World of Warcraft Cheats Explained

Cheats in World of Warcraft is a broad category of activities, all of which are generally regarded as modifying the game experience in a way that gives a player an unfair advantage over the other players.  Different activities constitute cheats, as it is often a matter of consensus opinion.

Cheats exists in not just World of Warcraft but in all multiplayer online computer games. While there have always been cheat codes and other ways to make single player games easier, most developers attempt to prevent it in multiplayer games. With the release of the first popular Internet multiplayer games cheating took on new dimensions. Previously it was rather easy to see if the other players cheated, as most games were played on local networks or consoles. The Internet changed that by increasing the popularity of multiplayer games, giving the players anonymity, and giving people an avenue to communicate World of Warcraft cheats.
Types of World of Warcraft Cheats
User Settings - Typically a player can change settings within a game to make it suit their play style and system. These alterations are not generally not cheats, except in extreme circumstances. Changing the keyboard layout to make it easier to use is for example usually accepted. But issues such as changing in-game player models and textures, or modifying the brightness or gamma in order to make it easier to see in dark areas are sometimes borderline cheats in World of Warcraft.  These are sometimes referred to as a mod or mods.  Read more about World of Warcraft mods
Exploits - Usually included in this concept of cheats is the use of existing bugs or gameplay aspects unintended by the World of Warcraft developers known as exploits. Gamers are divided as to whether all exploitation is a cheat, though most consider exploits as cheats if they are particularly unfair. It is also difficult to classify some activities as exploits, because sometimes unintended features in the World of Warcraft game can make them much more fun to play. However, most exploits are unbalancing to World of Warcraft, and are called cheats because they are based on mistakes by Blizzard.  For example, Duping ruins a synthetic economy and is rarely intended, and therefore is usually called a cheat.
External Software - The most unbalancing cheats in World of Warcraft usually come from external software. Either the program that runs the game is modified to allow the player to cheat, or other software is run which produces the same results.  Wallhacks, aimbots, and other cheats fall into this category.
Preventing World of Warcraft Cheats
It is not be financially wise for World of Warcraft developers Blizzard to fight "cheaters" using cheats.  These players using cheats bring in revenue just like normal players in the game. Gamers have speculated that this is the reason why "two boxing" is not a bannable offense in World of Warcraft.  Players are often less concerned about these circumstances because it might be debatable if the actions in question are a form of a cheat.  That said Blizzard has banned an untold number of players in World of Warcraft that it considered were using cheats and breaking the Terms of Service for World of Warcraft.