Wild Tangent by April

I was doing some security checks and tests when I stumble across some Trojan behaviour. Instantly I am pissed and I think one of the knobs out to get me...actually got me. Popularity_kills and our recent day of lamer fun where she spammed me kiddy scripts for hours on end under multiple id's including malicious URLs, which can seriously reek havoc on XP came to mind.  (see her lamer profile for the fix) As I am tracking down the file I am already plotting my ruthless although legal REVENGE involving documenting tracing and sending a huge file to their ISP requesting they be cut off for life. Well it was not a Trojan...or at least that's what Wild Tangent Claims so we'll honour them and call it this...spyware that acts like a Trojan...except its not REALLY spyware either because hidden in the small print they tell you they do it. Wild tangent provides several games like Spades. I had 8 of them. The problem is I was never shown the small print because the games came on my system when I bought it. Running a scan and fix for spyware should have brought it up and removed it right? right? WRONG! My adware did not detect it. You have to opt out of this deal manually here's the information I got from their site detailing how and I included that below...but wait! that isnt as easy as it sounds. Getting them off my system was a huge pain in the arse. At every turn there was another setback. I wasted a good hour of my life trying to remove them from it. IT DOEST WANT TO BE REMOVED and it fights you. I would just like to tell the world I think THEY SUCK! How to Opt-out of WildTangent's Information Collection: How to "opt out" of Web Driver updates: 1) Open the Control Panel 2) Double Click on the WildTangent Control Panel 3) Click on the Automatic Updater tab 4) Uncheck the "Automatic Updater Service Enabled" box Please note that if you disable the Update service, your Web Driver version will have to be manually updated in order to play the latest games. How to uninstall the Web Driver: You can uninstall the Web Driver using Add/Remove Programs in the Windows control panel. Select the item from the list and click Remove. After uninstalling the WildTangent Web Driver and any WildTangent games, be sure to also uninstall the WildTangent Updater. How to opt-out of Broadcast Games Manager Notifications and GameChannel updates: To turn off the Broadcast Game Manager's GameChannel and notifications, simply go to the Windows Start menu and choose "GameChannel." Choose Options and then choose "Turn off GameChannel." How to uninstall the Broadcast Games Manager: To uninstall the Broadcast Game Manager, simply go to the Windows control panel and choose Add/Remove Programs. A list of currently installed programs will appear. Choose the WildTangent Channel Manager (depending on the version installed) and then click Remove. You may be asked to reboot your computer. How to opt-out of WildTangent e-mail subscriptions: To unsubscribe from WildTangent e-mail subscriptions, please go to the email subscription options web page and change your e-mail preference. You may also always opt-out of receiving such contacts by clicking on the link provided at the bottom of our email to you. Click here to go to the email subscription options web page {Except from Wild Tangents privacy policy www.wildtangent.com} When Purchasing a Game or Product: In addition to the information described above, when you purchase a game or product from WildTangent, we collect standard payment and billing information, including your billing address, for use in processing the payment transaction. Your credit card number is submitted to the credit institution for normal, routine processing. WildTangent does not resell or share payment information with other companies or third parties, unless we believe it is necessary to comply with applicable law or court order. WildTangent may retain the services of certain outside contractors to perform services on our behalf (for example, to help provide technical support services, to deliver new game technology or to administer the delivery of emails to end users). At times, we must disclose relevant information about our customers to our contractors so they may provide specific services for WildTangent. WildTangent requires such contractors to keep your information strictly confidential and to use the information solely on behalf of WildTangent. For purposes of this Privacy Policy, such contractors are not considered "third parties" and WildTangent may disclose personally identifiable information to such contractors without additional notice. System and Game Playing Information: WildTangent collects system information through our Web Driver, the software that works with your system configuration to optimize your games based on your particular system. This information is used to upgrade the Web Driver and better optimizes Web Driver performance. The information collected for this purpose includes: CPU speed and type System memory Video card configuration Connection speed WildTangent also collects game playing information through the WebDriver that is used to determine how users are interacting with the game to determine ways that games may be improved and what features users like and do not like. The information collected for this purpose includes: Name of the game Number of game launches Number of new game starts Time spent in game Other, game-specific information, such as what levels were accessed, number of purchases vs. demo plays and where the game was downloaded from. We may share system and game playing information with select third parties on an anonymous basis from time to time.