Attention Gamers: ‘Red Shell’ Could Be A Spyware

There are games that comes with Red Shell in it. But, most of the gamers and users don’t know what actually Red Shell is and what it is used for?

Most of the times Red Shell is taken as the Trojan and spyware earlier discovered with the same name. But this is not it. This time according to many users and gamers, Red Shell is now exploiting your data.

Before we talk further, let us know what Red Shell is?

What is Red Shell?

To measure the effectiveness of all the activities happening in-game play, Red Shell is a software used by game developers and publishers. It gathers the information according to gamers interests and later display them on your screen in form of marketing strategies and ads.

This can be explained with an example:

Suppose a game developer who is working with Twitch or Steam is handling Facebook marketing via ads, and wants to measure the effectiveness of ads of whether they are doing good or not in showcasing the game, Red Shell is a tool that is used for this purpose.

This is done so that the game companies can invest in ads that are profitable and good for their games, and also to remove the extra ones that aren’t doing well.

Also Read : Protect Your Machine Against Cybersecurity Kill Chain

What Red Shell Can Track?

It is capable of tracking information from the devices. According to Red Shell,

“We collect information including operating system, browser version number, IP address (anonymized through one-way hashing), screen resolution, in-game user id, and font profiles.”

Is Red Shell a Spyware?

According to many users, Red Shell is a spyware that keeps track of your data in PC and this data is later on sold to third parties.

But, according to Red Shell, they share a common name with a trojan virus named ‘RedShell’. They say,

“No. In a brilliant move by our marketing department Red Shell shares the name with a 14-year-old Trojan virus. Certainly, Red Shell does not (nor could it) execute any code on your computer outside of the game you are playing. Inside that game all that is run is a simple postback used for attribution and analytics”.

Below is the given list of games that uses Red Shell or have now removed Red Shell.

Games That Removed or Pledged To Remove Red Shell 

• Elder Scrolls Online (Pledged to remove it)
• Conan Exiles (Pledged to remove it)
• Ylands (Pledged to remove it)
• Holy Potatoes! We’re in Space?! (Pledged to remove it)
• All Total War games (Pledged to remove it)
• Warhammer: Vermintide II, (Pledged to remove it)
• Warhammer: Vermintide I, (might get removed also?)
• My Time At Portia, (Pledged to remove it)
• Dead by Daylight (Pledged to remove it)
• Battlerite (Pledged to remove it)
• AER Memories of Old, (Pledged to remove it)
• Magic the Gathering Arena (closed beta & not on Steam), (Pledged to remove it for now)
• Secret World Legends (Pledged to remove remains of it)
• Hunt: Showdown (Pledged to remove it)
• Escapists 2 (Pledged to remove it)
• Omensight (Pledged to remove it)

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Games That Are Still Using Red Shell

• Civilization VI
• Kerbal Space Program
• Guardians of Ember
• The Onion Knights
• Realm Grinder
• Heroine Anthem Zero
• Warhammer 40k Eternal Crusade
• Krosmaga
• Eternal Card Game
• Sniper Ghost Warrior 3
• Astro Boy: Edge of Time
• Ballistic Overkill
• Cabals: Card Blitz
• CityBattle | Virtual Earth
• Desolate
• Doodle God
• Doodle God Blitz
• Dungeon Rushers
• Labyrinth
• My Free Farm 2
• NosTale
• RockShot
• Shadowverse
• SOS & SOS Classic
• SoulWorker
• Stonies
• Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation
• War Robots
• Survived By
• Injustice 2
• The Wild Eight
• Yoku’s Island Express
• Raging Justice
• Warriors: Rise to Glory!
• Trailmakers
• Clone Drone in the Danger Zone
• Vaporum
• Robothorium
• League of Pirates
• Doodle God: Genesis Secrets

If you are a gamer than just try not to play games with Red Shell in it. This is recommended just to be on the safer side. Because you don’t know what coming or going to come your way. So, stay safe!

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