Version 1.730 of the PB Server for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page. This is a maintenance release.
Version 2.164 of the PB Client for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page. This is a maintenance release.
Version 2.017 of the PB Client for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page. The new PunkBuster service components are no longer optioinal for RtCW, please see
our faq page for more information.
Version 1.525 of the PB Client for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page. This release contains new PunkBuster service components, please see
our faq page for more information.
Version 1.229 of the PB Server for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for
auto-update and to our website download page.
Release Notes for PB Server v1.229:
- we are opening up beta testing of a new remote control/logging facility
called PBUCON. Admins who wish to be involved in the open beta can find more information here:
PBUCON
Version 1.228 of the PB Client for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page. This is a maintenance release.
Version 1.175 of the PB Server for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page. This is a maintenance release.
Version 1.169 of the PB Server for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for
auto-update and to our website download page. This version fixes a crash bug related to
starting the PB server with complex nested configs mixed with PB tasks.
Version 1.211 of the PB Client for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page. This is a maintenance release.
Version 1.164 of the PB Server for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page. This is a maintenance release.
Version 1.207 of the PB Client for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page. This is a maintenance release.
Version 1.153 of the PB Client for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for
auto-update and to our website download page.
Release Notes for PB Client v1.153:
- returns the number of bytes and MD5 of files that are shorter than what the server is checking
for using MD5Tool lines (items that return a READ_FAIL to the PB Server)
Version 1.150 of the PB Server for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page.
Release Notes for PB Server v1.150:
- the pb_sv_task command no longer requires quotes around the third [command] parameter when spaces are embedded
- no longer counts spaces as characters in the player name for purposes of checking for minimum name length
Version 1.128 of the PB Server for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page.
Release Notes for PB Server v1.128:
- addressed bug with PB's Bad Name Facility not warning/kicking properly
Version 1.124 of the PB Server for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page. This is a maintenance release.
We have confirmed that the recently released update for the Xfire (www.xfire.com) instant
messaging program has triggered PB Violations #90003 and #90011 when the chat overlay system
is used while playing on a PunkBuster enabled server in OpenGL mode. Today, Xfire released a
v1.31 update to correct the problem on their end. We encourage PB admins to give the benefit of
the doubt to players who received either of these violations since Dec. 30th. As these are
generic cheat hook detection algorithms, we will not be removing them from our system. Players
who use Xfire while playing on PB Servers should update to the new version immediately.
Version 1.123 of the PB Server for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page.
Release Notes for PB Server v1.123:
- new command "pb_sv_powerguid [GUID] [Power_Points] [Player_Name(optional)]"; admins can use this
command to add a player's GUID directly to the PB Player Power database at the server when the player
is not currently connected
- when PunkBuster kicks a player, the message sent to other connected players will now show the last 4
characters of the kicked player's PB GUID after the player's name
- new setting "pb_sv_filewhitelist [game_subfolder] [file1] [file2] ... [fileN]" can be used by PB admins to
limit the filenames allowed in a specific game subfolder; this can be used in conjunction with PB's MD5Tool
to check filesizes and file signatures of the allowable files
Version 1.129 of the PB Client for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page. This is a maintenance release.
Version 1.120 of the PB Client for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for
auto-update and to our website download page.
Release Notes for PB Client v1.120:
- starting with this version 1.120, the PB Client now requires the game to be run as the
administrator user or equivalent under Windows XP/2K (see our
FAQ for more info).
- new pb_logmd5tool setting defaults to 0; setting to 1 will cause PB to log all MD5Tool file check
query replies sent to connected PB Servers during gameplay
Version 1.089 of the PB Server for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page. This is a maintenance release.
A new PBWEB v1.8 for linux has been released to our Updating PunkBuster
webpage. This version addresses a segfault issue reported
by several linux users.
Version 1.069 of the PB Client for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for
auto-update and to our website download page.
Release Notes for PB Client v1.069:
- contains a temporary workaround for the lockup conflict with nVidia v5x.xx forceware drivers until
nVidia corrects their backwards compatibility issues - the workaround may or may not solve the lockup problem
for individual users depending on hardware combinations
Version 1.072 of the PB Server for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page. Starting with this version of the PB Server, admins will be able to
perform file checks on connected players during gameplay using the new MD5Tool Facility. Using this
new facility should be considered beta testing until further notice. The MD5Tool Facility is documented
here.
Release Notes for PB Server v1.072:
- new commands pb_sv_md5tool, pb_sv_md5toollist, pb_sv_md5tooldel, and pb_sv_md5toolempty
- new setting pb_sv_md5toolfreq defaults to 60 (seconds)
Version 1.067 of the PB Client for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for
auto-update and to our website download page. We will shortly be releasing a new optional PB MD5Tool Facility for
PB Server Admins who want to check files on connected player systems to detect changes
in game files. Players are hereby warned that any detected attempts to
circumvent PB's new MD5Tool file checks will subject the Player's GUID/CDKey to permanent Global
PB GUID Ban with no recourse.
Release Notes for PB Client v1.067:
- new pb_logmd5tool setting defaults to 0; setting to 1 will cause PB to log all MD5Tool file check
query replies sent to connected PB Servers during gameplay
Version 1.066 of the PB Server for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page.
Release Notes for PB Server v1.066:
- addressed glitch in loading banmask entries from PB ban files
- new pb_sv_maxConUpdates setting defaults to 12; PB Server will not send updates to more than this number of
clients simultaneously in an effort to cut down on update timeouts after a recent PB update
- new pb_sv_homepath command to display PB's home path
Version 1.061 of the PB Client for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page. This is a maintenance release.
We have confirmed that new software (Bigpond Toolbar used primarily in Australia) has recently been
released which raises pre-existing PunkBuster violation #60045. This violation number has been removed
from our system. We encourage PB Admins to give the benefit of the doubt to players and ignore
instances of this violation occurring after December 3, 2003.
Version 1.059 of the PB Client for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page. This is a maintenance release.
Version 1.058 of the PB Client for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page.
Release Notes for PB Client v1.058:
- initial PB Restrictions checking (see post for PB Server v1.061 dated 12.6.2003)
Version 1.061 of the PB Server for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page. This version includes a new PunkBuster facility called PB Restrictions. By default,
PB Restrictions are Enabled; the pb_sv_restrictions setting may be set to 0 by server admins who do not wish for PB
to kick for PB Restrictions. Kicking for PB Restrictions will be announced to players that join PB servers in the
"WARNING: PB Kicks for ... All PB Restrictions on this server" message shortly after joining a server where
PB Restrictions are Enabled. Initially, this facility will only work properly on
Internet based PB Servers but will be extended to LAN servers in a future update. We expect to activate PB
Restriction logging/kicking after the next PB Client update. Players who are kicked for a PB Restriction will be
notified of the reason they were kicked. Additionally, PB Restrictions will be logged on all PB Servers even
when kicking is disabled.
In general, the PB Restriction facility represents a tighter set of parameters for playing on PB Servers. A player who
fails a PB Restriction check should not necessarily be considered a cheater, so we advise PB Admins to consider
initial PB kicks for restrictions to be warnings to the players who are kicked so that they may either honor the
restriction by correcting their setup or play on other servers. However, we also encourage PB admins to deal
with repeat offenders of PB Restrictions as they see fit. The initial group of restrictions will deal with
unusual opengl32.dll access or hooking. Players whose systems do not return proper information about the game using a
single opengl32.dll system file will be considered restricted by this new facility (Note: Anyone still trying
to play PB games running under Windows NT v4 is going to be considered restricted by default). Future updates may
require the most current version of DirectX/display drivers to be installed, etc. We will
gladly accept and consider suggestions for future restriction possibilities from the community via email to
research@evenbalance.com.
Release Notes for PB Server v1.061:
- new pb_sv_restrictions setting defaults to 1 (which means kicking for PB Restrictions is Enabled)
- addressed bug in Linux PB Server that caused PB to not be able to restart itself (such as after an update) on some
Linux servers
- new pb_sv_lan setting defaults to 0; when set to 1, PB will behave as though it has no Internet access
Version 1.054 of the PB Client for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page.
Release Notes for PB Client v1.054:
- improved internal performance
Version 1.047 of the PB Client for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page.
Release Notes for PB Client v1.047:
- new pb_lan setting defaults to 0; when set to 1, PB will behave as though it has no Internet access
- addressed glitch with INCLUDE type Cvar restrictions
- new pb_webupdate command adds the PBWEB functionality directly into the PB client; PBWEB should no longer be
required to manually update PB clients; PunkBuster will automatically issue this command when necessary to auto-update
during gameplay before going into distress mode (note: For RtCW, this command only works in win32 and linux editions)
Version 1.041 of the PB Client for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page.
Release Notes for PB Client v1.041:
- fixed bug that may cause increased network traffic problems on some systems during gameplay
- fixed bug that affected cvar warnings from some servers
Version 1.041 of the PB Server for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page.
Release Notes for PB Server v1.041:
- new command pb_sv_badnameempty empties the list of badnames (from PB's memory); the list is reloaded
from the pbbans.dat file once the PB server is restarted
The sample/suggested cvar config for PB Admins has been updated. It is availalbe on the
download page.
Version 1.034 of the PB Client for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page.
Release Notes for PB Client v1.034:
- addressed a bug whereby some cvar warnings were not being displayed to players on the playing screen
Version 1.032 of the PB Client for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page.
Release Notes for PB Client v1.032:
- addressed bug in reporting some cvar warnings to players
Version 1.032 of the PB Server for RtCW has been released to our
website download page. It will be released to our Master auto-update servers pending feedback
from Admins.
Release Notes for PB Server v1.032:
- The pb_power command issued by players now displays player guids similar to how pb_plist works
- Now 'guards' IP addresses that are suspicious and kicks players using the guarded IP Addresses if
their PB attempts immediate update downloads upon joining
- IP addresses are automatically added to the new IP Guard list when a player's PB fails to update
after three consecutive tries
- PB Admins can also manually add IP Addresses and/or netmasks to the new IP Guard list with the
new pb_sv_ipguard command; example: pb_sv_ipguard 192.168.1
- NOTE: Currently, the IP Guard list is not saved to disk, it is cleared each time the PB Server is
restarted
- PB Admins can now permanently ban players connecting with specific IP Addresses and/or
netmasks from their PB Servers with the pb_sv_banmask command; example: pb_sv_banmask 192.168.1
- Now kicks players with non-zero frags and/or deaths if their PB Client does not fully
authenticate within a few seconds of joining the server
- addressed bug with pb_sv_banlist command so that it now filters according to documentation
- improved efficiency of initializing connecting PB Clients
- now kicks phantom players (players with an invalid game status yet a non-zero frag/death)
- new facility to allow server admins to protect registered tags/names on local servers; useful
for clans to prevent the wearing of their clan tag on their own servers except by members and for
server admins to prevent the wearing of the admin's name on his/her own server; players who wear
protected tags/names on servers with this in effect will be kicked if they do not supply the correct
password credentials associated with the registered tag/name
- pb_sv_protecttag [uniqueId] "registered tag"; to protect a registered tag on the local server
- pb_sv_protectname [uniqueId] "registered name"; to protect a registered name on the local server
- updated some existing and added new log lines produced by PB Server
- added new NameLock facility to allow admins to locally lock player names to specific guids; mostly
useful on servers that collect stats so that top players' names are locked against being used by
troublemakers to skew the stats
- new command pb_sv_namelock [guid] "name"; used to add a NameLock; the guid can be the full 32
character guid or a partial match; name is case sensitive and colors are stripped automatically for
matching; multiple items can be added for the same name to account for players who sometimes play
on multiple machines and/or use different guids from time to time; these lines can be added to the
pbsvuser.cfg file in the home "pb" directory to have the PB Server load and process the NameLocks
at each start up
- new command pb_sv_namelocklist; lists NameLocks currently hashed in memory
- new command pb_sv_namelockempty; empties the list of NameLocks currently hashed in memory
- improved detection and handling of corrupted security data (pbsv.db file)
We have confirmed that new software has recently been released which raises pre-existing
PunkBuster violation #60056. This violation number has been removed from our system. We encourage
PB Admins to give the benefit of the doubt to players and ignore recent instances of this violation.
We have confirmed that new software has recently been released which raises long-standing
PunkBuster violation #70001. This violation number has been removed from our system. We encourage
PB Admins to give the benefit of the doubt to players and ignore recent instances of this violation.
Version 1.025 of the PB Client for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page. The new cheat detection code has been updated to address lockup
problems for players running with pb_system set to 0.
The new v1.023 contains code to detect new cheats that have been released recently.
This new code may conflict with certain software/drivers and lockup some systems.
If your computer locks up after updating to the new PB version while playing on a RtCW PB Server,
then enter "/pb_system 1" into your RtCW console when you are NOT connected to a server
(i.e. from the game's main menu before trying to join an online server). PunkBuster will remember
this setting so that it doesn't have to be entered every time you play.
Version 1.023 of the PB Client for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page.
Release Notes for PB Client v1.023:
- new pb_myguid console command displays the current cdkey and resulting generated PB GUID
Version 1.018 of the PB Client for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for auto-update
and to our website download page. This update contains a new setting that will help players who
continually have problems with their r_uifullscreen cvar getting changed (see below).
Release Notes for PB Client v1.018:
- Addressed a bug affecting Mac O/S 9 users dealing with 'Empty CdKey' violations
- new pb_autoexec setting to hold the name of a user-created script that PB will execute after each
new server connection; players can create or edit pbcl.cfg with a text editor such as notepad and add
a line such as 'pb_autoexec pbgame'; then in the RtCW 'main' folder create a file called pbgame.cfg and
enter commands that should be executed automatically after each connection ... for example:
'r_uifullscreen 0'
Version 1.018 of the PB Server for RtCW has been released to our PB Master Servers for pre-release testing. In order to test the pre-release, PB Admins should download
pbsv.db for RtCW
into the appropriate home "pb" directory and overwrite your existing pbsv.db file. Then issue a pb_sv_restart command followed by a pb_sv_update command. This should initiate an auto-update to PB Server version v1.018. If pb_sv_restart does not properly restart your server, exiting the game server and re-launching it would be required instead of issuing the pb_sv_restart command. If your server updates to v1.018 but you experience problems and want to go back to the prior version, you should exit the game server and overwrite the pbsv.dll (or pbsv.so under linux or pbsv.mac under mac osx) with the pbsvold.dll file in the home "pb" directory and then restart the game server. Please send feedback via email about v1.018 and your experience following this update process to testing@evenbalance.com.
Release Notes for PB Server v1.018:
- The pb_sv_noguidgrace setting now defaults to 1 which means PB will remove players who refuse
to enter a valid cdkey 1 second after joining the PB Server
New cheat detection patterns #110003 and #110004 of the AutoFire variety were added to the PB violation system a few hours ago for all games we support. We have been able to confirm that at least one legitimate program (Team Speak Server v1.22) can cause PB to raise these violations falsely. PB Admins should not ban or suspect any players who were tagged with these violations for cheating. Any admins who have a question about this issue should email info@evenbalance.com. We apologize for the inconvenience to any players who were accused of cheating due to one of these violations.
The v1.013 PB Client update that was released this week for SoF2 and RtCW is working well and we're hearing good feedback from several plas that previous problems have been resolved in v1.013.
Version 1.013 of the PunkBuster Client has been released via auto-update and is on our download pages for RtCW and SoF2. It will be released soon for Quake3. Due to players having problems with recent changes to PB's memory scanning, version 1.013, by default, uses our original memory scan code. For the players who have problems with that, the setting 'pb_system 1' can be used to switch to the new memory scanning code. Most players have no problems with either the old or new code and may find that using 'pb_system 1' will yield the best game performance while PB is enabled. Version 1.013 "remembers" the pb_system setting without having to manually edit or write config files. Also, the pb_sleep setting remains in version 1.013 for players who wish to tweak PB's cpu timeslice in an effort to gain the best performance for their individual systems. As always, please report any problems to support@evenbalance.com. Players and Admins who have problems auto-updating to v1.013 should visit our support page for information on the PBWEB applet that aids in getting updated to the latest PB versions.
Release Notes for prior PB Server Version updates
11/26/02 v1.001
- fixed bug related to new pb_sv_noguidgrace setting that was kicking NO_GUID players
immediately rather than after the grace period
11/26/02 v1.000
- new pb_sv_updategrace setting to specify the number of seconds a PB Client is given
to update (if necessary) before being removed - default is 600 (10 minutes)
- new pb_sv_noguidgrace setting to specify the number of seconds a player is allowed
to stay on the server with a 'NO_GUID' identifyer before being removed - default is 0
which means NO_GUID players are not removed
11/24/02 v0.998
- outbound PB Packets are now queued and sent once per frame (max) in an effort to
address packet bursts (also pb_sv_sleep setting is ignored starting with this
PB Server version)
- new GUID system assigns player GUIDs at the server so that punks can't impersonate
other players
- violations are now logged with player GUID and IP Address
- temporarily disabled duplicate GUID/CDKEY violations while testing this version
- logs and reports (if/when necessary) to players when the server is using an old
version of the PB Client
11/6/02 v0.996
- temporarily removed the 'invalid guid' and 'changed cdkey' violations because of
problems with some mods - will reintroduce in a future update
- new pb_sv_taskempty command clears the PB task list
- fixed (for consistency) order of arguments for pb_sv_power command (slot # now is
first, then power points)
11/2/02 v0.995
- does not kick for 'too many initializations' (until that bug gets straightened out)
- client queries using pb_cvarval are now ignored if the text "pass" is in the query
(used to be "password")
- player guids and IP addresses are logged in the violation logs
- the kicking for extended characters bug has been fixed (now only kicks if pb_sv_extChar is 0)
- players named 'all' are kicked with a BadName violation
- new pb_sv_emptyname setting defaults to 0 which means players with empty (blank, or "")
name are kicked with a BadName violation
- pb_sv_cvarLogging can now be set to 0 which means PB will not log cvar reports to disk
(may reduce lag)
- bad web key attempts are now logged with source IP address:port
- new command pb_sv_newlog causes PB to close current log, increment log file number and
open a new log
note: use "pb_sv_task 1800 1800 pb_sv_newlog" (for example) to open a new log every 30 minutes
- now kicks players whose guid/cdkey changes during play or who have a malformed guid
- PB log filenaming/sequencing problems have been addressed
- does not log 10002/10004 violations (this bug will be fully addressed in a future update)
- pb_sv_dupmask can be set to a LAN netmask to not kick players on a LAN for duplicate guids
(i.e. pb_sv_dupmask 192.168 will cover all players whose ip starts with 192.168)
