Highrez

I have a very important question to ask.
I've currently been banned at a game that I was playing & I have absolutely no clue to what "Third Party Software" they are referring to in my ban reason and I would like to ask, is [X Mouse] considered Third Party Software? and if so does it count as cheating? because the game I currently play does not support mouse buttons 4|5 so as a resort to that issue I use this application. Is this detectable by games? is it cheating?

these questions being answered would be highly appreciated and I would like to know before I make the same mistake in the future.

thank you and have a great day.

"Third Party Software" is basically anything that comes not from the developer of the game.
This is taken out of context. They probably referring to a certain kind of software for which they have detection algorithm.

The issue is, these algorithms can't be perfect.
If they are stupid enough to trigger on any emulated mouse input, then you should be thankful to this occasion and keep away from products of those people.

There is also no guarantee they triggered on X-Mouse, unless you literally have a bare OS with the game and X-Mouse installed and nothing else. Some are going as far as scanning hard drives for stuff like CheatEngine, even if it is not executed.

As Killy said, Third party simple means not made by the game manufacture or supplied by them (or required by them). So ANYTHING on your system that they did not provide is 3rd party software!

Many games consider it cheating to insert/inject keystrokes.
If you are using XMBC to gain an advantage over other players (who cant use button 4 and 5), then quite frankly, it is gaining an advantage or cheating in my view!

It is up to the game manufacture to a) decide what they consider cheating and b) decide how to handle it when they detect it. And I'm pretty sure this would be in their terms and conditions somewhere although it may be quite cryptic or vague of course (so they can do what they like!).

Many multiplayer games simply refuse to run if they detect such software (e.g. XMBC, Autohotkey and many more), some refuse to work with injected input (anything that uses Microsoft's SendInput API (which is what XMBC uses) and some work and accept it!

Unfortunately, this generic "we will ban everyone" attitude is a problem if you are using software such as XMBC / Autohotkey etc. because you have to (for example, if you are physically disabled etc.). But then that would be up to the individual to take up with the game manufacture, or as Killy says, just boycott any companies who ban like this.

Regards,
Phil