Beware: M$ is checking your HD

[Scrubking]

http://www.spong.com/detail/news.asp?prid=6301

Microsoft has launched a fresh attack on the Xbox modification community, with the Xbox Live online gaming service now scanning all machines and requesting information on the machine?s hard disc, which it is believed will be used as part of a service cull against hackers.

[whiteboy]

now im thankful i didnt mod my Xbox.

[Wshakspear]

i better delete those Enya cd's...

[JohnnyDrama]

So now they can find mod chips even though the mod is off? I was also thinking about modding mine, but obviously now I better not.

[magilacudy]

If i had the cash, I'd have one XBox just to connect to XBL and a modded one just to mess around with.

[Theenternal]

Yea, they have been doing that for awhile, they should not be able to detect a mod that is off. I am rigging my xbox into a arcade cabinet, and when prices go down a lil maybe ill buy a 2nd one for xb live, but i could also play on the free servers without xb live.

[cruster]

This will sound fantastically naive, but here you go:

Free servers...? Do tell.

[terribledeli]

you have to give them access in order for them to search.

How do they get you to do this you ask?

Signing up for those goofy ass contests on xbox.com. You have to enable your xbox so Microsoft can send and receive data in order to enter. Or even when you get pay content downloads.

Any time it asks if its okay for Microsoft to do ANYTHING to your box, they've basically scanning it for illegal goods.

They've been doing this since October. No one ever noticed that the customer service rep could tell you what Live titles you've been playing religiously?

When I cancelled PSO, the woman immediately told me when was the last time I logged on.

[magilacudy]

I'm assuming by free servers you mean the XBConnect? This could be just MS propaganda but I've read that the connection is really laggy and cheaters abound throughout the service, as well as no matchmaking, chatrooms etc that XBL provides. YMMV

[WhipSmartBanky]

Bingo.

[XboxMaster]

Yeah, they already caught my 8 gig, but I'm making sure it doesn't happen on my 120 gig. Well, they already caught my 120 gig, but I'm getting a new EEPROM for it, if that doesn't work I know what I'll do. Might sell it and get a new one, I just love Live so much, I'm not sure I can give it up.

[DrunkTigerWoods]

Doesn't bother me, I don't mod. What happends if they find something they dont like while they're scanning?

[CaptainObviousXl]

they actually make switches to install to turn the mod on and off

[XboxMaster]

They don't really scan, see, when you go online or whatever, it takes like a milisecond for Xbox Live to check your system to make sure there are no mods on it. Then, they'll make your EEPROM bad, which signals to Xbox Live that you've been found and banned.

[NewFiregaming]

Yeah, that happened to a friend and they just reloaded live in their xbox and entered their old acount info and everything was up and going again!

[NewFiregaming]

Oh, has anyone else hacked their xbox so they didn't even have to use a mod?!

[XboxMaster]

That's pretty much impossible because you need a modchip to read homebrew programs. Unless you're talking about physical modding, like painting and LEDs.

[NewFiregaming]

No, I'm talking about using your computer to hack the xbox without ever opening it up....you just get the wire that hooks into the controll port (or make your own) and hook the xbox to your computer and then go to work by transfering from pc to xbox.
Not saying it's the best way to do it...but it's another way!
Hasn't anyone here done this?