So what's it going to take SOE? What do we have to do to get protection?

Yes. These people are human garbage and they continue to ruin these servers.

Sad, but true... SOE should at least require a Credit Card number or something unique for all new accounts, then at least it wouldn't be so easy for banned people to simply create a new one.

They could still sue for loss of revenue. Need i mention the gaming company known as Jagex taking botmakers to court for loss of revenue?

Only issue here is, they ( the hacker sites) have a legal right to make code. As long as they are not stealing the game code for their own use, they can code all they want. And sell them. They are not breaking any laws.

I hate them, wish for fire to consume their pc's....
Study the hacks and try to out code them...

Stat padders on servers I don't even play on are ruining my spunkgargleweewee experience.

To add my voice to this, after a week of not playing due to various other commitments and social life I fired up PS2 again after the game update 1. I think I lasted less than an hour before, like the OP, I shut down PS2 in utter disgust. Like OP I purchased alpha squad and I also purchased a 3 month premium sub because I believe in supporting a company for putting out a game I like. But this experience of today really tasted very, very wrong and if it doesn't change soon I will just accept my financial losses and find my enjoyment elsewhere.

They could not, as there is no measurable way to claim they lose any form of revenue due to the hacking, as the hackers arn't making money or removing it from SoE.

Let me take this a step back. The bot users could be taken to court as they could in theory be disrupting the service, but the bot makers could not as what they are doing is not illegal.

I wonder if VAC would work with PS2. VAC catches every hacker but it usually takes a week or two before the ban.

I read the title and thought a few different things.

Pay your protection money.
Use a condom.
Always wear your helmet..

Yada-yada.

So now that the Smed "come at me bro" thing is over I guess it's time for a silent approval by SOE. Good job smed, good job.

Your downs is flaring.

This is a reactive approach and wouldn't be bad. But its like any other form of spytool used to catch hackers.

The program first had to be found and than identified and added to the list for the tool to flag. While this wont prevent hacking it would help deal with those who have no idea how to combat the tool.

Yeah well SOE is getting code caved out the *** and everytime they make a change the hackers are on top of it -3 hours.

I agree it is getting out of control, I love the flickering/teleporting guys with C4 who magically appear by your AMS only to blow it up and teleport/flicker back out with no chance of killing him. All of 40+ GOTR members online reported him and to no prevail.

I was frustrated last night when I was in the middle of a really fun battle, and along comes a TR hacker who was warping around the screen and killing all the NC instantly until they gave up. It's sucks to be on either side of a hacker.

You are using unauthorized software to enhance or modify the way the original game mechanics are intended to be used in a game environment owned by SOE. It's unethical and most likely illegal. Cheating is cheating so stop trying to justify it.

You know, this is exactly what the hackers are looking for. Why do they advertise? Why do they act so brazen and obvious about what they're doing? They're trying to get a rise out of you. Trying to get a reaction. Buzz, when you said you quit the game in disgust for the first time, you played right into their hands. The whole point is to piss people off, and clearly they're doing just that with threads like this.

+1
Seems to be a growing problem

actually the bot makers could and did get taken to court. TO my knowledge no bot user was sued. In that aspect you are incorrect.
reference http://gamepolitics.com/2012/01/23/...st-runescape-bot-software-makers#.UMoiDm9X268

Unfortunately VAC is too slow for a f2p game like this... Gives plenty of time for cheaters to re-create new account and continue abusing the game :-( Same goes for that pathetic excuse of a software - "Punkbuster". Only proper solution is to write your own, custom detection/banning software and rapidly update it each time the hack creators update their hacks.