We may permanently suspend a profile or device if we can no longer trust it due to a severe violation, or if our attempts to correct repeated negative behaviors are unsuccessful. 'If you violate Xbox community standards, you may find restrictions placed on your profile and/or device.

If you break these rules, Microsoft clearly lays out the consequences: Don't:Play a pirated gamePlay a game before its release dateShare your profile with another personTry to access accounts you don’t ownUse someone’s intellectual property in a way that’s not permitted' 'Accessing or using content in inappropriate ways can contribute to fraud and spoil great experiences for other players, sapping the magic of Xbox Live. Microsoft's Xbox Live Community Standards page states the following:

In 2009, as CNET reported, Microsoft famously banned nearly a million Xbox Live players for modifying their Xbox 360 consoles and playing pirated games. Particularly on consoles, playing pirated games is an offense that could result in a ban from Xbox Live or PlayStation Network. Impatient gamers will jump on the first crack of the new game that's available, which could be a costly mistake.Ģ. But think about it: people who want to mess with others' computers to make money or even just to play a prank have a wide-open target when a new game comes out. This wasted their system's resources to make money for the malware creator.Ĭertainly, not every cracked game download will contain malware. Even if you have a backup of your files, are the hours you spend restoring your system really worth the $60 (or less) price tag of the game?Īs reported by The Register, a large number of people who pirated the first Watch Dogs upon launch were treated to Bitcoin mining malware. Horror stories, like one from Kaspersky about a player who was hit with ransomware when trying to download a cracked game, should act as a warning. How do you know that someone didn't mess with the file before uploading it?

Legitimate game stores would get in a lot of trouble for handing out malware.īut that trust disappears when you're downloading public torrents. When you download from a reputable source, you can reasonably trust that the file you're downloading is what the distributor claims it is. It's no secret that pirating any kind of software is dangerous.

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