Looking at the "baned" topics in other places it seems that only people who play burned games online are getting banned. It seems that the servers have some way to run a live media check on the disk while you are playing, then adding your machine details to the database for the monthly ban cycle.
If you make sure to play an original game online it seems safe... and obviously there are still people whining about getting banned who were playing halo3 online 5 days before it was released.. just because they have the facilities set up and live doesn't mean it is a good idea playing a game which hasn't been released yet... that's just too obvious to discuss really.
The last updates I saw give any troubles were the dash updates that came with Overlord and the others that month.. caused an error66 and taught me how to flash the box in an afternoon ;) Haven't seen anything since using the firmwares that were the latest then. (5.1 was it?)
See the problem lies in the fact that no one really knows. Who is to say that MS does not have a way to log what discs you put into your 360, both online and offline?
I always go with Microsofts track record with modded consoles. On the original Xbox they could tell if you used cheats online, they could tell if you took a softmodded system online, they could tell if you had a modchip, they could tell if you replaced the hard drive. All of which would get you banned if you tried to take the console on live. that is quite a few things that they were able to detect once you connected to live, and it did not matter if you were using an original disc or not.
Now it may be perfectly safe if you play just originals online, then again it may not. That is why i always tend to say "you go online you take a risk of being banned, do not count on ANYTHING being 100% safe"
Originally posted by steimy: That is why i always tend to say "you go online you take a risk of being banned, do not count on ANYTHING being 100% safe"
+1
Going online with a modded 360 means your taking your chances (with being banned). If you do though, it is a good idea to keep your FW up to date (v1.41 I believe, currently) and use good stealth patched games, if not originals.
Though as steimy said, we don't know for sure what microsoft is up to.