Fact:
Most, if not all, users of D2JSP have been banned. (Thanks JAVA_Sango )
Most, if not all, users of Mousepad's Maphack beta release have been banned.
Most, if not all, users of Netter's EasyPlayGold have been banned. So far it appears that most users of the "lite" version have not been banned.
Most, if not all, users of Sting's Maphack have been banned (if they used more than "Reveal Act"). I used it and I did not ever use more than "Reveal Act".
The majority of mm.bot users have not been banned. The few that have used other hacks, like Sting's Maphack.
D2Loader users have not been banned (I'm also a user). Note: D2Loader has been detectable for years, but has never been banned for to my knowledge. I theorize this is because of the modding clause, see below.
F1ndIP and reporter users have not been banned. (Thanks JAVA_Sango )
To the best of my knowledge, nobody has been banned for using any AutoIt created hacks. All of my hacks are created in AutoIt as well. If anyone was banned and didn't use ANY of the hacks listed here, post a reply here, or in the relevant topic. Also post all other hacks you do use, if any.
I spent the last couple of months online using D2Loader while experimenting with memory stuff for my Chicken Hack. But most importantly from my Memory Tool. I was scanning, reading, and writing to the Diablo II memory while online, with no attempts made to hide my program. No ban.
Theory:
I've been searching around gathering some info. Based on what I've read, and on my own experiences, I've formed a theory.
I've read on a few sites that according to the EULA, it is not against the terms of service to mod Diablo II. In fact, Diablo II has been programmed in such as way as to allow for modding. Mods such as changing the color of the item text displayed for items, is one example of a perfectly legal mod to use on Battle.net according to what I've read. The reason is because it does not change anything another player will see, it does not change anything about your players (which requires server-side manipulation anyway), and it does not give you any clear advantage over other players.
The way AutoIt works, is it uses Windows API calls to perform the operations required of it. It does not ever truly attach itself to any process. It does not normally interact with Battle.net either (but it can be done). Reading and writing some info to a file, sending simulated input to the process, and checking the color of pixels displayed in the window of the process is about the most a basic AutoIt program does (mm.bot for example). From what I've seen, this is not against the EULA, and it is also probably not detectable by Warden. As long as the program is unknown to Blizzard, I'm very sure they know about mm.bot.
Even using my _MemoryRead function, it still is not violating the EULA since it is only reading from the process, which even a virus scanner can/will do (although differently). Using _MemoryWrite starts to tread on thin ice though, it depends on what you try to write to with it.
D2Loader is basically a mod, which is why Blizzard has never banned for it. But that doesn't mean Blizzard is going to post on their site that it's ok to use it. Most game companies which allow modding of games do not openly support the mods users create. This is because the game company doesn't want to get support issues from people using these mods which the company had no part in creating, and therefore probably doesn't know exactly how the mod functions. Basically, "Use at your own risk".
Another reason Blizzard probably doesn't openly support modding is because that is basically telling players that it's ok to download third party programs for Diablo II. This could, and probably would, lead to a lot of malware being distributed and a lot of players having their accounts hacked, their computers messed up, and maybe even personal information stolen (like credit card numbers). So it's just more politically correct for Blizzard to not publically announce mod support (keep it on the down-low).
I'm thinking that AutoIt being used the way it is, falls into the modding clause of the EULA. I know Blizzard has to know about mm.bot, and that's all that is needed to be able to detect a hack. Once Blizzard has become aware that a hack exists, the most they will need is a copy of that hack and they will know how to detect it.
So why not ban mm.bot users? Probably because it's a potential legal problem. If just one person who is banned for using a program which is permitted according Blizzard's EULA files a lawsuit against the company, it could cost Blizzard a lot of money. It could also have an effect on the money provided to them from the parent company for future development (I forget that company's name).
Also, all of the hacks listed which people were banned for, injected themself into the Diablo II process. The programmers thought they could hide the injection, but they underestimated Warden. (Warden is mean )
There are a few other possibilities as well. But the bottom line is this: Either AutoIt is undetectable while unknown, AutoIt falls into the modding clause, or Blizzard simply doesn't care.
I hope this sheds some light on this,
Nomad :hunter:
Edited by Nomad, 27 July 2006 - 12:36 AM.