If you or someone you know is thinking of picking up a previously-owned (read: used) Xbox 360 for the Holidays, there’s one important thing to keep in mind. There are people out there who modify their consoles, cheat, pirate games, etc. When Microsoft finds these people, their consoles get banned from Xbox LIVE, the system’s online service. The worst part is, it’s a permanent ban. Ergo, if you buy a used system that happened to be banned from Xbox LIVE, you’re out of luck.

So if you’re buying from a friend or even from a place like GameStop, make sure to have the system plugged in so you can test the Xbox Live connection. That is, if you care about Xbox LIVE, which you should, because everyone needs to…pwn some n00bs as the kids say.