Microsoft Banning Modded Xboxen

An anonymous reader writes "Since the release of Halo 2 (ed: and just before), Microsoft has been banning modified Xboxes from Xbox Live. Some have even been banned with their mod-chips turned off. Previously many users had been able to use Xbox Live provided they disabled their mod-chip. There are a few theories floating around as to how MS is doing this: from scanning the hard-drive for non-MS material to being able to check if the DVD-drive/Hard-disk serial number is from stock or not."

xboxen? how about using correct words

[gl4ss]

you afraid ms bans slashdot too if you refer to xboxes?

and anyways, surely it would have been known for you as a xbox owner, especially owner of a modded one, that the software can scan the hd(and itself, which it should do for the net play anyways, on which they will pin the reason for this to be).

yeah, it kinda sucks that you can't get the most out of your xbox (use it for emulators, xvid playing AND gaming on xbox live, you pretty much knew you would in reality have to choose between the two) - BUT YOU KNEW THAT when you put down the cash for the system anyways.

obvious solutions? don't modify anything on the harddisk by yourself. pretty darn hard for the box to guess by which bios it was last booted with..

This should come as a surprise to no one.

[still_sick]

From the start, everyone here has been saying that since they owned the XBox machine, they can mod it however they want.

Great. Go nuts.

But it works both ways. Microsoft owns the Live Network - and if they say "No Modded XBoxes", that's what it means.

They are under no obligation to let you break their rules. Just because some people have gotten away with it up until now means nothing.

I must be new here.

[WhatAmIDoingHere]

Boxen?

Another alternative

[Rick the Red]

At only $180 for a new Xbox, less for a used one, there's another alternative: buy a second, unmodified Xbox for exclusive use on Xbox Live. If you can afford Xbox Live and a mod chip, then you should be able to afford a second Xbox.

Re:xboxen? how about using correct words

[gl4ss]

like 'virii' is good use of words? it isn't.
try to write "I booted 20 boxen because of virii that took over" to some essay. It's used, the slashdot topic is proof of that, but so is OMG LOLLOOOLLOLOL and other crap. moreover, like 'virii' it's mostly used by people who try to spin it into sounding geek professional(or "l337") or think they know latin when they don't(again, trying to sound 'cool' by choice of words).

it's used to make the text unreadable to laymen, or to seperate yourself as the writer from some other posse, who while not being leet would simply talk about boxes and viruses.

if you hate corporatespeak(tm), adding useless words and hard to understand, cool looking synonyms for words, why would you like to push a different form of the same kind of stupidness?

Re:Reply to my own post...

[Deorus]

What I don't understand is how Microsoft would see one's MAC address provided that Ethernet is not routable...

The rest of your idea seems pretty nice. It would help if someone perhaps created a journal or something for that purpose (as this article will be off the main page by tomorrow). I believe that with enough information even someone without an Xbox could make an ipfilter module for that purpose.

Anyway the problem might be a little harder to solve, especially if the connection is encrypted and the private key differs from one unit to another, but that would be a bigger and even more addictive challenge.

Re:I can't comment on how they're detecting mods..

[ivan256]

IP is a Layer 3 protocol. Your (Layer 2) ethernet address isn't transmitted to servers over the internet. Many IP enabled devices don't even use ethernet and thus have no mac address.

Regardless, these machines aren't blocked from connecting to the network. They're allowed to connect, checked and then disconnected.

banned from xbox live!!!

[sknja]

who really cares. If you got your xbox modded then you shouldnt be paying for online play anyway.

There are may programs that allow you to have the same great online gaming experience for free.

Much like the original halo, free online gaming is just a step away. I thank everyone who took the time to write/develope the programs. They should be commeded for what they have done for the "openbox" community

Re:What's with all the "Troll" Modifiers?

[Anonymous Coward]

"Troll," on slashdot, refers neither to something living under a bridge preying on billy goats, nor to one who crafts an cunningly obvious invitation for people who don't know any better to go for "+1, erudite" and yet somehow end up at "-1, pedantic."

Here, "Troll" means, doesn't subscribe in total to the prevailing dogma.

Re:This should come as a surprise to no one.

[I(rispee_I(reme]

You are correct, it doesn't give me the right to run a battle.net server, since I already have the right to run whatever kind of server I like on my hardware, using my bandwidth. If you don't like it, don't ping it.

Re:This should come as a surprise to no one.

[Cecil]

Buying an Xbox doesn't mean you get to decide how they run the Live service. Buying Diablo 2 doesn't give you the right to run your own Battle.net server.

The former is valid, the Live service is Microsoft's property. The latter is not valid, the Battle.net server (bnetd) was *not* Blizzard's property.

If someone wanted to create a "Mod-chip okay!" XBox Live service, I think that should be perfectly fine. Likewise, if someone wants to create a "Cheaters welcome!" (or "Not welcome!" depending on your view of how Blizzard handles cheaters) version of Battle.net, more power to them as far as I'm concerned.

But it doesn't always have to be about cheating or mod-chipping or piracy, maybe I want to run a gaming network where stats for all sorts of different games, including Battle.net games, all get compiled into the same rankings. Or maybe I want to modify the rules somewhat. It shouldn't be illegal. I don't care if it is or isn't under current copyright law and licensing agreements and other stupidity, it shouldn't be.

Re:This should come as a surprise to no one.

[FortKnox]

I actually prefer it this way. That way we know there is no 'hardware trick' that allows cheating in, say, Madden. So when I get my butt stomped, I realize I'm just really bad at the game, and can't blame cheating ;-)

Wonderful news!

[Shufly]

I think this is great news for all Xbox Live gamers. Personally, I was sold on the idea of Xbox Live because of the broadband only enviroment, and the thought that gaming on a closed system meant there would be less cheating, plus with everyone playing on the same platform there would be no more bitching about having a crappy video card or slow CPU, it leveled the playing field. Of course as someone who pays $50 a year for the service, it upsets me when I get into a game where someone is using cheats when the whole point of paying for the service to me is to have Microsoft step in and remove cheaters and hackers from the service. They are keeping up their end of the bargin, and for that I am thankful. Mind you, I played Counter-Strike for 3 years on and off and was an admin on my own server for half that time, and I could not play a single public game without someone wall-hacking or using an aim-bot. It was especially annoying because I was very fair, and being friends with and having a few professional gamers who played on our server, I knew that just cause someone had 50 kills and 3 deaths that they could just be really good, so I would have to quit out of CS, jump onto our HLTV server and watch the offender in first person until I was absolutly sure he was cheating. This wasted many, many hours of my time, and was the major factor in me getting onto Xbox Live. I think it is cool that you can do so many unintended things by modding an Xbox, but I love that they are kept away from playing on Live and screwing up everyone else's fun.

boggling

[XO]

Apparently, the submitter hasn't been paying attention to anything.

ALL modded XBoxes are not allowed on Live. They NEVER have been allowed on Live.

So, they've improved the detection to tell if your box has been modded. It's really a completely Non-story.

This is the most non-story tripe I've seen on slashdot in a long time, and I've seen a LOT of non-story stuff.

Re:Target: foot. Fire!

[Blakey Rat]

You must have reading comprehension problems, because I didn't say anywhere that I was important.

I was responding to the tone of what you wrote, not the words.

There will be others out there who were thinking about getting Live and Halo 2 etc etc who aren't going to bother now.

What, the Slashdot crowd where everyone owns a Gamecube and any XBox you might see is modded and full of Linux utilities?

Normal people don't *care* about news like this. Microsoft markets the XBox towards normal everyday people, not geeks who like to put Linux on their freakin' thermostats. Will they lose sales? Maybe a few hundred, admittedly... but you also have to realize that making XBox Live cheat-free *gains* sales as well. I got it so I could play Counter-Strike in an environment where I don't have to worry about all that crap you get in the PC version.

You don't like it, you won't buy it. Fine. But don't make it sound like some crusade or movement, and remember that there are a ton of people who appreciate what Microsoft is doing with Live.

This makes sense...mostly

[SkankinMonkey]

If you want to use their service, use it per their terms. If you don't want to use it, do whatever you want to your XBOX, it's yours after all. Can you really blame Microsoft for not wanting to allow people to use potentially pirated games on their service? They have to make money too. I'm not a huge fan of Microsoft, but what they're doing here makes complete sense. And yes, I realize that modding your XBOX has legitimate uses, but in the long run, most users do this to play games they haven't bought yet, and not to develop the next version of XLinux or whatever programs they put out.

Re:boggling

[startled]

So, they've improved the detection to tell if your box has been modded. It's really a completely Non-story.

Actually, tips from the board will likely keep me from getting banned. The story's useful to me, anyway. So, it was news for at least one nerd.

Re:I must be new here.

[Sylver Dragon]

Its a poor attempt to borrow a Germanic language pattern. For some reason, German is cool.

Payable Downloads?

[craigandthem]

It seems to me that this is a pretty clear sign Bungie is planning on offering payable downloads. I speculate we'll see Hang 'em High (as well as others) for $5 in the very near future. If they allowed modded boxes onto Live, you'd be able to pull that file off your HD and "share" it with others. By making sure your Xbox is stock, they ensure you actually have to pay for what you get.

Fine by me. As long as they can keep making money by developing new levels, they'll keep churning them out.