Ways to solve the hack problem by 95%

TraitorGuy

1. When logging into Crossfire, the user's system should be scanned. If known hacks are identified, or if unauthorized changes were made to the code of the latest patch, then that user should not be able to complete their login.

2. One of the engineers at Z8 should have the job of uploading "hacks" to hack sites that work at first.... but then attack and destroy the user's computer from within using worms and malware. And be relentless with it. Eventually hackers will be too paranoid to use their own hacks (unless they wrote the hack themselves of course, but that's extremely rare).

3. The hacking problem needs to be attacked in realtime. I know there are employees at Z8 who are responsible for identifying hackers and removing them. The role of these employees should be expanded. The main hack sites are easily found with Google. Employees of Z8 should be browsing these sites for new hacks every single day.
And new hacks should be immediately forwarded to someone in Engineering whose job it is to immediately program the game so such hack no longer works. With a day or two, the hackers will develop their workaround. Immediately (within 24 hours), Z8 should reprogram the game so such new hacks do not work. And this must be done ad infinitum with no break in continuity.

It just takes the will to get rid of these scum. They are ruining the integrity (and fun) of the game. It should be First Priority. It should be more important than developing new maps, more important than developing new weapons, and more important than developing new promotions.

The hack problem is now more out of control than it's ever been. Too many users are discovering hack sites on their own through Google, word of mouth, Coffeehouses in Egypt, and spam in Crossfire's very own chat system.

This problem can be permanently generally solved within a week, if Z8 managers and engineers make it Priority #1. The anti-hack company Z8 subscribes to seems to be pathetic. They don't catch anything. They catch more false-positives than they do any real hackers. They should be ditched after a better company and better in-house procedures are developed.

BigMeanie

The main problem is non-english speaking community. Most of them have no clue how to play, basics of the game are like nuclear physics to them. Get rid of them and the hacking problem is solved. (egys)

GarrisonRG

1. It would take extremely long to scan 1 TB, obviously.
2. This is not really legal... right? Oh, it is. Sending malware and viruses are 100% legal.
3. They should just get more scanning engines, XTRAP has other games.
They're just going to come back, unless SmileGate blocks foreign IP addresses, THAT would help a lot.

Calchu1992

Nah

Nah I say the z8 staff are just cowards.. We send in tons of hacker reports per day, yet we never get any definite results (if check report status it always says the case is "open", like FOREVER). And even if they find that the person hacks, what they do is banning him for 7 days, then 30 days for the next offense, then.... you know z8 team are like chicks who are too "lenient" and "nice" to perm ban the hackers for good. I say just implement a "first offense warning, second offense perm ban" system. Otherwise with hackers with multiple sub accounts, the "chicks" way of banning them is like, you know, pointless.

Atheistic

1 It already scans the memory for known hacks/injectors.

2 Releasing a hack yourself would be a good way of busting cheaters, I agree but some companies might not want to do this and z8 probably isn't allowed anyway.

3 Z8 could do a better job of patrolling the game and also urge smilegate to urge the anti hack sheild to get on the ball and detect hacks faster.

Mathaholic

The main problem "Simlegate West" has is like you said, their useless contract with xTrap that scams their money (which comes from us spending ZP) and does nothing in return to fight hackers. The game is an easy target for anyone who can get through xTrap (basically every HTML programmer).

"Smilegate West" should really consider dropping their contract with xTrap and initiating a new one with any other functioning gamegaurd.. like PunkBuster (link if you're too lazy to look em up).

They will end up losing valuable players if they do not actually take some serious action immediately.

ohyousure

For every 24 hours there is a update for your third point? Ridiculous!

iam_iN

i think if your caught hacking once you should get perma banned and hardware banned why give them chances if they hacked once no doubt they are going to do it again

Ouros_dono

1. Like Atheistic said, it would make your start up time too long. Perhaps if a system could detect just third party software interacting with the game upon login, that would help.

2. Isn't this illegal? Even if it isn't, no company wants to take any action like this that would even remotely alienate it's "customer" base. I would suggest that since many hacks require you to submit login info to use them from what I understand, have a hack released that when you enter your info to activate the hack, you get put on a ban list.

3. 100% agree on this one. I'd say Z8/Smilegate just doesn't have enough employees to take care of us, and we as a gaming community suffer for it.

4. I'm adding a four. Since, like the original poster commented, you can easily google a large portion of these hacks, and since X-Trap relies in Z8 to send them the info, perhaps Z8 should offer up some ZP incentives to players to find and send information to X-Trap. You should probably have some kind of sign up for this so that every random player can't do this.

ohyousure wrote: »

For every 24 hours there is a update for your third point? Ridiculous!

Actually, X-Trap updates more than once a day in some instances. These are different from game updates, which only occur a few times a month.

N4TF

I disagree with putting malware on peoples systems, as I am sure most of these downloaded hacks because I seriously doubt most of the CF player base that use hacks have any knowledge on how to make them themselves would have malware embedded in them already.

N4TF

Ouros_dono wrote: »

3. 100% agree on this one. I'd say Z8/Smilegate just doesn't have enough employees to take care of us, and we as a gaming community suffer for it.

Would it be possible to add in a feature such as overwolf from counterstrike global offensive where certain trusted players can handle hack reports and given ban hammer powers?

Edit : Sorry for double post.