XBox

Anonymous continues to lash out following the seizure of Megaupload and the jailing of its founder, having momentarily deleted both CBS.com and UniversalMusic.com. Xbox Live has been threatened, but is that credible?

Put it this way, if hackers can obliterate corporate presences of that size (even if they are now back up), as well as whack government, motion picture and music publishing sites with a huge DDoS attack, then yes, they possess the motivation and the means to threaten something like Xbox Live. Whether that is actually a target is another question.

Microsoft has quietly updated the Windows Live ID login system, which was most likely in response to a security concern that surfaced last week. The new procedure seeks to eliminate the risk of brute force attacks launching against Live ID logins, which could provide a method for hackers to gain unauthorized access to accounts.

In continuation with the ongoing investigation regarding suspicious activity on the accounts of Xbox Live users, some gamers are taking matters into their own hands. Jason Coutee, a network infrastructure manager who had his Xbox Live account hacked decided to look into the issue himself after Xbox Live customer service failed to be of much help.

A funny thing happened on the way to console stardom. Microsoft took it easy.

Back in November, 2010, it launched Kinect - its all-seeing, all -hearing body motion capture device that would "revolutionise" gaming. Microsoft's critics scoffed. How was it any different from Nintendo's Wii controller or Sony's Move?

GAMES CONSOLE MAKER Microsoft has denied that its Xbox Live internet gaming service has been breached by hackers.

The statement comes following news that members of the service have been the victims of various scams. One user's account in particular was targeted to create new accounts with Microsoft points to be sold on the black market.

Microsoft has denied that the Xbox Live service has been hacked following reports of thousands of accounts of Xbox Live customers being duped by an online scam.

Criminals sent emails to Xbox Live account holders redirecting them to websites offering free Microsoft points which could be used to download games. Those who entered their credit card details were hit by charges averaging £100, The Sun said, although some were stung for more than £200.

Microsoft has frozen some Xbox Live accounts after online gamers reported they were hacked, and that their credit cards were used to purchase content for another video game.

The gaming website Eurogamer was alerted to the issue Oct. 11 from a reader who said the credit card associated with his gaming account was drained to purchase a content pack for "FIFA 12," the popular soccer game made by Electronic Arts for the Xbox 360.

The banhammer. Many Xbox LIVE users know that from time to time Microsoft will give the mighty hammer a good swing, catching hackers off-guard in such a way that nearly all who get banned come up with some rather interesting excuses ranging from the common “Microsoft got the wrong guy” to the more thought out reason of “Well, you see, I let my friend borrow my console for a while and when I got it back…”