[Vyuru]

Feb. 20, 2008 03:00 [PST] From: FINAL FANTASY XIAccounts Banned (Feb. 20)</B>
We would like to report the termination today of multiple accounts held by players involved in the usage of third-party tools or cheats, or engaged in RMT (Real Money Trading) activities.

Based on the results of our investigation, around 5,600 PlayOnline accounts were terminated while around 1,270 accounts were temporarily suspended.
Additionally, we have increased the number of mass bannings against certain PlayOnline violations in order to prevent illegal acts.

Details of the violations are as follows:

- Usage of tools that allow enhanced character movement.
February 8, Approx. 150 cases
February 15, Approx. 220 cases

- Usage of tools that circumvent game mechanics with respect to the timing of ability use, etc. in certain areas or at points where Notorious Monsters appear.
February 20, Approx. 30 cases

- Using cheats to automatically repeat a particular action.
January 30, Approx. 840 cases
February 6, Approx. 590 cases
February 13, Approx. 420 cases

- Gil and item exchange for real world money.
February 20, Approx. 1,210 cases

- Instances of areas or monster monopolization.
January 25, Approx. 150 cases
February 7, Approx. 100 cases

- Usage of synthesis and auction houses for RMT activities.
January 28, Approx. 680 cases
February 5, Approx. 780 cases
February 12, Approx. 510 cases
February 19, Approx. 630 cases

- Accounts from people that were previously confirmed to have RMT connections, or that had violated the user agreements but re-subscribed to PlayOnline.
February 6, Approx. 130 cases
February 14, Approx. 130 cases

The termination of these accounts has led to the removal of approximately 2.1 billion gil from circulation.

We would like to remind players that as well as adversely affecting game balance, the use of third-party tools or cheats can also have consequences that are not immediately obvious, such as introducing damaging viruses, and comprising the security of private account details. Usage of third-party tools will not be tolerated within FINAL FANTASY XI, and we will continue to severely penalize any players found to be in violation of the PlayOnline Member Agreement.

As we continue to ensure a fun and balanced environment for FINAL FANTASY XI, we hope that our players enjoy the game as it was intended and take care to avoid involvement in activities that violate the PlayOnline Member Agreement.

Thank you for your continued cooperation and understanding.



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STFU Report



Special Task Force Report (02/20/2008)


Today's report will outline our actions conducted from January 25, 2008 to February 20, 2008 in dealing with players violating the user agreement, as well as details on the activities, results, and goals of the Special Task Force.

Click here for details on the Special Task Force's activities in dealing with players violating the FINAL FANTASY XI user agreement.


Special Task Force activities and future plans

Most of the characters engaged in RMT (*1) were continuously reappearing after their accounts had been banned. In order to deal with this, we began to shorten the intervals between bannings. As visible in the below graph, as a result of this, there were more accounts banned in December 2007 than in any previous month.
The Special Task Force is continuing to ban players violating the user agreement with the overall goal of eliminating all accounts involved in RMT.



The following tally details the condition of problems between January 25, 2008 and February 20, 2008. Each of these issues is discussed individually in the following section.

- Illegal fishing
One of the reasons the number of accounts banned in December 2007 drastically increased was due to the strengthening of activities against illegal fishing. By shortening the intervals between bannings and increasing the amount of accounts banned each time, a total of 1,850 accounts were banned within the span of a month.

- Hunters (*2)
The Special Task Force uses the information provided by reports submitted by FINAL FANTASY XI players in investigating and banning characters involved in RMT.
As a result, we currently receive almost no reports regarding hunters targeting Notorious Monsters. On the other hand, the number of reports regarding lower-level suspicious characters continuously fighting regular monsters has considerably increased.
We track the items and gil obtained through these battles to their destination and, if RMT ties can be confirmed, we ban the corresponding account.

- Use of synthesis and auction houses for RMT (*3)
After the last banning, the number of reward items for certain quests being sold at auction houses considerably decreased. The reason for this is due to the Special Task Force targeting characters involved in using auction houses for RMT, along with characters using unauthorized software to beat certain quests. All accounts associated with these characters were banned. We are currently continuing these investigations and bannings.

- Use of tools that allow enhanced character movement (*4)
After "Wings of the Goddess" was released, characters using unauthorized methods to beat new quests appeared. Because of this, the Special Task Force began to continually ban characters over short periods of time. This is the other reason why the number of characters banned in December 2007 drastically increased.
Up until now, we've been using basic methods such as investigating character logs and confirming violations of the user agreement in the banning of accounts, but we are currently preparing to introduce effective countermeasures into the game itself. If these countermeasures are introduced into the game, the number of characters involved in enhanced character movement will significantly decrease.

*1. RMT
"Real Money Trading." Selling game data for real money.

*2. Hunters
Characters who kill Notorious Monsters, clear quests, and obtain items over and over again with the sole purpose of gathering gil, which is then handed off to RMT groups.

*3. Use of synthesis and auction houses for RMT
Actions involving selling large quantities of in-game items for gil, which is then traded for real money.

*4: The use of unauthorized software to modify a character's movements.


Matters of concern within the community
In the following section, we will be explaining the Special Task Force's direction and plans in dealing with matters of concern within the community.

- The number of characters fishing with machine-like movements hasn't decreased at all.
Illegal fishing makes up about half of the reports submitted by FINAL FANTASY XI players. The main areas showing up in the reports are Buburimu Peninsula, Sea Serpent Grotto, and the ferry that goes back and forth between Mhaura and Selbina.
The accounts in question are banned over a short period of time and soon afterwards, roughly the same number of new characters reemerges to continue the same actions as before.
Currently the Special Task Force is looking into introducing systematic countermeasures to break this cycle.

- It seems that in the recent banning, the majority of RMT gil buyers were banned, but does the Special Task Force change the displayed number of accounts banned from month to month instead of displaying the actual number?
Not only gil buyers, but all users violating the user agreement are given penalties immediately after the investigation of their account has concluded
However, even if a certain number of penalties are imposed each month on violators of the user agreement, as long as the total penalties do not exceed a set line, their accounts will not be banned. Therefore, a significant difference can be seen between individual accounts. Because of this, the number of accounts banned may drastically change from month to month, but the Special Task Force will never intentionally alter the actual numbers.


Warning about unauthorized access
As has been mentioned in previous Special Task Force reports, problems regarding third party access to players' account information have become more and more common. Even if ones account is compromised only once, all of that player's characters could be deleted and all gil and items lost.
Viewing suspicious web sites linked on gaming websites or blogs, as well as downloading files from these sites, is believed to be the main cause of this unauthorized access. A player's computer becomes infected with a Trojan horse or keylogger and before he realizes it, his PlayOnline ID and password have been stolen.
We are currently working on a method to restore edited account details and lost items, but there are a few preventative measures to help protect ones account. The following are a few such countermeasures that Windows users can use to protect against unauthorized access.

- Do not access websites with unknown or suspicious content.
- Do not download software from unknown or suspicious websites.
- Periodically perform Windows Updates and keep Windows updated to the latest version.
*Refer to Microsoft's official website for more detailed information.
- Periodically update your web browser to the latest version.
- Do not use external tools not approved by Square Enix under any circumstances.
- Always use the latest antivirus software and Internet security software.

In order to protect your data, please use the countermeasures listed above along with diligent management of your PlayOnline account.
We would also like to remind everyone that Square Enix will never reveal PlayOnline account details to third parties.


Reporting to the Special Task Force
The Special Task Force relies on everyone's information regarding violations of the user agreement to help keep FINAL FANTASY XI an enjoyable environment, and we appreciate your continuing support and cooperation.

Report to Special Task Force

[Neomage]

It seems that SE is really putting the hurt on these operations. Not enough to stop RMT/Hacking, but certainly making it harder and more difficult. I applaud them. I personally know of two FFXI Hacking Communities that shut down because STFU banned so many of their former members.

[Feba]

Originally Posted by Vyuru

Feb whatever!

[LyonheartLakshmi]

Originally Posted by Vyuru

- The number of characters fishing with machine-like movements hasn't decreased at all.
Illegal fishing makes up about half of the reports submitted by FINAL FANTASY XI players. The main areas showing up in the reports are Buburimu Peninsula, Sea Serpent Grotto, and the ferry that goes back and forth between Mhaura and Selbina.
The accounts in question are banned over a short period of time and soon afterwards, roughly the same number of new characters reemerges to continue the same actions as before.
Currently the Special Task Force is looking into introducing systematic countermeasures to break this cycle.

Since I got back into fishing a few weeks ago, reporting the new sets of fish bots onboard the ferry once a week has become a regular activity for me. It'll be interesting to see how these "systematic countermeasures" develop in the future.

[Raydeus]

Originally Posted by Feba

/comfort

[Callisto]

Somewhere between 2/14 and 2/15, the STF decided that one of my LS members who plays on PS2 and who barely manages enough gil to pay for Limbus each week has RMT ties or uses 3PP, and has apparently banned him. S-E customer service won't confirm for him whether or not he has been banned or just suspended, and they won't give him a reason for why his account was deactivated, but suspensions are generally 72 hours and he's been unable to log on for nearly a week. They basically said if he isn't billed at the end of the month he knows he's banned, best of luck.

I'm glad the STF is doing what they're doing, but if they're going to put so much time into investigating they could maybe be a tad more accurate.

[greeneyesj]

I was happy to see that the person who is flooding the market with my main source of income for the game is gone.

Now I'll be back to checking my fishing spots again to see if the previous bots are gone and probably which ones they have been replaced with.

[IfritnoItazura]

Originally Posted by Vyuru

STFU Report



Special Task Force Report (02/20/2008)

For crying out loud, there is no 'U'. "STF" is all.

[Vyuru]

For crying out loud, there is no 'U'. "STF" is all.

1) Special Task Force Update Report

2) I like STFU better

3) So meh!

[Neomage]

Originally Posted by IfritnoItazura

For crying out loud, there is no 'U'. "STF" is all.

Special Task Force Unit

[Murphie]

Originally Posted by Onionsoilder

Special Task Force Unit

Yeah, except it's not actually called that. It's called the Special Task Force.

[Malacite]

Originally Posted by Feba

[Neomage]

You say STF, I say STFU.

[Murphie]

Originally Posted by Onionsoilder

You say STF, I say STFU.

As long as you're cool being wrong, sure.

[The Mauva Syndicate]

So does that mean that I can now fish along the coast in Sarutabaruta and the fifteen Taru's who have been camped at that spot for like THREE WEEKS are not going to be there??? Have to go look - Always wondered how they could monopolize that one fishing spot - and I mean they were ALWAYS there, 3am, 2pm, 9pm, 2am - ALWAYS!! I was lvling another job and had to go after Bee's and Rarabs and there they were again - a whole little row of Taru's fishing the same spot 24/7....