So by now we have all heard that Microsoft has recently been banning consoles from connecting to the Xbox Live Service for violating its terms of service. In Microsofts efforts to combat piracy, the banhammer has cracked as many as 1,000,000 users. I think we can effectively call this a ban nuking.
With many warnings leading up to the bans, by Major Nelson and Stephen Toulouse. Pirates in turn acted surprised when the bans actually hit them, going as far as threatening the Director Stephen Toulouse’s life and family. I found that the modifications to the box were made through a modified firmware that lets the dvd drive in your xbox 360 play backup games. No longer required to have experience with soldering, a monkey could literally modify an xbox to play pirated games with a couple of clicks on the mouse. Now, I say they acted surprised because the firmware that the drive was modified to use was supposedly undetectable. With games using some kind of stealth inturn with the firmware to go undetected by Microsoft while playing on Xbox Live.
These bannings have been quite widespread, and at 1,000,000 users that is roughly 5% of the Xbox Live subscriber base. But are all those being banned, pirates? I spoke with a representative from Microsoft briefly at Major Nelson.com and learned some interesting information. Regardless of whether you modify your xbox to pirate games, or just modify it to look cooler, perform better, or last longer, these actions are against the terms of service agreement that you accept when prompted to on the Xbox Live login.
So legit Xbox Users please keep this in mind, when your Xbox 360 gets the RROD a quick fix by you is not the answer. Not unless you want to be eligible for a banning. From what I gathered if the warranty seal is broken on your xbox 360 you are in violation of TOS and will be banned from Xbox Live if this is discovered.
Has someone you know been banned for something other than playing a pirated game?
November 12, 2009
#1
Ummm… are u guys nuts? Think about it, how can MS know whether you have pierced the warranty seal? I mean it’s a friggin piece of paper for god’s sake, not some advanced microchip embedded into it to detect whether it’s been broken.
No matter what MS do, they are in it to make money. Unless you (break the sticker) AND mod the console, they just don’t care. Banning users from LIVE just means lost customers. But banning pirates from LIVE is good business, since revenue is lost from each pirated game sold. And they just ban the console, not ur gamertag.
Plus, u say that you talked “with a representative from Microsoft briefly at Major Nelson.com” but u don’t post any source,link or ur chat transcript. ‘Nuff said
November 12, 2009
#2
This is from the Xbox Live TOU @ http:www.xbox.com/en-US/legal/LiveTOU.htm
You agree that you are using only authorized software and hardware to access the Service, that your software and hardware have not been modified in any unauthorized way (e.g., through unauthorized repairs, unauthorized upgrades, or unauthorized downloads), and that we have the right to send data , applications or other content to any software or hardware that you are using to access the Service for the express purpose of detecting an unauthorized modification. Any attempt to disassemble, decompile, create derivative works of, reverse engineer, modify, further sublicense, distribute, or use for other purposes the Service, any game , application, or other content available or accessible through the Service, or any hardware or software associated with the Service or with an original Xbox or Xbox 360 console is strictly prohibited and may result in cancellation of your account and/or your ability to access the Service, and the pursuit of other legal remedies by Microsoft. Microsoft may take any legal action it deems appropriate against users who violate Microsoft’s systems or network security ,this contract or any additional terms incorporated or referenced in this contract, and such users may also incur criminal or civil liability.
And just because people don’t read all this doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
November 12, 2009
#3
Dude I think you’re missing his point. What he’s saying is that the seal is pretty much just a piece of paper and microsoft has no way of telling if it has been broken or not via Xbox Live.
Another thing is if you get RRoD and you fix it yourself without modifying the console, you will not be banned.
You need to be careful the kind of content you put up on your site bro, misinformation like this can be dangerous. FACTS: Breaking the seal WILL NOT result in a banning as it cannot be tracked, fixing RRoD WITHOUT further modding WILL NOT result in a banning.
Fail, Win and Pwning are childish remarks
November 12, 2009
#4
modding your 360 cant be tracked anyway a majority of the banned people were because they were playing a game way earlier than the inital street date. problem with that is a majority of those people didnt have modded xboxs. there is no way they can tell if its modded or not this is just a ploy to scare people. also if your xbox gets banned you can mod it to bypass the ban lol and make a new gamer tag while your at it…. many modded xbox have already been banned and yet they can play on live.
November 12, 2009
#5
@ admin
Lol. Just chillax dude. It was just the wording on your post that made it seem like “From what I gathered if the warranty seal is broken on your xbox 360 you are in violation of TOS and will be banned from Xbox Live if this is discovered.”. It was not a personal attack on you.
@mark
MS actually “can” detect whether ur console has been modded or not. Just as admin said, it has the NAND chip which stores such data. But MS just bans ur console, not ur gamertag. So, u can just buy a new 360, recover ur gamertag from LIVE and keep on playing
November 12, 2009
#6
@Ndilbu
I agree with u 100%.
November 12, 2009
#7
@ Ndibu
“Another thing is if you get RRoD and you fix it yourself without modifying the console, you will not be banned.” I think you are still missing some of the point as @Amdin also posted the TOS and it reads…… “modified in any unauthorized way (e.g., through unauthorized repairs, unauthorized upgrades, or unauthorized downloads)” so unless you are authorized to do repairs to an XBOX360 you are in violation of the TOS….
I think the writer is being sarcastic on both accounts when it comes to the warrenty sticker and the simple home fix of your broken console, and that these two things could get you banned. He didn’t say it would get you banned!
So, we all know it’s unlikely Microsoft will send a legal rep to check each console for a broken seal, however, it is theoretically possible to ban you based on the wording of the ToS. This is why I’m a PPS3 fanboy
Nah, just kidding I’m just a fanboy of gaming in general.
November 12, 2009
#8
er… PS3 not PPS3. That console is still in developement stages
November 12, 2009
#9
Well, I’ve got banned this week because of playing COD MW2 before it’s official release. I don’t know you guys but for me the XBox 360 sux. I bought this console and 3 months later a red ring appeared in the power button. I lost almost one month of my xbox live membership while they were fixing it. On top of that, I couldn’t play a few games I just bough before the red ring appeared again when the sent the console back to me. I sent it back again for repair and today I have a banned console for playing a game before it’s official release even been a legal copy.
Am I happy? , not at all. This console is a pain you know where, I’ve lost a lot of money and this is what I get as payback, banned from live.
I have two years by now with a PS3 console and I have no complaints about this console; 3 times better than Xbox 360.
In the end, I don’t care that they banned my console. My gold membership expires this month and I wasn’t planing to renew it anyway. It’s not worth it.
November 12, 2009
#10
LOL MS only did this to make sure they get another Million xboxes sold so they can keep ahead of PS3. They didnt need to do it, they just want you to buy more consolse. That is why the left the hardware failures in the xboxes so you would have to go buy another when it RROD.
November 12, 2009
#11
All you stupid xbots, just get a real peice of tec in a PS3 and play on line for free and never get RROD and never get banned. The auto industry should really capitalize off all you xbots… Microsoft makes crap hardware, everyone knows its failure rate is more than 50% but yet u still buy it… The auto industry just needs to make a crap car with a 50% failure rate and hype it up, market it well and put a shiny body on it and yall will buy it. Thats how you know 99% of 360 users are kids, they use Mommy’s money and dont care about it being a waste and mommy dont know about the failure rate.
November 12, 2009
#12
Jeff, please don’t hate. The xbox has a horrible failure rate, but Microsoft is spending BILLIONS of dollars to remedy this. I own the PS3, and there are plenty of problems with that system as well. We can argue all day, but if you don’t like one console over the other – please just SHUT UP ABOUT IT. You don’t have to play it, this screams of jealousy to me (over what, I can’t tell). I can guarentee if the PS3 had problems like the xbox, they would not fix them. Remember the PS2 drive reading fiasco. Yep, I got charged $70 some odd dollars to replace my PS2 when it broke – no free box, no free, repair. But, you so blindly follow the PS3 you can’t see that there is room in the market for two great systems and their little brother. Stop justifying your purchase to everyone else. That is all.
November 12, 2009
#13
Ppl, just get rid of all those consoles and buy a decent PC.
November 12, 2009
#14
The People who I know the has been banned are not buying another Xbox360 They buy a PS3 for the online part because it’s free. When there is a leaked game they download it for the xbox360 and play it (They are banned so whatever) When they like it they buy it on the PS3 for the live part.
Is it smart what M$ is doing? I don’t know…
November 12, 2009
#15
“No longer required to have experience with soldering, a monkey could literally modify an xbox to play pirated games with a couple of clicks on the mouse. ”
@author: You are an idiot.
November 12, 2009
#16
Good idea Ballap. I guess I’ll find someone who can do whatever is needed so I can play backups on my banned 360. This way I can download or buy a cheap backup first and if I like the game I’ll buy it for the PS3. The only downside is that won’t be able to play online, but at least I’ll know how the gameplay is first before I buy it for the PS3.
November 12, 2009
#17
Is taking out the x-clamps and replacing them with screws considered modding?
November 12, 2009
#18
Some people are a little wacky on here…specifically KasaK. Don’t you know playing a game before it’s release date is AGAINST all ToS and several warnings, and can sometimes involve legal fees/penalties?
I don’t agree with M$ completely on how their ToS is, but I can respect why it is as such. It at least prevents a huge portion of modding. It’d be a little more damning if it disabled the console altogether though, so as to prevent you leechers from using illegal copies of games to “determine whether you like them”. That’s what demos or rentals are for…whatever happened to honest gaming?
November 12, 2009
#19
This can only benefit Microsoft, and fits in with their typical business tactics of ripping off consumers that has been going on for years and years. Who is going to buy a used 360 now? There will be no easy way to prove that a used console you wish to buy is still valid for use on Xbox LIve without a personal log-in demonstration. So what Microsoft is doing is eliminating the second-hand market for their consoles so that anyone wanting to play the 360 will need to buy a new one. Brilliant, and oh-so sleazy.
November 12, 2009
#20
admin, you don’t understand how the NAND chp works. NAND stores data like your DVD firmware. Fans and cases dont have firmwares… if you remove your drive, the nand doesnt store it… if you login ith no drive there is a slight chance… but more than likely not. You won’t be banned for modifying your case, or fans. You WILL be banned for modifying your firmware on your DVD drive. Saying they have a clause for banning is like ACTUALLY looking at the ToS and seeing that MS has the right ot ban for any reason whatsoever. So by your logic, MS CAN BAN YOU FOR JUST PLAYING XBOX LIVE! WATCH OUT GUIZ!
November 12, 2009
#21
Sadly modded consoles were not just being used by cheapskates who don’t pay for games; they were not just being used by people who wanted to customize their controllers, LEDs and hardware; they were not just being used by people who wanted to back up legally purchased games.
Modded consoles were, and still are, also being used to propogate and host malware networks.
I know it sucks what they did, but Microsoft did what it needed to do to keep their LIVE network from being the playground of malware authors and botnet controllers. You can still use it on a LAN and you can still group with friends on a virtual LAN to play pirated games. You just can’t use modded boxes on the service where Microsoft holds real litigious accountability for its cleanliness.
November 12, 2009
#22
There are eBay auctions with banned xbox360’s for sale. Priceless! lmao!
November 13, 2009
#23
Ive been banned and i have a watercooled xbox 360. I have NO pirated games i buy all my games, but apprently Microsoft can detect the voltage change and thats how they are banning modders even if u have installed another fan and use the power source from the Xbox 360 you will be banned they arent going to listen, ive sent numourous emails to them and they dont give a F**K so what i think is that we should all Buy the new infectus chip this will UNBANN your Xbox account but your stats will be reset but who cares and if microsoft ban you again the infectus chip will Unbann you again……its the ebst thing so far…..im getting one and once ive tried i will post all the pictures and how to’s as a link here……..so dont get upset……HAVE FUN
November 13, 2009
#24
In case you don’t know KidSlayer; I’ve been reading about this infectus and you gonna need an unbanned xbox to fix yours. You have to be very lucky to find someone who gives you his xbox serial number and everything in the xbox’s nand for you to repair yours.
November 14, 2009
#25
it makes me chuckle whenever I read the poorly informed souls who seem to assume because a console has been modded that it has been done so solely to use pirated games. As the ToS quote above mentions “Un-Authorised repairs” they have banned people who have replaced thier DVD drives (trust me, the failure rate of some of the 360s drives are abysmal) as two of my friends whom I’ve replaced drives for have been banned from Xbox Live, which is pretty disgusting really seeing as it’s such a ridiculous thing to ban people over, unfortunateley just another big company with a God complex… *sigh*
November 15, 2009
#26
Banning for no reason just to scare people
November 19, 2009
#27
I got banned during last years banning wave. Go to google and download Xlink, setup is a breeze and its a tiny file. You can play online with this against other banned folks like me. I tried it out last night with COD-MW2, it works like a charm. They even give you a nice little chat window so that I can make fun of your mother and coax you into a game
I only had a silver membership when I got banned, I had NEVER played online with Live. I was banned for playing pre-releases (cause i love it) Yesterday for the first time ever, I was rocking online with by banned xbox. Thanks M$ for giving me 1 million new friends to play with !!!
And yes it sucks what they are doing. but hey , you have all those FREE games to play and make you feel better right? Whenever I feel bitter about being banned, i just reflect on how much Ive been screwing them since modding my xbox.
up next ? trying out Borderlands on xlink tonight, who says there is no life after banning.
oh and p.s. its pretty easy to knock the xbox and say how awesome PS3 is for NEVER banning people. But you cant mod that thing, so of course you dont get banned you ps3 loving morons. Why would you?
November 22, 2009
#28
Other thing you have to consider Johnny, even if you get a legal copy of a game for the PS3, if you play it before it’s official release you don’t get banned either. If you are playing it it’s because you got a legal copy. No one can blame or punish you for getting a legal copy somewhere else before it’s official release. PSN just rule and on top of that it’s free. MS charge you and ban you too. What a shame.
December 26, 2009
#29
First off im not a fan of either platform. I have a 360 and a PS3. You guy’s can argue all you want over who’s the best out there and it makes no difference. The simple fact’s are that Microsoft is in this to make money. Your hard earned money, and while your killing yourself at the gas station (cmon dont lie your not impressing anyone here) to make the money to pay for the outrageous price of a game. They are sitting back laughing at all of you for making them rich. Now they ban all of us modders and stick a red hot rod up our butt just so they can sit and make fun of us some more while the money just keep’s rolling in. My question is what’s worse, the fact that they are raping us blind, or the fact that you’ll save up all your hard earned pennies and go buy another XBox360 to line their pocket’s with unearned cash?? If your really p**sed about this do something……Stop complaining and go get a PS3 hit em where it hurt’s (in the wallet) or be a retard and keep buying their crap.