Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Script Users & Autoplayers Beware! Zynga Has Automated Account Suspensions!
Update February 20th, 2011: It appears that Zynga has further enhanced their automated suspension system. As I stated the other day they seem to have switched over their support system and this new suspension activity seems to tie in with that switch. They have now delegated more control of account management over to their automated systems. (The machines are taking over!! Run!!) This is not good for people who enjoy the use scripts and bookmarklets. Their automated system is apparently looking for abnormal or inhuman like activity which can range from doing multiple tasks simultaneously to the rate at which you are able to complete said tasks, obviously it takes longer than ZERO seconds for a page to load and for you to react to it!
Now Zynga has always monitored their systems for players abusing bookmarklets and scripts. They issue a temporary ban (one week) on people abusing auto-players and scripts! Those accounts banned will then be under scrutiny when the ban has been lifted, so it is no way a good thing! It has been reported by SEVERAL mafia members that they have received this ban for "having an advantage" over other players and violating Zynga T.O.S. Now it technically isn't against the T.O.S. but their claim has been that if everybody isn't using them that you have a leg up over other players and they claim to have a fair use clause in place to keep things on a level playing field.. (Wah Wah Wah..)
Here is what users are seeing when the log in.
ATTENTION
We have detected unusual activity on your Mafia Wars account. We have temporarily suspended access to your account while we conduct an investigation. The investigation will be completed and your account will be reactivated within 7 days, if not sooner. We are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. If you have any questions, please visit this FAQ or contact our Customer Support team and reference this message, “MWTempSuspend,” in your email. Thank you for your patience. For our terms of service, please click here.
So what exactly does this mean for you? Well, nothing really! The majority of all scripts have a timer built in so you can designate how fast it goes through its processes, so as long as you don't have it set to 0-0 you should be ok.. Just think about it, they can't tell the difference between your computer clicking a link and you personally clicking on one. So just make sure you put at least 2-3 seconds in between every action and you'll be fine. And with the new system monitoring they have enacted just make sure that if you are running a bookmarklet do not start running another one at the same time.. I.E. Don't be using brawler and say doing jobs in italy at the same time, that would be a red flag as it is not humanly possible!
Now onto another and more important matter. There is some "tracking software" installed for anybody that plays their games, it's stored in your browser cache, also flash has its own storage and settings profile that can be monitored. Now remember that not all cookies and flash settings are bad, but there is some concern when it comes to a reporting agent called "iesnare." But there are some steps you can take to protect yourself and be on the safe side. Listed below is the best way at our disposal to cripple the software so it can not serve its purpose.
Open the Macromedia Website Storage Settings Manager.
This will open a page with a small window that you can scroll down.
Find and DELETE anything that CONTAINS iesnare or mpsnare.
Step 2:
(Windows Users)
- Click Windows Start Menu.
- In the Run/Search Bar paste this (Without Quotes): "%SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\etc" and hit enter.
- Open up notepad "as administrator." (Start Menu, Programs, Accessories, Notepad)
Windows 7 and Vista Users just need to right click on Notepad and click "Open as Administrator." Windows XP Users need to hold the left Shift on your keyboard and right click on notepad, then click "run as.."
- Then you can open the hosts file from inside notepad (File, open, change file type to "All Files" and paste "%SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\etc\hosts" into the file name box and click open)
# localhost name resolution is handled within DNS itself.
# 127.0.0.1 localhost
# ::1 localhost
- At the bottom of the list insert this line of code:
127.0.0.1 iesnare.com www.iesnare.com mpsnare.iesnare.com ci-mpsnare.iovation.com
- Save the File and exit. Sometimes you will have to restart your computer to have these settings take effect, but normally that is not the case. (Depends on what version of Windows you are using)
- Open Your File Manager.
- Go into your File System and open the etc folder ( /etc ).
- Right click hosts file and open as administrator.
- It should automatically open in Notepad or some other text editor.
127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost
127.0.1.1 **YOUR COMPUTER NAME**
- After the line your computer name is on insert this line of code:
- Save the File and exit. Sometimes you will have to refresh your network services or restart your computer to have these settings take effect, but normally that is not the case. (Depends on what Linux distro you are running)
- Open the Terminal.app. (Start typing Terminal on the Spotlight, or by going into Applications, Utilities, & click Terminal)
- copy and paste "sudo nano /private/etc/hosts" into the Terminal Window and hit Enter on your keyboard. (Without Quotes)
- Type your user password when prompted.
- The hosts file should then be opened in the Terminal's Editor Feature.
# Host Database
#
# localhost is used to configure the loopback interface
# when the system is booting. Do not change this entry.
##
127.0.0.1 localhost
255.255.255.255 broadcasthost
::1 localhost
- You can move the cursor around in the file by using the arrow keys on your keyboard.
- At the bottom of the list insert this line of code:
- When you are done editing the hosts file, press control-o to save it.
- Press enter on the filename prompt, and control-x to exit the editor.
- You should now be back at the normal Terminal Screen
- Copy and paste "dscacheutil -flushcache" into the Terminal Window and hit Enter on your keyboard. (Without Quotes)
- This will reset your network and the settings we have enetered should now be active.
- Leave the Terminal Window Open For Step 3
(Windows Users)
- Click Windows Start Menu.
- In the Run/Search bar type "cmd" or "command" if your using an older OS. (Without Quotes)
- (Or Start, Programs, Accessories, and open Command Prompt)
- A black window with white text should have opened. You'll see a blinking cursor next to your system drive and user directory. (It doesn't matter what it says as long as the command prompt opened)
- Type "ping iesnare.com" in the command prompt and hit Enter on your keyboard. (Without Quotes)
Pinging iesnare.com [127.0.0.1] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms ttl="128 Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms ttl="128 Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms ttl="128 Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms ttl="128
Ping statistics for 127.0.0.1:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms
(Linux Users)
- Click Menu, and open Terminal. (or Menu, All Aplications, Terminal)
- You should get a black or white window (Depends on color scheme) with "User Name@Computer Name ~ $ " followed by a blinking cursor.
- Type "ping iesnare.com" in the Terminal and hit Enter on your keyboard. (Without Quotes)
PING iesnare.com (127.0.0.1) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from localhost.localdomain (127.0.0.1): icmp_req=1 ttl=64 time=0.039 ms
64 bytes from localhost.localdomain (127.0.0.1): icmp_req=2 ttl=64 time=0.033 ms
64 bytes from localhost.localdomain (127.0.0.1): icmp_req=3 ttl=64 time=0.041 ms
64 bytes from localhost.localdomain (127.0.0.1): icmp_req=4 ttl=64 time=0.030 ms
- Hit Ctrl+C to stop the ping and it will give you a result like this and stop:
4 packets transmitted, 4 received, 0% packet loss, time 2997ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 0.030/0.035/0.041/0.008 ms
(Mac Users)
- Type "ping iesnare.com" in the Terminal Window and hit Enter on your keyboard. (Without Quotes)
PING iesnare.com (127.0.0.1) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from localhost.localdomain (127.0.0.1): icmp_req=1 ttl=64 time=0.039 ms
64 bytes from localhost.localdomain (127.0.0.1): icmp_req=2 ttl=64 time=0.033 ms
64 bytes from localhost.localdomain (127.0.0.1): icmp_req=3 ttl=64 time=0.041 ms
64 bytes from localhost.localdomain (127.0.0.1): icmp_req=4 ttl=64 time=0.030 ms
- Hit Ctrl+C to stop the ping and it will give you a result like this and stop:
4 packets transmitted, 4 received, 0% packet loss, time 2997ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 0.030/0.035/0.041/0.008 ms
Step 3 was to verify that the settings are working properly. As long as you are getting the same ping result as listed above (It is showing 127.0.0.1 or localhost) you're all set! Keep in mind this doesn't remove it from the system, that is not possible and even if you did it would just reinstall itself the first chance it gets and you would be in the same position. But this technique makes the program unable to communicate outside your computer, completely disabling it.
So You are now safe to continue gaming without fear of Zynga getting any additional and unnecessary information from you! But you have to remember to set those timer settings to a reasonable amount of time so they can not tell that it's not you the one that is doing the activity!
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