I ran across this interesting rumor yesterday, apparently a recently laid off Microsoft employee is claiming Microsoft has the ability to remotely disable Xbox 360s that are in violation of the terms and conditions of the Xbox Live network. That said, the developer claimed the procedure was never executed outside of a lab environment.
But would Microsoft have the legal ability to disable an Xbox 360 for “questionable” behavior? Jared Newman, of Technologizer.com, points us to the Xbox Live terms and conditions:
“(c) upgrade, modify, withdraw, suspend, or discontinue any functionality or feature of the Service, any game or other content available or accessible through the Service, or any hardware or software associated with the Service or with an original Xbox or Xbox 360 console, or personal computer, from time to time without notice, which may involve the automatic download of related software directly to your original Xbox, Xbox 360 console, or personal computer, including software that prevents you from accessing the Service, playing pirated games, or using unauthorized hardware peripheral devices.”
For years, rumors circulated of the possibility of a remote Windows shutdown switch. There were also rumors of a “back door” for law enforcement agencies directly to the user level OS. While neither were proven to be true or false, it wouldn’t surprise me if there was a remote disable function included in the Xbox 360 to prevent piracy (or cheating).
To me, it just seems like the Microsoft way. From what I hear about the internal operations of the company, as well as little bits of rumor like this, I’m rather glad I passed on the opportunity I had to work for them.
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