Griping!

[desocietas]

Ugh, all my Microsoft points are gone again!  Damn hackers buying stupid shit with my money.

Looks like I'll be locked out of my account *again*.

[jobocan]

I'm starting to hear a lot about XBL accounts getting hacked, is Microsoft actually doing something about it? The reports I've heard seemed to pretty much just be Microsoft saying "whatever". At least Sony actually did something when they got hacked... this is getting ridiculous >_>

[matt]

I don't even understand how it can be hacked. Wouldn't they have to recover your account on their system? They would need your email and password to do get it...unless their is some other vulnerability.

[desocietas]

I'm starting to hear a lot about XBL accounts getting hacked, is Microsoft actually doing something about it? The reports I've heard seemed to pretty much just be Microsoft saying "whatever". At least Sony actually did something when they got hacked... this is getting ridiculous >_>

The last time this happened they seemed pretty understanding and gave me a refund of the points lost, but only after a month of account lockdown and "investigation."  They also gave me codes for two free months of Gold subscription since they knew I was a gold subscriber.

I asked if they send emails at all when Microsoft points are used, but they say they don't because the emails are only sent with a credit card is charged...  I mean, does this mean I always need to look at my points balance in case it's used without me knowing?

I don't even understand how it can be hacked. Wouldn't they have to recover your account on their system? They would need your email and password to do get it...unless their is some other vulnerability.

Yeah, it doesn't make sense to me either.  Last time whoever it was purchased Sims 3, but I was so confused because you can't buy Sims 3 through Xbox... I guess somehow you can do it through PC (Windows Live client).  This time it was all Xbox stuff, so I'll have to see if I have to recover my account yet again when I log on tonight.

I just found this: http://forums.xbox.com/xbox_forums/xbox_support/f/12/p/102969/518686.aspx

Funny that it's all Sims 3...

[jobocan]

I'm starting to hear a lot about XBL accounts getting hacked, is Microsoft actually doing something about it? The reports I've heard seemed to pretty much just be Microsoft saying "whatever". At least Sony actually did something when they got hacked... this is getting ridiculous >_>

The last time this happened they seemed pretty understanding and gave me a refund of the points lost, but only after a month of account lockdown and "investigation."  They also gave me codes for two free months of Gold subscription since they knew I was a gold subscriber.

So it's BADLY handled AND on a case-by-case basis? That's just... terrible >_> Sure you got a refund and "free" Gold membership months, but the fact that they're seemingly doing nothing about this ongoing/recurring problem... Wouldn't it be better to go at it like Sony and shut down the whole service until they figure out what's wrong? Yeah it sucks, but it's better than people constantly getting hacked and getting their accounts locked down...

[foxhack]

Yeah, it doesn't make sense to me either.  Last time whoever it was purchased Sims 3, but I was so confused because you can't buy Sims 3 through Xbox... I guess somehow you can do it through PC (Windows Live client).  This time it was all Xbox stuff, so I'll have to see if I have to recover my account yet again when I log on tonight.

Yeah, you can buy stuff on the Windows marketplace using Microsoft's funny money. They should really make this only available to people who actually HAVE a PC account, that would leave the other 95% that only game on the 360 without any problems.

Sorry to hear about this happening to you.

[scott]

I'm wondering. Why did they not try to add points and steal those too? Or do you soley work off of point/time cards @desocietas

[desocietas]

So it's BADLY handled AND on a case-by-case basis? That's just... terrible >_> Sure you got a refund and "free" Gold membership months, but the fact that they're seemingly doing nothing about this ongoing/recurring problem... Wouldn't it be better to go at it like Sony and shut down the whole service until they figure out what's wrong? Yeah it sucks, but it's better than people constantly getting hacked and getting their accounts locked down...

Yeah, seeing the other posts of other people who *also* had Sims 3 purchased under their accounts would definitely set off alarms for most companies...  I didn't realize 'till seeing that thread tonight that it's handled case-by-case which suuucks.  But I don't know; if someone posts that they'd been hacked in a certain manner and 4 of their friends claim the same, I'm sure Microsoft wouldn't want to believe each and everyone of them in case one of them was trying to get some free points out of the deal (in case a friend who heard about the hack bought himself Sims 3 and then claimed it wasn't him).

But the prevalence of the hacking seems worse than I'd thought...

I'm wondering. Why did they not try to add points and steal those too? Or do you soley work off of point/time cards @desocietas

I don't have a credit card linked with my account...  I try to get subscription/points cards cheaper through deals rather than purchasing anything directly through the Xbox.  I was careful about that when I first started my Gold subscription way back when because I didn't like the idea of anyone being able to purchase things with my account so easily.  Of course, this was a precaution because of oblivious roommates, but I'm thankful that it might've saved me some identity theft worries, too.

Thanks for the sympathy, forum folks - it makes me feel a lot better!

[psydswipe]

Sorry to hear about that. I had just read this article last week: http://www.hackedonxbox.com/microsoft/. Hopefully customer support has improved but it seems doubtful. That particular person is also a Xbox Ambassador which apparently doesn't make any difference. Fairly certain she is a journalist as well as I've seen her post numerous times in the GamesPress forums. Not that one person should get special treatment over another, but I'd think Microsoft would try to please a Xbox Ambassador and journalist so that they write something nice about them

[desocietas]

Ha, day 1 (yesterday) of contacting Xbox did not go well.  Person was very nice but didn't really know what she was doing and ended up locking herself out of the account because she kept using the wrong password.

She said I'd have to try again tonight ... XP

[foxhack]

I'm just going to use this thread to vent.

My video card just died. Horribly. I was talking to a friend and all of a sudden the screen filled up with semi-transparent yellow dots. Then the computer froze. I rebooted, and it worked fine... but after quitting Dungeons of Dredmor, and trying to play Team Fortress 2, the computer froze again with a corrupted screen.

I rebooted, and the system only lasted thirty seconds into Windows before completely freezing up. I tried rebooting, and the bios wouldn't clear up, so I grabbed my older, emergency video card and now I'm on that.

Now if only someone would buy my games. I don't have money for a new card.

[desocietas]

Uggggh... So sorry to hear that @foxhack!  How long had you had your video card?  *goes to look at your sell list now... sees that it's _empty_*

[foxhack]

Uggggh... So sorry to hear that @foxhack!  How long had you had your video card?  *goes to look at your sell list now... sees that it's _empty_*

Heh. Well. I had a GeForce 8800 GTX that died two years ago... it had a lifetime warranty, but I forgot to register it, so they told me "you're screwed." Then I bought a PCI video card.

Then I found a GeForce 8400 GS, which is just slightly better than integrated graphics. I used that for a while. Then, six months ago, I got a used Radeon HD 4850 by trading some games at a forum. which was pretty decent... that one was the one that died. So now I'm back on the 8400 GS.

It's not bad for 2D stuff, but 3D stuff ... kicks its ass hard.

Also, related to your topic: http://www.joystiq.com/2012/01/13/windows-live-login-suggested-as-xbox-live-security-flaw/

[psydswipe]

Foxhack, sounds like bad luck. Maybe they break easier than I think but I've been fortunate to not have that problem. I'd be hesitant to buy a used card unless you know the person you bought it from as there is no way of knowing what it has been through. There are good budget cards out there, maybe in the $100 range. I rarely spend much on my PC so it's not very good but I used to try and build better computers when I played a lot of PC games.

I did see that suggestion that the Xbox Live security faults might be Microsoft's websites. Although I rarely change my passwords I went ahead and changed my Hotmail/Xbox password last week just to be safe. The PS3 hack forced me to change a bunch of passwords too though since I used the one I had for that on a number of gaming sites.