Originally posted by drbaltazar

 i dont think removing kids from computer solve the issue they ll just do it at friends house ,but they need to be checked yes its annoying to police them but its the only way to give them some protection without making them a noob in computers 

but for gaming time restriction is a must 

once a kids played  say an hour an a half  on week days its enough i believe after they should go play with their friend outside be it football or whats not 

kids need to learn lot of various stuff not just computer ,yes computer is a must in this day and age 

but its has to be policed so that nothing untoward happens to our child

Agreed, and I honestly can't see anyone who knows this game deny that this game is a time whore. It's like the "Ring," in LOTR. (Nerdness coming out), but once you start playing this game it is very hard for you to quit. I even admit I had that problem, but luckally for me certain betrayal in my real life through this game made it very easy for me to remove it from my HD and not worry about playing it. (That and the fact that the game got stupid easy.)  

I don't know. I just personally feel for kids its the worst thing to expose them too. I rather have my kids do anything else but this game until they are old enough to know how bad it is. Cause at those ages, how can they understand the higher meaning of anything that happens. 

(again personal family/friend guild aside.... no real arguement for that)

Sorry if you felt that you were being personally attacked, maybe you where just ill-informed but WoW (and any other mmorpg in fact) cannot and will not take or look at any personal information...

While I give credit to the OP for being active in his childs choice of entertainment I have to say that your concerns are the wrong ones.

As many have pointed out the Warden program is not a bypass for hackers to get your home details. Heck Blizzard has you address, Phone number etc on file. Warden only looks at .exe's and packet tampering.

The real issue with online games is the people your kids meet online. Thats where your concerns should be focused. The same can be said of any online forum or chat room. Do you let your kids use facebook? Do they play "Farm town" or one of those type of games? Again, Warden is not really a concern. Its a protection program and is pretty much as non-invasive as it can be while still doing its job (looking for hackers and cheaters)

My wife and I allowed my step-son to play Everquest with us back when he was 13 or so. Hes now 24 and a well rounded kid. Of course we were selective about the people he interacted with online and had him join the guilds we selected, surrounding ourselves with like minded folks.

The bigger concern to parents about online games is the communitys you allow your children to be a part of, thats where you should really focus. Being active in a game with them and keeping an eye on who they are interacting with is a major thing with me. Allowing your 12year old free reign in an online game that you dont monitor would be a bad move IMO.

As for the poster who is 17 and went on a rant, The OP did mention his kids are younger. At 17 yes you should be able to make your own choices to a degree and be given more free reign. Of course it depends on the society your are raised in. At 17 back in England I had been working full time for two years (After graduating school) and was concidered an adult. Had my own place, car, Credit card etc. My step son at 17 was still in school. Fact of life for Americans that kids are kept kids for longer over here. In some ways its a bad thing, in other respects its a good thing.

I see no reason to rag on the OP for being acttive in his kids choices (at thier current age) though. As other posters have said .. its better to be a little over protective than not give a damm at all. All we other parents in this community can do is point the OP to sources of information that will educate him further in what Warden does and does not do so that he can make an informed choice. The link a few posts back is the kind of information he needs.

Yes, I agree that its unpleasant that there has been so much cheating in WoW that this has to be in the EULA, but this is a bit of the same sort of dramatized fear that causes people to be so terrified of swine flu that they forget to get their ordinary flu shot (and then have to go, sick, to the hospital).

People need to stop worrying so much about NCSoft/GG and Blizzard spying on them, and spend a bit of time worrying about:

A) Have they patched Windows in the last month? (Or any OS)
B) Have they updated Adobe Reader in the last month? (Or found an alternative to read PDFs)
C) Have they confirmed that they are running a LEGITIMATE Anti-Virus application and,
D) If so, have its signatures been updated in the last week?
E) Are they using strong, regularly changing, varied passwords on their important online logins?
And finally,
F) Have they run a full system scan with the Microsoft MRT, their anti-virus program, or a trustworthy third party malware remover like MalwareBytes in the last few months?

If people did that, instead of angrily chasing corporate ghosts, a lot less identity/data theft would occur, and the number of infected hosts on the internet would decrease noticeably.

I heartily commend OP on being an informed consumer. However, I recommend he follow the steps above as well.

 yep some game are worst then other like you put freerealm on your kids comp no biggy when you say ok see you in 

one and a half ,the child dont grumble too much ,but in a game like wow ho boy good luck 

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Originally posted by Tisiphone
Yes, I agree that its unpleasant that there has been so much cheating in WoW that this has to be in the EULA, but this is a bit of the same sort of dramatized fear that causes people to be so terrified of swine flu that they forget to get their ordinary flu shot (and then have to go, sick, to the hospital).

People need to stop worrying so much about NCSoft/GG and Blizzard spying on them, and spend a bit of time worrying about:

A) Have they patched Windows in the last month? (Or any OS)
B) Have they updated Adobe Reader in the last month? (Or found an alternative to read PDFs)
C) Have they confirmed that they are running a LEGITIMATE Anti-Virus application and,
D) If so, have its signatures been updated in the last week?
E) Are they using strong, regularly changing, varied passwords on their important online logins?
And finally,
F) Have they run a full system scan with the Microsoft MRT, their anti-virus program, or a trustworthy third party malware remover like MalwareBytes in the last few months?

If people did that, instead of angrily chasing corporate ghosts, a lot less identity/data theft would occur, and the number of infected hosts on the internet would decrease noticeably.

I heartily commend OP on being an informed consumer. However, I recommend he follow the steps above as well.

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This is exactly what people should do, and it is more concise than I could ever be. Everyone do this!

Get your kid a console.

The internet is Evil.

If you are that concerned with the users agreement and terms of service with Blizzard; I suggest you read the same for your OS.

Many people were concerned with the data Microsoft was gathering through the windows OS.

 To the OP:

I admire and applaud your concern and active participation in raising your child. That is *far* too rare these days. Too many parents I've seen and known (especially when I worked in retail) are too into themselves to care. They'll let them do what or go where they want, as long as the kids stay out of their hair. Then people wonder why so many kids are screwed up...

Anyway...

That said, I also agree that while your heart and head are in the right place, your concerns aren't entirely founded here. I won't say you're exaggerating the situation, but that you don't fully understand the circumstances of what Warden does or exactly what Blizzard is tracking with it. It's been well enough explained in this thread already, so I won't reiterate it here.
 

Originally posted by metalhead980

Get your kid a console.

The internet is Evil.

 

The tubes run to consoles now too.

Originally posted by NeptuneBlue

I apologize.  I didn't realize that posting what I thought was helpful information for any parent, would result in a personal attack of my parenting skills.  I thought this site was about posting reviews.

I am solely responsible for my children and their safety; not anyone else posting on this thread.  Why don't we let the parents out there decide for themselves?

Yeah, you misunderstood the purpose of this forum, and no matter how well meaning your warning was, someone was going to attack you for it. (your parenting skills really being off topic)

Ever receive an email warning you about gypsies kidnapping children out of bathrooms at Disney World or any other of about a 100 urban legends.  A quick check to Snopes confirms their non-validity in most cases and you laugh (or rage) at the person who sent it to you for not being well informed.

Same thing here.  Most of us here are not afraid of Warden or the information Blizzard collects, we're not afraid to use our CC's on the internet, or even use them on the same PC as our gaming computers.  (assuming we know how to protect ourselves)

So we're going to take your "warning" much as my example above, well intentioned, but uninformed.

Internet forums are a harsh world and you need a thick skin to thrive in them.

Originally posted by skeaser

Originally posted by metalhead980

Get your kid a console.

The internet is Evil.

 

 

The tubes run to consoles now too.

Not one console requires Internet to play, unlike MMOs.

While I have my 360 connected to the Net for multiplayer my children use a 360 and Wii just fine without it.

Best part of having four children that like videogames is you dont need to connect to the net for multiplayer you can multiplayer split screen.

Originally posted by NeptuneBlue

Originally posted by Toquio3

My computer is for gaming. And I dont pay for games with a credit card. So I think im relatively safe. I feel, however, that you're being just a bit paranoid. I mean, by subscribing to blizzard, you're already giving them your credit card information, your name, address and phone number. Unlocking the door to your computer to them is nothing compared to that.

 My children's safety is much more valuable to me than any credit card.

Seems to me you're overreacting out of ignorance. Unless you have secret defense documents or all your accounts information stored in a folder named "\heypiratesherearethegoodies", you and your family need not fear of the internet; those russian hackers are more interested in hacking banks database than your family computer.

Originally posted by Revel

{mod edit}

Rather than shelter their children from the real world, many parents will educate them on how to best deal with the dangers around them, virtual or otherwise. 

This....donelt't sher your kids and make them develop neurotic personalities. I have to go get serious help thanks to my parents teaching me making a mistake the worst thing you can do when I was growing up.

 How quaint.

Originally posted by Hepisodic

{mod edit}

 

Agreed. Also if anything, kids younger than 17 at least shouldn't be playing this  (or any MMO for that matter) due to the amount of abuse and foul langauge other players and guilds bestow on other players. Especially new players. Yes you can argue that there is a language filter and such, but 99.9% of the players never use it anyway and my cousin when he was 10  figured out how to turn it off when I still played WoW. 

I second this post.  I wouldn't keep my kids away from WoW because of Warden but more because of the horrible community and because this game can prove to be addictive for some people. 

My 2 year old daughter grinding a warlock to 15 a few years ago but i have since stopped her from playing now that she can read

And......you could get hit by lightning tomorrow and none of it would matter.  What are the damn chances that something like them taking your data and using it to gain some unfair advantage over you in the real world?  C'mon lady (or man) think about it...you sound like you don't let your children play outside because they have a chance of scraping their knee, possibly getting the scrape infected, and maybe even having to amputate it because of the infection.  Jeeeeeez get real.

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Originally posted by thafireball
And......you could get hit by lightning tomorrow and none of it would matter.  What are the damn chances that something like them taking your data and using it to gain some unfair advantage over you in the real world?  C'mon lady (or man) think about it...you sound like you don't let your children play outside because they have a chance of scraping their knee, possibly getting the scrape infected, and maybe even having to amputate it because of the infection.  Jeeeeeez get real.

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I love this. I know the internet is scary, but please!

1) Blizzard does NOT care enough about you to take your info.
2) A hacker (unless they know you personally) does NOT care enough about you to take your info. You are more likely to give someone your information willingly (phishing).

Don't blow things out of proportion. If you felt you were personally attacked you need to both figure out that people aren't that nice on the internet because they are being honest, and you should have been coming here for information not to warn us. The vast majority of people here understand the internet and, it seems, Warder, much better than you do.

Like someone said, this is like the swine flu scare, or shark attack scares of previous summers, or SARS. PLEASE?!?! Why do people blow things out of proportion so they get terrified. I know why the media does it, but why are people stupid enough to fall for it. Now that I think about it, this parent probably heard some news story about a kid getting in trouble over the internet and now is freaking out. Well good. I don't want someone like that on the internet anyway. They're creepy. Like homeschool kids.