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Microsoft bans 1 million from Xbox Live?
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The following comments relate to this news article:
article published on 11 November, 2009
In what would be a stunning figure if proven true, InformationWeek is reporting today that up to 1 million gamers have been banned from Xbox Live in the past two weeks due to playing pirated games using modified consoles.
"All consumers should know that piracy is illegal and that modifying their Xbox 360 console to play pirated discs violates the Xbox Live terms of use, will void their ... [ read the full article ]
Please read the original article before posting your comments.
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tin23uk
Junior Member
1 product review
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11. November 2009 @ 14:24 |
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Quote:
It is still unclear the exact methods Microsoft uses to detect modified consoles
wonder if it could have anything to do with COD moderm warfare 2, an Xbox version has been floating around torrent sites for just over a week now but it wasnt released until yesterday in stores, anyone playing online would obviously have to have been using a pirate version.
if they are stupid enough to play a game on Xbox live before its even on shelves then they deserve to lose their Xbox live subscription, driving license and right to vote lol
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elbald90
Member
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11. November 2009 @ 14:28 |
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hmmmm xbox live or free games what one do i choose decisions ,decisions
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11. November 2009 @ 14:51 |
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Senior Member
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11. November 2009 @ 15:01 |
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Originally posted by tin23uk:
Quote:
It is still unclear the exact methods Microsoft uses to detect modified consoles
wonder if it could have anything to do with COD moderm warfare 2, an Xbox version has been floating around torrent sites for just over a week now but it wasnt released until yesterday in stores, anyone playing online would obviously have to have been using a pirate version.
if they are stupid enough to play a game on Xbox live before its even on shelves then they deserve to lose their Xbox live subscription, driving license and right to vote lol
- There were plenty of legit copies of MW2 being bought almost a week before release date. Only speculation as to why peeps are getting banned however there were reports of freshly modded systems getting the axe without ever playing a backup.
No time for Leap frog!!!
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AfterDawn Addict
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11. November 2009 @ 15:22 |
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I got this info from another site
EDIT* WRONG DAMN INFO!
Xbox360 LIVE Bans Info and iXtreme Online FW WIP
>> Here are some details about the Xbox360 LIVE bans I got directly and indirectly from GaryOPA, Commodore4eva (C4E), Iriez and others. Of course don't take any of this info as 100% confirmed, noone knows exactly based on what data MS is banning ... it's just an analysis of what they think is happening and what MS might/can be checking.
C4E thinks MS is probably detecting and banning consoles from LIVE by tracking usage of backups via timing of the challenge response (c/r) on the drive over the last few weeks or months. A modified FW will reply much faster to the the Challenges requests (stored in a table) than an original firmware (seek on drive). They probably do this test more than once and can ban you if you're above a certain average.
FuzzyLogic also found that microsoft is sometimes doing additional checks on discs: PFI/DMI (so images without these sectors (or if using an old FWs without support for PFI/DMI) can probably be detected easily), drive inquiry (reads ascii string from drive), and capacity (reports capacity of disc) are requested. Strange thing here is MS requests 0x8000 bytes for PFI and DMI, while it should normally be 0x0800 bytes. TheSpecialist pointed out that the remaining 0x7800 bytes contains the relocated SS and PFI on burned discs ... which would make it very easy to detect backups for MS. C4E however told us this would not work on TS drives as its cut off to 0800 even if more data is asked, it's unconfirmed how modified HLG FWs drives respond to this atm.
The "read capacity check" will also work as detection on HLG because, unlike the newest TS FWs, it doesn't have true 'stealth media' yet, these drives are reporting back the burned disc based size of PFI instead of the correct PFI.
Apparently there's also an issue with SS (Security Sector) extracted from Hitachi-LG, some necessary data is screwed ... which means that probably only the Toshiba-Samsung / Kreon setup has been extracting correct SS.
Another thing they are probably detecting (but probably not using yet to decide to ban or not) and log/flag is if you ever booted your Xbox360 with DVD SATA cable not connected to your Xbox360 (E64). Many people did this to power their drive when they wanted to flash it (power connected to 360, SATA to PC). So it's highly suggested to use an external power to flash next time.
It's also possible MS also bans based on stuff like bad credit card info for your country, running a NTSC machine with euro-address/credit card (or inverse), having out-of-region (arcade) games and demos on your HDD, unofficial 360 HDD, internet downloaded gamesaves etc. There's no clear view on all this yet.
For now, C4E believes Microsoft is not detecting modified FWs or detecting FW changes/updates. Using a special FW they did not detect any debug commands sent to the drive by MS (they went through the dash/kernel updates with the special FW as well and did not detect any debug commands there either). So they think either:
A/ MS is not doing any FW detection right now, and only previously (maybe on request of MS servers while playing on LIVE?), or
B/ MS is banning based only on the timings of the drive, ss/pfi/dmi checks, capacity, drive inquiry and c/r verification.
We also got information C4E is working on an "iXtreme Online" FW for Toshiba-Samsung drives, a Hitachi-LG version and maybe even BenQ version might follow later.
The new FW will have less features than the current Xtreme FWs: no single-layer (DVD5) support, no ripping of games (0800 mode), but more features to safely play from burned discs (emulate the exact speed and timings of the original games) and prevent booting from un-safe discs (without PFI and DMI or bad SS - so discs not passing the 'Stealth Check' (using Xbox Backup Creator(info) for example) are not going to boot on the new firmware), or images that aren't exact dumps of the original.
There's no official ETA (maybe this weekend though for TS drives), and of course no guarantee MS will never ban you based on new checks (that's the risk it takes if you want to be part of the modding community ) The HLG FW will take a bit longer as it'll require true 'Stealth media' etc added.
This new FW will of course be made mostly for new consoles being modded, because even if you're not banned from LIVE yet there's no way to know if MS already has info/logs on your console ID regarding timings or other stuff so even changing to this new firmware in the near future may not stop that console ID from being banned in the next wave of MS bans.
If your console is not banned yet, it's highly suggested you don't boot any burned discs, originals should be ok, even when offline (MS might be storing results of some checks in flash), until the release of the new FW.
If your console is already banned this will of course not help you ... just enjoy the offline playing on that console for now (with some games you could try using 3rd party networks like XLink Kai(info)) and maybe some day a new exploit will allow you to do more with that console.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 11. November 2009 @ 16:49
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shine305
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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11. November 2009 @ 15:28 |
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Originally posted by tatsh:
Hey Microsoft, you missed!
co sign
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Junior Member
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11. November 2009 @ 15:39 |
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I got popped in the mass ban a few days ago. I have a hitachi drive running ixtreme 1.5. i've been playing on XBL for well over a year. I've never played a game before the release date, i've never even burned one before the release date. I verified every game through abgx before burning and playing. I just think that MS can now detect modified firmware, plain and simple. 1 million, they had to be working on this ban for a long time. I knew the risk when i hacked my box. It's not really a big deal for me not being on xbl, i'd rather play free games anyway.
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Amak
Member
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11. November 2009 @ 16:31 |
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Wave 4 has little to do with these bans, geestar20. M$ found a way to either read the firmware or read it's behavior. That is how they are banning people. Some have drives flashed and played just regular games and got nailed.
No worries, though. A new patch is in the works and should be able to elude them:D
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AfterDawn Addict
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11. November 2009 @ 16:42 |
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Quote:
Amak (Junior Member) 11 November 2009 16:31 _
Wave 4 has little to do with these bans, geestar20. M$ found a way to either read the firmware or read it's behavior. That is how they are banning people. Some have drives flashed and played just regular games and got nailed.
Thanks for pointing that out as I had the wrong info up.
IM AN IDIOT...D'OH!
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 11. November 2009 @ 16:49
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warriorp
Junior Member
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11. November 2009 @ 19:35 |
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looking for the xbox to be cracked wide open now. microsoft is sticking their nose in too deep. especially modifying the system to not do certain things after the ban.
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jajise93
Newbie
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11. November 2009 @ 20:28 |
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My dads 360 got banned n its stoped him from downloading games to the hard drive, lost his gamer score when he puts his gammer tag on a none flashed 360 and wont show up any copyed games or achievments hes played. Allso i went in a game shop today and the guy said theres speculation that when a new origional game like "CODMW2" is played on a flashed 360, the 360 shuts down and is a useless lump of plastick and metal just like when a phone is stolen and you phone up the operator to shut it down. I also have a flashed 360 and cant bare to plug it into a network cable to find out weather they *bleep* my 360 elite up, what needs to be done is to find some 1 who no's whats going on inside microsoft so we cant find a way around this crap. I personally am trying to dig around on the internet to find out whats gone on and hopefully find away round this :-(.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 12. November 2009 @ 07:09
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shine305
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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11. November 2009 @ 22:16 |
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Quote:
Originally posted by tatsh:
Hey Microsoft, you missed!
co sign
they got me.1 houir ago oh well
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LissenUp
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12. November 2009 @ 00:48 |
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GOOD!
Playing pirate games on consoles is for losers, cheats, hacks and leeches. You wanna play jacked games? Do it on the platform that makes it practical and allows for easy software manipulation.
But seriously...........buying a console with the intent to jump through hoops of fire to play jacked games........those peeps have nothing better to do than to ride the coattails of others.
Can you say "Christmas present" or even better........."Save up and buy"??
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LissenUp
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12. November 2009 @ 00:49 |
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Originally posted by tatsh:
Hey Microsoft, you missed!
Yeah! Watch MS hovering over this and bribing AD to hook up your IP and then banning you. That would be too funny.
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LissenUp
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12. November 2009 @ 00:52 |
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Originally posted by jajise93:
My dads 360 got banned n its stoped him from downloading games to the hard drive, lost his gamer score when he puts his gammer tag on a none flashed 360 and wont show up any copyed games or achievments hes played. Allso i went in a game shop today and the guy said theres speculation that when a new origional game like "CODMW2" is played on a flashed 360, the 360 shuts down and is a useless lump of plastick and metal just like when a phone is stolen and you phone up the operator to shut it down. I also have a flashed 360 and cant bare to plug it into a network cable to find out weather they fuck my 360 elite up, what needs to be done is to find some 1 who no's whats going on inside microsoft so we cant find a way around this crap. I personally am trying to dig around on the internet to find out whats gone on and hopefully find away round this :-(.
What needs to be done is you LEARNING YOUR LESSON! Now go out and earn and pay for stuff!
How many times did you get slapped as a kid for doing the same wrong over and over huh? 5 or 6?
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Amak
Member
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12. November 2009 @ 03:38 |
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Originally posted by LissenUp:
GOOD!
Playing pirate games on consoles is for losers, cheats, hacks and leeches. You wanna play jacked games? Do it on the platform that makes it practical and allows for easy software manipulation.
But seriously...........buying a console with the intent to jump through hoops of fire to play jacked games........those peeps have nothing better to do than to ride the coattails of others.
Can you say "Christmas present" or even better........."Save up and buy"??
Can you say "expensive" or "not released in my region"? Some games aren't released in certain ares. Most are priced too high and in other countries are even more expensive then in the U.S.! There are many legitimate uses for iXtreme. Go read up before you go on your Anti-Pirate-Crusade.
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AfterDawn Addict
1 product review
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12. November 2009 @ 05:39 |
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Quote:
Can you say "expensive" or "not released in my region"? Some games aren't released in certain ares. Most are priced too high and in other countries are even more expensive then in the U.S.! There are many legitimate uses for iXtreme. Go read up before you go on your Anti-Pirate-Crusade.
As geestar20 posted, the detection seems to be based on the time takes to read a code from the disk. If you are using disks from other regions, then this you shouldn't get you banned...only if you are using pirated copies or backups should this get you banned.
Personaly, I think this is less about piracy, and more about Microsoft sales. When they ban a unit, both the console and the account are banned. A new 360 costs $300, and a year of Live costs another $60...so every time they ban a loyal customer, they come back and give microsoft another $360. If this was not the case, they would simply fix the issue, rather than letting piracy continue, and banning users from time to time.
Plus, selling more systems makes them appear to have a larger market share. They never removedd the millions of RROD units that they removed from service, nor the units that failed without going back to microsoft. I'm sure they also will not remove the banned units from their official count of xbox360 consoles in use...and this number is a big help when trying to convince a publisher to make a game for a technicaly inferior console that costs more than it's competition...Sony does not have to pay developers $50,000,000 to keep their exclusives exclusive; Microsoft has to spend this much just to keep a couple of DLCs exclusive!
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 12. November 2009 @ 05:51
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Amos357
Newbie
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12. November 2009 @ 07:01 |
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Anyone think M$ is monitoring these forums to see how these mods and flashes are being done? I'm just saying if they banned 1 million people, who's to say they don't have the time or resources to monitor what's being said in these forum threads. Just unplug all your modded consoles from XBL until after the holiday season. Wait the enemy out! Let's see who makes a real profit. Don't buy any games, accessories, points cards, etc and don't log on to XBL. It's like the credit industry, stop using these banks money and they will eventually collapse. From what I've read all you guys seem to be very intelligent, just have patience. We are just the little Davids fighting the conglomerate M$...
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Member
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12. November 2009 @ 07:26 |
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I don't play pirated games nor is my 360 modded. But this seems awful big brother to me. Sure, playing pirated games is against their copyright and MS has every right to fight it, but how is simply modding hardware any of MS's freaking business. We bought and paid for it. If I want to put live chickens in it, that's my right.
I have news for MS. This is not going to bode well for some of the legal players either.
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Junior Member
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12. November 2009 @ 10:49 |
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Originally posted by ChiefBrdy:
<snip> We bought and paid for it. If I want to put live chickens in it, that's my right. Quote:
Why don't you tell Apple's Steve Jobs that the next time you try to run OSX on your non-apple PC!
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tone666
Newbie
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12. November 2009 @ 11:59 |
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I'm borrowing a friends flashed 360 at the mo as my xbox 360 has given up the ghost (RROD)and as i've had it since release i dont think i'll be entitled to a free fix . I dont play copies on it but am wondering can it still be banned. I just bought MW2 and am itching to take it on line. Is it just copied games taken on line thats being picked up on or is it the flashed drive itself?
I have played it in single player but have been signed into live. The game has already had an update (wondered if this was some check to see if it was a legit copy) but as of yet, no horrible message from MS banning the console.
Cheers
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Ize
Member
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12. November 2009 @ 12:00 |
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LissenUp ,
Do you have kids? Ever have expensive gear broken?
I just bought a few games, I play the origs, my kids play the backups on their 360, they leave the disks on the ground, they use the disks to slide around on the carpet. They ruin the disks. Why in hell would I be forced to go buy another copy of the disk when I can create use backups of my disks?
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JRude
Junior Member
1 product review
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12. November 2009 @ 14:58 |
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How ignorant can ya get...ya DON'T go to WB, Universal, Sony or any other studio site to play pirated movies! Why in the world would ya go to MS to play modded consoles & games!? DOH! No cure for stooopid. (p.s. you're not that slick)
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Senior Member
1 product review
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12. November 2009 @ 15:06 |
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Originally posted by JRude:
How ignorant can ya get...ya DON'T go to WB, Universal, Sony or any other studio site to play pirated movies! Why in the world would ya go to MS to play modded consoles & games!? DOH! No cure for stooopid. (p.s. you're not that slick)
Buying another console to replace the one that got banned!
Modding it later on because someone says that they have a undetectable hack for it!
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 12. November 2009 @ 15:29
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tone666
Newbie
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12. November 2009 @ 15:08 |
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donkeys need not apply..good god mate relax.
I wanted some advice...not rants or insults.
Slick? oh man.... ha ha ha
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