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Live ID lameness rears ugly head once more
If your gamertag is saddled with a Hotmail or MSN email address, you may know of the unbreakable bond between them. Discovered long ago, it is impossible to associate your gamertag with a new email address if your Windows Live ID was automatically created by a Microsoft site like Hotmail or MSN. Before, it was a minor annoyance, as it forced many to maintain an email address they had long since abandoned. Now, with the release of Live Messenger integration on the 360, it's become a serious nuisance.
Pre-texting the cause of Xbox Live account issues
Earlier this week news broke of a supposed Xbox Live hack which ultimately turned out to be false, but we still didn't have specific answers. But Major Nelson, being the detective he is, dug deeper into the peculiar account hijacks and discovered what really happened. With the help of security researcher Kevin Finisterre Microsoft learned that the problem was nothing more than human error caused by the process of pre-texting. Pre-texting happens when individuals (those l33t haxorz) call customer support and "trick" them into giving out confidential account information. So, it wasn't as widespread as we all thought or due to some mysterious techie Windows Live ID account hack. It was just a few customer support reps being tricked into giving out account information. Don't fret though, Microsoft is committed to re-training their reps with the knowledge of this incident and hopes to prevent any further pre-texting headaches.Gold star goes to Microsoft for acknowledging the problem, finding its source, and taking steps to correct it. As we all know, it takes a real man to admit he is wrong, but it takes a bigger man to fix his mistakes. Be safe kids!
Some Xbox Live accounts hacked [update 1]
Over the weekend a group of hackers hijacked Windows Live IDs through Bungie.net and supposedly took over all accounts associated within those IDs. ZDNet.com compiled a list of sources who are confirming such hacks after a security researcher over at Digital Munition released a full disclosure report. ZDNet.com then received emails from Xbox Live members confirming that their accounts have been taken over and that everything from fraudulent charges on their account to password changes occurred. So far Microsoft has somewhat admitted to the problem, but hasn't been overly helpful. There has been no official word from Microsoft, but in a phone conversation with a Xbox Live Tech they said that "hackers have control of Xbox live and there is nothing we can do about it".Have you noticed anything screwy with your Xbox Live account or Windows Live ID? So far we haven't heard anything from the fanboy community, making us believe this is a much more isolated problem then ZDNet.com makes it appear. But we definitely think Microsoft needs to either come out and admit to the problem and tell us what happened or squash this over-zealous rumor. This whole hacking problem further begs the question; why can't hackers and gamers live in harmony?Update 1: This mystery has been solved![Via Digg]
