Can someone tell me how ISBoxer works technically? How detectable is ISBoxer by the client?

[NewbieMultiBoxer]

I'm not talking about how to use it... I can always wiki the guide. I'm talking about what the client sees... what is the client's perspective of ISBoxer? Does it know it's being sandboxed? How does it interpret this? Does it think it's in a new computer or VM? Does it know that the keys are being cloned? I'm curious on the amount of detection possible by the client on knowing it's being run under ISBoxer.

[Ualaa]

My understanding of its working, are based on explanations I've seen posted and are not necessarily entirely accurate.
And I don't know anything on the programming end.



Inner Space is a program that runs.
IS Boxer is an interface for the configuration of Inner Space.
IS Boxer is free, while Inner Space is a subscription based program.

Inner Space runs as a layer between Windows and whatever it launches.

Some games require a window to be the active/focused window, in order to receive keyboard or mouse input.
Because Inner Space exists as a layer between the Game and Windows, the game can be made to believe it is the Active/Focused Window, in Windows even if it is not.
That is configured via a check box in IS Boxer.

Once Lax has added the game, you can select it as a Profile which checks the appropriate things for a given game; prior to that, you can add the relevant executable and check the boxes that you want to...
If the game has a Configuration File, for game settings, adding the game via the Profile will virtualize the configuration file for characters launched through IS.
Basically, rather than using the default Config.wtf file in Warcraft, it uses the virtualized file for each character, which allows lower settings on some and higher settings on others.
If you launch the game without IS, it uses the non-virtualized file.

IS/IS Boxer cannot read the game.
If I make a mapped key that will Round-Robin a keystroke between the ranged damage classes on a team.
Let's say there are five toons, one is the tank, one is the healer and three are ranged dps.
I can create, what is called (in IS Boxer) an Action Target Group, and put the three ranged dps in it.
I can then have it send a keystroke to game, with the target being the ranged dps ATG, and check a box to round-robin within the target group.
The software will send the appropriate keystroke (when I push the hot key) to Ranged DPS 1 (on press 1) to Ranged DPS 2 (on press 2) and to Ranged DPS 3 (on press 3)... afterwhich it resets to Step 1.
It has no way of knowing if the client was Crowd Controlled, locked out of that school of magic, on a Global Cooldown, or otherwise incapacitated or even dead.
The keystroke is sent, but the software cannot know whether the ability fired off or not, and if it did cannot tell if it hit or was resisted.

[Lax]

These are all super general questions with no real answer, so I apologize...


what is the client's perspective of ISBoxer? Does it know it's being sandboxed?
It could find out if it wanted to.


How does it interpret this? Does it think it's in a new computer or VM?
It doesn't interpret anything. It runs normally, it thinks it's on your computer. It's sandboxed by virtue of the Operating System (Windows) treating its requests differently. It depends on what kind of sandboxing is needed for the game. Sometimes the game just wants to open its Cache for writing, and multiple processes cant do that at the same time, so it's "sandboxed" when the game requests that the Operating System open a file called "MyCache.file" and the Operating System opens "MyCache.file2" instead.


Does it know that the keys are being cloned?
Generally, no. But a game might be able to find out if it wanted to. Most games don't try to detect that.


I'm curious on the amount of detection possible by the client on knowing it's being run under ISBoxer.
It is possible to detect. ISBoxer does not make any claim to be impossible to detect.

[NewbieMultiBoxer]

These are all super general questions with no real answer, so I apologize...


It could find out if it wanted to.


It doesn't interpret anything. It runs normally, it thinks it's on your computer. It's sandboxed by virtue of the Operating System (Windows) treating its requests differently. It depends on what kind of sandboxing is needed for the game. Sometimes the game just wants to open its Cache for writing, and multiple processes cant do that at the same time, so it's "sandboxed" when the game requests that the Operating System open a file called "MyCache.file" and the Operating System opens "MyCache.file2" instead.


Generally, no. But a game might be able to find out if it wanted to. Most games don't try to detect that.


It is possible to detect. ISBoxer does not make any claim to be impossible to detect.

Do you take any steps to ensure that ISBoxer is not against the ToS and EULA for any of the games you advertise the software for? If yes, what are they? Specifically, I'd like to use it for Diablo 3, which hasn't been proven to accept multiboxing yet. If you add it to the list of games that your software supports, do you take any precautions by speaking with the developers to find out if your software violates any of their ToS or EULA?

[Khatovar]

http://isboxer.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=2220

[Lax]

Do you take any steps to ensure that ISBoxer is not against the ToS and EULA for any of the games you advertise the software for? If yes, what are they? Specifically, I'd like to use it for Diablo 3, which hasn't been proven to accept multiboxing yet. If you add it to the list of games that your software supports, do you take any precautions by speaking with the developers to find out if your software violates any of their ToS or EULA?
For Diablo III in particular, yes absolutely before I spent the time to make the game work, I asked. Thanks Khatovar for linking to my original post about it :) I also posted about it on my blog (http://joethemultiboxer.com/2012/04/diablo-3-multiboxing/). If they feel like changing their mind about whether or not they want to ban for using ISBoxer, they will probably call me first and give us time to get people to stop using it. I don't foresee this being necessary, ISBoxer is one of the least of their concerns as the game releases. They are looking for actual hacks, actual fraud, actual keyloggers, actual troublemakers, things that cause them real, quantifiable losses. That's the job of the people who ban you, it's risk management.

But generally, appearing on the list of Supported Games does not mean that I have contacted the developer/publisher of each game to find out their opinion on the matter. Most of the time it's a matter of someone making a post that says "Hey I use ISBoxer for ____ and it works great!"

Whether or not ISBoxer is against the ToS/EULA of any given game is fairly straightforward. When I get a ToS/EULA for a game, I usually specifically look at sections concerning third-party software. It's usually one little section in the ToS and it'll say you may not use third-party software to automate, hack, intercept communications, etc.

There is less automation capability in ISBoxer than in your typical Programmable Input Device software, for input devices that are specifically licensed for use with these games! (Let's see what features the Diablo III mouse comes with...) ISBoxer purposefully does not provide certain functionality, like the ability to configure autofire/looping or delayed action, or even the ability to move the mouse cursor to x,y to click. So if you want a loop that moves the cursor to x,y and clicks and delays and does it again, you can't do it through ISBoxer.

If you're asking specifically because of the sandboxing function, where you can run more instances of the game on one PC than you could without ISBoxer, this is not a hack to the game and is not governed by or mentioned in the EULA/ToS. It is a behavior of the Operating System (Windows).

[NewbieMultiBoxer]

In the event in which they do decide to disallow the use of ISBoxer, how will you notify users? Is there an update/news system on ISBoxer that will pop up the information informing users not to use it with D3? Or will we have to constantly check the website/forums for this information?

[Ualaa]

When you start the toolkit, if there's an update available a window lets you know.
It has a summary of the updates or changes.

It would be pretty easy to have a message there, in the unlikely event that Blizzard decided to disallow boxing of its games.
I cannot see them having one policy for D3 and another for Warcraft.

[Lax]

In the event in which they do decide to disallow the use of ISBoxer, how will you notify users? Is there an update/news system on ISBoxer that will pop up the information informing users not to use it with D3? Or will we have to constantly check the website/forums for this information?

In all likelihood, if they want to disallow ISBoxer's use, they will detect and warn you before you log into the game to stop using it. Or there will be a "blue post". I can also update Inner Space, or ISBoxer, in the case of an emergency. If you make a habit of launching the ISBoxer Toolkit (which you don't need open unless you're changing your config), the bottom has a rotating set of feeds from the ISBoxer.com forums, my twitter, my blog, the ISBoxer Chat Room. If there were an issue like this, you would probably find hints there. I also have a Diablo 3-specific forum on ISBoxer.com.

Because ISBoxer isn't a game hack and is not against the EULA or ToS, this is absolutely not the same as if they decide to start banning for hacks. For hacks they will simply ban thousands of accounts at a time in a "ban wave" and call it a day and share some pizza, probably play some Guitar Hero and have some drinks (except for those who don't like ethanol. :) ). This is not the same thing, and you will not get banned in a ban wave for using ISBoxer.

If you're that worried about it, then yes, keep an eye out and "be vigilant".