PBBans currently disabled

[Eastcoasthandle]

PBBans (an anti-cheat community offering full support for PunkBuster enabled games) is currently disabled do to a DoS attack. Current plans are to find a new host and move their server to a difference location (as a result of overwhelming request to keep it running from supporters). Initially they were planning to close their doors for good.

Currently there is no ETA of when their service will be back online. There is a lot more to this story then this. From what I've read (around the web) is that other anti cheating sites were hit as well.
source

[azraeel101]

The sooner PB goes belly up the better, it doesn't stop cheaters and it causes a lot of problems like kicking you out of a game for no reason

[Bradan]

The sooner PB goes belly up the better, it doesn't stop cheaters and it causes a lot of problems like kicking you out of a game for no reason

Most people think this, it's so far from the truth.

[RaZz!]

The sooner PB goes belly up the better, it doesn't stop cheaters and it causes a lot of problems like kicking you out of a game for no reason

1 cheater in every 3rd match is better than 10 cheaters in every single match. anti-cheat tools will never work for 100% of the cheaters. there'll always be some who bypass the used anti-cheat, but nonetheless, it blocks a whole lot of noobish/foolish people who installed random cheats they found on the inet.

[safan80]

The sooner PB goes belly up the better, it doesn't stop cheaters and it causes a lot of problems like kicking you out of a game for no reason

I like PB. Sure it has it's problems but it's better than nothing. Can you remember when online games didn't have PB? Cheaters were all over the place now that just pop up here or there, and using PBbans makes it more useful. You what I do hate? Crappy server admins.

[STEvil]

Punkbuster sucks.

It works, but it sucks more.

[Chruschef]

nowadays, most games have much better user created anti-cheat systems, like aegis for the crysis series, or x-ray for CoD 4. punkbuster compared to those systems, suck ... all it does it does is disconnect you from the server, because you didn't update PB; and it didn't update itself(like it's supposed to).

Punk buster sucks; game developers should also realize hacking happens. crysis one's .xml hacking was just ridiculous, and stupid.

[SoulsCollective]

I like PB. It does a good job, I never have issues updating it, and the only times I've been kicked are when I've been using a haxxorz copy of a game or when trying to get things like unofficial patches or mods or maps to work - which is understandable.

Donated.

[Rommsey]

Most people think this, it's so far from the truth.

Explain why I along with many other people in the world have a) bought a legit copy of a game b) updated it via patching c) updated PunkBuster as or when required d) joined a server with a compatible PunkBuster version and then experienced kicks related to PunkBuster?

You cannot expect people to believe your opinion if you make a definitive statement and fail to qualify it.

[Infa]

+1 even though it were 1-2 years ago i played crysis, it did this once in a while for me, tearing my ungrown grey hair off!

[SoulsCollective]

Explain why I along with many other people in the world have a) bought a legit copy of a game b) updated it via patching c) updated PunkBuster as or when required d) joined a server with a compatible PunkBuster version and then experienced kicks related to PunkBuster?

You cannot expect people to believe your opinion if you make a definitive statement and fail to qualify it.

To quote an above sig: Science: You're doing it wrong. The assertion was made that PB "doesn't stop cheaters" and "kick(s) you out of a game for no reason". While we should start with a negative (ie. an assumption that PB does not work), in this case where clearly it does work (because cheaters are kicked by it) and has six years of track record behind it, an assertion that it does not work is the one that needs to be substantiated.

But really, given that all we can do is FORUMWARZ and Google and counter-Google for dox, this is a somewhat pointless debate. PB does stop a lot of cheats and hacks, but it also has a false-positives issue - but for a single measure spanning, what, thirty-odd current games, that's not surprising compared to in-house solutions that are only applicable to one or at most two games. Some of us will have had good experiences, some of us bad.

[Rommsey]

To quote an above sig: Science: You're doing it wrong. The assertion was made that PB "doesn't stop cheaters" and "kick(s) you out of a game for no reason". While we should start with a negative (ie. an assumption that PB does not work), in this case where clearly it does work (because cheaters are kicked by it) and has six years of track record behind it, an assertion that it does not work is the one that needs to be substantiated.

But really, given that all we can do is FORUMWARZ and Google and counter-Google for dox, this is a somewhat pointless debate. PB does stop a lot of cheats and hacks, but it also has a false-positives issue - but for a single measure spanning, what, thirty-odd current games, that's not surprising compared to in-house solutions that are only applicable to one or at most two games. Some of us will have had good experiences, some of us bad.

There were two assertions and because it kicks valid people out of the game for a variety of strange reasons it does not work as designed and those reasons are why it does not stop cheaters as intended. Punk Buster actually kicks more legit people out than it does kick cheaters. This is demonstrated easiest in server logs and forum complaints.

You can't say your product stops cheating if you stop 4 out of 10 cheaters. You can say your product mitigates cheating though.

Besides, my statement related to one of the assertions, that being the kicking of people because of issues with Punk Buster.

[Rommsey]

Furthermore what do you mean by the "one or at most two" statement regarding in-house solutions? The idea is interesting but I can't help wonder if you include VAC in your decision.

[ripken204]

I like PB, I've never really had any issues with it and as far as I can tell it does a great job at stopping cheaters.

[randomizer]

I hate PB, but it does work most of the time. Go play Crysis online where most servers don't run it (since there's no 64-bit version) and watch yourself randomly die for no apparent reason. No anti-cheat system is perfect. Even VAC doesn't always work. I've played L4D where someone came on and sent everyone's pings over 1700ms before leaving soon afterwards. Not sure if that is considered "cheating" but it's still a PITA.

[ExodusC]

I hate PunkBuster as well. There are plenty other anti-cheat solutions that won't kick you out of games or ban you for no reason.

PunkBuster is crap. Seriously.

[Dragy2k]

i said it before and il say it again ..infinity ward should give a slice of the HUGE profit it makes to develop a valid anti cheat for the multiplayer games they make...its kinda logical imho if there online games are a little bit more secure then its good for the legit customers , yeah cracked servers will still appear but thats a different issue.
so....should they cough up some bucks to prolong there online anti cheat ....or just keep it all and take a vacation.

[RejZoR]

I like Valve's VAC the most. It doesn't install crappy hidden drivers, it doesn't conflict with anything and i've never had a single problem with it and i'm playing CS:S for years. I have no clue how effective it is, but it seems to do it's job (eventually).

[Jamesrt2004]

I like Valve's VAC the most. It doesn't install crappy hidden drivers, it doesn't conflict with anything and i've never had a single problem with it and i'm playing CS:S for years. I have no clue how effective it is, but it seems to do it's job (eventually).

alot of my friends got bored of CS:S and decided to download some hacks, they where banned within 3/4 days so I say it worked pretty well

[RejZoR]

Thats weird actually. Usually it takes longer. Unless they were the well known hacks which are banned instantly.

[Motiv]

Punkbuster is a massive plus for the gaming community. I've yet to see anyone banned by it who was not hacking. Not only that, it has the Screenshot utility which does catch a lot of cheats who are using 'custom' hacks.

it's not perfect, it does miss hacks but it far far better than not having it.

As for VAC, I'm not sure how good that is. either there are less cheats on CSS or Punkbuster and it's screenshot grab utility helps ban more.

[Jamesrt2004]

Punkbuster is a massive plus for the gaming community. I've yet to see anyone banned by it who was not hacking. Not only that, it has the Screenshot utility which does catch a lot of cheats who are using 'custom' hacks.

it's not perfect, it does miss hacks but it far far better than not having it.

As for VAC, I'm not sure how good that is. either there are less cheats on CSS or Punkbuster and it's screenshot grab utility helps ban more.

I don't think people dispute if it works or not, its just that it's so intrusive installing 2 services a driver or 2 and runs as a couple programs aswell its like WOAA....

thats why people like vac its small & efficient and just works (maybe not as well) but theres never any problems with it

[Calmatory]

Everyone who hates PB should learn to program, learn how games and cheats work and try to make their own anti-cheat programs, and try to get past PB and the alike. Otherwise it's like saying that "11 seconds for 100 metres run? What a noob you are because Usain Bolt can do sub 9,6 s!", when the person itself can't get under 16s.

Basicaly whining how something is bad without knowing a turd about the thing and how it really works and how impossible and hard it is to make it work. And no, there is no software which couldn't be hacked/tricked, no matter what. Hence "100 % proof anti cheat" is just a wet dream, in the end it's just cat and mouse stuff between the "hackers" and "anti-hackers".

VAC and the alike systems which are created in-house are better because the dev team really knows how the game works, and can alter the engine's features to fit better for anti-cheating, and all the resources for such anti-cheat(like VAC) are dedicated for that particular title only, not for all the games which use it. (Though VAC is used in many games etc, PB is used on many different games with many different engines from many different developers)

[3NZ0]

Everyone who hates PB should learn to program, learn how games and cheats work and try to make their own anti-cheat programs, and try to get past PB and the alike. Otherwise it's like saying that "11 seconds for 100 metres run? What a noob you are because Usain Bolt can do sub 9,6 s!", when the person itself can't get under 16s.

Basicaly whining how something is bad without knowing a turd about the thing and how it really works and how impossible and hard it is to make it work. And no, there is no software which couldn't be hacked/tricked, no matter what. Hence "100 % proof anti cheat" is just a wet dream, in the end it's just cat and mouse stuff between the "hackers" and "anti-hackers".

VAC and the alike systems which are created in-house are better because the dev team really knows how the game works, and can alter the engine's features to fit better for anti-cheating, and all the resources for such anti-cheat(like VAC) are dedicated for that particular title only, not for all the games which use it. (Though VAC is used in many games etc, PB is used on many different games with many different engines from many different developers)

That logic is massively flawed. Anyone has the right to pass their opinion on a subject, they do not need to be qualified to do so.

All that does is simply allow a deeper discussion or more intelligent debate. If some users think that PB is crap then let them do so. Same goes for people who like it.

I personally have yet to see it do anything of any use in game. I have a number of friends who have a few games which use pb and the problems it has caused when we try to play together are amazing.
Now, if it banned cheaters or prevented them from joining or whatever it would be good but most of the time I play multiplayer online I encounter a cheater who ruins the game.

As a result I stick to consoles for online play which isn't exactly what I want to do but it has stopped 99% of the problems I had on the pc.

As for vac, never had a problem with it since it came out, if you are playing on a good server and there is a cheater 9/10 chance there is a way to kick/ban him with or without an admin.

[Motiv]

That logic is massively flawed. Anyone has the right to pass their opinion on a subject, they do not need to be qualified to do so.

All that does is simply allow a deeper discussion or more intelligent debate. If some users think that PB is crap then let them do so. Same goes for people who like it.

I personally have yet to see it do anything of any use in game. I have a number of friends who have a few games which use pb and the problems it has caused when we try to play together are amazing.
Now, if it banned cheaters or prevented them from joining or whatever it would be good but most of the time I play multiplayer online I encounter a cheater who ruins the game.

As a result I stick to consoles for online play which isn't exactly what I want to do but it has stopped 99% of the problems I had on the pc.

As for vac, never had a problem with it since it came out, if you are playing on a good server and there is a cheater 9/10 chance there is a way to kick/ban him with or without an admin.

Well I know from my own experiance that PB in CoD has been a life saver. 99% of people have never have major issues with it. Admins love it as you can grab screenshots, see what versions they are on, lock down client side settings and ban people easily.

I always find it funny when people says PB doesn't work and go on about the amount of cheaters they see. These same people tend to find people who are better than them Cheaters and complain that they either cheat or the anti-cheat isn't working.

Most of the decent skilled players I knew, never complained about people hacking as the difference between a good player and a hacker is very hard to spot.

obvious cheating excluded of course.

PB does a job and it does a job well. The server admins just have to make sure it streams to PBbans or something similar and you pretty much have a admin orientated anti-cheat.