Microsoft banning hacked consoles, users from Xbox Live

Console hackers: beware! Microsoft has officially taken the hard line on hacked consoles connecting to Xbox Live. According to the Xbox's Gamerscore blog, henceforth when a modded console is detected on the Live network, users can expect to have their account auto-banned, and their console permanently disabled from the system. Damn. (We just hope that doesn't affect the kinder, gentler type of Xbox modding.) Granted, we can't really fault Xbox for trying to keep cheating between gamers on the level, but anything that so actively deincentivizes people from toying around with their own hardware is a serious bummer.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2007 12:21AM]

@tchiseen

So... You got banned? I didn't know you could get banned if you didn't have an Xbox. There is no way you can get banned if you have done nothing wrong.

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2007 12:28AM]

You guys dont seem to understand.
1. There is not Homebrew out yet for 360 (so this is all about piracy)
2. The hack is the firmware hack that allows backups

I think they did they beacuse they found alot more people for H3 than expected. All the people that got the burnt crackdown got the beta, so easily the numbers dont match. My buddy just got shut down today, and the last update was last week or early this week i believe so it came a couple days after. The modders thought they had a fix for after the update, but i guess it didnt work lol.

[roflercopterer Posted May 18th 2007 12:56AM]

You are so wrong its not even funny. There are certain versions of the kernel that do infact run unsigned code and this could be very related. Until Microsoft comes out and says it, we don't know what they're banning for.

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2007 12:40AM]

Uh, the discs of Crackdown that sport the Halo 3 beta invite use a serial code on the disc. Once it is used, it can't be used for any other Xbox or Gamer Tag, therefore rendering cracked copies of Crackdown useless to that feature.

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2007 12:46AM]

To all the cheating-modders and PS3 fanboys ripping on MS, grow up, stop smoking pot, move out of your parents basement, get a real job and be a productive member of society! IT'S AN F'ING GAME CONSOLE, there is more to life!

[roflercopterer Posted May 18th 2007 1:27AM]

so you come on a website dedicated to gadgets that often glorifies and encourages hacking/modding and whine about people with no life...noice

[Chinpokomon Posted May 18th 2007 3:56AM]

Right, but to play a game on Live aren't you required to update your Dash and Kernel? If you're going to mess with the homebrew/King Kong shader hack, you won't be connecting that box to Live anyway...

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2007 2:38AM]

THANK YOU M$!! HALO FANS LOVE YOU!

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2007 2:50AM]

REP, do you think it's clever to use the dollar sign for the "S" in "MS"? Yeah you're cool and all, but we all know you're a failure at heart.

Diego Souto, stop spreading lies.

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2007 12:53PM]

No, you can not modify a Xbox 360 ISO in anyway because you'd break the encryption key for the disc and it would be unplayable. You might be talking about the original Xbox and until you post proof, you are lying.

[(Unverified) Posted May 20th 2007 7:28PM]

Hold on to your underpants Mark... I am making a statement about the motivations of Microsoft having a multiplayer device which detects mods and blocks the device (the point of the thread). ++Cracks *have* been around forever - since the early 80's where people modify code to create level trainers or cheats.

And just because nobody has hacked the drive encryption yet does not mean that tomorrow it won't be defeated, in fact there has already been reports on popular press (BBC) about dutch guys geting the decrypted raw data from the console; so it is almost a certainty that within 6 months a set of mods and some reproducible processes will exist allowing piracy and cheating the game-code to occur...

...honest...

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2007 6:57AM]

HAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAA

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2007 6:52AM]

Good. Letting modders on Live is just going to lead to a repeat of the rampant Halo 2 cheating we'd seen before. Sorry folks, but if you want to play with Microsoft's toys, you've got to follow Microsoft's rules.

Otherwise, go to the PC.

[ssjowowo Posted May 18th 2007 7:48AM]

u guys should listen to the true story. it's not just modded xbox users that are getting banned. there are many that are getting banned and don't have any modded firmware flashed to their drive. just have a look at xbox official forum: http://forums.xbox.com/2/12538432/ShowPost.aspx#12538432

anyway this is really a stupid move from microsoft. they better fix this because already many people with unmodded consoles are unhappy with this

[Gipper Posted May 18th 2007 9:03AM]

Kind of.

XBOX1 is checked with EEPROM, HDD S/N, and firmware scan. As long as those check out, you're cool.

My box has a dual boot. I can boot it with original firmware, or a hacked firmware.

I am not a cheater. I never tried to get online with anything other than ALL ORIGINAL software, so I haven't been banned. BUT, I have XBMC on my HDD, and if I got scanned, I'd have a bunch of extra files.

I don't plan to ever try to cheat, but if they checked the files on my HDD, I'd be hosed. It's a catch 22 for me since I had to do that to get back on LIVE after my box failed.

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2007 9:27AM]

What's all this nonsense about homebrew? There is no homebrew for Xbox 360 that will work once you connect to Live, the updates fixed the exploit. So if someone is running homebrew, they can't go on Live anyway so what's the f*cking difference.
What's annoying me is, what if I have 2 consoles and I backup my games to play on the other console, because I don't sh*t money?
Good timing though lol! The Halo 3 beta was like a fly zapper.

[Muu Posted May 18th 2007 9:44AM]

If you have 2 consoles but are backing up the game to play them on both simultaneously you're still breaking licensing agreements I'm sure.

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2007 9:55AM]

who said I was going to play them both at the same time?

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2007 10:27AM]

this console banning is not for piracy MS are finally banning people who had a lot of complaints against them for cheating and being general jerks. I reported a couple of ppl in my time I know. Every copy of crackdown and every other game is the same there are no serial codes or anything like that. MS cannot detect flashed firmware as that would be a breach of privacy they are NOT allowed to scan consoles for hacks. Running unsigned firmware like with a recent hack is fully detectable soon as you connect its not scanning. I got 5 ppl on my friends like right now playing Halo 3 all them have flashed firmware early versions too. Unlike Sony MS dont put individual ID's on each copy of a game only the games themselves have an ID they did this to save money on launch as it would have been a LOT more expensive to put this feature in that PS2 and PS3 have. Otherwise people would have been detected a long time ago..

[tiuk Posted May 18th 2007 10:27AM]

Well, glad I decided to wait until my warranty is up in November to mod. I'd rather buy games and not risk getting banned.

At least MS is banning consoles and not gamertags, they could easily be banning both.

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2007 10:28AM]

haha too be honest I think free games is more important than for an online service as live is basically windows messenger with a few perks.

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2007 10:59AM]

Good good. Ban the modders. I have never been a fan of those Mod-chips. It's a unfair way to gain the system and most ppl just do it to be able to play pirated games so I support Microsoft big time here.

[Jamar Posted May 18th 2007 12:11PM]

I'm guessing that the 360 is region-free? Region control is quite a legitimate reason to mod your box. I have my Wii modded for this reason (just try to tell me with a straight face that I have to buy one Wii for every region I want to play games from) and my friends with 360s where I live have them modded for this reason too (China/HK is a different region from the US-- they don't speak a lick of Chinese either so they want their games in English).

[notung Posted May 18th 2007 11:58AM]

Are u serously saying that MS is banning people that other users have rated them as cheaters?

I just can believe that... I have been threatened many times by little insane kids to get a bad report because if that is the case, sooner or later I will be banned (maybe tonight).

It will be wonderful, because instead paying a therapy to those kids of their parents even with the money of my subscription, some respectful guys like me will get banned? jajajajajajajajajajaj, merci merci me...jajajajajajaj

While I am on the unbanned side I will continue giving them their usual headshot dose to loose up their nerves and prepare them for the real life.

I don't buy that, man. Continue with the piracy lead... you will get wiser as u advance that path

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2007 1:38PM]

no its not people giving you bad feedback you can actually select an option yo complain about them and now MS are watching people who had a lot of warnings and banning.

[RobertaZ Posted May 21st 2007 3:33AM]

Screw Microsoft! I will never use their products again. Long live Ubuntu & The Wii!

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2007 5:38PM]

hhahahahahahahhahahahahahahhah check this out
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/2843/banmsfn0id8.jpg

[Shelbz Posted May 19th 2007 11:24AM]

heh my modded 360 plays on Live fine, my unmodded one got the ban. Good call M$.