EVERYTHING about GUID Bans / HARDWARE Bans / Possible Solutions

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### TABLE OF CONTENTS ###
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***NOTE: THIS IS NOT JUST FOR AA (AMERICA'S ARMY) IT'S FOR ALL PB ENABLED GAMES***

I. GUID and GLOBAL GUID BANS
II. HARDWARE GUID BANS
III. POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS FOR HARDWARE GUID BANS
IV. AVOIDING A HARDWARE GUID BAN
V. HARDWARE BAN MYTHS, GUID BAN MYTHS and other PB URBAN LEGENDS
VI. TOOLS and DOWNLOADS
VII. CREDITS and SOURCES


Section I
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### GUID and GUID BANS ###
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GUID – In general, GUID is an acronym that stands for “globally unique identifier”. The GUID inside PunkBuster is used to identify players with something more solid than their playing name or IP address. Because AA does not use a CD Key like many other retail games, the GUID is a unique, alpha-numeric sequence that is generated by PB and AA based on a combination of your registration information (i.e. - user name, password, email, etc.). Every time you connect to an authorized server, you will see a PB message that states “[COLOR=Dark Green]PunkBuster Client: PB Server assigned guid = 81621a4febc43125ad4680479c52cd31[/color]” This is YOUR own personal GUID and it will never change unless you change characters or you get GUID banned…then it will be shortened (see GUID BAN below).

GLOBAL GUID BAN –This means that your character is now useless. There is no way to get past a Global GUID ban except to create a new character and start over. This is a ban on you character only… not on your computer. However, if you were Globally GUID banned, your computer might also be HARDWARE GUID banned separately (SEE “HARDWARE BANS” BELOW).

To determine if you were Globally GUID banned, you can look in your Americas Army/ System folder and open the ArmyOps.log. There is a ton of info in this file… so select EDIT on the toolbar and use FIND to search for the word “kick”. There may be several “kick”s…. so read each one. If you see “KICK NOTIFICATION: -playername- has been kicked for an undefined reason: YOU HAVE BEEN PERMANENTLY BANNED FROM THIS GAME SERVER VIA PUNKBUSTER ... GLOBAL PUNKBUSTER GUID BAN AF70A0C2” … then this means your character has been Globally GUID banned. The AF70A0C2 is your new GUID ban number. This GUID replaces your previous player GUID, which means your character is useless. Whenever you try to use that banned character… you will always see the same Global GUID ban number.


Section II
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### HARDWARE BANS ###
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HARDWARE GUID BAN - To determine if you were HARDWARE banned, you can look in your Americas Army/ System folder and open the ArmyOps.log. There is a ton of info in this file… so select EDIT on the toolbar and use FIND to search for the word “kick”. There may be several “kick”s…. so read each one. If you see “KICK NOTIFICATION: -playername- has been kicked for an undefined reason: YOU HAVE BEEN PERMANENTLY BANNED FROM THIS GAME SERVER VIA PUNKBUSTER ... GLOBAL PUNKBUSTER HARDWARE BAN 2B48CD61” … then this means your computer has been HARDWARE GUID banned. The 2B48CD61 is the GUID assigned to your computer ban. Whenever you try to use that computer… you will always see the same HARDWARE GUID number.

QUESTION: How does PB ban my computer ???
ANSWER: PB scans your computer and collects the following information…

1) Hard Drive SMART information (if available) (for each hard drive installed)
2) Hard Drive serial number (for each hard drive installed)
3) Network Adapter MAC address (for each NIC installed)

Once this info is collected, PB creates a private hash (a unique alpha-numberic code). It is estimated that this hash will only change when aprox 50% to 75% of the items above above are changed (although this varies based on your pc configuration). As a result, you may need a new hard drive(s) and a new Network adaptor(s) in order to play on PB enabled servers again.

** EXCEPTION: I use a RAID controller which prevents PB from obtaining any of the desired information about my hard drives. Therefore, when I was hardware banned, I tried two things to get un-banned… and they both worked.. First, I changed my network adapter. This un-banned me. Second, I used SMAC 1.2 in order to spoof or fake my banned network card MAC address. This un-banned me.

** FYI: There are rumors that if you play a new, clean or un-banned character on a pc that is hardware banned, the new character will also be globally GUID banned or banned in some way related to your computer HARDWARE GUID ban. I have found this to NOT be correct (assuming you no longer have any hacks or file mismatches). During my testing, I have used multiple players while testing how to get my hardware un-banned... and none of those have been banned yet. Yes, they get kicked because of the hardware ban… but my armyops.log always showed the same BAN number regardless of which character I used… which means PB was kicking my players based on that specific pc BAN… not based on the character. Furthermore, I can still use those characters on any un-banned computer.


Section III
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### POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS FOR HARDWARE BAN ###
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If you find yourself hardware banned, there are a few things you can try. These are not guaranteed to work for everyone and you may need to try one or all of these solutions. You are encouraged to read the original threads provided below each possible solution.

First and foremost, before attempting to get un-hardware banned, you should clean your pc to remove the hacks that got you banned in the first place. Otherwise, if you are successful in getting un-hardware banned and you forget to clean the hacks off of your pc…. then you will probably end up GUID banned again or HARDWARE GUID banned again very soon. To do this, you should run “cleaner.exe” which can be found in the Americas Army / System folder. This will replace all critical files and maps. Depending upon what hacks you used, there may be other files that need to be removed… but you will have to determine that based on the hacks you have used. You could also completely uninstall AA… then manually delete any and all remaining folders and files left behind. Then re-install AA.

Disable SMART for Hard Drive located in your computer BIOS settings. This is not an option in every pc . If you are not familiar with the BIOS, you may want to avoid this option <or> seek help from someone who is familiar with pc’s.

As a last resort, you may actually have to replace some of your hardware.

First – Based on the pricing, the first component you may want to replace would be the network adaptor. You can usually purchase an inexpensive NIC for $10-$15 (however, as mentioned above… you may be able to spoof / fake the MAC address on your current adaptor, which may solve the problem without purchasing a new one).

Second – You may be unfortunate enough to have to purchase a new hard drive. I’m still not sure if you can slave your banned drive to your new drive and remain un-banned. It will depend upon your configuration and how PB is creating their hash. I do know that PB will still read the serial number from the original hard drive even if it is slaved. The task is trying to add or change enough of the scanned hardware in order to cause PB to create a completely new hash.

Third – Since the task is trying to add or change enough of the scanned hardware in order to cause PB to create a completely new hash…. I am currently trying to test a the theory of adding two, three or even four additional network adaptors for PB to read and add into their hash. I do NOT know if this will work as I am still waiting to try this on my next “test” ban. Unfortunately, some of my attempts at getting banned have taken 2 or 3 days to go into effect.


Section IV
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### AVOIDING A HARDWARE BAN ###
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I can NOT possibly offer any guarantee against a hardware ban. So use any solutions at your own risk… as it could prove to be costly if you do get hardware banned.

I use a RAID controller which prevents PB from obtaining any of the desired information about my hard drives. Therefore, when I was hardware banned, I tried two things to get un-banned… and they both worked.. First, I changed my network adapter. This un-banned me. Second, I used SMAC 1.2 in order to spoof or fake my banned network card MAC address.
This un-banned me.


Section V
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## HARDWARE BAN MYTHS, GUID BAN MYTHS + other PB URBAN LEGENDS ##
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Some things that have been posted and discussed… but they simply will not work.

Changing your hard drive serial number: You can NOT change your hard drive serial number. There is not any program that will do that. There are programs that will change the “volume” serial number… which does absolutely nothing to avoid a hardware GUID ban.

Changing your IP address: This is useless. PB does not ban based on IP, as many IP addresses change on a regular basis and are redistributed to other internet users.

Registry Editing: There is no unique info in the registry about AA, and PB does not use any registry info in their scans. There is a key called “packagecode” in the registry that looks like this: A90C6D45C9860CC40BA081A23D1BF552 …but I have noticed that it is exactly the same on all four of my computers. So this is obviously not any type of CD key or unique hash that should be changed.

Removing and re-installing AA will not get you un-banned. If done properly, it should ensure that you no longer have any active hacks that can be detected by PB. This action should keep you from getting banned, but it will not un-ban you for a GUID BAN or for a HARDWARE BAN.

New characters used on a banned PC: There are rumors that if you play a new, clean or un-banned character on a pc that is hardware banned, the new character will also be GUID banned or banned in some way related to your computer ban. I have found this to NOT be correct (assuming you no longer have any hacks or file mismatches). During my testing, I have used multiple players while testing how to get my hardware un-banned... and none of those have been banned yet. Yes, they get kicked because of the hardware ban… but my armyops.log always showed the same BAN number regardless of which character I used… which means PB was kicking my players based on that specific pc BAN… not based on the character. Furthermore, I can still use those characters on any un-banned computer.

PB is violating your rights and getting personal info: Bullshit. You can’t file a lawsuit against Evenbalance for stealing personal information… because they don’t. Quote from Evenbalance: “no personal information of any kind is examined, stored or transmitted by PunkBuster”. This means that they are not violating your civil rights or causing you any mental anguish. They don’t look at the porn stored on your computer and they don’t read love notes to your girlfriend. This game has rules and we are making our own choices when we to break those rules. Furthermore, They are well within their rights to do what they do… because you accept the Terms when you install the game.

Flashing your lights at passing car: They will not turn around and shoot you. They are not part of a gang or any other terrorist organization.

Section VI
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### TOOLS and DOWNLOADS ###
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Below is a list of potential downloads that may (or may not) be useful for helping to prevent a hardware ban and/or to help avoid a hardware ban.

Changing your network card MAC address with SMAC.
** DOWNLOAD: SMAC 2.0

Western Digital “Data Life Guard” – Diagnostic tools for hard drives.
** DOWNLOAD: Data Life Gaurd
** INSTRUCTIONS / COMMENTS: This tool is useful for determining your hard drive
serial number without having to open your pc. It will NOT change your HDD
serial number... just identify info about your drives or perform low level formats.


Section VII
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### CREDITS and SOURCES ###
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I gained information directly or indirectly from various posts and PMs. Thanks to all those who supported my hardware research and to those who performed their own serious of tests and research.