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uniqs
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sharpy merc
join:2003-01-28
England

1 edit

1 recommendation

sharpy merc

Member

CrashDay Demo installs DRM

Click for full size
This is getting to be a pain.

Now demos are installing this crap.

Something called SecuROM (v7) from Sony.

My son installs the demo. Winpatrol asks if I want a new service to run. I say NO to this.

SecuROM User Access Service (V7)

UAService7.exe
Path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\UAService7.exe
Startup Type: Disabled

And rootkit revealer then finds the entry in the attached pic.

John2g
Qui Tacet Consentit
Premium Member
join:2001-08-10
England

John2g

Premium Member

SecuROM 7 now offers the following features:

Protection of demos and test versions that only work for a certain period of time: "Try & Die"
Protection of content on CD-R with SecureCD-R technology
SecuROM Business Edition for non-games applications with flexible disc check

dadkins
Can you do Blu?
MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA

1 recommendation

dadkins to sharpy merc

MVM

to sharpy merc
*ALOT* of Demos install Copy Protection... doesn't make much sense to me. They are Free Demos!

Watch for StarForce on some of the Demos as well.
sharpy merc
join:2003-01-28
England

1 edit

sharpy merc

Member

good info John2g .

Sadly this crap fails to leave when you un-install using Add/Remove.

Anyone got any ideas on how to clean this crap up?

Great now I have to try demos in VMware as well sheesh!!

John2g
Qui Tacet Consentit
Premium Member
join:2001-08-10
England

1 recommendation

John2g

Premium Member

Crash Day - and a Warning
27 January 2006

Atari has released a playable demo of a game called Crash Day. It's similar to Need for Speed: Most Wanted in many ways, but the aim is to destroy other cars with missiles and miniguns, or do insane stunts. It's quite fun and looks to have some potential - check out my screenies, thoughts and tweaks in this thread.

Now here is the warning part. Without meaning to be overly dramatic, the Crash Day demo uses the SecuROM copy protection system. This is highly annoying and may cause problems on your machine. You can either avoid installing the demo, or if you install it and then eventually want to uninstall it and remove SecuROM, including the 'SecuROM User Access' Service it installs in Windows, follow these steps:

1. Uninstall the game as normal.

2. Manually delete the game directory (typically \Program Files\Atari\Crashday-demo\

3. Go to Start>Run and type "Services.msc" (without quotes) and press Enter.

4. Go to the 'Securom User Access' Service, double click on it, click Stop and then set it to Disabled.

5. Go to \Windows\System32\ directory and delete the UAService7.exe file.

6. Go to Start>Run and type "sc delete useraccess7" (without quotes) and press Enter.

Note: This Service may be recreated by one of your other SecuROM games, in which case you will have to keep it running to play them.

The following steps are very risky and only for people who are certain none of their currently installed games use or need SecuROM:

7. Go to \Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ and delete the SecuROM sub-directory.

8. Go to Start>Run and type "Regedit" (without quotes) and press Enter. Then find the [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\SecuROM] key and delete it if possible.

I am really annoyed at SecuROM as it is an intrusive system which causes a vast range of problems for legitimate users. I'm giving you a clear heads-up that it is on this demo, and that it may cause problems on your machine as it has for recent games like F.E.A.R.
sharpy merc
join:2003-01-28
England

sharpy merc

Member

Many thanx agian john2g.

Luckily I had a recent restore point.

My son will now install Demos to VMware to see what they secretly install.
35375105 (banned)
join:2002-11-20
127.0.0.1

35375105 (banned) to sharpy merc

Member

to sharpy merc
Wow, I didn't install this crashday game but I see I had this Securom crap on my system anyway.

I wonder which of my games installed it ;/

Is there like a list somewhere that tells what games use SecuROM?

salzan
Experienced Optimist
Premium Member
join:2004-01-08
WA State

1 recommendation

salzan to sharpy merc

Premium Member

to sharpy merc
This type of crap has been going on for quite some time. As dadkins See Profile said, watch out for StarForce.

What I really don't understand is why include this in a free demo?
BlitzenZeus
Burnt Out Cynic
Premium Member
join:2000-01-13

2 edits

BlitzenZeus to sharpy merc

Premium Member

to sharpy merc
Worthless companies, and crap like this is why I don't buy pc games anymore. I might play a few console games, but from a security standpoint, they are going beyond their rights to put crap like this on your system. Sony already got in serious trouble with the cd copy protection, which basically was a rootkit which malware developers started piggy backing on. Also the fact was, the rootkit was written by people who researched malware!
sharpy merc
join:2003-01-28
England

sharpy merc

Member

As stated in my first post , SONY is behind this.

"SecuROM™ is a copy control system for content distributed via CD-ROM and DVD-ROM. It was developed and is maintained by Sony DADC Austria. Replication of SecuROM™-protected titles is available throughout the world."

»www.securom.com/default.asp

But unlike Starforce* there is no uninstaller for SecuROM .

* starforce unistaller here.

»www.onlinesecurity-on.co ··· tml?c=55

Anonymous88
Premium Member
join:2004-06-01
IA

Anonymous88 to sharpy merc

Premium Member

to sharpy merc
Atari has released a playable demo for Crashday, allowing you to take the imminent combat stunt action racing game by Moon Byte Studios for a spin. This demo contains a Wrecking Match event, a Stunt Show event, and multiplayer on LAN and Internet, but oddly enough it's restricted to only 50 demo launches.

Maybe that's why they install that crap?

dadkins
Can you do Blu?
MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA

dadkins to sharpy merc

MVM

to sharpy merc
Click for full size
Just to add, there are a couple of SecuROM registry entries... See pic!
BlitzenZeus
Burnt Out Cynic
Premium Member
join:2000-01-13

1 edit

BlitzenZeus to Anonymous88

Premium Member

to Anonymous88
When I used to play demos, they only had a few levels, and if you wanted to play the full game you had to buy it, that is how they worked, not by forcing people to install rootkits.

antdude
Matrix Ant
Premium Member
join:2001-03-25
US

1 recommendation

antdude to dadkins

Premium Member

to dadkins
said by dadkins:

*ALOT* of Demos install Copy Protection... doesn't make much sense to me. They are Free Demos!

Watch for StarForce on some of the Demos as well.
I wonder if game developers/companies are lazy to remove this DRM crap for demos? Or maybe they are testing them?

salzan
Experienced Optimist
Premium Member
join:2004-01-08
WA State

salzan to sharpy merc

Premium Member

to sharpy merc
Well, I'll keep my money and they can keep their game.

dadkins
Can you do Blu?
MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA

1 edit

dadkins to antdude

MVM

to antdude
Or, the BS is so embedded into the game, it won't play without it! Even the Demo!

Here's a kicker about the freakin Demos... they are Installer packages! I have three(3) copies on my HDD! WTF?

Anonymous88
Premium Member
join:2004-06-01
IA

Anonymous88 to sharpy merc

Premium Member

to sharpy merc
Well this one goes on my STAY AWAY list...

Why would anyone time limit a demo??

dadkins
Can you do Blu?
MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA

dadkins to sharpy merc

MVM

to sharpy merc
Click for full size
Hmmm... pesky little bastard. 2 entries came back...

Anonymous88
Premium Member
join:2004-06-01
IA

Anonymous88

Premium Member

And you just love tinkering with shit like that

dadkins
Can you do Blu?
MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA

2 edits

2 recommendations

dadkins

MVM

Oh yeah! Better me on this laptop so others can avoid it like the plague, than to have EVERYONE get it in their computers!

Not like I care or anything... I'll nuke this MF!

FYI, The main SecuROM key is still there... Ok, we can do this!
35375105 (banned)
join:2002-11-20
127.0.0.1

1 recommendation

35375105 (banned) to BlitzenZeus

Member

to BlitzenZeus
said by BlitzenZeus:

When I used to play demos, they only had a few levels, and if you wanted to play the full game you had to buy it, that is how they worked, not by forcing people to install rootkits.
Exactly.

The came companies today are full of horse shit. It's bad enough to limit demos to only having one level and limited options, but now they all can only be played for a limited amount of time and install crapware on your computer.

And now you know why I haven't paid for a PC game in over 3 years.

dadkins
Can you do Blu?
MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA

dadkins to sharpy merc

MVM

to sharpy merc
The main SecuROM registry refuses to delete, even in Safe Mode as Admin.

Eh, TI it into oblivion!

badcat2
join:2000-10-18
Glastonbury, CT

1 recommendation

badcat2

Member

said by dadkins:

Eh, TI it into oblivion!
Thank God for True Image, eh? I don't know how I managed without it!

Chris

dadkins
Can you do Blu?
MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA

1 edit

dadkins

MVM

...by reinstalling the OS and then patching & reinstalling all your applications. PASS!

8 minutes left...

EDIT: Makes one wonder what other Demos/Games have been installing this kind of BS on people's computers.

badcat2
join:2000-10-18
Glastonbury, CT

1 recommendation

badcat2

Member

I have to admit that I don't get this either, why the hell install this garbage on a DEMO! Now they're time limiting a demo? I guess I won't be trying any new games. Lets hope they "rootkit" themselves out of business!!!

Chris

DownLow
Nope...I Got Nothing
Premium Member
join:2001-04-25
Long Island

DownLow to dadkins

Premium Member

to dadkins
said by dadkins:

The main SecuROM registry refuses to delete, even in Safe Mode as Admin.

Eh, TI it into oblivion!
The steps outlined above to remove it worked fine for me.

dadkins
Can you do Blu?
MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA

dadkins

MVM

Open regedit, look for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\SecuROM

It's likely still there and cannot be deleted.
TI took me back to the 24th... it aint there!

Combat Chuck
Too Many Cannibals
Premium Member
join:2001-11-29
Verona, PA

1 recommendation

Combat Chuck to sharpy merc

Premium Member

to sharpy merc
Not that I agree with the copy protection but;

The reason they install the disk copy protection with many demos is because they don't want to give people an unencrypted or differently encrypted version of the executable which can be used to crack the copy protection on the full disk.
d_macafee
join:2006-01-30
Santa Barbara, CA

d_macafee to sharpy merc

Member

to sharpy merc
Is there a list maintained somewhere that lists which demos and programs installs these invasive programs? I keep on reading about these kinds of surreptituous installations and it worries me. Will programs like adaware or spybot detect them?

Damien
d_macafee@yahoo.co.uk

salzan
Experienced Optimist
Premium Member
join:2004-01-08
WA State

salzan to Combat Chuck

Premium Member

to Combat Chuck
said by Combat Chuck:

The reason they install the disk copy protection with many demos is because they don't want to give people an unencrypted or differently encrypted version of the executable which can be used to crack the copy protection on the full disk.
But within hours of the release someone will have cracked it anyway and posted it online (without the DRM)....

The people this screws up the most are the honest users who purchase the products.