 Karnog
join:2002-03-03
Westminster, CA
1 edit | reply to Jason_DCS
Re: Game copy protection installs starforce softwa Is it legal for them to install this shi* secretly, without informing the user?
Here is a program »www.users.on.net/~testeagles/Sta···lean.exe to get rid of StarForce, see it does noting to combat game crackers. Just causes instability to legit users IMO.
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Well on the basis of this thread, the borg will have me, and they'll skip the IQ tests too! I should sign up! |
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Karnog
join:2002-03-03
Westminster, CA | bump |
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| You probably agreed to it in the click through EULA, it would be good if someone could post the EULA for the game so we could see if it actually makes specific reference to installing copy protection services.
I seem remember a UT2003 (Or was it 2004?) demo installed a cdilla service which is another copy protection system.
I agree with the consensus that copy protection only hurts legit gamers. |
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4 edits | said by Doncommie:
I seem remember a UT2003 (Or was it 2004?) demo installed a cdilla service which is another copy protection system.
Nor UT 2004 nor UT2003 have used cdilla. Safedisc maybe. cdilla - or SafeCast - is the most loathed and hated - not without reason - copy protection on earth and game developers and publishers know it. Ask TurboTax users. What's that about writing to the boot sector of your HD? That to me is owning your HD.
Anyway, no matter what the EULA says, that stuff should be uninstalled when you uninstall the game - or the app it was bundled with -.
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From the GSV "Ethics Gradient" |
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2 edits | reply to Doncommie
said by Doncommie:
You probably agreed to it in the click through EULA, it would be good if someone could post the EULA for the game so we could see if it actually makes specific reference to installing copy protection services.
Except...Starforce does not get installed with the game, or during the game install. It installs the first time you run the game and pops up a box saying, "The application was installed sucessfully, reboot now?"...The application? It is a seperate, automatic install with no EULA or warning or option to abort. In my case I installed the game and rebooted on my own twice before running the game and this happened and forced yet another reboot. Right away I knew something was amiss.
The kicker: Also, after you uninstall the game (ToCa Race Driver 2) the Starforce "drivers" remain and are now a permanent part (read: hijacker) of your operating system. In fact if you manually remove them from the device manager (again, the game has been uninstalled already) they will reinstall themselves after a reboot or 2, just like a farging virus!
*** Clarification: I (spamatron) was the starter of the quoted thread. The game was ToCa - Race Driver 2, and the Cat 4.6 driver is fine, that is just what I was doing when I noticed the StarForce invasion from Race Driver 2. |
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 RARPSL
join:1999-12-08
Suffern, NY | reply to Martinus
said by Martinus:
Anyway, no matter what the EULA says, that stuff should be uninstalled when you uninstall the game - or the app it was bundled with -.
While I agree that it should be uninstalled when you uninstall the game/app, it is not as simple as that. What happens if you have 2 (or more) apps/games that use the code? If you remove one of them, you have just crippled the others. Unless the code is designed to keep an install count (ie: Was it there already when a game/app that needed it was installed and if so bump a counter) which is decremented at uninstall time to indicate when the code can be deleted/uninstalled you can get into this situation. The question is, "What does the code do when one of the protected programs is NOT running [and when one is running, what does it do to other programs]?". So long as the "hidden" code is only used by a protected program it is no different than a .dll in the program's directory which is used in lieu of a common .dll of the same name.
In that case, the existence of the code is not important since it is never used since the program is no longer there to invoke it. |
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