Games Dead Space - Go buy it

[kirennia]

Was really looking forward to this but am having to assume there is a rootkit and various unremovable DRM's involved until I hear otherwise.

Anyone have it installed mind checking if they're there? Getting pissed off with the new versions of securom essentially installing viruses on my machine or anyonelses and nothing being done about it. Last I heard it was illegal but still it happens

XP:

C:\Documents and Settings\"username"\Application Data\SecuROM\UserData

also:

start->run->HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Securom

or:

c:/windows/system32/cmdlineExt.dll

Farcry2 was the most recent of them; sending personal information everytime you load up the game isn't the way to go. Don't care what's being sent, it's the principle of the thing. I don't like the fact that they can potentially take over your computer using these viruses and there's very little you can do about it. Oh and note that you wont get any notification it's being installed on your machine unless you have zonealarm so I've been led to beleive when it comes up and tells you it's installing a trojan.

Maybe I'm just getting bitter in my old age but doesn't this worry anyonelse?

 

[Chronictank]

i just used a crack as soon as i installed it

 

[aika]

i just pirate all DRM games

 

[Chronictank]

i just pirate all DRM games

if you dont buy the good ones, they wont see a increase in sales and as such they will keep farming out bs

 

[Huntingtons]

might buy the game possibly at one point.

 

[kirennia]

i just used a crack as soon as i installed it

i just pirate all DRM games

Was it the razor release? If so, you've still got the rootkit installed... in fact, most pirates these days are getting lazy and simply add a fixed .exe but keep all the rest of the crap there so it'll still install.

If anything, pirating them is worse as the rootkit is still there but now, if it's far cry 2 you're talking about, you'll have sent data to them letting them know you've pirated it. They can't as of yet act on it but I'm still wondering when these internet piracy laws are going to be relaxed... Also, try unplugging yourself from the internet and trying to play it. If I recall, far cry 2 requires you be on the net at playtime and will send data throughout...

If you still don't have these files installed, let me know out of curiousitys sake; I personally wont be touching any of them with a barge pole still, bought or not bought.

if you dont buy the good ones, they wont see a increase in sales and as such they will keep farming out bs

Totally agree. If it's something truly unique, that company deserves the money you spend on the game.

 

[aika]

kirennia, fallout3 doesnt have DRM btw or securom afaik
well I have a firewall, so I doubt farcry2 attempted to connect - it would've been blocked. Even if it is I have a dynamic ip and there're no anti-piracy laws in Israel, so they can hf sueing me ;>

 

[kirennia]

Sorry, meant internet privacy laws...

 

[kirennia]

kirennia, fallout3 doesnt have DRM btw or securom afaik
well I have a firewall, so I doubt farcry2 attempted to connect - it would've been blocked. Even if it is I have a dynamic ip and there're no anti-piracy laws in Israel, so they can hf sueing me ;>

Said far cry 2 tries to connect, not fallout 3 And DRM is in dead space/far cry2, not sure about fallout. It's in shed loads of other games, GRID, spore, pretty much anything released recently by sony or EA as well. Just have a look, if I'm wrong, fair enough but I managed to find 5 securom registry keys on my computer and I treat my computer more securely then most...

That's the point though, your firewall wont pick it up, nor your anti-virus unless you have one of the few that do pick them up like zonealarm. That's the annoying/worrying bit...

 

[aika]

Said far cry 2 tries to connect, not fallout 3 And DRM is in dead space/far cry2, not sure about fallout. It's in shed loads of other games, GRID, spore, pretty much anything released recently by sony or EA as well. Just have a look, if I'm wrong, fair enough but I managed to find 5 securom registry keys on my computer and I treat my computer more securely then most...

That's the point though, your firewall wont pick it up, nor your anti-virus unless you have one of the few that do pick them up like zonealarm. That's the annoying/worrying bit...

its a router firewall, outgoing traffic will get blocked unless it uses email or http ports (afaik -I'm not a sysadmin )

 

[kirennia]

To clarify the point, quite a few others have found it and it's starting to spread, that's why I'm letting FH know.

Amazon.co.uk: Customer Reviews: Dead Space (PC)

Amazon.co.uk: Customer Reviews: Far Cry 2 (PC)

Amazon.co.uk: Customer Reviews: Spore (Mac/PC DVD)

Note the number of 1 star reviews from people who have found it. Also note that securom has an inherant fault whereby over time of it being on your machine, it slows down your cd drive very slowly until eventually it's completely unusable and you have to bin it. It is of course extremely difficult to pin point it to a software error and thus sueing them is difficult but it's already started to happen. I'll let you try and find the links, my connection is slow as a wet dog... with only 3 legs... 2 of which are wooden... at the moment.

 

[kirennia]

its a router firewall, outgoing traffic will get blocked unless it uses email or http ports (afaik -I'm not a sysadmin )

I've got a firewall, anti-virus software and adaware on my computer as well as a router firewall using MAC address filtering to stop people getting in as well so I'm quite secure. It still wont stop this though.

You had a look in regedit yet? Even better, try and delete the entry if you have them then you'll start to see the problem. Some wont even let you see what's inside them.

My housemate installed far cry 2 on his vista partition and it even creeped its way onto the XP partition as well... you can't tell me that isn't a low blow.

 

[old.Tohtori]

GAme installation slows down cd-drive and eventually trashes it?

Are we nearing some SUPER hype conspiracy propaganda against EA here? :lol:

And by the by, nothing here.

 

[Huntingtons]

no, i wouldnt believe so. DRM is the devils vile anus-salvia. Probably invented by CIA or SS to spy on everybody.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Oh no wonder i didn't find anything as i've not pirated anything :lol:

 

[kirennia]

If you can't even be bothered to read up on it, don't bother commenting. All I'm trying to do is make some users of FH aware of the underhand techniques now in play by some companies.

Tohtori, your comment makes me think you don't beleive what is essentially a virus can over time destroy hardware components. Are you serious? I thought being someone in the games industry you'd at least of come across this once.

If you want to carry on ignoring something which is probably on your system already and can easily be found out using google or even regedit which is already built into your machine, linking to lawsuits already taking place or just looking at the reviews of a large amount of other people on the subject then instead, here's a picture of a kitten.

 

[kirennia]

Oh no wonder i didn't find anything as i've not pirated anything :lol:

Have you installed far cry2/spore/dead space? Legit or non-legit, doesn't matter. These are the only ones I've seen first hand...

 

[aika]

there's a guide how to remove it :

How to remove Securom malware after uninstalling the Bioshock demo

btw securom appears in bioshock, mass effect ,sims 2 latest expansions, sacred 2 ,far cry2 ,dead space and ofc spore, might be some more games I cant remember atm

 

[old.Tohtori]

A: I doubt cd destroying viruses are put in by game companies. Point, get it.

B: Checked, and got nothing on my computer.

C: Here's a picture for you:

If you pirate games, sure, there's a chance you'll f*ck up your computer.

And yes, spore is happily in my computer doing sh*t all.

And jsut to add, this isn't new, msot game have some form of "virus" in them. Punkbusters etc. Adapt or don't play.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Furthermore, most people complaining about stuff like that are the similar people who don't read the EULA in MMOs and think they have any other right then to log into a server.

 

[kirennia]

A: I doubt cd destroying viruses are put in by game companies. Point, get it.

B: Checked, and got nothing on my computer.

If you pirate games, sure, there's a chance you'll f*ck up your computer.

And yes, spore is happily in my computer doing sh*t all.

And jsut to add, this isn't new, msot game have some form of "virus" in them. Punkbusters etc. Adapt or don't play.

A, CD DRIVE DESTROYING & SECUROM:

Amazon.com: Customer Discussions: EA Got what it deserves (LAWSUIT!)

As I said, it's a virus and viruses can do seemingly magical things to hardware. Different companies have already been pulled up on this in the form of lawsuits and there are plenty of examples to show this, I just found this one quickly looking about... not going to spend all night looking for things which others can find if they're interested in doing their own research (I'm always an advocate of doing your own research, don't take my word for it but if you're interested in it, at least look it up before knocking the point down...).

Note it's also not generally the gaming portion of gaming companies which allow this sort of thing. It's the big wigs who decide to try and make it as secure as possible without properly realising what it's doing. Or maybe they do know, I have no idea why they'd advocate putting it on but it's already in several games which are still being hacked so it's obviously not the right way about it.


B: See below... Am glad you have nothing on your computer, the less people that do, the better. Still doesn't detract from the issues that I've been seeing. Spore limiting installs through a DRM... this is widely known and can be found with the legit copy all over the net. I just don't know where the tricksy bastard is hiding in mine or anyonelses computer.

Far cry 2 DOES have a rootkit linked, a coursemate installed Far Cry 2 the day it came out with a LEGIT copy and lo and behold, on went securom which cannot be removed. AVG picked up the trojan at the end of the install and for reasons I still can't quite fathom, he let the game install on his computer knowing it was there but trusting the manufacturers presuming it was the same as some other games which come with things that mask themselves as trojans but instead are just silly things like alternate ways to use the keyboard in the game (sorry, long sentence...cba to change it )... which is quite important

Dead space comes with a similar form of securom as do many others which I haven't seen...aikas list seems about right after a little bit more digging following your post.

SPORE:
Digg - Spore to remove SecuROM!

It seems that the securom component was removed before shipping so only the DRM in the form of reuseability is still present which I made the assumption of it being a securom install on your computer but it wasn't... it's another type of DRM which people will no doubt of heard about limiting the amount of uses of the CD. It does however still have a rootkit linked with it. The reason I made the assumption was that my laptop has been left pretty much ocmpletely clean with SPORE being one of the only new games installed on it leading me to beleive, with all the DRM issues about with spore, it was that which installed it. I unfortunately can't see what caused it because the regedit keys are encrypted and I can't be bothered to figure it out, I'm just going to wipe and reinstall vista (great fun... ).


I made a mistake with SPORE but the point still stands. To help try and get back on track, could anyonelse that currently has Far Cry 2 specifically on their machine check for the registry key just to reitterate the point?

Start->Run->HKEY_CURRENT_USER->Software->SecuROM

If it's there, you'll probably find the other two parts of it as well.

Furthermore, most people complaining about stuff like that are the similar people who don't read the EULA in MMOs and think they have any other right then to log into a server.

No idea where you're drawing this comparison. I complain about it because it doesn't say anything on the box and has a detrimental effect on the system. It isn't mentioned in the EULA (if you have Far Cry 2, check it...).

There is zero warning on this. There is a big difference between buying a cup of coffee and complaining that it's hot and you've burnt yourself then buying a cup of coffee, drinking it and then getting influenza from it...

 

[Chronictank]

i have my firewall blocking any connect attempts by deadspace so the hack must be doing something

 

[TheGremlin]

A recipe for disaster

You will need:
1 PC
1 PC game with secuROM DRM/Rootkit
1 half ared firewall and antivirus (or the ignorance to ignore any warning messages)

I recently (as in yesterday) reformatted my entire PC and included an XP and vista partition. I went and bought a LEGIT copy of FarCry2...

On installing the game, at the very end of the installation process AVG popped up with a trojan warning, zonalarm went crazy (full metal jacket crazy!)

Knowing the game came with a rootkit and DRM and being stupid enough and curious enough to see what it would do I finished off the install but quarantined the trojan and denied anything zonelabs firewall threw at me from the game install.

With the game on the system I logged the time of install at 2.05am, go into Windows/system32/ and order by date modified... SHOCK HORROR! Low and behold was CmdRunExt.dll tagged as a secuROM file added to the windows directory. This was removed so the .dll couldn't do its thang at runtime and placed somewhere else as a copy to view at my discretion.

Looking in the RegEdit under"HKEY_CURRENT_USER -> SOFTWARE" lies the secuROM entry created by the game and the Reg Key linked to the install.

Heres the thing that really pissed me off...
It wasnt in the Vista registry. I had installed the game in Vista and it appeared on the XP Regisrty entry! At the time XP was inactive on the D:\ partition, but there it was lying in the XP OS?!? WHen in XP it is C:\ and vista is D:\ on the logical partition of the same drive, when Vista is running it is vice versa.

In XP file C:\Documents and settings\<current user>\Local settings\Application data\... Hidden I find "secuROM" folder entires.

why when doing a vista installation it integrates itself onto an inactive OS I have no idea but its criminal to say the least.

Inside this folder are 4 files (Well your lead to believe its 4 files). Even with hidden files and olders "ON" you still cant see them (theres another 2 or 3 in there). I could'nt give you the names of these as the system is now reformatted today (I really should have noted them down but i'm sure you can find out from the bioshock demo DRM remove tutorial).

To make this even more irritating, of course you canot delete them or the reg key from inside XP or Vista when the XP OS is not active...

So... what to do? I hear you say? Oh easy, boot in safe mode and log in as Administrator with console and delete the folder and keys while theyre inactive. So... in safe mode Admin log in, in the console type C:\ "cd documents and settings"
C:\documents and settings "cd <current user>... etc and work your way to Application data.

Type "rmdir secuROM" hit enter and... FAIL! ACCESS DENIED!

Now why is it that a program I install on Vista places itself in both OS at the same time, creates Reg Keys for an OS im not even running and denies access to delete it in administrator safe mode?

Answer? Those bastards at secuROM dont want their software removed and will do everything in their power short of a format to stop you.

If you go into the secuROM folder mind theres a .txt file for the software listing the guys that made it and their email addresses!

Id moan about it some more but I'm currently licking stamps and adding the nails to my block of C4

 

[TheGremlin]

And FYI the hacked versions still have the secuROM and DRM and Rootkits.

Even non legit versions still install it. Just check the Reg!

SafeDisc is one of these along with secuROM. It will check discs for authenticity. If it fails it will spin the drive at a lower speed to check again. It will keep doing this until it can go into minimum speed read. It will take it so low some drive cannot support the requested speed and physically start to degrade. Permanently running at lower speeds until the physically break. Check Silent Hunter III DRM.

These things can physically destroy hardware and im not a happy bunny about it

 

[old.Tohtori]

SafeDisc is one of these along with secuROM. It will check discs for authenticity.

These things can physically destroy hardware and im not a happy bunny about it

So, if your disc is legit, no problem.

No idea where you're drawing this comparison. I complain about it because it doesn't say anything on the box and has a detrimental effect on the system. It isn't mentioned in the EULA (if you have Far Cry 2, check it...).

There is zero warning on this. There is a big difference between buying a cup of coffee and complaining that it's hot and you've burnt yourself then buying a cup of coffee, drinking it and then getting influenza from it...

I'm drawing it from "whining about stuff that's pointless". If a legit game destroys your computer, fine, complain.

If you don't like EA stuff on your computer, fine, don't play them.

But stop the bloody complaining. It's like someone drinking coffee and whining "i don't like coffee!"

 

[aika]

It will destroy your optical drive slowly even if the disc if legit - in fact it doesnt matter at all if its legit or not.
I think you're missing the entire point.

 

[old.Tohtori]

It will destroy your optical drive slowly even if the disc if legit - in fact it doesnt matter at all if its legit or not.
I think you're missing the entire point.

I'm not, i just think it's a bit overkill and unnecessary whining.

Even if it killed my CD drive, oh noes, it costs 10 big dollar to get a new one :lol:

 

[Jugvayne]

Even if it killed my CD drive, oh noes, it costs 10 big dollar to get a new one :lol:

Dude, you have to be kidding, how much it costs is irrelevant, it's the fact that a legit game that you BUY as a product is DESTROYING PC hardware....personally if I buy anything and take it home, I don't expect it to start bouncing around and destroying some of my other posessions...

 

[old.Tohtori]

Dude, you have to be kidding, how much it costs is irrelevant, it's the fact that a legit game that you BUY as a product is DESTROYING PC hardware....personally if I buy anything and take it home, I don't expect it to start bouncing around and destroying some of my other posessions...

If it does, i'll come and say it did.

Until then, i don't feel like adding to paranoia, conspiracy theories etc.

It's not like this is something new, or new from the EA hating crowd.

If you don't like it, don't buy it, play peggle.

And no, cost is all that matters. If i bought a steak, and it ate a carrot in my fridge, i wouldn't go run amock in the store about a carrot.

And before someone says "it's the principle of things", principle means f*ck all, especially since this is an anti-pirate measure, and most of the people complaining about this, do some form of piracy.

No piracy, no needed measures, so bed, made, sleep.

 

[TheGremlin]

Still think your missing the point...

Tohtori,

It is true what you say about the piracy issue, if there wasnt any there would be no need for these kind of measures but the point of the matter is the measure doesnt work. The games are pirated if this software is there or not and the fact a legit game does this kind of thing just gives people more of an excuse to go down the piracy route! See where im going with this?

If something is legit or not and installs things like rootkits on the system and is so deeply imbedded in the core of the system you cant remove it for love nor money without wasting hours if not days I think people would prefer not to spend the money then be out £40 aswell for a peice of software.

I wouldnt say it was whining, I'd say it was a valid point that the fat cats at the head of these companies use these tried tested and failed measures of protection and its treating legitimate customers like criminals. (The old shoot first ask questions later philosophy).

If I go buy a legit copy of a game and it forces me to reformat my entire pc to remove some software it installed I think i have a right to complain about it to be perfectly honest.

The copies of games on your machine btw... what gives a company the right to put this stuff on your system when there is no mention of it whatsoever on the box, in the eula, installation guide or anywhere apart from when you start digging around in hiddien files and folders and have AV programs telling you your installing trojans?

Fair enough if you want to get your point across but i think your missing it. People have a right to whine about this kind of thing until they pull the plug on it... I feel sorry for the coders and all those people who worked hard on producing great software to se all their hard earned efforts shot down because someone else decided to bundle in this kind of crap as a failed attempt of anit-piracy which effects the legit customers.

It just gives people more of an excuse to condone piracy not prevent it and it looses these companies alot of money!

Look at Oblivion - no protection of any sort! no cd key, no checks, no cd required and you can back it up to a blank and use that instead. There was no need for people to crack it because there was no protection on it and it was one of the biggest selling games at that time!

Thats the way to do it, dont give them an excuse to hack it if theres nothing to hack and people will go out and buy it! These DRMs just stop people spending their money and add fuel to the piracy fire.

No piracy no measures? I thik you mean no measures no piracy!