Beating someone over Xbox Live usually results in nothing more than a string of expletives, but some users are reporting that they're now getting kicked off the network by sore losers using a denial-of-service attack, which bombards your Internet connection with bogus data until it drops out.

Worse still, hackers are selling DOS on demand to disgruntled players, the BBC News reported today. That means anyone with a few bucks and a lack of morals can attack players who are simply too good at Street Fighter IV.

In a statement given to Ars Technica on Friday, a Microsoft representative responded by saying, "In our continued effort to help provide a safer and more secure experience for our community of more than 17 million members, we are investigating reports involving the use of malicious software tools that an attacker could use to try and disrupt an Xbox Live player's Internet connection."

"This problem is not related to the Xbox Liveservice, but to the player's internet connection," the representative added. "The attacker could also attempt disrupt other internet activities such as streaming video or web browsing using the same tools."

Fair enough. Since Xbox Live games connect to the Internet like everything else, using an IP address, it's possible for hackers to discover your address using underground packet-sniffing software, then flood the Xbox port with incoming data to boot you off. Other offenders are reportedly asking for an IP address by sneaky means before opening the denial-of-service floodgates.

More disturbing, however, is that the uninitiated are paying skilled hackers to set up the whole process for them, to be run anytime they feel like being nasty, and thereby inflating the number of attacks. The BBC said these services go for a one-time fee of $20.

The immediate solution to avoid reoccurring attacks would be to refresh your IP address, but it's only a matter of time before a persistent pest decides to try again. In that case, Microsoft says to call your ISP to report an incident, and hopefully, get heightened security.

The company did not say how often these attacks occur, only that it is looking into the matter and banning any malicious offenders from Xbox Live.