Dealing With Bots

Ben · **Posted:** January 30th, 2011, 3:13 pm

Jagex says they have a way to prevent bots. The community disagrees. Here are a few methods I personally think would help - and some of them are probably already going to be used.

VAC. Need I say more?
VALV^E Corporation has software that looks for commonly used cheating programs and bans anyone who uses them on a VAC-secured server. While RuneScape loads, Jagex can probably scan your computer for such programs and flag any accounts used on said computer as a possible bot.

Oh, three hundred people playing RuneScape from that house... Suspicious?
The easiest way to prevent most goldfarming bots would be to look for any IP addresses that have over ten connections and block them temporarily. This limits goldfarming companies to ten bots, whereas they used to be able to have thousands.

Sleep
If you don't sleep for ten days, you die. If you don't sleep for three days, you go insane. Nobody plays RuneScape for 100 hours in a week without having some kind of cheating going on. This would mostly catch hairy b0tters as goldfarmers would have many, many accounts they could switch between.

""""""""""Gifting""""""""""
If a single player gets ""gifts"" from more than twenty people in the course of a month, and this keeps on happening over and over, there's definitely something going on that shouldn't be. Nobody has a birthday every day. Only goldfarmers would receive that many "gifts".

i am not good with computer
Some bots can do random events. So why not make a random event that no computer can solve on its own? CAPTCHAs could work to prevent botting.

CPU intensive work
Systems like MBound that require computers to do work help by greatly reducing the amount of (for example,) spam emails that can be sent because spammers don't want to spend seconds of CPU time for each email. The same would work for anti-bot measures: Goldfarmers would need a lot more computers to do the same amount of botting at the same capacity, whereas normal players would be able to keep doing what they are doing with no noticeable change.

Adbot · **Posted:** January 30th, 2011, 3:13 pm

Pennstate315 · Runite Member 5-25-10

I honestly think Jagex allows botting to go on and nab someone once and while. I mean they are a company and I'm sure they want as much money as possible. And banning people dosen't help that. But, who know maybe i'm wrong, all I know is is so bots everywhere in every world, so it is a problem.

dafin0 · **Posted:** January 30th, 2011, 5:00 pm

Or why doesnt jagex not tell people about their security upgrades. And while they are at it, do undisclosed security upgrades, without letting the public know. Actually, how did cheats get out in the first place.

They should adopt the American bill making technique. Have six different people that don't work together making different parts of the security code for the game (only the CEO, and select programmer would know the whole thing by themselves). Then, they submit their own part of the code to the lead programmer (one at a time) who compiles the code.

Cheers, dafin0 :lol:

Duke Juker · RSBandB Donor since 07/01/2010

I think we need to wait and see just how well this anti-bot system works first before passing judgment. I'm thinking it won't work out that well, but if it does great. If not, then I'd be looking at something like this.

Mike · **Posted:** February 1st, 2011, 5:58 pm

I'm sure Jagex already does most of those things. Even the captcha was used in RuneScape classic (to great annoyance of the regular players) on the sleeping bags. Every so often when you got tired from too much skilling you'd have to use your sleeping bag to get rid of your fatigue and type a captcha.

CreepyPirate · **Posted:** February 2nd, 2011, 6:32 am

Mike wrote:

I'm sure Jagex already does most of those things. Even the captcha was used in RuneScape classic (to great annoyance of the regular players) on the sleeping bags. Every so often when you got tired from too much skilling you'd have to use your sleeping bag to get rid of your fatigue and type a captcha.

Ahh the sleeping bag. I remember those. I actually prefered tyhem over the random events we have now.

Anywho i don't think t hey can stop bots. I think removing free trade was the best choice for it and they've changed that back.

Adbot · **Posted:** February 2nd, 2011, 6:32 am

trekkie · **Posted:** February 2nd, 2011, 10:26 am

i still believe they should have high ranking p mods to be able to ban people. high ranking like, people like mike who have been a pmod for a few years and are very active etc be able to ban bots outright.

Jason B · **Posted:** February 2nd, 2011, 4:59 pm

Stupid red chimp bots, it's always so crowded with them.

I bet a jagex mod who switch world to world looking in the 4 different hunting locations who get 4*100 worlds. 400! Bots down. That would make me happy.

Duke Juker · RSBandB Donor since 07/01/2010

trekkie wrote:

i still believe they should have high ranking p mods to be able to ban people. high ranking like, people like mike who have been a pmod for a few years and are very active etc be able to ban bots outright.

There are just so many, though. You'd need a lot of mods covering a lot of space and a lot of servers. And even then it would still happen to a great extent. I'm with Creepy on this. Removing free trade was really the only for sure way to avoid bots for the most part.

trekkie · **Posted:** February 5th, 2011, 12:30 am

but duke, if pmods had more power, than can do much more than just mute people.

Sherdo · **Posted:** February 5th, 2011, 10:09 am

I don't think you can ever get rid cheating in any game no matter what they put out there.
People will always have access to bots and I believe that no matter what that Jagex can't stop it.
But once again, there are those common sense things like being on for 48 hour straight that should just get an instaban in my opinion.

trekkie · **Posted:** February 5th, 2011, 10:52 am

i would rather they "buy" some of these bot programs and see what exploits they can find to catch them easier. but would be nearly impossible. still, i believe the report system needs a revamp.

1 Stone Pwn · **Posted:** February 5th, 2011, 11:00 am

trekkie wrote:

i would rather they "buy" some of these bot programs and see what exploits they can find to catch them easier. but would be nearly impossible. still, i believe the report system needs a revamp.

I think that would be the best way to do it. They could then patch it and catch the people who didn't notice it. Kinda like the wall trapped the dragon bots.

Warren · **Posted:** February 5th, 2011, 12:15 pm

trekkie wrote:

i would rather they "buy" some of these bot programs and see what exploits they can find to catch them easier. but would be nearly impossible. still, i believe the report system needs a revamp.

Apparently the people who have their stats reset are caught for following the patterns of actual botting programs or something like that... like they get the bot programs and use them some how to catch botters

Lol imo if pmods get the power to ban bots their should be like some strict thing to the point that they don't even want to bother because like... if they ban someone they think is botting who actually isn't then it's going to be a pain for them to get unbanned and I doubt Jagex would even do much to remove false bans asap or even check if the bans were correct... So if you get banned because they walk past and think you are then best case would be in a few days you will be unbanned... well you loose members credits that you paid for in those few days. What I think will happen instead though is Jagex will trust in the pmods decision, quickly check it over and assume it's correct and keep the ban. Then you appeal it and your appeal is automated and there you have an account you paid to progress for a few years and had no intention to stop that becomes a casualty in stopping botting.

trekkie · **Posted:** February 5th, 2011, 12:54 pm

my idea is that the pmods only temp ban people. 24 hours or something similar. hopefully a jagex guy will take a look somehow. and perm ban them.