hacks | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Thu, 04 May 2023 15:35:48 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png hacks | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Bungie wins $12m in latest Destiny cheats lawsuit https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/matthew-wilson/bungie-wins-12m-in-latest-destiny-cheats-lawsuit/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/matthew-wilson/bungie-wins-12m-in-latest-destiny-cheats-lawsuit/#respond Thu, 04 May 2023 15:35:48 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=614127 In recent years, Bungie has been looking to hamper the Destiny 2 cheating scene by going after the creators and sellers of cheats directly. Bungie has already had a few successful cases, including a $13 million payout in 2022. Now, Bungie has won another case against a cheat maker, this time winning a $12 million …

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In recent years, Bungie has been looking to hamper the Destiny 2 cheating scene by going after the creators and sellers of cheats directly. Bungie has already had a few successful cases, including a $13 million payout in 2022. Now, Bungie has won another case against a cheat maker, this time winning a $12 million sum. 

As reported by TheGamePost, Bungie's lawsuit against Mihai Claudiu Florentin, the person Bungie claims is behind VeteranCheats, has been ordered to pay $12 million USD in damages to Bungie for producing and distributing cheat software.

The case, which was filed in a Washington District Court, had Bungie seeking just under $12 million in damages based on a figure of $2000 USD for each sale of the cheat. According to the case file, the VeteranCheats software was downloaded more than 5,800 times.

Bungie has already won several cases against cheaters. Recently, the company added another to the list, suing a company known as LeviCheats for $6.7 million over Destiny 2 cheating tools.

KitGuru Says: With major companies directly going after cheat makers all across the world, it is becoming more dangerous to produce or share cheats for various online games. Unfortunately, it hasn't made it any harder to find cheats, as the market for them still remains in place. 

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Bungie wins $4.3 million in lawsuit against Destiny cheat sellers https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/bungie-wins-4-3-million-in-lawsuit-against-destiny-cheat-sellers/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/bungie-wins-4-3-million-in-lawsuit-against-destiny-cheat-sellers/#respond Tue, 21 Feb 2023 16:33:15 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=594052 For a couple of years now, Bungie's legal team has been hard at work identifying cheat creators and serving them with lawsuits. One of the biggest cases was brought against AimJunkies, which tried and failed to counter-sue Bungie last year. Now, a judge has ultimately sided with Bungie on the case, ordering AimJunkies to pay …

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For a couple of years now, Bungie's legal team has been hard at work identifying cheat creators and serving them with lawsuits. One of the biggest cases was brought against AimJunkies, which tried and failed to counter-sue Bungie last year. Now, a judge has ultimately sided with Bungie on the case, ordering AimJunkies to pay over $4 million in damages. 

This lawsuit didn't go as smoothly as Bungie would have liked, as initially, a judge did dismiss the lawsuit, which opened the door for AimJunkies to counter-sue. The countersuit was also dismissed and Bungie refiled its own case. As reported by TorrentFreak, during arbitration, a judge sided with Bungie on the issue, ordering AimJunkies to pay $4.3 million USD in damages for supplying cheats for Destiny 2.

As reported by TorrentFreak, AimJunkies was found to have been in violation of the DMCA after using reverse engineering techniques to find holes in Bungie's security systems. In all, the total amount of damages works out to roughly $2,500 per each act of circumvention.

The legal filings indicate that around 1,361 copies of AimJunkies' Destiny 2 cheat tools were sold. While you would think that losing a case like this would force a cheat seller to shut down, AimJunkies unfortunately still remains active, although its Destiny cheats have been taken down.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Bungie is building up a track record for winning these cases, which in turn should help discourage others from selling Destiny 2 cheat tools, which should also help shrink the market for cheats too. 

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Cheat seller countersues Bungie, claims company violated ToS and DMCA https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/cheat-seller-countersues-bungie-claims-company-violated-tos-and-dmca/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/cheat-seller-countersues-bungie-claims-company-violated-tos-and-dmca/#respond Wed, 21 Sep 2022 07:50:25 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=575258 Recently, Bungie has been handing out lawsuits against cheat sellers and cheat creators, looking to stamp out cheating in Destiny 2. For the most part, Bungie is winning these cases, but it ran into a wall earlier this year when a lawsuit against AimJunkies was dismissed by a judge. Now, the group behind the cheat …

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Recently, Bungie has been handing out lawsuits against cheat sellers and cheat creators, looking to stamp out cheating in Destiny 2. For the most part, Bungie is winning these cases, but it ran into a wall earlier this year when a lawsuit against AimJunkies was dismissed by a judge. Now, the group behind the cheat seller is suing Bungie back. 

We initially heard that AimJunkies was looking to file its own lawsuit against Bungie back in August. The lawsuit against them was dismissed, after a judge agreed that the cheats were “original software” and did not infringe on Bungie's copyright – the exact opposite outcome Bungie was hoping for. Now, armed with this ruling, AimJunkies is looking to throw a punch back at Bungie.

As reported by TorrentFreak, AimJunkies' parent company, Phoenix Digital, has filed its own complaint against Bungie, claiming that the company attempted to hack its systems. The complaint also goes on to claim that Bungie broke DMCA by trying to circumvent protections on AimJunkies software.

Other counterclaims thrown into the case include a breach of AimJunkies' own terms of service. Essentially, the company is trying to throw every allegation it faced right back at Bungie.

Bungie has not yet commented or filed a response to the claims made in the countersuit.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: With all of these allegations now flipped and turned on Bungie, it'll be interesting to see where things land. 

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Cheat maker wants to sue Bungie, claims cheats haven’t harmed Destiny 2 https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/cheat-maker-wants-to-sue-bungie-claims-cheats-havent-harmed-destiny-2/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/cheat-maker-wants-to-sue-bungie-claims-cheats-havent-harmed-destiny-2/#respond Fri, 12 Aug 2022 14:51:12 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=570730 Recently, Bungie has been handing out lawsuits against cheat sellers and cheat creators, looking to stamp out cheating in Destiny 2. For the most part, Bungie is winning these cases, but it ran into a wall earlier this year when a lawsuit against AimJunkies was dismissed by a judge. Now, the cheat seller wants to …

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Recently, Bungie has been handing out lawsuits against cheat sellers and cheat creators, looking to stamp out cheating in Destiny 2. For the most part, Bungie is winning these cases, but it ran into a wall earlier this year when a lawsuit against AimJunkies was dismissed by a judge. Now, the cheat seller wants to file its own complaint against Bungie. 

Bungie's lawsuit against AimJunkies was dismissed back in May when a Judge agreed that the cheats were ‘original software' and did not infringe on Bungie's copyright. Typically, copyright infringement is at the centre of these lawsuits against cheat sellers.

As reported by TorrentFreak and PCGamer, AimJunkies isn't content with having the lawsuit dismissed and is actively considering its own legal action against Bungie. The cheat maker is issuing subpoenas to companies like Valve and Google to seek information that could help it prove that its cheats did not harm Destiny 2 sales or player numbers.

AimJunkies also claims that its cheats are “just doing what Steam and countless others do with overlays”, and claims that it has “offered to work with Bungie” in the past too.

Bungie has not yet responded to the statements of AimJunkies and its parent company, Phoenix Digital Group.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Bungie, Nintendo, Riot, Epic Games, Take-Two and other major games publishers all attempt to get cheating outlets shutdown with lawsuits. Usually, these companies win copyright infringement claims in these cases, so the AimJunkies' suit being dismissed is particularly interesting. 

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Cheat makers agree to pay Bungie $13.5 million in Destiny 2 lawsuit settlement https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/cheat-makers-agree-to-pay-bungie-13-5-million-in-destiny-2-lawsuit-settlement/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/cheat-makers-agree-to-pay-bungie-13-5-million-in-destiny-2-lawsuit-settlement/#respond Mon, 20 Jun 2022 16:52:35 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=565014 Over the last few years, Bungie has been tackling Destiny 2  cheats with lawsuits, suing the developers and companies selling cheat tools to players. This week, Bungie actually settled with the people behind a few different cheating sites, with the sellers agreeing to pay $13.5 million USD in damages.  After filing a lawsuit against the …

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Over the last few years, Bungie has been tackling Destiny 2  cheats with lawsuits, suing the developers and companies selling cheat tools to players. This week, Bungie actually settled with the people behind a few different cheating sites, with the sellers agreeing to pay $13.5 million USD in damages. 

After filing a lawsuit against the operators of Verterancheats, LaviCheats and Elite Boss Tech, Bungie and the cheat sellers have reached a settlement agreement. The defendants will pay $2000 per violation, equating to a massive $13.5 million settlement total. Each unique download of the cheat tool counts as a violation, and with 6765 unique downloads, things added up quickly.

As reported by TorrentFreak, Bungie accused the defendants of breaching copyright law, fraud, money laundering and violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. These charges are fairly common in cases like this, where a person or group of people are profiting from cheat sales for online games. You also see similar charges for developers and sellers of piracy and circumvention tools for consoles.

Bungie's argument is that these sites profit by compromising the gameplay experience of their game. Other publishers, like Ubisoft, Riot Games, Blizzard and Epic Games, have also been known to take legal action against popular cheat sellers.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: You would think cases like this would force others to reconsider developing and selling cheats, but the market remains strong, especially with the rise of free to play gaming, which creates an endless market. 

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Call of Duty anti-cheat now completely disarms cheaters in online matches https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/call-of-duty-anti-cheat-now-completely-disarms-cheaters-in-online-matches/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/call-of-duty-anti-cheat-now-completely-disarms-cheaters-in-online-matches/#respond Mon, 20 Jun 2022 09:30:11 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=564855 Since introducing the Ricochet anti-cheat system, the Call of Duty anti-cheat team has been implementing new ways to mess with bad actors in online matches. Previously, cheaters have been unable deal damage to enemy players, have had their ability to see or hear the enemy removed and now, cheaters are having their weapons taken away …

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Since introducing the Ricochet anti-cheat system, the Call of Duty anti-cheat team has been implementing new ways to mess with bad actors in online matches. Previously, cheaters have been unable deal damage to enemy players, have had their ability to see or hear the enemy removed and now, cheaters are having their weapons taken away entirely. 

In its latest blog post, Activision developers revealed Call of Duty's latest cheat mitigation measure. The new method will spot cheaters and simply take their weapons away. They won't even be able to deal melee damage with their character's fists.

This new Disarm approach follows on from other methods Activision has tested, including Damage Shield, which makes legitimate players invulnerable to a cheater's bullets, and Cloaking, which makes legitimate players invisible to cheaters.

So why does Activision allow cheaters to remain in games rather than giving them a swift boot from the matchmaking pool? Well, this way, caught cheaters will remain in games, giving developers time to analyse their data, while hampering their ability to have an impact on the outcome of a game.

That's not to say large ban waves don't happen. Since April, Activision has issued over 180,000 bans across Warzone and Vanguard, Of course, a permanent ban nowadays will boot your account from past, present and future Call of Duty games.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: The Call of Duty team seems to be finding a new way to mess with cheaters every few months. The constant switch-ups are bound to keep cheat creators on their toes too. 

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Call of Duty Warzone anti-cheat now gives ‘god mode’ to non cheaters https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/call-of-duty-warzone-anti-cheat-now-gives-god-mode-to-non-cheaters/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/call-of-duty-warzone-anti-cheat-now-gives-god-mode-to-non-cheaters/#respond Mon, 21 Feb 2022 11:58:29 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=550939 Cheating is a tough problem for any studio to combat when creating a competitive shooter. In 2021, the Call of Duty Warzone team revamped its efforts in this area with a new anti-cheat system, known as Ricochet. Rather than grouping suspected cheaters together in their own lobbies, as we've seen in other games, Ricochet handles …

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Cheating is a tough problem for any studio to combat when creating a competitive shooter. In 2021, the Call of Duty Warzone team revamped its efforts in this area with a new anti-cheat system, known as Ricochet. Rather than grouping suspected cheaters together in their own lobbies, as we've seen in other games, Ricochet handles cheaters a little differently. 

Recently, Call of Duty: Warzone players have discovered a new side effect to cheating. Those tagged as cheaters online will suddenly lose the ability to deal damage to enemy players, essentially giving normal players a ‘god mode' effect when they come across someone with cheats enabled.

In a blog post, the Ricochet anti-cheat team explained this a bit further, saying: “One mitigation technique we’ve been testing is something we call Damage Shield. When the server detects a cheater is tampering with the game in real-time, it disables the cheater’s ability to inflict critical damage on other players. This mitigation leaves the cheater vulnerable to real players and allows #TeamRICOCHET to collect information about a cheater’s system.”

Encounters like this are tracked by the anti-cheat system to ensure damage shields aren't being applied to players by mistake. While this initially started off as a small test, this cheat mitigation technique is now deployed for all Warzone servers worldwide. However, the Ricochet team claims this is just “one of many” techniques in play, so we may see other punishments rolled out to cheaters in the future too, including in-game effects and not just temporary or permanent bans.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: With this system in place, assuming it can remain working long-term, should do a lot to combat cheating. It is no longer just a ban hammer that cheaters need to worry about, as there are also in-game punishments in place that can activate at a moments notice. We'll just have to hope that no legitimate players get caught in the crossfire with a system like this. 

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PUBG Mobile lawsuit will see cheat makers pay up $10 million https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/pubg-mobile-lawsuit-will-see-cheat-makers-pay-up-10-million/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/pubg-mobile-lawsuit-will-see-cheat-makers-pay-up-10-million/#respond Thu, 06 Jan 2022 16:29:19 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=545666 PUBG Mobile has now won a major lawsuit targeting a group of cheat creators caught distributing and selling cheat tools for the game. The previously prolific group of hackers will now have to pay $10 million in damages, which will be re-invested in improving anti-cheat tools for the game.  Federal Courts in the United States …

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PUBG Mobile has now won a major lawsuit targeting a group of cheat creators caught distributing and selling cheat tools for the game. The previously prolific group of hackers will now have to pay $10 million in damages, which will be re-invested in improving anti-cheat tools for the game. 

Federal Courts in the United States and Germany have ruled in favour of Tencent Games and KRAFTON, Inc. in their cases against members of a hacking group. The defendants are ordered to pay Tencent Games and KRAFTON around $10 million USD in damages, and they must cease game cheating and cheat development, as well as provide details about their cheats, how they operate and any collaborators that may have been involved. 

“This legal victory bolsters our collective commitment to fiercely protect our games, PUBG IP and global community,” said Minu Lee, Head of PUBGM Product Management at KRAFTON, Inc. “Fun and fairness is the bedrock of the PUBG MOBILE experience and cheating in any form will not be tolerated. As such, we will continue enforcing our IP rights with unwavering resolve against any who seek to tarnish or misuse them.”

This lawsuit win follows on from the closure of the world's largest cheating operation in China last year. With continued legal wins, other cheat providers have begun abandoning cheats for certain games, like PUBG Mobile. Krafton is using this opportunity to continue investing in anti-cheat technology, including replay screening, isolated matchmaking for those caught cheating and improvements to the in-game report player function.

KitGuru Says: The gaming industry continues to make strides pushing back against cheats and those who sell them. The issue will never entirely go away but moves like this can lead to thousands of cheaters getting caught and banned. 

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343i ‘committed’ to tackling cheaters in Halo Infinite Multiplayer https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/343i-committed-to-tackling-cheaters-in-halo-infinite-multiplayer/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/343i-committed-to-tackling-cheaters-in-halo-infinite-multiplayer/#respond Thu, 02 Dec 2021 13:28:18 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=542245 One of the biggest challenges with launching a free to play multiplayer shooter is keeping on top of cheaters. The problem only gets worse when a game features cross-platform matchmaking, as it introduces the problem of cheating to consoles, which are usually safe from such practices. With Halo Infinite Multiplayer now being available, 343 is …

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One of the biggest challenges with launching a free to play multiplayer shooter is keeping on top of cheaters. The problem only gets worse when a game features cross-platform matchmaking, as it introduces the problem of cheating to consoles, which are usually safe from such practices. With Halo Infinite Multiplayer now being available, 343 is beginning to address concerns around cheating. 

While Halo Infinite Multiplayer was safe for its first few days on the market, it didn't take long for cheat makers to bypass security and enable hacks like aimbot, ESP and more. As Eurogamer reports, there have been multiple clips of cheaters doing the rounds on social media over the last week.

Halo Community Manager, John Junyszek, spoke out on the growing issue with cheaters, saying that “unfortunately, cheating is a natural part of supporting a F2P PC game and it's one we anticipated”. He then added that the team is “prepared and committed to releasing consistent improvements” to in-game systems and taking action against cheaters.

One of the key issues right now is that Halo Infinite does not include an in-game report feature to quickly and conveniently report players who might be cheating. Instead, 343 asks that players submit a ticket on the Halo Support website and upload a video clip of the incident in question. An in-game report function will be coming in a future update.

Currently, the most effective way to combat cheaters in PC games is to include a kernel-level anti-cheat driver. Titles like Valorant have had success with this method and this year, Call of Duty: Warzone will be switching to a similar anti-cheat method on PC. However, these anti-cheat methods also catch flack for being invasive and disregarding user-privacy. Microsoft has not announced any plans to adopt a kernel-level anti-cheat system for Halo Infinite.

KitGuru Says: I haven't ran into any cheaters myself yet, but as the game grows in popularity, more and more cheaters will begin flocking over. Have you been playing Halo Infinite multiplayer since launch? Have you encountered any in-game cheaters? 

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Ubisoft and Bungie team up to sue cheat selling site https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/ubisoft-and-bungie-team-up-to-sue-cheat-selling-site/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/ubisoft-and-bungie-team-up-to-sue-cheat-selling-site/#respond Mon, 02 Aug 2021 13:37:38 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=525591 We've seen publishers launch lawsuits against cheat makers and cheat selling sites plenty of times in the past, although it is rare to see two publishers going after the same site at once. This week, it emerged that both Ubisoft and Bungie are suing a cheat site, which sells ESP and aimbot tools for Rainbow …

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We've seen publishers launch lawsuits against cheat makers and cheat selling sites plenty of times in the past, although it is rare to see two publishers going after the same site at once. This week, it emerged that both Ubisoft and Bungie are suing a cheat site, which sells ESP and aimbot tools for Rainbow Six Siege and Destiny 2.

The site in question sells cheats via an expensive subscription model, charging anywhere from €25 to €75 per week for access to ESP, aimbot and other hacks to spoof hardware IDs to avoid detection. Its not just Rainbow Six Siege and Destiny 2 targeted either, other popular titles include Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Rust and Dead by Daylight.

As reported by TorrentFreak, both Bungie and Ubisoft are suing the cheat site in California, naming several individuals believed to be behind the business. The lawsuit argues that these products “impair and destroy” the game experience. Copyright and trademark infringement are amongst the allegations included, as key art from games like Destiny 2 and Rainbow Six Siege are used to advertise and sell these cheats.

There is no specific monetary amount that the publishers are seeking, but as we've seen in the past, lawsuits like this can bring hefty fines down upon cheat makers. In this case, damages could amount to millions of dollars due to the popularity of these cheats and their high price tag.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Currently, the site selling these cheats is still live and active, so we won't be linking to it or directly naming it here. We would expect to see it taken down soon, however, in order to avoid further legal and financial issues.

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GTA Online cheat seller closes down after ‘discussions’ with Take-Two https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/gta-online-cheat-seller-closes-down-after-discussions-with-take-two/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/gta-online-cheat-seller-closes-down-after-discussions-with-take-two/#respond Mon, 25 Jan 2021 17:00:39 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=502315 Grand Theft Auto Online and more recently, Red Dead Online, have had issues with cheaters and hackers on PC since their respective launches. As part of an effort to crack down on cheating, Take-Two has recently been targeting cheat makers and sellers, with one popular cheat website now shutting down.  LunaCheats, a site that sold …

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Grand Theft Auto Online and more recently, Red Dead Online, have had issues with cheaters and hackers on PC since their respective launches. As part of an effort to crack down on cheating, Take-Two has recently been targeting cheat makers and sellers, with one popular cheat website now shutting down. 

LunaCheats, a site that sold GTA Online hacks, has closed down this week after “discussions” with Take-Two, the parent company of Rockstar. The site is no longer selling cheats after being contacted by Take-Two's legal team, instead, the site just displays the following message:

“After discussions with Take-Two Interactive, we are immediately ceasing all maintenance, development and distribution of our cheat menu services. We will also be donating our proceeds to a charity designated by Take-Two”.

The message ends with an apology: “we apologise for any and all problems our software has caused to the Grand Theft Auto Online community”.

Judging by the message, it would seem that the former cheat sellers came to an agreement with Take-Two to avoid any further legal troubles.

KitGuru Says: There are still plenty of other GTA Online cheats floating around, but hopefully this will help dilute the number of cheaters in-game for a while. How many of you still play GTA Online? Is cheating still a rampant issue? 

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Bungie takes aim at Destiny 2 cheat seller https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/bungie-takes-aim-at-destiny-2-cheat-seller/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/bungie-takes-aim-at-destiny-2-cheat-seller/#respond Mon, 19 Oct 2020 11:40:04 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=490444 Bungie is beginning to crack down on Destiny 2 cheat sellers ahead of the release of the game's next expansion. This time around, a cheat group specialising in ESP and aimbots was targeted.  Perfect Aim is known for selling cheats for a number of online shooters, including Counter-Strike and Battlefield. Over the weekend, the site's …

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Bungie is beginning to crack down on Destiny 2 cheat sellers ahead of the release of the game's next expansion. This time around, a cheat group specialising in ESP and aimbots was targeted. 

Perfect Aim is known for selling cheats for a number of online shooters, including Counter-Strike and Battlefield. Over the weekend, the site's Destiny 2 cheats were taken down, citing a cease and desist notice from Bungie.

The bundle previously offered aimbot, wallhack, teleport and other cheat tools. As part of Bungie's cease and desist, it noted that use of these cheats is against the game's terms of service agreement.

There is no word on a ban wave going alongside this but chances are, anyone that was using these tools previously will now be targeted by Destiny 2's anti-cheat system.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Have many of you had issues with Destiny 2 cheaters before? Have you noticed a dip in those encounters recently? 

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Thousands of Call of Duty cheaters banned https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/thousands-of-call-of-duty-cheaters-banned/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/thousands-of-call-of-duty-cheaters-banned/#respond Wed, 30 Sep 2020 09:33:29 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=488146 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has had its share of cheaters since launch, especially in the free to play Warzone mode. Fortunately, Infinity Ward is catching up to them, with 20,000 accounts banned for using paid cheat software ahead of the Season Six launch yesterday.  A well known cheat subscription service has a lot of …

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has had its share of cheaters since launch, especially in the free to play Warzone mode. Fortunately, Infinity Ward is catching up to them, with 20,000 accounts banned for using paid cheat software ahead of the Season Six launch yesterday. 

A well known cheat subscription service has a lot of unhappy customers this week, as their software is now listed as detected and many paid subscribers have found themselves banned, as confirmed by forum posts, via Vice.

This particular cheat maker has been around since 2014, creating hacks for a slew of Call of Duty games, Battlefield and Star Wars Battlefront. These cheats often include ESP, aimbot, triggerbot and tools to make it more difficult to differentiate between legitimate shooting and bot-usage.

Activision has also begun taking legal action against cheat software creators. Following this latest ban wave, we may see more cheat services served with legal complaints.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: These cheat makers usually find a workaround sooner rather than later. For now at least though, the beginning of Modern Warfare's sixth season should be well protected. Have many of you encountered issues with cheaters in Modern Warfare recently? 

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Bungie acknowledges rise in Destiny 2 cheaters, makes plans to toughen anti-cheat https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/bungie-acknowledges-rise-in-destiny-2-cheaters-makes-plans-to-toughen-anti-cheat/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/bungie-acknowledges-rise-in-destiny-2-cheaters-makes-plans-to-toughen-anti-cheat/#respond Sat, 25 Apr 2020 17:00:52 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=463954 While Destiny 2 was relatively safe from cheaters on PC at launch, over time cheat creators have found ways to circumvent Bungie's protections. As part of a weekly update blog this week, Bungie admitted that cheating in Destiny 2 has risen by about 50% since January.  At this point, Bungie is banning 2,133 accounts per …

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While Destiny 2 was relatively safe from cheaters on PC at launch, over time cheat creators have found ways to circumvent Bungie's protections. As part of a weekly update blog this week, Bungie admitted that cheating in Destiny 2 has risen by about 50% since January. 

At this point, Bungie is banning 2,133 accounts per week on average, with the majority of cheaters coming from the PC platform. Some examples of cheats include infinite ammo and infinite energy, which would be a big advantage in both PvE and PvP modes. Then you've got your classic cheats like aimbots, wallhacks and lag switching.

So Bungie has acknowledged the growing number of cheaters in Destiny 2, now we can dig in to what the studio plans to do about it. For starters, Bungie is going to be hiring more people for the anti-cheat team, with the extra reinforcements, the group should be able to analyse reports of cheating and issue bans quicker, while also testing ban policies to figure out what works best for the player base.

Players who give their account details to a third-party carry/boost service can be banned. Those who use the ‘Looking for Group' function can also be banned if they end up in a group with a cheater and don't leave. So essentially, don't do business with, or associate with players that are blatantly cheating.

Finally, Bungie is also raising the requirements for accessing the Trials mode. Those looking to play Trials will need 100 hours of play on an account. This will reduce the number of cheaters that get access to Trials as they can't continue to make new accounts and jump right back in.

KitGuru Says: We'll likely hear another update on this in the next couple of weeks as Bungie starts to make progress. Although it might be somewhat challenging at the moment with so many people working from home. Either way, hopefully these new changes help to reduce the issue. Have any of you encountered a cheater in Destiny 2? 

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Epic Games files lawsuit against cheat-selling YouTuber with 1.7m subscribers https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/damien-cox/epic-games-files-lawsuit-against-cheat-selling-youtuber-with-1-7m-subscribers/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/damien-cox/epic-games-files-lawsuit-against-cheat-selling-youtuber-with-1-7m-subscribers/#respond Wed, 17 Oct 2018 16:33:39 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=391283 Epic Games is no stranger to controversially chasing down cheaters within Fortnite: Battle Royale, from hiring private investigators to pursuing legal action. YouTuber Brandon “Golden Modz” Lucas is the latest in Epic’s sight, after showcasing and selling cheats to his 1.7 million subscribers. Fortnite is one of the most lucrative games of our time, for …

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Epic Games is no stranger to controversially chasing down cheaters within Fortnite: Battle Royale, from hiring private investigators to pursuing legal action. YouTuber Brandon “Golden Modz” Lucas is the latest in Epic’s sight, after showcasing and selling cheats to his 1.7 million subscribers.

Fortnite is one of the most lucrative games of our time, for both developer Epic Games and subsequent content creators. Unfortunately, this makes the title a target of cheat makers and trolls. Brandon Lucas and another YouTuber, Colton Conter have both allegedly indulged in this market, with Lucas in particular selling an aimbot service for $200 (£150).

“Defendants are cheaters. Nobody likes a cheater,” Epic Games said in its lawsuit, filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina. “Defendant Lucas not only cheats, he also promotes, advertises, and sells software that enables those who use it to cheat” by “unlawfully modifying the game's code.”

While Lucas’ supposed cheat service is only active on PC, Fortnite’s cross-platform efforts see players on all devices affected. “When cheaters use aimbots or other cheat technologies to gain an unfair advantage, they ruin games for people who are playing fairly,” Epic told the BBC. “We take cheating seriously, and we'll pursue all available options to make sure our games are fun, fair, and competitive for players.”

Most of Lucas’ videos containing Fortnite cheats have been removed from YouTube after Epic issued a takedown notice. Conter has yet to publicly address the accusations, while Lucas expressed his confusion in a recent video. “I'm confused because there's about a thousand other content creators on YouTube that make Fortnite content without repercussions,” explains Lucas.

In the meantime, Epic Games is bolstering its effort against cheaters after acquiring anti-cheat software company Kamu.

KitGuru Says: Personally, I have no sympathy for cheaters in multiplayer games who knowingly hinder the experience that other players have paid for. Epic undoubtedly wants to set a precedent with this case, however that will entirely depend on the degree of punishment potentially served. Do you think Lucas deserves to be on the butt end of a lawsuit?

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Epic Games addresses motion to dismiss claims against its legal battle with a minor https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/damien-cox/epic-games-addresses-motion-to-dismiss-claims-against-its-legal-battle-with-a-minor/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/damien-cox/epic-games-addresses-motion-to-dismiss-claims-against-its-legal-battle-with-a-minor/#respond Thu, 26 Apr 2018 10:41:27 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=371526 Epic Games has been suing cheaters in its smash hit Fortnite Battle Royale since the game debuted last year. Its first case against alleged cheater Charles Vraspir was over within a couple of months, prompting many to believe its ongoing case against a 14-year-old cheater was soon to follow. Unfortunately, things seem to be getting …

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Epic Games has been suing cheaters in its smash hit Fortnite Battle Royale since the game debuted last year. Its first case against alleged cheater Charles Vraspir was over within a couple of months, prompting many to believe its ongoing case against a 14-year-old cheater was soon to follow. Unfortunately, things seem to be getting more complicated, as Epic’s move for a default judgement has been denied and the defendant’s motion to dismiss is currently in dispute.

Upon Epic’s accusation, the 14-year-old’s mother threw shade at the publisher for how things were handled in an angry letter. Some of it chastised the company for publishing the defendants name despite him being a minor, something which Epic retorts with its lack of knowledge prior to publication, however the main point was to highlight that the publisher “has no capability of proving” its claim.

Since the letter has been sent, things have fallen silent on the part of the defendant and his mother, causing Epic to move for a default judgement. This was denied, as the wording of the initial letter was considered a motion to dismiss the case, resulting in Epic countering the new motion by addressing the main body of its points. The full document can be seen here thanks to TorrentFreak.

As cases have proved in the past, “if an infant enters into any contract subject to conditions or stipulations, he cannot take the benefit of the contract without the burden of the conditions or stipulations.” Epic draws attention to a 2008 case in which four minors attempted to sue a software company for copyright infringement due to its anti-plagiarism software holding on to the data and work of participants.

The group claimed that keeping and using this data violated the Copyright Act and that the “infancy defense,” which is a plea of ignorance, made the digital contract formed by clicking “I agree” null and void. The court disagreed, stating that “a valid contract existed between the minors and the software company as a result of the students' affirmative agreement to the user agreement.”

Furthermore, “The court found that the infancy defense failed because a minor may not ‘use the infancy defense to void their contractual obligations while retaining the benefits of the contract',” writes Epic.

In turn, Epic hopes to convince the courts that this makes the defendant liable for his actions, with parallels being drawn between the two cases. The defendant in the immediate case retains the benefits of his contract with Epic by supposedly continuing to play Fortnite, prompting Epic to request for the dismissal to be denied.

Epic Games has yet to reveal what it is seeking from the lawsuit, as it claims to have suffered “intentional inducement of others resulted in actual damage to Epic,” but has not outright gone after monetary damages. As with its previous case, there’s a possibility that the studio is simply looking for an apology and assurance that it won’t happen again.

Discuss on our Facebook page, or over on Twitter.

KitGuru Says: This is a particularly ham handed way of dealing with an ongoing problem within competitive games, but it seems that Epic is too far gone at this point. If it backs down, it won’t act as the deterrent it was intended to be and if it continues, then it puts its own reputation on the line. What do you think of Epic’s latest legal actions?

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Epic’s lawsuit against Fortnite cheaters just got more complicated https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/epics-lawsuit-against-fortnite-cheaters-just-got-more-complicated/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/epics-lawsuit-against-fortnite-cheaters-just-got-more-complicated/#comments Mon, 27 Nov 2017 15:30:32 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=355716 Back in October, we learned that Epic Games had filed a lawsuit against two specific Fortnite cheaters. This is something we have seen done before, with similar cases coming from the likes of Riot Games and Blizzard. However, this week some more details about the case came to light, including the fact that one of …

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Back in October, we learned that Epic Games had filed a lawsuit against two specific Fortnite cheaters. This is something we have seen done before, with similar cases coming from the likes of Riot Games and Blizzard. However, this week some more details about the case came to light, including the fact that one of the defendants is just 14 years old.

The two defendants in the case were accused of being associated with the site ‘Addicted Cheats' which supplies a number of cheats for online games, including Fortnite. Epic Games has left the young teenager on the lawsuit because he uploaded a video to YouTube revealing how to use cheats in Fortnite. Epic Games submitted a DMCA Takedown request on the video, but it was appealed, which meant Epic either had to escalate to legal channels, or drop the claim entirely.

Instead of responding to the lawsuit via an attorney, the boy's mother came out to his defense instead. In a letter sent to the court (via TorrentFreak) she claims her child is being used as a ‘scapegoat' in order to make an example of him. She also argues that instead of going after those who use these cheat codes, Epic Games should be going after the websites/companies that supply them: “The company is in the process of suing a multitude of players for this game Fortnite. Instead of Epic Games INC suing the websites providing the cheat codes, they are going after the individuals using these codes”

Eurogamer contacted Epic Games for a statement on the matter, to which the company replied: “This particular lawsuit arose as a result of the defendant filing a DMCA counterclaim to a takedown notice on a YouTube video that exposed and promoted Fortnite Battle Royale cheats and exploits. Under these circumstances, the law requires that we file suit or drop the claim. Epic is not okay with ongoing cheating or copyright infringement from anyone at any age. As stated previously, we take cheating seriously, and we'll pursue all available options to make sure our games are fun, fair, and competitive for players.”

The issue here is that the 14 year-old defendant did not create the cheat software being used, nor did he make any money posting videos showing the cheats in action. The boy's mother is calling on the court to dismiss the case as “the infraction does not equate the suing of a minor by a major gaming company”. From the sounds of it though, Epic Games is planning to stick this out and continue on with its case.

KitGuru Says: This lawsuit just got a lot messier than we had initially anticipated. What do you guys think Epic Games should do in this situation?

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Blizzard awarded $8.5 million in lawsuit against cheat maker https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/blizzard-awarded-8-5-million-in-lawsuit-against-cheat-maker/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/blizzard-awarded-8-5-million-in-lawsuit-against-cheat-maker/#comments Tue, 04 Apr 2017 10:04:49 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=328677 Over the last few weeks, Blizzard's lawsuit against prolific cheat maker ‘Bossland' has been swiftly escalating. Bossland is behind several subscription based ‘Buddy Bot' cheats for most of Blizzard's titles, as well as an ESP hack for Overwatch. A few weeks ago, we heard that Blizzard was seeking an $8.5 million payout over irreparable harm …

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Over the last few weeks, Blizzard's lawsuit against prolific cheat maker ‘Bossland' has been swiftly escalating. Bossland is behind several subscription based ‘Buddy Bot' cheats for most of Blizzard's titles, as well as an ESP hack for Overwatch. A few weeks ago, we heard that Blizzard was seeking an $8.5 million payout over irreparable harm caused to its business and this week, the suit came to a head, with a judge taking Blizzard's side and awarding it the full $8.5 million.

A California District Court agreed that the cheats developed by Bossland were built to bypass Blizzard's anti-cheat software, thus violating the DMCA. In other words, Bossland's cheats violated US copyright law. As Torrentfreak points out, since Bossland did not represent itself in court, it was much easier for Blizzard's lawyers to convince a judge to award the full $8.5 million in damages.

In a court order, the judge writes: “Bossland materially contributes to infringement by creating the Bossland Hacks, making the Bossland Hacks available to the public, instructing users how to install and operate the Bossland Hacks, and enabling users to use the software to create derivative works.”

“Blizzard has established a showing of resulting damage or harm because Blizzard expends a substantial amount of money combating the use of the Bossland Hacks to ensure fair game play. Additionally, players of the Blizzard Games lodge complaints against cheating players, which has caused users to grow dissatisfied with the Blizzard Games and cease playing. Accordingly, the in-game cheating also harms Blizzard’s goodwill and reputation.”

In all, the court granted statutory copyright damages for 42,818 violations of copyright, adding up to just over $8.5 million in damages. Blizzard is also entitled to retrieve $174,872 in attorney fees. Aside from all that, Bossland is obviously prohibited from selling its cheats in the United States going further, or any other software that exploits Blizzard's games or services.

KitGuru Says: Given that Bossland didn't show up to defend itself in court, this ruling doesn't come as much of a surprise. This outcome also seemed more likely following Riot's recent legal win against a League of Legends cheat maker.

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Lithuania claims Russia regularly cyber-attacks its systems https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/lithuania-claims-russia-regularly-cyber-attacks-its-systems/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/lithuania-claims-russia-regularly-cyber-attacks-its-systems/#comments Thu, 22 Dec 2016 19:09:20 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=315466 Although it's generally accepted that all developed nations are constantly slinging digital warheads at each other – not to mention the bedroom hackers and hacktivists joining in for fun – it rarely feels too serious. In the case of Lithuania though, it's concerned about the barrage of Russian attacks it's taken over the past couple …

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Although it's generally accepted that all developed nations are constantly slinging digital warheads at each other – not to mention the bedroom hackers and hacktivists joining in for fun – it rarely feels too serious. In the case of Lithuania though, it's concerned about the barrage of Russian attacks it's taken over the past couple of years.

Located in Eastern Europe, not too far from Russia's own borders and an ex-soviet state, Lithuania is a tense position. It's seen Russia's push into the Ukraine over the past few years and it's support for pro-Russian separatist groups, and that acts as important context for what it sees as aggressive attacks on its digital infrastructure by Russian hackers.

The head of cyber-security in Lithuania told Reuters that over the past two years, three cases of Russian spyware have been discovered on government computers and that it has had to see off 20 different attacks during that same period.

Russia has denied these claims, with a spokesperson for President Vladimir Putin, claiming that they were laughable.

cyberlithuania

In cyber-warfare, attacks can come from anywhere in the world. Source: bykst/Pixabay

“We absolutely refute that nonsense,” they said, highlighting that Russia was under near constant attack from other nations, so felt that slinging mud about it was unwarranted. China has made similar statements in the past, when accused by the U.S. government of hacking its servers.

However Russian digital attacks are much more relevant today than they have been in the past. With much talk of interference in the U.S. election from foreign nations, many in Lithuania are concerned that Russia could do the same to interfere in its democratic process.

Germany has also reported a stark increase in Russian cyber-attacks in recent years, especially with regards to political parties and disinformation campaigns designed to destabilise and confuse the populace.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: If we look at it purely academically, this is one of the most interesting aspects of potential future wars. A grand scale war now would absolutely include hackers on each side, as well as vigilantes also taking part in their own way. However in reality, it's a scary idea to imagine countries messing with each other's election processes, just to get a leg up.

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Cheaters have already found exploits in Battlefield 1 https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/cheaters-have-already-found-exploits-in-battlefield-1/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/cheaters-have-already-found-exploits-in-battlefield-1/#comments Sat, 15 Oct 2016 16:28:27 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=308769 Battlefield 1 hasn't fully launched yet but players can get a headstart in the multiplayer and campaign modes by signing up for EA/Origin Access, which includes ten hours of early game time. However, you may encounter some frustrations during pre-launch multiplayer as it looks like cheaters are already being encountered. The downside here is, some …

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Battlefield 1 hasn't fully launched yet but players can get a headstart in the multiplayer and campaign modes by signing up for EA/Origin Access, which includes ten hours of early game time. However, you may encounter some frustrations during pre-launch multiplayer as it looks like cheaters are already being encountered.

The downside here is, some of your matches may be difficult to enjoy. However, this does mean that exploits exposed early may reach DICE's attention before the game officially comes out on the 21st. We had a similar situation with Star Wars Battlefront last year, with cheats popping up during trial and beta phases of the game, only to be stomped out fairly quickly.

rendition1-img

PCGamer have encountered hackers in a few games, with players using aimbots and wall hacks to gain the advantage. A lot of the footage was recorded so there is a two-minute long death-reel video floating around on YouTube.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4B-RCkZNdI']

Right now, we don't know how rampant hacking actually is during the early access/trial phase for Battlefield 1 multiplayer but there seems to be some holes in PunkBuster/Fair Fight already. Hopefully these can be cleared up by the 21st, when the game officially launches and full access to multiplayer goes live.

KitGuru Says: Have any of you installed the Battlefield 1 trial at all? Have you had any issues with hackers in the game's multiplayer already?

 

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Blizzard to permaban Overwatch cheaters on first offence https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/blizzard-to-permaban-overwatch-cheaters-on-first-offence/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/blizzard-to-permaban-overwatch-cheaters-on-first-offence/#comments Fri, 13 May 2016 16:00:32 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=292703 It looks like Blizzard will be taking a hard stance against cheaters with Overwatch when it comes out later this month, there won't be any account strikes or second chances, instead Blizzard will be jumping straight to permabans if a player is caught cheating. In a Battle Net post set to outline Blizzard's plans to …

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It looks like Blizzard will be taking a hard stance against cheaters with Overwatch when it comes out later this month, there won't be any account strikes or second chances, instead Blizzard will be jumping straight to permabans if a player is caught cheating.

In a Battle Net post set to outline Blizzard's plans to deal with cheaters in Overwatch, one of the game's community managers explained: “‘Play nice; play fair' is one of our core values as a company, and it’s something we’ve taken to heart not only when designing the game, but also as we’ve developed our plans to support it and our players after launch.”

overwatch-ed

“If a player is found to be cheating—or using hacks, bots, or third-party software that provides any sort of unfair advantage—that player will be permanently banned from the game. Full stop. Not only does cheating undermine the spirit of fair play that all of our products are based on, but it works to diminish the fun and enjoyment of others. While we are unlikely to publicly acknowledge when accounts are closed as a result of cheating or using unauthorized programs, we have and will continue to monitor Overwatch for exploitative behaviour, as well as take action as needed to preserve the integrity of game.”

The post then goes on to outline a few things for players to keep in mind before reporting a player or calling foul. For starters, Blizzard has admitted that the game's spectator modes and kill cams can make player aim seem a bit more ‘snappy' than it actually was. On top of that, there may be some undiscovered bugs with the camera system that affects how aim looks and finally, some players are just crazy good at shooters, so don't waste Blizzard's time with false reports.

If you do encounter a cheater in Overwatch, you can email ‘hacks@blizzard.com' but you won't receive a response. Blizzard will then take a look at any evidence and do what's necessary.

KitGuru Says: Encountering cheaters in a competitive shooter can be frustrating but hopefully Blizzard will keep on top of it. Given that Overwatch is a paid-for release, the likelihood of encountering a ton of cheaters is reduced but there will always be those willing to risk it. 

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New evidence points to North Korea being behind Sony 2014 hack https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/matthew-wilson/new-evidence-points-to-north-korea-being-behind-sony-2014-hack/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/matthew-wilson/new-evidence-points-to-north-korea-being-behind-sony-2014-hack/#comments Fri, 12 Feb 2016 17:23:09 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=283986 Back in 2014, Sony Pictures suffered from a massive cyber attack, which had long-lasting repercussions for the company. Now, over a full year later, some new evidence has come to light, tying the attack to a Korean malware campaign. Researchers over at Kaspersky and Alienvault Labs (via: Wired) managed to trace the campaign by comparing …

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Back in 2014, Sony Pictures suffered from a massive cyber attack, which had long-lasting repercussions for the company. Now, over a full year later, some new evidence has come to light, tying the attack to a Korean malware campaign.

Researchers over at Kaspersky and Alienvault Labs (via: Wired) managed to trace the campaign by comparing samples of malware from the Sony attacks from samples with other attacks across the globe. According to the researchers, this is strong evidence that the Sony attacks were in-fact carried out by a government-sponsored group in North Korea.

GOP

A lot of the evidence uncovered pertains to software tools used by the group behind the infamous Sony hacks as well as those used in other hacks. There are a lot of distinct similarities to be found, including passwords for activating certain programs, some attacks were also carried out using the exact same tactics.

In all, 500 samples were recovered and traced back to a group that has been known to frequently target South Korea, further pointing towards North Korea behind it all.

KitGuru Says: The 2014 hacks that took place in 2014 really damaged Sony as a whole. North Korea has been suspected by many from the start but now it looks like there is more evidence to support that claim. 

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Someone tricked 3000 CSGO cheaters into getting banned https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/someone-tricked-3000-csgo-cheaters-into-getting-banned/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/someone-tricked-3000-csgo-cheaters-into-getting-banned/#comments Wed, 03 Feb 2016 20:00:34 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=282794 Cheaters in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive can be frustrating to deal with, so one player decided to take the matter into their own hands by using the honey trap method, developing a fake hack designed specifically to ensure a VAC ban. It worked pretty well too as over 3000 players were caught out by this and can …

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Cheaters in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive can be frustrating to deal with, so one player decided to take the matter into their own hands by using the honey trap method, developing a fake hack designed specifically to ensure a VAC ban. It worked pretty well too as over 3000 players were caught out by this and can no longer get access to the game online.

The player goes by the name of AndroidL on Reddit. He created a free download for a hack that advertised a range of cheats including BunnyHop, Aimbot, wallhacks- you could even change your camera angle with it.

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Image source: Imgur

So how did AndroidL ensure that the Valve Anti-Cheat system would pick up on those using the hack? Well, it included a health and ammo editor, which would attempt to edit your health and ammo client-side. Fortunately, trying to edit these things from the client won't work as it is all handled by the server but this does tell VAC that you are trying to cheat and will ensure a ban.

Three fake hacks were released over the course of two weeks, the first two has a timer included that would trigger features that VAC would pick up on at a certain time. The third hack received over 3500 downloads in total and was designed to catch VAC's attention instantly after loading the game. In total, all three hacks were downloaded by 5500 people and resulted in a lot of bans.

KitGuru Says: As a regular CSGO player myself, it is always frustrating to come across cheaters. While this will hopefully diminish a number of cheaters in the game for now, things may pick back up again when the next Steam sale rolls around as a lot of cheaters create secondary or accounts for this sort of thing. 

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John Smedley steps down from Daybreak to head new company https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/john-smedley-steps-down-from-daybreak-to-head-new-company/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/john-smedley-steps-down-from-daybreak-to-head-new-company/#comments Tue, 25 Aug 2015 17:29:16 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=264814 Its official, John Smedley has left Daybreak Studios for good, after stepping down as President in order to take some time away following a series of personal attacks alongside some high-profile DDOS attacks on the company's game servers. It was initially thought that Smedley would return to the former SOE studio in a new role …

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Its official, John Smedley has left Daybreak Studios for good, after stepping down as President in order to take some time away following a series of personal attacks alongside some high-profile DDOS attacks on the company's game servers. It was initially thought that Smedley would return to the former SOE studio in a new role but it seems that instead he is set to spearhead a new company.

According to Smedley's Facebook page he is now the CEO of a new company entirely. Daybreak has confirmed Smedley's departure in an email sent to Game Informer, which said: “On behalf of Daybreak, we wish Smed well in his new endeavors. Any questions regarding his new business should be directed to him”

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In a separate comment of his own, John Smedley confirmed that he is not quite ready to reveal the new company he is involved with just yet, though that information may only be a few weeks away from going public. Hopefully by moving on, Smedley won't be the target of attacks anymore, like the bomb threat that was called in against a flight he was on last year.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Smedley's exit from Daybreak Studios isn't too surprising after the events of the past year or so. It will be interesting to see what his new venture is later on in the year. 

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H1Z1 hackers will be unbanned if they publicly apologise https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/h1z1-hackers-will-be-unbanned-if-they-publicly-apologise/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/h1z1-hackers-will-be-unbanned-if-they-publicly-apologise/#comments Wed, 20 May 2015 19:13:50 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=250375 Daybreak Studios, the former SOE developer and creator of H1Z1, is taking an interesting approach to cheaters in the game. The studio's president, John Smedley has said that if any of the 25,000 recently banned hackers issue a public apology, they will be allowed back in the game. Last night, Daybreak went on a huge …

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Daybreak Studios, the former SOE developer and creator of H1Z1, is taking an interesting approach to cheaters in the game. The studio's president, John Smedley has said that if any of the 25,000 recently banned hackers issue a public apology, they will be allowed back in the game.

Last night, Daybreak went on a huge banning spree, knocking out 25,000 hackers. Many of these have asked to be reinstated, so Smedley has agreed to allow reformed cheaters back in as long as they put a public apology up on YouTube.

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These apology videos must be publicly listed and not private in any way. These videos must also focus on apologizing to the players, rather than the dev team. In a series of tweets Smedley said: “Dear Cheaters who got banned. Many of you are emailing me, apologizing and admitting it. Thank you. However.. You're doing it wrong. If you want us to even consider your apology a public YouTube apology is necessary. No personal information please. Email me the link, and I will Tweet it”.

Smedley then went on to Reddit and said that so far, three people have been unbanned so far, although one may be re-banned for taking his video private afterwards.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: This is certainly a unique approach for Daybreak Studios to take. What do our readers think of this? Should cheaters who publicly apologise be given a second chance? 

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Activision taking down Advanced Warfare glitch/cheat videos https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/activision-taking-down-advanced-warfare-glitchcheat-videos/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/activision-taking-down-advanced-warfare-glitchcheat-videos/#comments Tue, 25 Nov 2014 14:00:10 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=223403 Activision is currently issuing copyright strikes on Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare YouTube videos that show off in-game glitches, cheats and hacks. This information came from an internal email that the network Machinima sent to its partners, warning against uploading these sort of videos. “Activision is being particularly vigilant about their Call of Duty videos …

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Activision is currently issuing copyright strikes on Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare YouTube videos that show off in-game glitches, cheats and hacks. This information came from an internal email that the network Machinima sent to its partners, warning against uploading these sort of videos.

“Activision is being particularly vigilant about their Call of Duty videos lately; issuing strikes on videos showing glitches. If you post videos highlighting these glitches, your channel may be liable to receive a copyright strike so please be careful”, the email reads.

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However, Activision claims that it isn't attempting to hide evidence of problems within the game, but rather diminish the number of cheaters by keeping glitch and hack videos off of YouTube:

“Occasionally, some folks post videos that promote cheating and unfair exploits. As always, we keep an eye out for these videos”, the publisher's statement reads. “We're excited that so many fans are having fun playing the game and posting videos of their gameplay. We love watching the videos ourselves. We are appreciative of the community's support in helping to ensure that everyone has the best playing experience possible.”

Unfortunately, these copyright strikes can seriously damage YouTube channels and in some cases, kill them off entirely. Accounts with copyright strike will be classes as ‘in bad standing', which removes access to a few features which can include the ability to set videos as private or unlisted, add custom thumbnails and even live stream. Accounts that receive three strikes will be terminated entirely.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: This isn't the first time a big publisher has taken a controversial approach to gameplay videos on YouTube. However, will hurting content creators with copyright strikes really put a stop to glitch exploits? What do you guys think of Activision's approach? 

Source: Eurogamer

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Blizzard issues warning to StarCraft II cheaters https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/blizzard-issues-warning-to-starcraft-ii-cheaters/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/blizzard-issues-warning-to-starcraft-ii-cheaters/#comments Fri, 11 Jul 2014 12:51:28 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=202654 Blizzard has issued a warning to those thinking about cheating in StarCraft II, stating that cheaters will be banned in waves as well as on a case by case basis upon receiving reports from other players. However, the company admits that it can't go in to much detail on its methods. In a post on …

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Blizzard has issued a warning to those thinking about cheating in StarCraft II, stating that cheaters will be banned in waves as well as on a case by case basis upon receiving reports from other players. However, the company admits that it can't go in to much detail on its methods.

In a post on the Battle.net blog, the developer said: “Blizzard Entertainment has always taken active measures to combat cheating in our games, and that's of particular importance for a highly competitive game like StarCraft II. If a StarCraft II player is found to be cheating or using hacks or modifications in any form, then that player can be permanently banned from the game.”

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“While we can't go into much detail about these methods, we can say that players caught cheating in this way are generally banned in waves. This is done so as not to tip off program developers regarding our detection methods, as well as to maximize the return on our detection effects.”

“Ban waves are issued in contrast to the other methods mentioned above, where bans are issued on an individual, account-by-account basis. Through these means, any player who is determined to be in violation of our terms and conditions by using hacks, cheats, mods or any other unauthorized third-party software will be banned.”

All bans are permanent so unless you want to buy the game again and create a completely new account, you'd be better off not risking it.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: There's nothing worse than playing a game with hackers, especially in a competitive game like StarCraft. Unfortunately, there's always going to be a cheater or two around.

Source: Battle Net

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Ikea trademark bullies site into takedown https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/ikea-trademark-bullies-site-into-takedown/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/ikea-trademark-bullies-site-into-takedown/#comments Mon, 16 Jun 2014 09:35:17 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=198386 Ikea, the company that has simultaneously provided us with most of our in-house furnishings and frustrating afternoons with wooden plugs and glue, has gone after IkeaHackers.net with a cease and desist order, claiming that it impeaches its trademark name. It's given the owner until 23rd June to takedown all adverts on the site or hand …

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Ikea, the company that has simultaneously provided us with most of our in-house furnishings and frustrating afternoons with wooden plugs and glue, has gone after IkeaHackers.net with a cease and desist order, claiming that it impeaches its trademark name. It's given the owner until 23rd June to takedown all adverts on the site or hand over the domain, leaving her bemused and saddened, considering the eight years the site's been in operation.

“Jules Yap,” has been running the site since 2006, giving people ideas about how to improve their Ikea products. It's filled with simple fixes or changes that take very little effort, to huge projects like mounting products on the ceiling for an interesting artistic look, all offered freely to Ikea customers and those just interested in modding furniture. It's an homage to the company's products and their versatility if anything and yet Ikea has now decided that it's existence should no longer be tolerated.

Responding to the Ikea legal request, Yap has said she has no choice but to remove ads from the site to keep it open, as it was too close to her heart to let go. The site doesn't just give her some extra pocket money either, it's her livelihood.

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Look what you did Ikea. You killed the blue and white dog.

“Over the last 8 years the site has grown so much that I could not juggle the demands of a full time job and managing IKEAhackers. It also costs quite a bit to run a site this large. Since IKEA® does not pay me a cent, I turned to advertising to support myself and this site,” she said on the site's blog.

“Now by June 23rd, I would need to take down the ads, not earn any income and still advance their brand on this site. Wonderful!”

Looking forward, Yap plans to launch a new domain name without the Ikea branding and therefore will be able to advertise on it all she wants, at which point she'll direct current users of IkeaHackers over to the new site. For now though, she's just looking for a little moral support.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Unless Ikea plans to launch its own version of the site, this sort of trademark wagon circling is so short sighted. The amount of free advertising this sort of website gives the company is better than anything it could pay for and yet it somehow feels threatened by it. So strange. 

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EU to force digital companies to report hacks https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/eu-to-force-digital-companies-to-report-hacks/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/eu-to-force-digital-companies-to-report-hacks/#respond Fri, 08 Feb 2013 18:00:39 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=124526 The European Union has announced a new cybersecurity directive, that will place legal bindings on companies in key internet positions to report any breaches of their security, such as hacking attacks. This would bring companies like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and other large scale services in-line and force them to keep users and the public informed. …

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The European Union has announced a new cybersecurity directive, that will place legal bindings on companies in key internet positions to report any breaches of their security, such as hacking attacks. This would bring companies like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and other large scale services in-line and force them to keep users and the public informed.

This directive extends to countries too however, stating that all “member states, key internet enablers and critical infrastructure operators,” would be liable and “must adopt a NIS (network and information security) strategy and designate a national NIS competent authority with adequate financial and human resources to prevent, handle and respond to NIS risks and incidents.”

Those effected by the directive are also instructed to create a mechanism to cooperate and deal with unified threats to infrastructure.

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This looks like the biggest mish mash of logos ever.

Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda said:

“The more people rely on the internet the more people rely on it to be secure. A secure internet protects our freedoms and rights and our ability to do business. It's time to take coordinated action – the cost of not acting is much higher than the cost of acting.”

While part of the reason for this directive is to make companies keep the public in the loop, it's also designed to shame them into implementing better security. If you have to air your dirty laundry in public, you at least want to make sure it's a brand name pair – or at least so my metro brother tells me.

KitGuru Says: This seems like a good plan, for all involved. If companies – like Sony – don't inform their user base that they've been hacked and it gets found out, it goes very poorly for them.

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RSA targeted and compromised by sophisicated hackers https://www.kitguru.net/channel/carl/rsa-targeted-and-compromised-by-sophisicated-hackers/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/carl/rsa-targeted-and-compromised-by-sophisicated-hackers/#respond Fri, 18 Mar 2011 14:31:50 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=38290 The security division of EMC, RSA have been hit with a sophisicated cyber attack which might end reducing the effectiveness of their SecurID authentication services. Executive Chairman Art Coviello sent a letter to RSA customers and documented that the company had recently “identified an extremely sophisticated cyber attack in progress being mounted against RSA.” Coviello …

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The security division of EMC, RSA have been hit with a sophisicated cyber attack which might end reducing the effectiveness of their SecurID authentication services.

Executive Chairman Art Coviello sent a letter to RSA customers and documented that the company had recently “identified an extremely sophisticated cyber attack in progress being mounted against RSA.”

Coviello suspects that the attack was an Advanced Persistent Threat that has resulted in hackers ‘extracting certain information' from the RSA systems.

Coviello added “Some of that information is specifically related to RSA's SecurID two-factor authentication products. While at this time we are confident that the information extracted does not enable a successful direct attack on any of our RSA SecurID customers, this information could potentially be used to reduce the effectiveness of a current two-factor authentication implementation as part of a broader attack.”

RSA SecurID authenticators provide users with credit card sized devices which display six digit passwords for their company networks on a one line LCD every 60 seconds. Without having the correct number at the right time, the person won't be able to log in. In 2009, the RSA launched an iPhone application for the service.

“We are very actively communicating this situation to RSA customers and providing immediate steps for them to take to strengthen their SecurID implementations, we will share our experiences from these attacks with our customers, partners and the rest of the security vendor ecosystem and work in concert with these organizations to develop means to better protect all of us from these growing and ever more sophisticated forms of cyber security threat.”

Kitguru says: worrying thoughts indeed

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