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$1.2 Million Worth of MS Points Taken After Hackers Figure Out Code Algorithm
The Save and Quit blog reports that a group of hackers figured out the algorithm behind a set of promotional codes that were each redeemable for 160 MS points, the currency used on Xbox Live. Quoting:
"A person would just have to sit back and refresh over and over and rack up the 160MSP codes. Not every code would work, but a majority would. The site started to 404 due to the heavy traffic. If you have closer ties to the pirating community, you could find a program to get the codes for you. ... This method took a little more work out of the user, but it was still simple enough for a 12 year old to figure out. ... Microsoft found out about this exploit and put a stop to it immediately, but internet pirates still had enough time to steal $1.2 million worth of Microsoft Points."
Comment removed based on user account deletion
It's not like MS ran out of codes.
Tell that to someone who legitimately had one of these codes that couldn't redeem it because someone else used it.
I'm not sure why today's kids would be so feeble intellectually as to make that true.
Go spend some time with a group of "today's kids." Then watch Idiocracy. Then weep as the truth becomes clear to you.
"I'm just here to regulate funkiness."
Why weren't these codes completely random? Why don't they have a database of valid and used codes, where codes only get inserted when they're printed on cards that are then shipped to stores? Perhaps most importantly, why would you EVER have a public web-accessible interface to generate codes on the fly?
It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
- E. Debs
In case you've never come across this before, it can also be used to point out when something is ridiculously low or worthless, as I believe is the intention of the original post, that at least in his/her opinions MS points are worthless, specifically that even though they are technically worth $1.2 million, there's very little you can buy with them.
In this case, stolen bits doesn't == lost sale. In this case, stolen bits == sale for the publisher. Microsoft has to pay the publisher of the game with real money that was bought with stolen bits. Also, congratulations on your ethics, that allows you to rationalize your behavior to this degree.