Half-Life 2 Source Code Leak

[Oct 02, 2003, 5:41 pm ET] - Share - Viewing Comments

A post to the Halflife2.net Forums by Gabe Newell finally has a comment on the leaked Half-Life 2 source code, brought to the world's attention by Gamer's With Jobs and Slashdot. Here's the deal:

Ever have one of those weeks? This has just not been the best couple of days for me or for Valve.

Yes, the source code that has been posted is the HL-2 source code.

Here is what we know:

1) Starting around 9/11 of this year, someone other than me was accessing my email account. This has been determined by looking at traffic on our email server versus my travel schedule.

2) Shortly afterwards my machine started acting weird (right-clicking on executables would crash explorer). I was unable to find a virus or trojan on my machine, I reformatted my hard drive, and reinstalled.

3) For the next week, there appears to have been suspicious activity on my webmail account.

4) Around 9/19 someone made a copy of the HL-2 source tree.

5) At some point, keystroke recorders got installed on several machines at Valve. Our speculation is that these were done via a buffer overflow in Outlook's preview pane. This recorder is apparently a customized version of RemoteAnywhere created to infect Valve (at least it hasn't been seen anywhere else, and isn't detected by normal virus scanning tools).

6) Periodically for the last year we've been the subject of a variety of denial of service attacks targetted at our webservers and at Steam. We don't know if these are related or independent.

Well, this sucks.

What I'd appreciate is the assistance of the community in tracking this down. I have a special email address for people to send information to, helpvalve@valvesoftware.com. If you have information about the denial of service attacks or the infiltration of our network, please send the details. There are some pretty obvious places to start with the posts and records in IRC, so if you can point us in the right direction, that would be great.

We at Valve have always thought of ourselves as being part of a community, and I can't imagine a better group of people to help us take care of these problems than this community.

Gabe

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329 Replies. 17 pages. Viewing page 1.
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329.

Re: oh Bull

Oct 9, 2003, 21:42

hebrew_national

Do any of you want to eat a banana? I like bananaes. They are tasty. Half life 2 will not be out for 8 months. Sorry.

328.

Re: oh Bull

Oct 9, 2003, 20:11

Plissken

lol, ok Forrest, I'll just wait until the next time you stick your foot in your mouth.

327.

Re: oh Bull

Oct 9, 2003, 19:51

DrEvil

Nah, I just have better things to do than to get into a pissing contest with some idiot on a forum. You aren't worth another single second of my time, and therefore will not get another. This comment was edited on Oct 9, 19:52.

326.

Re: oh Bull

Oct 9, 2003, 14:10

Plissken

yawn Is that the best you got kid? This comment was edited on Oct 9, 14:11.

325.

Here it is plain and simple

Oct 9, 2003, 01:54

Communist

Throw all your god damn conspiracy theories out the window right now! They don't make sense. No way in hell would Valve ever release that source code in order to have a plausable excuse to postpone the game. That source code represents millions of dollars, and compromises the very security of the game itself. They can push the date back with a simple e-mail to bluesnews and we'd be pissed, but we'd still buy it. So the heart of the matter. Why was such a great effort put into stealing the source code? Well, I remember reading that Half-Life 2, singleplayer or multiplayer, requires authentication to play through Steam. For the first time ever, are we presented with this requirement to be online to play alone. This was introduced for obvious anti-piracy reasons. EVERY GAME GET'S PIRATED. But not every game's multiplayer get's pirated. This is because of authentication required to play online, such as the WONID for Half-Life (which never got hacked to my knowledge). So Valve put their mighty foot down and said you must authenticate to play our game, even for the singleplayer. And so the warez community is in dispair, and some individual, perhaps a group, decides decisive action is needed to be taken if they are going to play this game for free. Thus the code was stolen (and a lot more if there's a playable beta out). There was even rumours that there is even more then was released in that beta. Now with the code and some (all?) the game content, Half-Life 2 singleplayer does not require authentication. The source code itself could also provide guidelines for overiding the authentication in the final game, which is why Valve now needs to modify it like crazy, hence the delay. I know I'm stating the obvious here to some of you, but there are a lot of people out there who just can't seem to see straight on this one, so I had to say something. Anyway, this has become one of those long posts I don't feel like reading so I'll stop it here. -Communist This comment was edited on Oct 9, 02:03.

324.

Re: oh Bull

Oct 7, 2003, 23:47

DrEvil

doesn't take much to amaze you does it bb.

323.

Re: oh Bull

Oct 7, 2003, 19:24

Deliverance

Reuters, via CNN, quotes VU spokesman as saying April 2004 now for HL2, to rewrite the code.... Never, EVER, trust the American media.

322.

valve should stop jacking with us

Oct 7, 2003, 17:45

bartonfink

You know, none of this would be happenning if they would have just released the game when they said they would. Seriously. It's really not fair to some of us who were anticipating this game like it was christmas when you're 12. I don't think I've ever wanted to play a game this much before, and to have valve pull their crap with the release dates, for money reasons probably, then they kind of deserve this. Well maybe not the entire source code stolen, but at least a leak of some kind. You shouldn't have a game thats been in dev for so long, then come out and say "September 30", and then jack us around. This game is going to be huge no matter when its released, and you've worked the community up so much, we are chomping at the bit to play it! Oh well, if you say April, then April it is.

321.

Re: Delayed...

Oct 7, 2003, 13:27

BlightCrawler

how can they afford this? How can the developer afford to delay the massively anticipated sequel to one of the the most highly regarded PC game of all time, which has sold tens of millions of copies? I'm guessing they can afford it quite easily.

320.

Re: oh Bull

Oct 7, 2003, 10:27

JeZZyBaLL

**rolls eyes**

Take a Pill dOOd.




You put de lime in de coco-nut, you shake it all up; you put de lime in de coco-nut it make you feel bettah.....

319.

Re: Delayed...

Oct 7, 2003, 10:24

swebarb

This is such bullshit, i never believed this game was ready for release this year anyway. And they announced that 30th a few days back will not make it. And now some hackers stole code and the game is 6 months delayed, how can they afford this? not to mention what a big blow this will be.

318.

Delayed...

Oct 7, 2003, 09:06

Death Wombat

http://money.cnn.com/2003/10/07/technology/vivendi_code.reut/index.htm?cnn=yes Reuters, via CNN, quotes VU spokesman as saying April 2004 now for HL2, to rewrite the code.... This comment was edited on Oct 7, 09:07.

317.

Re: oh Bull

Oct 7, 2003, 08:56

Plissken

Hey Evil, Why don't you post some Warez links next, your stupidity never ceases to amaze me.

316.

Re: oh Bull

Oct 7, 2003, 08:14

DrEvil

* REMOVED * This comment was deleted on Oct 7, 10:45.

315.

Gray Davis

Oct 7, 2003, 07:27

TangledThorns

I think this is all a hoax brought on my California Governor Gray Davis.

314.

No subject

Oct 7, 2003, 05:15

Bob

Game source code stolen in hacking http://news.com.com/2100-7349_3-5087698.html

313.

oh Bull

Oct 7, 2003, 04:26

Zephalephelah

From http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2001760253_halflife07.html "A computer-security expert said the implications could be more calamitous. Someone who finds a vulnerability in the code could exploit the flaw and possibly destroy computers connected to the game online, said Geoff Shively, chief technical officer of PivX Labs, a network-security company that specializes in game software. " That's so fucking stupid I don't even want to begin to discuss how technically illiterate & ignorant that fucking shit is. Who the fuck is PivX anyway? Have you ever heard of them? What piece of shit bullshit Y2K bullshit are they talking about now? Oh give me a fucking break. Someone has the source code to HL2 not steam. What a bunch of shit. I've heard some tall tales in my life but this one really takes the cake. PATHETIC journalism. Let's say you had the source code & you were a coder, the most you could do would be to make your own game or devise some fag ass cheat that would be wiped out within a week by Valve's Steam. STEAM doesn't need to wait 3 months to put out a patch to fix a whole bunch of shit so that people aren't pissed at the company for throwing out patch after patch, STeam is a never ending patch & we won't care if there is a patch every fucking week because we won't see it & we won't have to think about it. THis is all smoke and mirrors because STEAM didn't work right away & Valve wants their fucking money big time without the publishers. Has anyone, ANYONE, seen anything on the net about The HL2 source code? I mean this is HUGE HUGE HUGE!!! when the doom3 alpha leaked, anyone that cared got it. Do you have the HL2 source code? 1/10 of the people that post here are faggot ass warez fuckers. Do you warez people have access to HL2 source code? I think it doesn't exist & this is all a bunch of shit! A media nightmare lie!!!! I say this is a coverup because Valve lied about sept 30 when there was a suppossed delay & now the delay is real & they needed an excuse or distraction to take our eyes away from the fact that they said no, it's sep 30th. This is all BS!!!! Anyway, even if it isn't what's the big deal? With steam they could counter anything that happened. I don't see a downside except that I think it's all a fake ass bald faced lie.

312.

oh Bull shit!

Oct 7, 2003, 04:26

Zephalephelah

From http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2001760253_halflife07.html "A computer-security expert said the implications could be more calamitous. Someone who finds a vulnerability in the code could exploit the flaw and possibly destroy computers connected to the game online, said Geoff Shively, chief technical officer of PivX Labs, a network-security company that specializes in game software. " That's so fucking stupid I don't even want to begin to discuss how technically illiterate & ignorant that fucking shit is. Who the fuck is PivX anyway? Have you ever heard of them? What piece of shit bullshit Y2K bullshit are they talking about now? Oh give me a fucking break. Someone has the source code to HL2 not steam. What a bunch of shit. I've heard some tall tales in my life but this one really takes the cake. PATHETIC journalism. Let's say you had the source code & you were a coder, the most you could do would be to make your own game or devise some fag ass cheat that would be wiped out within a week by Valve's Steam. STEAM doesn't need to wait 3 months to put out a patch to fix a whole bunch of shit so that people aren't pissed at the company for throwing out patch after patch, STeam is a never ending patch & we won't care if there is a patch every fucking week because we won't see it & we won't have to think about it. THis is all smoke and mirrors because STEAM didn't work right away & Valve wants their fucking money big time without the publishers. Has anyone, ANYONE, seen anything on the net about The HL2 source code? I mean this is HUGE HUGE HUGE!!! when the doom3 alpha leaked, anyone that cared got it. Do you have the HL2 source code? 1/10 of the people that post here are faggot ass warez fuckers. Do you warez people have access to HL2 source code? I think it doesn't exist & this is all a bunch of shit! A media nightmare lie!!!! I say this is a coverup because Valve lied about sept 30 when there was a suppossed delay & now the delay is real & they needed an excuse or distraction to take our eyes away from the fact that they said no, it's sep 30th. This is all BS!!!! Anyway, even if it isn't what's the big deal? With steam they could counter anything that happened. I don't see a downside except that I think it's all a fake ass bald faced lie.

311.

Re: I would like to know how

Oct 7, 2003, 04:09

Zephalephelah

ANswer: Gabe emailed everyone that wanted to talk to him. http://www.halflife2.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1298&perpage=15&pagenumber=1) Now the general user, you & me, doesn't care about the importance of mail headers & trailers. But the hacker sees this as doorways. So they set up a backtrail & find the ISP, log the networking on the ISP (don't ask me how), & find the timeline they are looking for, and see the IP. Once they have that, they can gain access through the net. The problem Valve's Gabe Newell made in my opinion, this isn't for sure fact, was that although he is a really really cool guy & people like him from a gamer stand point & he talks to the gamers, was that he was emailing from a non-secure system on the same LAN as the rest of Valve's computers. This is just plain stupid. It is asking for trouble. Let's say that we have this really smart carmack-like coder that is just itching for Halflife2 & he hates steam & he is really completely pissed off that HL2 is going to be postponed. He could be a fan. He could ask a very obvious question just to get a response & then trace it back & infiltrate the system. The point I'm trying to make is that I think that Gabe, although very cool to talk to his fans, was a dipshit moron & had no idea and no clue that idiots are on the net & will fuck you given the chance. I think that some fuckwad was pissed & learned how to piss up the rope of Gabe's email account. Pretty foolish for Gabe to be talking on the same connection that the source code was on in the first place. Seperate that shit! Talk to people, man that is soo cool, but be smart!

310.

Re: No subject

Oct 7, 2003, 04:03

Bob

Long-awaited game's code leaked, may delay debut http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2001760253_halflife07.html

329 Replies. 17 pages. Viewing page 1.
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