An Important Note

mxrider108 · Post by **mxrider108** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 7:53 pm

The New System

Bungie has recently implemented a new system of scanning for modified content in File Shares as many of us predicted may occur. The specifics of this system are unknown as of now, but what we do know comes from the newest Weekly Update:

Bungie.net Weekly Update wrote:Our definition of modified content is content that is created or uploaded outside of the parameters of what can be done using the game-provided tools. This includes but is not limited to: “hacked” variations of maps and screenshots that are not Halo 3 images (you know what these are).

Also, it’s important to note that once you’ve downloaded a piece of moderated content and renamed it – the system considers you the author of said content. Simply renaming the content is not going to shift the onus of ownership from you to say, Shishka – the system is smarter than that.

Authors of uploaded modified content received the following prizes:

* The account is permanently banned from Matchmaking
* Permanent loss of File Share functionality.
* The Xbox hardware has been banned from Halo 3 for a month.

Uploading modified content to your File Share

By definition, this is downloading modified content and then putting it in your File Share for others to download. Users did not make any changes to the file, which would assume ownership of said file.

Tell them what they’ve won:

* Permanent loss of File Share functionality.

Obviously as the rules of this site clearly state, nobody is to upload modified content to their File Shares. However, as stated in the update, there is still a risk for authors of modified content - even if you never put such content in your File Share.

What's this risk?

Well, it seems part of Bungie's detection system entails scanning the author named in the modified content, regardless of on whose File Share the content resides. So if you post your new modded usermap in the Downloads section and someone stupid decides to upload your map to their File Share, that could mean a permaban for you (in spite of you keeping your File Share clean and mods offline).

How do you protect yourself [as an author]?

Simple. Change the author of your map to read something else besides your gamertag. In addition, it would be smart to resign your content with 0's for the Profile and Device IDs to prevent identification that way as well. If you are really worried, even unlink your gamertag from your account on HaloMods or other sites.

Where is the data for the content's author located?

This data can be altered in Sandbox as well as other tools available online, but the most secure method involves using a Hex Editor. The author's gamertag should appear at offsets 0xE0E8 and 0xE1F0 in most 116kb usermaps. You can also run a scan for the author's name as a text string within your Hex Editor.

Protect youself before you upload!

Tural · Post by **Tural** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 8:00 pm

For the record, this protects the author, not the user. The user still can be banned for resigning the content with their console and profile IDs, so don't assume that just because you didn't make the mod, you are immune to punishment. You take a risk of being banned with every modified piece of content you play.

mxrider108 · Post by **mxrider108** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 8:01 pm

Yes, uploaders are still strongly at risk, but I could care less. We don't support uploading mods to File Share's anyway.

Edit: Nevermind the previous edit.

unknownv2 · Post by **unknownv2** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 8:07 pm

They said that editing the author won't protect you at all.

mxrider108 · Post by **mxrider108** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 8:11 pm

unknownv2 wrote:They said that editing the author won't protect you at all.

They said "simply renaming the content is not going to shift the onus of ownership from you..." I take "renaming the content" to mean changing the content's name, not the content's author...but I can see it from both ways.

Veegie · Post by **Veegie** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 8:11 pm

unknownv2 wrote:They said that editing the author won't protect you at all.

If you download it...

unknownv2 · Post by **unknownv2** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 8:22 pm

Veegie wrote:
unknownv2 wrote:They said that editing the author won't protect you at all.
If you download it...

Then what does this mean?

People who think that altering the listed author of the modded file will protect their identity are hilariously mistaken

mxrider108 · Post by **mxrider108** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 8:26 pm

Well then, I don't know what else they could be getting from the usermap someone else uploads that would identify you. I find that kind of hard to believe because I've posted abour 4 different mods publicly with several even ending up on Community Files from other people posting them to their File Shares, yet I have not been banned (just checked). All I did for security was change the author and IDs...

SpartanAI · Post by **SpartanAI** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 12:19 pm

What if for extra security we have a special non xbox live profile that we make the oringail forge variant with to protect our selfs.

Tural · Post by **Tural** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 12:39 pm

That wouldn't make any difference if you just follow what he said in the first post...

Veegie · Post by **Veegie** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 12:56 pm

mxrider108 wrote:Well then, I don't know what else they could be getting from the usermap someone else uploads that would identify you. I find that kind of hard to believe because I've posted abour 4 different mods publicly with several even ending up on Community Files from other people posting them to their File Shares, yet I have not been banned (just checked). All I did for security was change the author and IDs...

There are also machineIDs and playerIDs that should be stored, as they are in films.

SpartanAI · Post by **SpartanAI** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 12:58 pm

what if theres another way that bungie could get your gamer tag other that the profile id or the gamer tag being writing in the file just to be extra safe.

Veegie · Post by **Veegie** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 12:58 pm

SpartanAI wrote:what if theres another way that bungie could get your gamer tag other that the profile id or the gamer tag being writing in the file just to be extra safe.

Like what I just said?...

SpartanAI · Post by **SpartanAI** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 1:09 pm

oh didn't see you post but yea something like that.
Where are the machine IDs and player IDs located in the film file?
If you don't mind saying.

Veegie · Post by **Veegie** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 1:26 pm

SpartanAI wrote:oh didn't see you post but yea something like that.
Where are the machine IDs and player IDs located in the film file?
If you don't mind saying.

I lost my whitepaper as far as I'm concerned, so no.
I don't remember anymore.

Ringleader · Post by **Ringleader** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 1:04 pm

I just got a request to update my system, and they will not let me log into xbox live without the update, do you think that this measure is included in the update? because perhaps I should remove my modded files before I update.

Tural · Post by **Tural** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 1:05 pm

No.
That has nothing to do with Halo, or any such thing, it's just a standard dashboard patch, possibly adding some framework needed for the Fall update.

Ghostlypickel · Post by **Ghostlypickel** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 1:43 pm

Ringleader wrote:I just got a request to update my system, and they will not let me log into xbox live without the update, do you think that this measure is included in the update? because perhaps I should remove my modded files before I update.

The team released a system update for the Xbox 360 over Xbox LIVE. Sometime over the next few hours when you sign in to Xbox LIVE you'll recieve a prompt to accept this mandatory update. This update contains code to 'prepare for future growth of the service.' There are no other changes or enhancements in this update...in other words no new features.

To be clear: This is not the new Xbox experience update. That will come in the Fall.