275 replies to this topic

[Kristov Kerensky]

Mechwarrior Buddah, on 10 June 2015 - 07:35 PM, said:

What WOULD work then? Because you can sidestep IP bans easy as hell, even easier than CC bans

Already covered that Hardware IDs that aren't gained by asking the OS, as that can be and is easily spoofed. There are other methods software can use to obtain the hardware IDs that can't be spoofed. THOSE require the banned person to replace specific hardware to get around the ban. PB does this and has done this for over a decade for anyone attempting to access their db system. It's perfectly legal around the globe, even China and the EU don't have problems with it.

bad arcade kitty, on 11 June 2015 - 04:03 AM, said:

just because you install their client it doesn't mean it has the right to rummage in your bios and generally your system

Actually, you gave it that permission the moment you clicked I Agree on the EULA, you really SHOULD read those EULAs you just click on and never read, amazing what's in there.

For example, since you obviously have a Window OS, did you know that you do NOT own that OS? You are renting it and MicroSoft can, at any time for any OR no reason whatsever, remove that OS from your system? Same goes with just about every single piece of software on any PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Android device.

They may or may not be allowed to collect your personal information based on what you agreed to in that EULA as well, despite the EU laws on the subject, since a legally binding contract IS a legally binding contract and electronic signatures, hitting 'I Agree", are valid and binding.

As for getting hardware IDs from the BIOS, NO personal information is collected, so there's no laws to be concerned with in the first place. You really should read up on this stuff and stop listening to people who don't know what the hell they are talking about or assume things. Hardware IDs are numbers that identify computer hardware, not you, nothing about you, JUST that piece of hardware. Using that information to keep your computer from access a software service is totally legal anywhere on the globe, and that's WITHOUT the company needing a REASON to prevent the access.

It's simple, it's effective, but it will cost the company revenue so it's not something they'll do, that's reality. PB does it when ever someone tries to access their db and that's it, but that hardware ban from PB means you can't access ANYTHING that uses PB, totally legal, over a decade of active usage, around the globe...

[bad arcade kitty]

>As for getting hardware IDs from the BIOS, NO personal information is collected, so there's no laws to be concerned with in the first place. You really should read up on this stuff and stop listening to people who don't know what the hell they are talking about or assume things. Hardware IDs are numbers that identify computer hardware, not you, nothing about you, JUST that piece of hardware. Using that information to keep your computer from access a software service is totally legal anywhere on the globe, and that's WITHOUT the company needing a REASON to prevent the access.

i'm sorry but the law and your personal ideas of what's legal 'anywhere on the globe' it's probably different things

Edited by bad arcade kitty, 11 June 2015 - 01:37 PM.

[Dimento Graven]

bad arcade kitty, on 11 June 2015 - 01:37 PM, said:

>As for getting hardware IDs from the BIOS, NO personal information is collected, so there's no laws to be concerned with in the first place. You really should read up on this stuff and stop listening to people who don't know what the hell they are talking about or assume things. Hardware IDs are numbers that identify computer hardware, not you, nothing about you, JUST that piece of hardware. Using that information to keep your computer from access a software service is totally legal anywhere on the globe, and that's WITHOUT the company needing a REASON to prevent the access.

i'm sorry but the law and your personal ideas of what's legal 'anywhere on the globe' it's probably different things

You'll have to explain how a PC serial number, something not publicly displayed anywhere, is "personally identifying".

I currently work in an industry that's VERY big on protecting PII, and I can tell you, you're over reaching... Just a tiny bit.

[bar10jim]

Wildstreak, on 09 June 2015 - 09:05 AM, said:

I would not be surprised if they are coming back. I had matches where I was getting shot with LRMs when
- I was behind cover from all enemies.
- I was not NARCed.
- they had no hidden spotters, I checked.

I once had a player SCREAMING that the LRMs were broken because he was behind cover and still getting hit. Yes, he was behind cover. I was behind him in my 4x SRM2 Locust. I had lock, and the missiles kept coming in (gotta love that stream of LRM5's). The LRM's weren't hitting him. My SRMs were. As he tried frantically to get closer to the building to get into "cover", I systematically destroyed all of his back armor. He's STILL convinced the LRMs killed him. Me and my Locust know better.

Just a little note: While I wouldn't call it competitive, the Locust 3S with 4 SRM2s can be a lot of to harass Heavies and Assaults. Using the Boom and Zoom tactic, this thing can destroy injured mechs on the battlefield.

[Wintersdark]

bad arcade kitty, on 11 June 2015 - 01:37 PM, said:

>As for getting hardware IDs from the BIOS, NO personal information is collected, so there's no laws to be concerned with in the first place. You really should read up on this stuff and stop listening to people who don't know what the hell they are talking about or assume things. Hardware IDs are numbers that identify computer hardware, not you, nothing about you, JUST that piece of hardware. Using that information to keep your computer from access a software service is totally legal anywhere on the globe, and that's WITHOUT the company needing a REASON to prevent the access.

i'm sorry but the law and your personal ideas of what's legal 'anywhere on the globe' it's probably different things

Privacy laws are nowhere near as protective as you might think.

[Dimento Graven]

Wintersdark, on 11 June 2015 - 02:11 PM, said:

Privacy laws are nowhere near as protective as you might think.

Also, keep in mind most privacy laws don't prevent the COLLECTION of private information, but control how/when/where that information is released/published.

Your bank (the industry I currently work in) has an absolute SHITE TON of PII data on you, and they've been collecting it since before you opened your first bank account.

What they CAN NOT do is distribute that data 'willy-nilly'. There are some rules that allow them to transmit that information internally and amongst 'partners', and unless you very specifically write your bank a physical letter, sent registered (if you don't send it registered, we just pretend we lose it) stating that they cannot do these things with your information, guess what? They're doing it.

How do you think 50% of your financial related junk mail is finding you?

[anonymous161]

It should be a ip ban but no wonder pgi is ok with them coming back, if they have the money to waste on hacks for a free to play game then they will surely buy every pack in this game generating pgi profit.

Hackers are dumb.

[Kristov Kerensky]

bad arcade kitty, on 11 June 2015 - 01:37 PM, said:

>As for getting hardware IDs from the BIOS, NO personal information is collected, so there's no laws to be concerned with in the first place. You really should read up on this stuff and stop listening to people who don't know what the hell they are talking about or assume things. Hardware IDs are numbers that identify computer hardware, not you, nothing about you, JUST that piece of hardware. Using that information to keep your computer from access a software service is totally legal anywhere on the globe, and that's WITHOUT the company needing a REASON to prevent the access.

i'm sorry but the law and your personal ideas of what's legal 'anywhere on the globe' it's probably different things

This isn't MY personal take on the laws, it's actually the laws. EvenBalance, the makers of PunkBuster, have been doing this for over 10 years without legal challenges that stopped it anywhere, and they have banned people via hardware from every country on the planet that you can access the internet from.

You can THINK the laws don't allow this all you want, but the reality is different. I actually have to know these laws as part of my job, they are NOT what you think they are and they do NOT function as you think they function.

Hardware serial numbers aren't personal ID, they can be obtained without your permission and used without your permission, be it your computer's CPU ID or the serial number on your television(smart tvs, think about that), it's not personal and it's not covered by the same laws.

[Wintersdark]

Dimento Graven, on 11 June 2015 - 02:24 PM, said:

Also, keep in mind most privacy laws don't prevent the COLLECTION of private information, but control how/when/where that information is released/published.

Your bank (the industry I currently work in) has an absolute SHITE TON of PII data on you, and they've been collecting it since before you opened your first bank account.

What they CAN NOT do is distribute that data 'willy-nilly'. There are some rules that allow them to transmit that information internally and amongst 'partners', and unless you very specifically write your bank a physical letter, sent registered (if you don't send it registered, we just pretend we lose it) stating that they cannot do these things with your information, guess what? They're doing it.

How do you think 50% of your financial related junk mail is finding you?

Yup.

The reality is that everyone these days collects a metric shitton (we're in Canada here) of this information. And what they "can" legally do with your information and what they ACTUALLY do with it are going to be very different things for a lot of companies. After all - it's only illegal if you get caught (and can't afford a sufficient legal defense).

[WazOfOz]

a leopard cannot change it's spots.

[Jeffrey Wilder]

No wonder I got head shot again

[ManDaisy]

Hey fresh ban wave which means months and months of unhampered cheating before the next wave. Enjoy playing with cheaters for a couple months.

[WazOfOz]

these cheats have been named and shamed before. if they return under a different name, and we are lucky enough to find out their new name, perhaps these new names should go back onto the wall of shame. if for no other reason than to keep a close eye on them.

[Bill Lumbar]

Dimento Graven, on 11 June 2015 - 02:24 PM, said:

Also, keep in mind most privacy laws don't prevent the COLLECTION of private information, but control how/when/where that information is released/published.

Your bank (the industry I currently work in) has an absolute SHITE TON of PII data on you, and they've been collecting it since before you opened your first bank account.

What they CAN NOT do is distribute that data 'willy-nilly'. There are some rules that allow them to transmit that information internally and amongst 'partners', and unless you very specifically write your bank a physical letter, sent registered (if you don't send it registered, we just pretend we lose it) stating that they cannot do these things with your information, guess what? They're doing it.

How do you think 50% of your financial related junk mail is finding you?

Funny. I haven't had a bank account since 2004.

[ArchAngelWC]

wait so you are saying PGI's enforcement of anti-cheat is halfassed and mostly for show...

The hell you say

Edited by ArchAngelWC, 11 June 2015 - 09:11 PM.

[MechWarrior3671771]

What about this? Will it work when MWO moves to STEAM? (I admit I don't really understand what STEAM is or whether all players will need to use it).

Developers Can Now Ban Players for Cheating on Steam
http://www.ign.com/a...eating-on-steam

[FlipOver]

Interesting story here:

At Frozen City, I decided to face a CTF on the tunnel using my Centurion.
I noticed it's loadout with ac20, 2x ML and SRM4s... It would be a fun fight with me being in a disadvantage without space to maneuver around the enemy CTF.

As I lay the first blows, I am constantly torso twisting and he manages a head-shot on me... Could happen, so I continued on with even more attention to not show my cockpit unless he was recharging his weapons.
2 Shots later, I'm destroyed by head-shot (second in a row).

I die and type something like this on the general chat:
<CTF pilots name> you are either extremely skillful or you had some help to land 2 consecutive head-shots on me while I was torso-twisting and in a range of 30 meters of you.

Next thing that happens:
<CTF pilots name> disconnected

Fun story.

Edit - Was I too harsh or unfair?

Edited by FlipOver, 12 June 2015 - 01:10 AM.

[Joseph Mallan]

Fenrisulvyn, on 09 June 2015 - 09:06 AM, said:

OTOH, if my girlfriend got banned because she accessed her account on my hacked rig, I would be on my hands and knees begging PGI to let her back in. I'd take a bus to PGI headquarters and circle the building with a "Let Her Back In" sign till I dropped.

Someone find that guy and tell him to man up.

You act as if the man has any character to begin with.

Bill Lumbar, on 11 June 2015 - 08:48 PM, said:

Funny. I haven't had a bank account since 2004.

So double the junk mail you get now IF you did have one.

[DeathlyEyes]

They could at least ban by mac address. EA bans by HD ID.

[Mudhutwarrior]

I think all PGI has done is advertise how effective the cheats can be now. Every Richard now knows its worth the money to subscribe to them.

Unless they get uber aggressive with going after cheaters the problem will only get worse exponentially.