PBBans is no more...

[GrossKopf]

http://www.wolfservers.com/portal/showthread.php?p=27708


I hate to have to report this news, but PBBans has closed its doors.

Over the past few weeks they have been being hit by a DDOS attack on their server. Today they had another attack and the hosting company would not help them overcome the attack. They would have to move to another hosting company to solve the problem which would cost a lot of money, time, and effort.

The time and effort put in by all the staff members at PBBans has been enormous. But a year or so back, they lost one of the two main coders for the website because Evenbalance would not fix a problem with Punkbuster that allowed for bans to be spoofed. This left MaydaX to code the website and keep it running. Him, along with the founder, Rodeobob, now want to get back to their families and lives, so they are closing the doors to PBBans.

[HitmanRJ45]

what does this mean for us?

[synergy]

big trouble

[GrossKopf]

what does this mean for us?

It means that thousands of cheaters that were caught via screenshots can now access our servers, which is why it's very important that we re-enable the screenshots on the 2142, COD 4 and COD 5 servers. I don't know why the admins haven't done it yet.

[papa_celms]

............... wowo u'd think they'd give a link to a ban list we could add to our servers for all existing cheators for each game...

[synergy]

I don't know why the admins haven't done it yet.

i believe, (and i'm just the messenger,) that they think due to the coincidence that as soon as they disabled them our lag issues went away they didn't re-enable them...

again don't shoot the messenger

[MakuraRyu]

:agree:

[GrossKopf]

i believe, (and i'm just the messenger,) that they think due to the coincidence that as soon as they disabled them our lag issues went away they didn't re-enable them...

again don't shoot the messenger

The screenshots weren't the reason for the lag. They aren't even enabled on COD 4 and COD 5, as they should be.

[Booth25]

I'm not sure what viewer your speaking of. If someone shows me what this is I'd gladly do this.

[GrossKopf]

I'm not sure what viewer your speaking of. If someone shows me what this is I'd gladly do this.

Ever since the upgrade of the server, when we had to reinstall the servers, screenshots haven't been set up anymore. Once you've got them set up, someone should coordinate with Wolf Servers to get links to the screenshot viewers like we use to have.

[C-10]

Hmm. Don't know if I really want to bother playing 2142 any more...

[GrossKopf]

Hmm. Don't know if I really want to bother playing 2142 any more...

I believe we still have PunksBusted, which is similar to PBBans, just without PBBans we have less protection against known cheaters. We'll need to do more policing of our servers via screenshots, once they are reenabled.

[RustyStovepipe]

I'll try to get on the issue as to 2142. My time is limited and stress is high for me lately, but this is important to us so I'll try to get moving. I've been spending 12-14 hrs a day at the side of a terminally ill family member, so by the time I leave I'm in unwind mode. Bad timing for me as BFCL is almost here too and I wanted to roll with that too. But, family 1st here, sorry.

[Sean055218]

Is there no way that we can recover the list that we had with PBBans and just copy it to our current ban list?

[synergy]

i thought all of the members were updated automatically as far as members on the ban list...so shouldn't that be up to date up until now?

sorry to hear about that rusty, best of wishes man

[Booth25]

pb_sv_AutoSs 0 //[0=No, 1=Yes (default=0)]

If this is it.. I enabled it... Who do I need to talk to at Wolf Servers??

[GrossKopf]

Is there no way that we can recover the list that we had with PBBans and just copy it to our current ban list?

PBBans had a database with thousands of bans across dozens of games that servers would stream to and as players connected, it would check their database. It's not a simple ban list.

[GrossKopf]

pb_sv_AutoSs 0 //[0=No, 1=Yes (default=0)]

If this is it.. I enabled it... Who do I need to talk to at Wolf Servers??

There's other commands too that set up the size and location of the screen that is captured. You'll need to get with DP or maybe Loco in regards to it, then a ticket will need to be put in to Wolf Servers with the list of servers that you want URL's to for the screenshots.

[Crotan]

Everytime i walk away from battlefield for a little while something bad happens. Last time I played Empire Total war for a little while C-10 stoped playing. Now i start playing Fallout 3 and PBBans shuts down:shocked:

I think I need to play more often

[Sean055218]

yeah its all your fault Crotan. Lets all have a Blame-storming session and point the finger at Crotan

[GrossKopf]

yeah its all your fault Crotan. Lets all have a Blame-storming session and point the finger at Crotan

http://www.gwolf.org/files/images/10072008843.preview.jpg

Translated "If it happens, it's your fault."

[Crotan]

Don't dig your heads in the sand yet they posted this awhile ago and their website is back up froma new host though it looks like they are in the process of rebuilding it.


Over the last month PBBans has been hit with a number of DDoS attacks and we have been able to overcome them. On Aug 18, 2009 a massive DDoS attack hit our web server and could not be prevented with the counter-measures we previously employed. Our host will not do anything to block the attacks and even suggested that we turn our servers off.

After this occurred we decided to close our doors. There are many reasons behind this such as a higher cost for hosting, the lack of a new host that can provide the protection we require and finally the toll PBBans has played on our real lives.

After thinking about it overnight and the overwhelming messages from supporters who pleaded us not to close, we have decided to continue. We have found a new host that will provide the protection we require however it comes at a higher cost. Also the cost of shipping our servers is not a small one.

We need your help to keep us to keep PBBans online. Please donate using the button below.

We thank all our supporters for sticking with us and provided some much needed motivation needed to keep PBBans alive.




We would like to explain the reasons we changed the decision of closing PBBans to moving PBBans. We have been around for almost 6 years now and some of our key senior staff does not have the time to devote to PBBans like they used to. Every time we went down due to a DDoS attack we would get flooded with requests of people asking "What happened?" , "When will you be back up?" etc. It takes a toll at times when you have real live issues to go on top of that.

After thinking about it overnight and the overwhelming messages from supporters who pleaded us not to close, we decided to continue. Some think that we will roll over and close at any sign of trouble or we are doing this as a "PR stunt" to get more cash. When the latest DDoS attack happened it seemed everything was against us. The first being the DDoS that would not stop like the previous ones did and our counter-measures had no effect on it. Second the datacenter refused to help divert the DDoS attack so we couldn't even access our own servers. Being knocked down again and again on many fronts with no signs of a solution tested our resolve and our initial reaction was to call it a day.

We now know that a very large community of gamers is behind us and has given us new life to continue the fight. Our aim has and always will be to offer support, advice and help for the online gaming community and to provide the best service we can. The support the community has shown over the last few days has only strengthened our commitment to this cause.

We hope this clarifies why we did what we did. Now that we truly know the amount of support we have it makes it much easier to not only continue but to keep fighting.

[GrossKopf]

Great.. now we just need the admins to get on reenabling screenshots so we can start submitting any cheaters we find!!!

[Hollywood52]

Where do we stand right now? Which servers need to be updated to capture screenshots again?

[GrossKopf]

Where do we stand right now? Which servers need to be updated to capture screenshots again?

All of them. There's a thread in the FLOT Members Lounge with links to the screenshot viewers (Well, to where they are supposed to be).

[RustyStovepipe]

I have to say I've never seen a screenshot that would get a guy banned in my time since being here. I know it happens, but it seems the battle recorder proves most cases for me. Hoping to have some time tonite to look into these areas once I get to my home computer.

[GrossKopf]

I have to say I've never seen a screenshot that would get a guy banned in my time since being here. I know it happens, but it seems the battle recorder proves most cases for me. Hoping to have some time tonite to look into these areas once I get to my home computer.

We've submitted quite a few that have gotten a player banned. They are the ones with cham skins, wall hacks, multihacks...

[Recon Sain†]

Killz the haxzorssss!!! :d

[synergy]

ss re-enabled and server is nice and laggy!

[GrossKopf]

ss re-enabled and server is nice and laggy!

Average CPU usage for the server yesterday: 3%
Average RAM usage for the server yesterday: 2.968GB (out of 8 GB)

http://gcp2.wolfservers.com/Temp/WebChart/a243fdb5-0a4c-4c40-8e9d-c2d7e215dfbc.png
http://gcp2.wolfservers.com/Temp/WebChart/3f911f58-6f4e-4426-ad30-ba86bda03d76.png

The lag you are getting is not the result of screenshots. If screenshots were lagging the box, all of our servers would be affected and we'd see high memory and/or CPU usage.

[synergy]

i don't have number to back up anything i say, but the words from a few people starting at about 4 pm when i got on last night over voip:

"referring to lag"

SnarkyNotMyName: "Man what's up with the server, it's been bad today."
Oilman: "Server is real bad today."
Mardrigon: "Yeah it's pretty bad today."

I dunno, just stating what I see as I'm on the server daily...

[GrossKopf]

i don't have number to back up anything i say, but the words from a few people starting at about 4 pm when i got on last night over voip:

"referring to lag"

SnarkyNotMyName: "Man what's up with the server, it's been bad today."
Oilman: "Server is real bad today."
Mardrigon: "Yeah it's pretty bad today."

I dunno, just stating what I see as I'm on the server daily...

...and I've been on the server where people said the same thing and there was nothing but smooth for me.

[synergy]

can i just knife you and end this? :) :)

[GrossKopf]

can i just knife you and end this? :) :)

No because I'm going to unleash my OFMG Hax0rz cheatz on urazz.

[Shotgun202]

I have to agree with Synergy on this one, having screenshots enabled does make the server slugish, not that it's taking up server side resources, but the act of sending screenshots every 5 minutes makes your ping skyrocket for that time. This is because with most internet providers (I have comcast) they limit your upload speed to 45Kb/s, and while playing any game, if you upload any files faster than 2Kb/s you will start to lag ingame. This won't be seen server side, nor by the other players, only by the person who is currently getting their screenshot requested.

That is my only explanation for the lag not showing up server side, and only by certain people. (Some people have an internet connection that can handle the upload BW required)

Also, I was in the NS, and US servers last night and I was experiencing lag about every 10-15 mins, which is within the standard range for punk buster screenshots to be requested.

Anyway my 2¢

[synergy]

^ exactly, and what i meant when i said we would have these issues in 1stAD.

[GrossKopf]

I have to agree with Synergy on this one, having screenshots enabled does make the server slugish, not that it's taking up server side resources, but the act of sending screenshots every 5 minutes makes your ping skyrocket for that time. This is because with most internet providers (I have comcast) they limit your upload speed to 45Kb/s, and while playing any game, if you upload any files faster than 2Kb/s you will start to lag ingame. This won't be seen server side, nor by the other players, only by the person who is currently getting their screenshot requested.

That is my only explanation for the lag not showing up server side, and only by certain people. (Some people have an internet connection that can handle the upload BW required)

Also, I was in the NS, and US servers last night and I was experiencing lag about every 10-15 mins, which is within the standard range for punk buster screenshots to be requested.

Anyway my 2¢

We've run PB screenshots since the game came out and I've never seen any evidence that it lagged the server in the past. In any case, it's the server admin's responsibility to look into this, but since no one took any action on it, I did it myself. Now it's their turn to step up and look into it.

[synergy]

We've run PB screenshots since the game came out and I've never seen any evidence that it lagged the server in the past. In any case, it's the server admin's responsibility to look into this, but since no one took any action on it, I did it myself. Now it's their turn to step up and look into it.

gross i think you spend more than enough time working to keep this whole thing going, and i agree with you...I'm not calling you out, or saying you're wrong, or anything to that nature...I simply want the best gaming experience for anyone who comes into our server...

More often than not I get great compliments for our 2142 server, and I take pride in those compliments...I simply want to see that keep going strong...If i didn't give a crap about this clan I wouldn't post my concerns...

If the admins need help they can ask me at any time...I know I'm fairly new to the clan but I think by now it's evident i have nothing but the best intentions for this clan...

anyways...yeah

[Crotan]

I'm wondering if reducing the number of punkbuster hard drive checks would help you out Synergy. By default Punkbuster checks your hard drive every 20 seconds and you can change that to a maximum of 500 seconds though you shouldn't because if for some reason you lag and miss the check at 500 you will be kicked. But you can certainly change it to something much better than every 20 seconds

[synergy]

I'm wondering if reducing the number of punkbuster hard drive checks would help you out Synergy

it's not just me that is experiencing this...but thanks for the thought

[RustyStovepipe]

Shotgun ran me through some pb settings last night that should increase the ss times, thus reducing lag. In my opinion, we're better off without the sshots. Our dedicated members that play everyday can spot a cheater from a mile away as soon as their boots hit the dirt, so the sshots would just be to get them banned globally. Not that I mind community service, but as long as we boot and ban their asses I'm satisfied.

[synergy]

If i remember correctly, the last few guys to get caught weren't from ss, they were from our guys spotting them out then posting the proof...

[Crotan]

I think you guys should still do screen shots if you take them at longer intervals sure, but don't disable them all together. When you guys catch a cheater on your server it only benefits your server, but if you catch one with the screenshots it benefits everyone streaming to PBBans

[loco05]

:agree: and for the cheatez: :getsome:

[Sean055218]

:agree:

[Ryannof]

Yeah, well... Crotans ping is so low, when the server requests a screenshot... it shows his screen from yesterday! :confused:

Yes. This is off-topic. And I approve this message.

[KBake]

I say NO... keep up the screen shots ... :) Do your job........FLOTsters ;)

[synergy]

say no to what

[the_prairie_prophet]

Ryanoff with the Crotan ping jab! FTW!

I'm pretty much in agreeance on all this. The lag I get (or remember getting) due to this isn't something that I recall killing my night or anything.

[Armageddon]

Received an e-mail last night they are back up and running.

LIVE FROM NEW YORK - ITS PBBANS.

Welcome back everyone; we hope you have enjoyed your time off. We have been extremely busy behind the scenes in preparing the servers and arranging for their shipment to the new host. Our servers have finished their long journey from Los Angeles and now up and running at their new home in New York City. As you can see we are online ahead of schedule thanks to the speedy install from our host and the servers arriving a day early. The PBBans Hub is online and is running smoothly. We will be updating all of our documentation to reflect the new Hub info over the next few days.

Please update your server's config files now to get your server streaming!

Be sure to check that your servers are streaming http://www.pbbans.com/account/index.php
New hub profile information can be found http://www.pbbans.com/info-center-hubguide.html
New Webtool can be found http://www.pbbans.com/account/webtool.php

If your servers were streaming but now are not, we would be happy to help you getting it streaming once again. Contact one of the Staff members today in our IRC channel: http://www.pbbans.com/irc/index.php

We received a great outpouring of support during our time of need and we want to express our sincerest thanks to those that donated, continue to donate and to those that offered to help. I also want to thank Art of War Central and Wolf Servers who provided a temp hosting solution for our status site.

The DDoS that was directed towards PBBans overwhelmed our previous host's network.. We were facing a dire situation. Our host failed to provide adequate protection for our servers and the DDoS stayed strong for several days. PBBans had struggled with the possibility that we would have to shut down. The key factors that we had to consider was obviously the DDoS, the very poor support that we were receiving from our host, and the amount of funds that we had on hand to facilitate moving to a new host. We have seen a couple of posts on other sites stating that this was all a PR stunt or a drive to pull cash into PBBans. I assure you that this was the furthest from the truth. In fact, if it weren't for the donations that we have received over the last week, we wouldn't be where we are today.

I want to personally thank everyone that have stuck with us, donated their time/funds, those kind words of support posted on our forums (http://www.pbbans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=100302), and a special thanks goes out to MaydaX for all his hard work keeping PBBans running smoothly....and hanging on for another ride.

Thanks again,

RodeoBob

[GrossKopf]

Please update your server's config files now to get your server streaming!

Be sure to check that your servers are streaming http://www.pbbans.com/account/index.php
New hub profile information can be found http://www.pbbans.com/info-center-hubguide.html
New Webtool can be found http://www.pbbans.com/account/webtool.php

If your servers were streaming but now are not, we would be happy to help you getting it streaming once again. Contact one of the Staff members today in our IRC channel: http://www.pbbans.com/irc/index.php


Server admins, take note. :)

[loco05]

Roger, Roger !

(Rusty, Booth, Locke) ?

[RustyStovepipe]

Will get on it asap. Trying to get our team in BFCL all setup along with a BFCL profile on the match server. I also need to get the battlerecorder and the custom maps uploaded on that server as well.

The battlerecorder is pretty self explainatory, but I may need some help on uploading those custom maps. I've been looking through some forums on wolfservers and BFCL, but I'm still not positive on correct/safest way.

[GrossKopf]

Will get on it asap. Trying to get our team in BFCL all setup along with a BFCL profile on the match server. I also need to get the battlerecorder and the custom maps uploaded on that server as well.

The battlerecorder is pretty self explainatory, but I may need some help on uploading those custom maps. I've been looking through some forums on wolfservers and BFCL, but I'm still not positive on correct/safest way.

If you put in a ticket with Wolf Servers with links to each map you want loaded, they can be loaded for you simply by one of the support people downloading the maps directly to the server.

[Bigy]

could anyone find the dragon valley map for 2142