Xbox 360 Opens Pandora’s Box of Privacy Concerns
By Alexander Grundner |
December 8th, 2005
Comments (16)
HEXUS gaming has posted information and screenshots related to Xbox LIVE that you’ve got to see if you’re an Xbox 360 owner, or someone who is in the process of acquiring one. The information is especially relevant if you’re planning on using the Xbox’s Extender functionality to communicate with your Media Center PC. HEXUS says: “Simply put, anyone you’ve been in contact with through Xbox LIVE can subsequently see what you’re up to, regardless of whether they’re in your friends list or not. [...] The amount of detail Xbox LIVE passes to others goes way beyond just being helpful in linking you up with other gamers, so far beyond that you could easily regard it as a pretty major intrusion into your privacy.”
And if those openning statements didn’t sound disturbing enough, HEXUS gives the following examples: “Fancy listening to some CDs you ripped to your hard drive? Go ahead… Xbox LIVE will let all your mates know that’s what you’re doing. Want to view some pictures? It’ll tell them that too. Want to stop using Xbox LIVE, use media connect and do something totally unrelated to online gaming? Yep, your mates will know about that a few seconds later. How about starting up Windows Media Centre to watch some telly, using your Xbox 360 as a media extender? Sure go ahead, all your friends will see that you’ve started up MCE.”
I don’t know about you, but this kind of thing creeps me out. Luckily, however, HEXUS has already received feedback on the article and informs readers that there is an easy fix. To correct the problem, locate the console’s privacy settings and make the proper adjustments to everyone, friends only, or no-one at all. For the life of me, why would Microsoft set up privacy settings to be open to all by default? I thought they had a new direction for the company that was all about security and stability for its users. Thanks HEXUS for bringing this issue to light!
Note: Although people can see the activities you’re up to, they cannot actually see the titles you are viewing. For example, if you’re watching “Gladiator” on DVD, Xbox LIVE will display your status as “Watching a movie” (see attached screenshot).
Final Thoughts: If you don’t mind complete strangers seeing your PC/Xbox entertainment activities at any given time, don’t worry about a thing. If you like keeping things you’re doing private when you’re not gaming (like watching a DVD, watching TV, viewing photos, listening to music, etc. — see the complete list at HEXUS), make the proper privacy setting adjustments to your console.
December 9th, 2005 at 1:45 am
I think you’re both stupid.
Yes, if you are online, and your 360 is on, someone will know, about, which game you’re playing.
Do you insist on parking behind the mall so noone driving by might notice you’re there?
If you’re playing soccer at the park, do you insist everyone else turn their heads and ignore you?
If you do, xbox live is NOT FOR YOU.
You can’t “stalk” someone by knowing they have an audio cd in the drive at 3:55 PM, you don’t know if they are actually using the console, much less what they are doing or any really specific information.
There is ZERO insecurity in people being able to see that you’re online, so trying to make this a security issue is exactly the kind of fear and rumor mongering thats become increasingly prevalent recently.
If you don’t read the instructions or take a look at the settings, then no, you don’t have a right to be “scared” because people can see what games you are playing, you can see them too remember, been outside lately?
and before you ask, I’m using a bugmenot login because being forced to take the time to register to leave one comment is just silly.
December 9th, 2005 at 8:09 am
Not to mention, you CAN sign out of Xbox Live, but wait, you want to see what all your friends are doing, and you want them to have access to you as well!.
Which provides more of a headache for microsoft, people who can’t find their friends, or people concenred that someone can see that they are *gasp* ONLINE. I’m sure you don’t have aol instant messenger or anything like that either.
December 9th, 2005 at 9:11 am
Bugmenot, there’s no reason for name calling. If you don’t think it’s an intrusion of your privacy, fair enough. When it comes to matters of privacy it’s always better to be well informed than blissfully ignorant.
Honestly, to do this right IMHO, Microsoft should have just allowed the discovery features to be limited to only gaming functions by default, anything other than that is an intrusion and has no relevance when dealing with people on the system that you don’t know.
Last I checked, IM clients don’t tell others that you are browsing the Web, or placing a VoIP call, or openning a document, or ripping a CD, or dowloading software, etc. (referring to your AOL IM comment), so we can easily scratch that analogy out.
December 9th, 2005 at 12:40 pm
Seriously, your article is borderline inflamitory.
For the life of me, why would Microsoft set up privacy settings to be open to all by default?
Why? Because these are features that XBOX Live subscribers have been asking… no, clamouring for. I LIKE knowing what my friends are playing right now. I LIKE the fact they know what I’m playing. I LIKE the fact that if I’m watching a DVD, my friends (and others I’ve played with) can start a chat with me.
If anything, it facilitates dialogue about games and the gaming culture. I’ve had friends ask, “How did you get that achievement?” or “How do you beat that boss?” because they have access to the information you describe as a “Pandora’s Box”. It actually works to build and solidify a gaming community exclusive to XBOX 360. Sony and Nintendo don’t have anything that comes close.
Besides, the information is pretty benign. If you’re watching a movie, Live shows “Player is watching a DVD” not, “Player is watching Debbie Does Dallas.
Were you aware of that, or were you too busy sensationalizing your article?
It creeps you out? Then turn the features off. Nice that you waited to mention that at the very bottom of the article.
Last time I checked, you couldn’t shut Pandora’s Box once it’s opened. However, all these options can be turned off. The “Box” can indeed be closed. Your comparison couldn’t be any more inaccurate or inflamitory.
Why didn’t you just title it, “360 LIVE LETS CHILD MOLESTERS HUNT DOWN YOUR BABIES!” It would be about as accurate as the current title. I’m sure it would generate more hits, as well. I mean, let’s be real, that’s what you’re really going for here, isn’t it?
When it comes to matters of privacy it’s always better to be well informed than blissfully ignorant.
Do you think blowing these “security risks” out of proportion is a good way to educate the ignorant? Sorry, but that’s a terrible excuse for using bad journalism practices.
And I can’t imagine how ignorant someone would be if they were to take your article at face value.
BTW, if anyone wants to see what I’m up to, compare and contrast, send a friend request, whatever, my GamerTag is Player Hater.
December 9th, 2005 at 1:24 pm
That’s funny stuff, IconiC. Thanks for sharing
I get a kick out of how perturbed some people get when someone sheds a light on an issue that others might benefit from knowing. I guess when a particular favorite device, product, or technology is at stake, people take negative publicity or opinion on those things as a personal.
Remember: the article’s title says “privacy concerns” not security holes or anthing to that affect. Moreover, the concluding paragraph notes an easy fix. But security means a variety of things, and my use of it in the last paragraph refers to people being confident knowing that personal information or, in this case, personal activities are kept private from people you don’t know.
It might not bother bugmenot or you, IconiC, but I’ve got a feeling that a majority of people wouldn’t be too please knowing that others could see their personal activities online by default.
December 9th, 2005 at 1:36 pm
I get a kick out of how perturbed some people get when someone sheds a light on an issue that others might benefit from knowing.
Your response is asnine. I’m perturbed that your journalistic dishonesty (or, at least, ignorance) paints a sensationalist picture about features you seem to know very little about.
Which makes me wonder; Do you have a 360? Do you have a Live account? How much time have you spent playing with the Live Dashboard?
December 9th, 2005 at 1:41 pm
Please don’t pop a vein… I didn’t discover this Xbox issue, HEXUS did. And I still believe that it should be brought to the public’s attention so they can make the proper adjustments to their privacy settings. If you don’t like the way we cover things here, there are plenty of pro-whatever-you’re-into sites out there. If you want different opinions, and different perspectives, you can learn a lot here.
And NO, I don’t personally own an Xbox, yet. But if I do, I will be changing my privacy settings
December 9th, 2005 at 2:13 pm
Please don’t pop a vein…
The witty retorts never end! I bet Jack Thompson is writing that one down for future use.
I didn’t discover this Xbox issue, HEXUS did.
HEXUS didn’t write your post, YOU did. And what exactly did they “discover”? Privacy settings that are readily apparent in the menu system? Settings that are openly disclosed in the 360 documentation? Settings Customer Service would be happy to walk you through if you’re confused?
Wow, just last week I “discovered” the power button. I should start a web site!
If you don’t like the way we cover things here, there are plenty of pro-whatever-you’re-into sites out there.
Yea, I read those too.
If you don’t like the idea of someone being critical of how you represent an issue, you really shouldn’t solicit the public’s opinion.
Can’t wait for your next enlightening expose, “360 allows 7-year-olds access to M rated content by default!”
December 9th, 2005 at 2:26 pm
So there it is… you just don’t like the presentation. That’s fine, there are numerous sites that I read that post things I don’t agree with, but I don’t feel compelled to personally insult the writer. If you want to discuss the topic, great. I’m sure we can have a lively discussion over this, which was the point of posting this story.
Note to everyone with a similar mindset to IconiC: I treat this site like a radio talk show. I’m the host and everyone who posts comments on the stories presented are guests. If you have something intelligent to say, go for it. If you want to be rude and start throwing insults around, you’ll be asked to leave the forums (see FORUM GUIDELINES).
December 9th, 2005 at 3:06 pm
Is that supposed to be a warning? I notice everyone will be warned once, and I just want to know where we stand.
You can’t point to one statement I’ve made that would constitute Egregious Insults, Harassment, Hate Speech, Inciting Aggression, or Profanity (although I’m sure that wouldn’t stop you from banning me).
Ah, here we go!
Anything related to minors…
I did reference 7-year-olds in relation to M rated content.
Go ahead and ban away!
Keep up the great work!
December 9th, 2005 at 5:34 pm
You’re a piece of work. Obviously trying to be civil with you doesn’t get us anywhere, so yeah let’s make it the first and final warning because that’s your intention. I don’t want to disappoint you :rolleyes:
December 9th, 2005 at 7:18 pm
Actually they do. iChat shows whatever track you’re listening to in iTunes. Xbox Live doesn’t do that. You can see the away message of ANY PERSON by viewing their profile in AOL Instant Messenger, not to mention their profile itself, if they are online. You’ve never seen the “I am playing a game that takes up my entire screen” message? The problem here is not that Xbox Live invades privacy, it’s that you aren’t used to being connected to people. This is the functionality expected to be on by default, if not demanded to be on by default by the majority of users, thats why it is on by default.
You completely fail to acknowledge that Xbox Live saying “listening to music” doesn’t actually tell someone anything about what you’re doing, or even that you’re anywhere near the console at the time.
If you’re not doing anything that has to do with Xbox Live and you are compeltely afraid someone might know you have music playing, you cna always sign out of Xbox Live.
Of course, if you did, there’d be nothing to be afraid of.
Also, you didn’t answer my question about whether you worry about someone seeing your car in the lot at the mall.
Your shortsightedness has caused you to miss the point of Xbox Live, to bring that sense of community to the online arena. Thats what people sign up for. If you don’t want that, theres the option to be without it. Worse yet, you throw around the words invasion of privacy and security risk without actually considering real world situations.
I’m really offended you threw my AOL/MSN Messenger/YIM/iChat analogy out simply because you either don’t use the programs or weren’t aware of how they worked, but I’m not entirely surprised.
December 9th, 2005 at 7:56 pm
Better yet is the complete failure to mention that the only way someone would see all that, is if they either have submitted a request ot be your friend (and you would be able to see that) or if you’ve played a game with them recently (and they’ll be on your list too), or if they’re on your friends list.
Thats quite a bit more secure than the default settings of AOL IM, in which anyone can see if you’re online and active at any time, and you would never know if they were looking. But the Xbox 360 is the hot item, so lets discuss that.
December 10th, 2005 at 12:46 am
I can’t argue with anything you just said. However, I don’t think I need to clarify something that I didn’t say existed — referring to your comment that people can’t see what you’re actually watching or listening to, title wise. But if you want to make that point, by all means — it’s a valid point. [OK, I added a note to the original story to clear up any confusion.]
FYI, I have my AOL IM set to people on my contact list only. The default is open to all. I prefer to give people permission to contact me, instead of just having an open door to everyone. But, I can see how an open door approach creates opportunities for meeting new people. My feeling is that these discovery functions should be limited to gaming related activities (current gaming/online status/availability, games played, levels completed, reputation, etc.) only by default. Like HEXUS said in there last update (paraphrasing): it would have been better to opt-in during setup than to opt-out after the fact — most people aren’t savvy about these kinds of things.
Honestly, I’m bored of this story already.
Final Thoughts: If you don’t mind complete strangers seeing your PC/Xbox entertainment activities at any given time, don’t worry about a thing. If you like keeping things you’re doing private when you’re not gaming (like watching a DVD, watching TV, viewing photos, listening to music, etc. — see the complete list at HEXUS), make the proper privacy setting adjustments to your console. Thank You… over and out.
December 12th, 2005 at 2:10 pm
Alex, you’ve got a lively one here.
Just want to chime in and say as a long time reader of Alex’s work, I would say that claims of journalistic dishonesty are not warranted. If you feel he is off base on this one fine, ramble on. But, on the other hand to paint him with such a broad brush is unfair.
My advice would be to check out some of his other posts and you’ll come to appreciate his dedication to this site. I for one appreciate his efforts. I may not always agree with them, but I’m glad he’s here to keep things interesting.
As for the issue at hand, I am a firm believer that privacy is a complete fallacy in todays web driven world. To think otherwise is futile. Think about it the next time you hand your credit card to a waiter.
If you own a 360 and this bugs you, turn it off, simple.
Punchy
December 18th, 2005 at 10:09 pm
I guess this write-up wasn’t so bad after all… it’s been in the top 3 most active stories for the past 10 days. In relation to other “hot” stories, that’s pretty good.
As of 12/18, there’s been about 4,600 page reads and 930 mentions on Google for the headline “Xbox 360 Opens Pandora’s Box of Privacy Concerns.”