This sort of stuff always freaks me out and makes me check my account. I didn't know anything about how to steal it, but accidental bannings do happen. I'm paranoid like that.
According to the post, certain accounts were banned because the owner attempted to register a single specific CD key. That key was apparently part of instructions on how to get Steam to give out HL2 for free.
Here's a quote from someone who got busted(quote was in a news article at Evil Avatar):
on my account i had over 200 dollars worth of legit software. in the consumer world they cant just take it away form u. its like stealing. think about it ppl. vavle should have emailed me and warned i would get banned if i crossed the line or sumthin im sure anyone would stop what they are doing at the time. but no they just decied to take my account. doesnt to them 200 bucks is like 5 cents for them.
I can't describe how funny this is to me. Oh the irony.
They wouldn't need to. From the looks of things, they have someone at the company dedicated to searching the internet, finding the best, most popular ways of stealing their game, and then reverse-engineering the cracks.
Here's a quote from someone who got busted(quote was in a news article at Evil Avatar):
Quote:
on my account i had over 200 dollars worth of legit software. in the consumer world they cant just take it away form u. its like stealing. think about it ppl. vavle should have emailed me and warned i would get banned if i crossed the line or sumthin im sure anyone would stop what they are doing at the time. but no they just decied to take my account. doesnt to them 200 bucks is like 5 cents for them.
I can't describe how funny this is to me. Oh the irony.
Later on this guy went to say he felt like a victim. I wish I could thank him in person for bringing joy to my life...watching him flop around like a fish out of water He changed the story of what happened each time he made a new post, it was awesome.
You'd have to be pretty stupid to attempt to used a CD key that was released on the internet (EDIT: For a game activated by Steam). Obviously they would check for multiple instances of the key, even if it was some "magic key" that allowed simultaneous play.
Normally I'd be wary of legit users getting screwed by this, but I don't see how they could botch it and ban legit users (ie, those that never tried to get free HL2 play with that key).
" Hey OP, listen to my advice alright." -Tha General "No scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer." -Stigler's Law of Eponymy, discovered by Robert K. Merton MYT
And I can't believe the guy from the quote had the balls to say Valve was stealing from him because they banned his account. Welcome to a lesson learned -- You stole from them, they "stole" from you.
And what, exactly, did he have on his account that equaled up to $200 in software if he didn't even pay for HL2?
Well I see a big problem here. This means you cant buy from Ebay or trade the game to someone else to use.
Just think you get one from ebay only when you try the key your account gets banned. Not just HL2 but now your HL and CS and all other games you paid for are done.
Ther should be a way you can check a validation of a key before use it and a way to take keys off your account.
Valael wrote:I also don't see how they mislead the public.
And I can't believe the guy from the quote had the balls to say Valve was stealing from him because they banned his account. Welcome to a lesson learned -- You stole from them, they "stole" from you.
And what, exactly, did he have on his account that equaled up to $200 in software if he didn't even pay for HL2?
It's even simpler than that. He violated the TOS, they cancelled his account. As outlined in the TOS. Done.
I imagine if he had HL, OpFor, CS:CZ, and any other purchased game it could add up to $200 at retail prices. But IIRC none of them were sold through steam, were they? He would still have the discs. He could still play them, although not online.
" Hey OP, listen to my advice alright." -Tha General "No scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer." -Stigler's Law of Eponymy, discovered by Robert K. Merton MYT
I read part of that thread on the steampowered forums (but it was loading so slowly I didn't read all of it, site probably getting hammered). Typical sign of the times -- people whining when they get caught doing something wrong and not wanting to take responsibility for their actions. Some of the "excuses" for "just trying the illegal key to see if it would work" are priceless, along with various arguments like "everybody does warez sometimez, if you say you don't you are lying" or "i am not a criminal, i have paid for most of my games..."
When the sun goes out, we'll have eight minutes to live.
I can see the other side's point to a degree. Lets say you had a bootleg Metallica album. Metallica comes to your house, decides not to prosecute you, but takes the illegal album with them. By what right do they search through your music collection and take all of the paid for Metallica albums you own from years past?
I can see Valve killing illegal HL2 copies - but does that give them the right to take back all of your other Valve software?
Blackhawk wrote:I can see the other side's point to a degree. Lets say you had a bootleg Metallica album. Metallica comes to your house, decides not to prosecute you, but takes the illegal album with them. By what right do they search through your music collection and take all of the paid for Metallica albums you own from years past?
I can see Valve killing illegal HL2 copies - but does that give them the right to take back all of your other Valve software?
If software piracy isn't an issue our officers of the law deem enforcable, I can see how companies may go a bit vigilante with their own personal responses. I'm not saying I like it, but I can certainly see how we got into this mess.
Blackhawk wrote:I can see the other side's point to a degree. Lets say you had a bootleg Metallica album. Metallica comes to your house, decides not to prosecute you, but takes the illegal album with them. By what right do they search through your music collection and take all of the paid for Metallica albums you own from years past?
I can see Valve killing illegal HL2 copies - but does that give them the right to take back all of your other Valve software?
If software piracy isn't an issue our officers of the law deem enforcable, I can see how companies may go a bit vigilante with their own personal responses. I'm not saying I like it, but I can certainly see how we got into this mess.
~Neal
Oh, I see the motivation well enough. It is just a scary precedent.
Blackhawk wrote:I can see the other side's point to a degree. Lets say you had a bootleg Metallica album. Metallica comes to your house, decides not to prosecute you, but takes the illegal album with them. By what right do they search through your music collection and take all of the paid for Metallica albums you own from years past?
I can see Valve killing illegal HL2 copies - but does that give them the right to take back all of your other Valve software?
Let's say you invite your friend over to your house. While he's there, he steals something from you. You could just take back the thing he stole, and let him keep coming over, but that just tells him that he needs to find a better way to steal so he doesn't get caught. On the other hand, if you take back the thing, kick him in the nuts a few times, and tell him not to come back over, he might think twice before he steals something of yours again.
I can't imagine, even at my most inebriated, hearing a bouncer offering me an hour with a stripper for only $1,400 and thinking That sounds like a reasonable idea.-Two Sheds
Blackhawk wrote:I can see the other side's point to a degree. Lets say you had a bootleg Metallica album. Metallica comes to your house, decides not to prosecute you, but takes the illegal album with them. By what right do they search through your music collection and take all of the paid for Metallica albums you own from years past?
I can see Valve killing illegal HL2 copies - but does that give them the right to take back all of your other Valve software?
Let's say you invite your friend over to your house. While he's there, he steals something from you. You could just take back the thing he stole, and let him keep coming over, but that just tells him that he needs to find a better way to steal so he doesn't get caught. On the other hand, if you take back the thing, kick him in the nuts a few times, and tell him not to come back over, he might think twice before he steals something of yours again.
Yeah, and he might also have you arrested for battery. Breaking the law isn't a good way of punishing someone for breaking the law. Valve has every right to disable a stolen copy of Half-Life 2. They have no right to disable a copy of Counterstrike or Day of Defeat you bought three years ago, which is exactly what they are doing.
Blackhawk wrote:I can see the other side's point to a degree. Lets say you had a bootleg Metallica album. Metallica comes to your house, decides not to prosecute you, but takes the illegal album with them. By what right do they search through your music collection and take all of the paid for Metallica albums you own from years past?
I can see Valve killing illegal HL2 copies - but does that give them the right to take back all of your other Valve software?
How did they take it back. Maybe I misunderstand but they just disconnected the thieves from Steam. They still have their games they bought, they just can't play MP on Steam.
Blackhawk wrote:I can see the other side's point to a degree. Lets say you had a bootleg Metallica album. Metallica comes to your house, decides not to prosecute you, but takes the illegal album with them. By what right do they search through your music collection and take all of the paid for Metallica albums you own from years past?
I can see Valve killing illegal HL2 copies - but does that give them the right to take back all of your other Valve software?
Let's say you invite your friend over to your house. While he's there, he steals something from you. You could just take back the thing he stole, and let him keep coming over, but that just tells him that he needs to find a better way to steal so he doesn't get caught. On the other hand, if you take back the thing, kick him in the nuts a few times, and tell him not to come back over, he might think twice before he steals something of yours again.
Yeah, and he might also have you arrested for battery. Breaking the law isn't a good way of punishing someone for breaking the law. Valve has every right to disable a stolen copy of Half-Life 2. They have no right to disable a copy of Counterstrike or Day of Defeat you bought three years ago, which is exactly what they are doing.
But nobody is going to press the issue because if they do...Valve will just stick it up their rear ends by pressing charges for credit card fraud. Mr. Secret Service agent will show up at these houses and take you in. (Secret Service has jurisdiction over credit card fraud).
Blackhawk wrote:Valve has every right to disable a stolen copy of Half-Life 2. They have no right to disable a copy of Counterstrike or Day of Defeat you bought three years ago, which is exactly what they are doing.
Is there a reason why they can't create a new Steam account and re-register the software they actually own? Was it just the account that was banned or was it the person that owned it?
