Security Company Warns About Risks of Multiplayer Online Games

Multiplayer game servers that let players attack each other in virtual worlds could be the latest tool for online scofflaws to digitally attack other computers on the Internet, a security firm said. In an advisory posted to the company's Web site, security consultancy PivX Solutions stated that popular multiplayer games that have servers supporting the GameSpy network -- such as "Quake 3: Arena," "Unreal Tournament 2003" and "Battlefield 1942" -- could be used to magnify a denial-of-service attack, in some cases by as much as 400 times.