Blizzard Bans 320,000 Warcraft, Diablo Accounts

Blizzard has banned 320,000 Warcraft III and Diablo II accounts it says were in violation of its terms of use, aiming to protect its games from cheaters and security exploits. First-offenders will endure only a 30-day suspension, although repeat offenders' CD keys are permanently banned from the service, Blizzard says. It discovered many of the accounts it closed from user tips, and the company encourages players to continue to report violators. Account abuses generally take the form of game mechanic exploits or users running third-party programs designed to advance one's own statistics or steal information from other users. "These types of activities can severely impact the stability of our servers, and we’ll continue to aggressively monitor Battle.net in order to protect the service and its players from the harmful effects of cheating," said Blizzard on its official forum. Blizzard has a designated hacks team to whom users can report accounts in possible violation by sending email or filling out a web form.