Gents,O.K...... So I am an internet security neophyte.I just recently became a broadband subscriber and was looking forward to trying out the multiplayer function of some of my favorite games.Anyhow, I fire up "Gamespy Arcade" to give Ghost Recon a try. As I'm trying to figure all this Gamespy stuff out, I check my firewall to see what's going on in the background. I felt very uneasy, seeing all the ICMP activity from different IPs, coming through the allowed list under the heading of "APHEX.exe" APHEX.exe is an executable that Gamespy Arcade needs to function correctly, so I allowed my firewall to admit it.So the question I have is: Is all this ICMP activity anything to stress over ? I guess I can copy some log files here if needed.Comments ?Roger

I think that Gamespy Arcade does contain Gator (spyware) but I'm not 100% sure.

I never trust anything relating to gameSPY! I do play multiplayer the whole time though (at ubi.com) and i have never had problems but i do have an uneasy feeling because i know my connection is wide open for anyone to get in.Mike

Online gaming itself is pretty safe and you took the first step to make it safer which is to install a firewall.Gamespy on the other hand is notorious for NOT being safe. They install a load of software on your machine to spy on you (not for the CIA or FBI, but for marketting firms which is even worse).If they still exist, also stay away from MPlayer, they are similar!Use other services like MSN Zone or direct IP or IPX connection to the other players and noone can spy on you.P.S. Roger Wilco is now owned by Gamespy and installs the same spyware! There are still older versions floating around that don't.

*scrambles to delete Roger Wilco*Do you happen to know which version of RW has no spyware and if you know where to get it?I agree with you...spying for Maketing companies is away worse tehn spying for the CIA..lol Mike

I believe it's the Mark 1 mod C that's clean. The Mod D is certainly fouled up badly.And yes, the CIA is at least known to have some restrictions on what they can do with the data...

1c has the spyware. I don't know about the older versions.

VATSIM UK has a spyware-free version of it at their site.

Gents,I just ran the latest updated version of SpyBot S&D and it detected no spyware related to Gamespy Arcade. Just some random registry usage tracks for MS software.Could you give me an idea of what specific Gamespy spyware I should be looking for ?Also, any thoughts on the ICMP hits while connected to multiplayer.Would be a shame if I can't use Gamespy Arcade, as some of my games require it, i.e. AVP2Cheers and thanks for your help,Roger