The ongoing theory is that the hacked lobbies (ie games that are modded to give you 1trillion xp per kill to get you to instant lvl70) are now modifying game files as well which is what is triggering the bans. As there is no way of knowing you're going into a hacked lobby until you're actually in one, by which time your files have already been changed, I'd recommend not playing the game for a couple of weeks. That is, if anyone is still playing it.
edit - Also, the other theory is that the way VAC works with MW2 is that it bans every now and then in massive waves once the "cheat database" (for want of a better term) gets updated, in which case this could just be a load of cheaters Q_Q'ing about getting busted and all of them jumping on the bandwagon together to try and get the bans turned around...Either way, I still wouldn't play the game for a week or so.
'nother edit - It was a VAC error, lots of these emails floating around
Hello,
Recently, your Steam account was erroneously banned from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
This was our mistake, and I apologize for any frustration or angst it may have caused you.
The problem was that Steam would fail a signature check between the disk version of a DLL and a latent memory version. This was caused by a combination of conditions occurring while Steam was updating the disk image of a game. This wasn't a game-specific mistake. Steam allows us to manage and reverse these erroneous bans (about 12,000 erroneous bans over two weeks).
We have reversed the ban, restoring your access to the game. In addition, we have given you a free copy of Left 4 Dead 2 to give as a gift on Steam, plus a free copy for yourself if you didn't already own the game.
To share your extra copy of Left 4 Dead 2 with a friend, you can 'Manage Gifts and Guest Passes' from the 'Games' Menu in Steam, or visit this article on the Steam Support site for detailed instructions:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=4502-TPJL-2656.
To access your own copy of Left 4 Dead 2, visit your library of games in Steam. If you didn't already own the game, it will now be listed among your others there, and is available for download immediately.
Regards,
Gabe Newell
President, Valve
Total Members: 311
