and relatives why they too should not be on it. Facebook is not only toxic and dangerous to the individual, it's also bad for the American middle class. Everything that enriches Zuck helps to fund his political action committees which are working very hard to weaken/eliminate limits on imported STEM workers which he and his buddies are using to push-down American wages.
Isn't this the exact scenario for software firewalls? Block the process from connecting back to Facebook. It still has to function when there isn't a network connection, so you can sandbox it and still have it function. Problem solved.
1) You're a faggot.
Sure. But then Microsoft changed the game, and everybody else wants to get in on the action. I mean if people will tolerate their OS spying on them, surely they'll be willing to let something they actually care about spy too, right?
Bleh.
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
This isn't new. the last couple years, most new hardware, particularly stuff that connects to your phone or IoT devices are like this.
fitness bands
smart watches
thermostats (like the Nest)
ODB Readers
Android OS/Windows 10
Even though these devices could easily be managed so all data stays local, either on the device or on a smartphone, companies making them force all data to get uploaded to their servers so they "own" the data [fitbit in particular makes you pay an extra monthly fee to get access to the data you have generated], and let you access it via an app/web page, but also sell that data to anybody walking by with a spare dollar.
Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
When's the last time you left the house?
Seriously, posts like that make you look fucking pathetic, which is a shame because the whole screaming out "a loser wrote this" format of your post is obscuring an important message.
If I don't have a Facebook account, does that mean I can't use my shiny new overpriced VR device?
Some of us took a look around, saw nothing but Farmville, Mafia Wars, vapid assholes posting pictures of their coffee, and a privacy nightmare, and said, "Fuck this, I'm looking up the link to delete this account permanently," and we haven't looked back in many years.
sc.exe start ServiceName
sc.exe stop ServiceName
Wow, so fucking hard...Next?
This is precisely why I lost all interest in Oculus the instant I heard that it had been acquired by Facebook.
Same here. It is why I am glad there are several competing devices that are due out as well. That said, I am really waiting on one that has a decent field of view.
We were all warned a long time ago that MS products sucked, remember the Magic 8 Ball said, "Outlook not so good"
Indeed. And now we see why Facebook actually bought Occulus.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
Microsoft didn't change the game. They upped the ante. The game was already well into the end-game by the time Windows 10 rolled around.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Thought to myself the Rift is just a monitor stuffed with sensors. Surely I would be able to use it directly with third party software and avoid the inevitable facebook bullshit we all knew was coming. But noo... at the last f*cking second before release they did away with separate runtime downloads and make you install their shitstore + register an account before you even get access to the runtime.
What is sad is how lame Oculus software is. They install very chatty poll happy windows services (managed code consuming ram like its going out of style 24x7), force you download gigabytes worth of BS bloatware you probably don't even care about with no resumption if download goes south and there is not even a way to tell software in which drive/folder it should be installed.
Still have a preorder in queue I will cancel if a way to install runtime only without the BS does not materialize in the next month.
Thank you for once again rehashing FB's data sharing policy.
I'm sorry when the rest of the world found out that FB shares data and uses it for marketing, and how's how they fund the free web services you choose to use, you were on the toilet or picking your nose or something.
Nothing to see here.
E
P.S. "It turns out" is how you start a surprising conclusion to a story, not a an entire paragraph.
I still remember how immensely disappointed I was when I heard the news that Oculus had been bought by Facebook.
Ditto. Then I discovered that these things combine the worst of two things that didn't succeed - Kinect and 3DTVs. I mean, people hated Kinect because it forced them off the couch, and it appears most VR games have you moving in a space, so you not only needed the space Kinect required, but you have to get off. Or you ended up doing what most players did an sat on th e couch gesturing. PS VR seems to do the latter and Vive requires a space as well.
Then the whole glasses thing is what killed 3DTVs, and yet people want to strap huge honking (and heavier than the glasses) headsets? Yes, the good ones are balanced, but still.
Frankly, I think it's going to be like the scene in Tomorrowland where that girl walks in the alternate universe and runs into walls and stuff.
. . .And I've got this Ethiopian Prince with some shares he wants to sell if your interested?
Seriously this thing will take full video of everywhere you use it and of all the people around you. It will probably have microphones which will record everything you say. Its very easy to stich all that video together to make 360 picture files, translate speech into text then scan it with AI. Plus the pictures and video of the people will no doubt help make better dossiers of all your friends and family.
Just another step towards full immersion observation. Always on 24 hours a day. Everyone afraid of their TV and computers and phones in case they say something that incriminates them. Gangs of children the most feared because they watch and report on everyone - in the original it was for party loyalty, today its for the likes. In both its because they are taught to hate and fear adults. Facebook is watching you. (sadly its true)
Below the speed of light Special Relativity is one of the most accurate theories in physics - above the speed of light..
SCHIZOPHRENICS want to see what you see through THIS to be certain YOU are the *source* of their hallucinations. Even if it is the residual transmission of your visual cortex what produces them, it is still hallucinations. But they want to find you.
I believe that it's alleged to do something for games. Since I play an Elite clone (from 1981 or 1982), Sudoku (16x16), and Sid Meier's Civilisation from 1991 ... I'm wondering what effect a Rift would have on these?
Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"