Hacking Sites under Investigation

[[GCA]Tim270]

Re: Hacking Sites under Investigation

@Sir. Tasty, yes they do. But with all these new games coming out with PB. PB support for old games (BF2) is sadly dieing. Soon hax will be flowing out the door for CoD4.

Yer im sure EA is strapped for cash and cant put anything towards it :shakehead:

[LightBred]

Re: Hacking Sites under Investigation

Well apprently they those company's have not, and probobly will not do anything. Mabye they think that these hacks are what keeps there games popular and they they want to leave hacking sites alone? All it takes is a few people to take this thing all the way through and get to the bottom of it. The reason there is skepticism is first off, it seems impossible. People know hacks have been around for years, and I can understand why people are so skeptical. Secondly, you would think, why not just let the game company's deal with it? Well there have to be some obvious reasons for that, reason that I'm not even sure of myself, but I'm not sure anyone else knows this 100% either. And thirdly, it is absolutely his place to think about it. He is a customer of EA, a company that manufactures these online games, and he has every right to question EA's or any other company's motives about these hacking sites.

I missed this lastnight before my earlier reply...

Those companies do take action QUITE REGULARLY, take a look at valve/steam? They crack down on these kinds of people and proggies regularly. Hacks/cheats/exploits do not keep games popular, people keep games popular the same as they keep the exploiters popular.

EA takes actions as does Punkbuster, all it takes is reporting.

It is the companies place by all means to take action if any action in this manner is taken since they are the sole holder of the game, the name, the rank system, everything involving it.

As for his place, his place as a server owner and/or gamer is to take the actions set out by the company in countering these types of things. Everyone is full well capable of reporting any cheater and having action taken, this never fails as long as proof is provided. He is full well capable to carry out his job as a server administrator like the rest of admins running around here in banning the offenders.

There isn't anything to get to the bottom of, cheats and other methods of gaining an advantage in a game will always be present, illegal, legal or questionable. It's a fact.

It is possible he could have the site in question and/or other sites shut down, thats a simple matter of changing hosts and domains to another country outside of the us as I mentioned above, then boom they're right back like nothing happend. Hell that may not even be necessary since they can and have release the exploits for "information purposes only" as alot of sites do cracks, appz and other various pirated stuff. Nothing can or has been done about this.

And you're very right on his place as customer of EA, he is JUST THAT A CUSTOMER, not the internet police who decides who can and cannot serve certain material.

For things like this to work, you would literally have to rewrite internet laws, new laws would have to be passed and so on.

As for the FBI and the IRS thing.... The FBI is gunna shove the case on the back burner since its not violent and its not what would be deemed as a "serious" investigation. I know this for a fact due to past dealings on a similar matter concerning a host. Anything internet is iffy, they're not scamming anyone and they're not selling drugs from the site so I can tell you any action by the FBI could take some time, even as long as years.

I can understand where you are coming from just like I understand where he is coming from on this and what he is doing. He's just fighting a battle that cannot be won, even if the pay sites are shut down, then the free sites will flourish meaning MORE hacks will be on rotation in servers than ever before since then anyone can just go download whatever they want with a simple google search as everything would be free to the public.

[Dan673]

Re: Hacking Sites under Investigation

This may be an obvious question, but is hacking software from EA any different from hacking Sony Vegas 8, Avid Liquid 7 (both video advanced video editing programs) or Microsoft Word?. What about if someone created a site selling Windows Vista hacks? There are probobly a ton of them out there, but thats not my point, my point is, are we just thinking about the gaming portion of hacking, or should we step back and look at the big picture of it all when discussing Mitch's fight here. This problem really does extend far beyond the gaming industry.

[LightBred]

Re: Hacking Sites under Investigation

This may be an obvious question, but is hacking software from EA any different from hacking Sony Vegas 8, Avid Liquid 7 (both video advanced video editing programs) or Microsoft Word?.

You can find hacks/cracks and anything else you need all day provided for "informational/educational purposes only" Legally.

I'm not looking for or trying to start an argument haven't in any of my previous posts but if you pull everything else into it like you're mentioning above....

Nothing has been done with ANY of those hacks/cracks etc, what makes you so sure it will be done with this minor offense? When these offenses are in terms of the agreements which would make it a civil matter not a criminal matter.

[Xodus]

Re: Hacking Sites under Investigation

This may be an obvious question, but is hacking software from EA any different from hacking Sony Vegas 8, Avid Liquid 7 (both video advanced video editing programs) or Microsoft Word?. What about if someone created a site selling Windows Vista hacks? There are probobly a ton of them out there, but thats not my point, my point is, are we just thinking about the gaming portion of hacking, or should we step back and look at the big picture of it all when discussing Mitch's fight here. This problem really does extend far beyond the gaming industry.

Those are called "cracks", not "hacks', and are for the sole use of software piracy. Argh.

[Mitch]

Thought I would drop by before the weekend to update you all on the status of my little crusade. The letters to EA & The Planet have been sent off to the respective parties and I am continuing to pursue several other avenues some of which you folks have mentioned here on the forums, so thanks for the ideas and keep them coming.

Sorry I don’t have the time to address every reply posted on the forums but let me say this. I appreciate people taking the time to reply even if they are negative comments about what I am trying to do because it gives me some perspective as to the attitudes of people when it comes to issues such as this that affect all of us legitimate gamers.

Most everyone that has posted a reply to this thread is correct in some way in what they are saying but since I am a stubborn old man, I am going to keep pushing the agencies involved and exploring every possible legitimate option available. Don’t get me wrong, there are many other ways of dealing with this problem and while I am quite capable of using them, if I did it would make me no better than they are not to mention the legal problems I could end up facing and I am too pretty to go to prison………lol

I have said this in my previous replies and I am going to repeat it here so that no one has unreasonable expectations as to how fast or what types of results we can expect to see from all of these efforts. What you all need to keep in mind is that I am fighting an uphill battle here and it is not going to be quick and bloodless. These damn hackers have gone unchecked for years and now they have infested the internet and a gaming community on a biblical proportion.

They operate in the shadows, probably because they know if someone like me got their hands on them it would mean a trip to the ER. Also the laws governing internet are vague at best and the agencies involved are not going to make this a top priority so I have to constantly keep pushing them. The other problem is getting the support and cooperation of the game manufactures and providers to help curtail this type of activity. The reason I use the word curtail is that even if I achieve the best possible result here and we are able to do the same to many of the other sites, we will never be able to completely stop hackers and cheaters unless were willing to entertain the idea of using capital punishment and even then I am not sure it would do much good.

I am going to sign off for the weekend so you all have a good one and we will see you back here next week. In the mean time if you feel the urge and have a few minutes to spare this weekend , do me and everyone else a favor by taking the time to email The Planet to express your displeasure for the activity they are allowing the 187ci guys to conduct.

Thanks- Mitch

[MikeyC]

Wow, Mitch, good on you. Though I haven't even touched 2142 in over two months I'm glad to still be a part of this community. Keep up the good fight and the updates.

[GHOST_Øli]

Yeah real nice work there Mitch. It's just like the street crime today - no one is disciplining them, no one telling them that it's wrong and even if they do it has no effect. I fully support you, it's time to take these guys out of play.

[b` m3ow]

Nice post Mitch, seems you want to go after one hacking site.. 187ci.. When there is about 3 or so more out there that produce Battlefield hacks. Stopping one, only makes the other get more business and more $$

[Dan673]

Nice post Mitch, seems you want to go after one hacking site.. 187ci.. When there is about 3 or so more out there that produce Battlefield hacks. Stopping one, only makes the other get more business and more $$

I think there are more than just 3 hacking sites on the internet. By the way, I think if he proves that atleast one or two sites are in violation of certain terms and regulations against EA, the INS, or whichever organization, then that goes for the rest of them, or atleast it would bring all the rest of those sites under an investigation. I'll prove my point as an example, lets say these computer retail sites, such as newegg, tigerdirect, and so on, were selling cocaine as a bonus if a person bought say, more than 3 motherboards. Now lets say newegg is the first site to have been caught doing this. The investigation of newegg, would result in a mass governmental probe on mabye all retail sites performing these unlawful acts. I know its a really farfetched example, and you may have a hard time understanding it because of censorship our government has in place today, but it is somewhat to the point.

[imported_CasTor]

I'm willing to bet you are pissing off alot of hackers/phishers
It's great what you are doing Mitch, it really is; but you should look to your defensives right away. Your computer security, family security, and business relations.

If you take this argument high enough you will be getting LUL'Z treatment from hackers

Watch this video for a little bit of info : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxWgRY1I_SI

For the record, good luck.

[thegoodguytoday]

I fail too see what is so bad about hacking if I pay for a hack I deserve to use it.

thats just my opinion , if you want to beat the hack then just get some more skill.

[Trexer]

Good luck with this and thanks for keeping us updated.

[GHOST_Øli]

Haha that video posted by CasTor, what a joke. Who cares about myspace anyway?! Back on topic:

So yeah, although you could say that the other sites would just get get more money and business, at least there is less choice and of course it would instil a little more into people who create + pay for the hacks, as they could well be next.

[Hjodin]

I fail too see what is so bad about hacking if I pay for a hack I deserve to use it.

thats just my opinion , if you want to beat the hack then just get some more skill.

By your logic, you should understand that if i pay for a game i should not have to play with someone who is using an illegal program in the game. A program that does nothing but give someone an advantage.

Also by your logic, you paid for your skill. How sad is that? Now weasel back under your rock and lay eggs....chicken!