|
|
Rank: Member
Groups: {pDs} Member, Registered User
Joined: 7/25/2008
Posts: 22
Points: 6
Location: Somerset, UK
|
EA secretly released a DRM (Digital Right Management) program called SecuROM with the PC version of Spore. SecuROM is a worm and installs itself into your system Kernel and is impossible (if not, very, very difficult) to remove. This software is designed to stop piracy for games and applications, as it runs CONSTANTLY in the background, checking that everything you run is legit. It even gives false readings, as one reviewer of Far Cry 2 stated; it detected his (purchased) copy of FRAPS as pirated, and he had to reinstall it. For more DRM related complaints, see this page: http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/product/B0010DX5L2/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_img/276-7700849-2070548?_encoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1The funny thing is, DRM hardly works. In protest to this new DRM system, Spore is now the most pirated game ever: http://torrentfreak.com/spore-most-pirated-game-ever-thanks-to-drm-080913/ Far Cry 2 is also being released with this SPYWARE (as some are calling it). The point is, what right do UbiSoft & EA have for installing this SPYWARE (there, i used it too) on my computer? I only have the odd cracked application because i cant afford the retail price of thousands of pounds. If playing Far Cry 2 is going to cost me £35, thats fine. If its going to cost me £35 and several software packages i've been using for years for making films and training myself for my career, then NO. i will not buy Far Cry 2. I'll support the gaming community and download it. If anything is going to kill PC games, it wont be piracy, it'll be DRM.Here's the link for EA being sued: http://www.courthousenews.com/2008/09/23/Spore.pdfHooray for the right to protest! Edit: sorry for the copy-paste links, for some reason the hyperlink feature wouldnt work :(
|
|
|
Rank: Fuckstick
Groups: {pDs} Member, Registered User
Joined: 12/20/2007
Posts: 681
Points: 6
Location: San Antonio, TX
|
You know that none of that justifies stealing the software, right? If you do not like it, go without, not steal it then complain about it. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
|
|
|
Rank: Member
Groups: {pDs} Member, Registered User
Joined: 7/25/2008
Posts: 22
Points: 6
Location: Somerset, UK
|
nah, it's not that. I would very happily pay much more than £35 for Far Cry 2, but not if it means infecting my PC with SecuROM.
|
|
|
Rank: Fuckstick
Groups: {pDs} Member, Registered User, Server Admin
Joined: 5/10/2006
Posts: 1,287
Points: 348
Location: United Kingdom
|
Oopsie wrote:You know that none of that justifies stealing the software, right? If you do not like it, go without, not steal it then complain about it.
Such harsh words, Oopsie.
EA have penalized and insulted their loyal customers beacause the only people inconvenienced by the DRM are the people who actually buy the game, EA deserve what they get.
EA may have lost revenue because of this, but now THEIR game is in the hands of thousands of new customers who would likely be willngi to buy Spore 2 if EA learn from their mistakes.
Quote:The current market champions in the software industry have a dirty little secret. They depend on a degree of unauthorized software copying as part of their sales cycle.
A typical buying cycle for a complex application like PhotoShop works like this: Someone gets a copy of the software from a friend or co-worker, or on the Internet. They try it, become used to it, become dependent on it, and then buy it, thus "legitimizing" the copy they already have.
My guess is that of PhotoShop users, fewer than 5% have purchased a personal copy of the software. I've never actually seen a copy purchased by an individual, but somebody somewhere must have bought one sometime. If 5% of users learned PhotoShop using their own purchased copy of the software, where did the other 95% learn? Some at school, some at previous jobs, some at courses, and some on office machines after work, but the majority learned at home, on their own computers, with "borrowed" or downloaded software.
  Quote:Posting related image due to my inability to formulate an intelligent response. BlooDz wrote:i cant type good im stupid
|
|
|
Rank: Taco Technician
Groups: Registered User, {pDs} Member
Joined: 5/9/2006
Posts: 3,948
Points: 3,636
Location: Hi-Five City
|
BTW, does anyone have a good link on how to remove SecuROM? I bought spore retail and I'd like to remove it, just in case..
|
|
|
Rank: Fuckstick
Groups: {pDs} Member, Registered User, Server Admin
Joined: 5/10/2006
Posts: 1,287
Points: 348
Location: United Kingdom
|
Lead Salad wrote:BTW, does anyone have a good link on how to remove SecuROM? I bought spore retail and I'd like to remove it, just in case..
Download and install Unlocker
Download TrashReg
Now go to C:\Documents and Settings\****\Application Data
Where C: is the Root Directory and **** is your documents.
Note: You will have to enable show hidden files and folders (tools/folder options/view/show hidden files and folders)to see the Application Data folder.
In the Application Data folder find and right click the SecuROM folder and select Unlocker,select delete in the drop down menu and press ok.
Next run TrashReg,select File and Find Keys with NULL embedded names and press ok.
Right click and delete the entries it finds(yes that caution! never delete crap)
Now go to start/run and type regedit.
Select Edit and Find and type SecuROM.
In the list of entries on the left you will see SecuROM,right click and delete it. Quote:Posting related image due to my inability to formulate an intelligent response. BlooDz wrote:i cant type good im stupid
|
|
|
Rank: Fecal Impaction For the Win!
Groups: {pDs} Member, Registered User, Server Admin
Joined: 1/1/2008
Posts: 1,647
Points: 2,558
Location: Bainbridge Island, WA
|
Would SecuROM also apply to games purchased through Steam or any other delivery system (as there is no disc to check)? ( steam and other systems are basically outmoding brick-and-mortar shops for the PC venue which, imo, rocks ) Safety + Peace
|
|
|
Rank: Fuckstick
Groups: {pDs} Member, Registered User, Server Admin
Joined: 5/10/2006
Posts: 1,287
Points: 348
Location: United Kingdom
|
TripleBam wrote:Would SecuROM also apply to games purchased through Steam or any other delivery system (as there is no disc to check)?
( steam and other systems are basically outmoding brick-and-mortar shops for the PC venue which, imo, rocks )
Firstly Steam is uninstallable and it does not have virus-like activity, and it can be installed on multipule computers ( but only one Steam ID can be used at once, online), unlike SecuROM theres no limit to the amount of times you can install a game and you have to buy it again. But Steam is a form of DRM it is more effective but less intrusive and restrictive than SecuROM. Quote:Posting related image due to my inability to formulate an intelligent response. BlooDz wrote:i cant type good im stupid
|
|
|
Rank: Penguin Editor in Chief
Groups: Newsie, {pDs} Member
Joined: 6/15/2006
Posts: 594
Points: 486
Location: Scotland, Geographical Penguin Shit
|
Weirdly enough my copy of Spore doesn't have any DRM at all, it just had a very very irritating red lock on it that the cashier had to open but since nobody told me I had to extract the CD out of the box with the same precision as a Mayan sacrifice. "Videogames are bad for you? That's what they said about rock 'n' roll." - Shigeru Miyamoto  Hail Slither, The Eternal Champion!
|
|
|
Rank: Administration
Groups: {pDs} Member, Registered User, Server Admin, Administration
Joined: 3/27/2008
Posts: 1,793
Points: 3,380
Location: Arizona
|
Oopsie wrote:You know that none of that justifies stealing the software, right? If you do not like it, go without, not steal it then complain about it. Theft: the act of stealing; the wrongful taking and carrying away of the personal goods or property of another; larceny. When you pirate software you're not taking anything away from anybody. You're copying what they have and taking the copy. The original owner retains possession. That's one angle for it, anyhow. Another angle is the financial one: By pirating something you're denying the creators the money for the goods they created. The flaw to that is the assumption that you'd ever pay for it. If you pirate a piece of software you'd never have any intention of paying for otherwise, then the creator isn't losing anything.
|
|
|
Rank: Administration
Groups: Administration, Newsie, Registered User, Server Admin
Joined: 11/6/2007
Posts: 987
Points: 783
|
Rikaelus wrote:Theft: the act of stealing; the wrongful taking and carrying away of the personal goods or property of another; larceny.
When you pirate software you're not taking anything away from anybody. You're copying what they have and taking the copy. The original owner retains possession.
That's one angle for it, anyhow.
Another angle is the financial one: By pirating something you're denying the creators the money for the goods they created. The flaw to that is the assumption that you'd ever pay for it. If you pirate a piece of software you'd never have any intention of paying for otherwise, then the creator isn't losing anything. Blah, blah, civil infraction versus criminal -- both are against the law and the key difference is theft can get you through in jail, while the former is usually a monetary penalty (though that may be changing). Btw I'm not disagreeing with you, but the "Copyright violation != stealing" is usually a canard brought out by people that like to justify doing it (not that I'm saying you do). Oopsie wrote:You know that none of that justifies stealing the software, right? If you do not like it, go without, not steal it then complain about it. Ironic, isn't it, that the people who'd just pirate the game and never buy it don't have to worry about all this SecuROM crap? Being upset about draconian DRM is purely the realm of the law-abiding customer, my dear sir. HolyJaw wrote:In the end, everything Endyss said.
|
|
|
Rank: Administration
Groups: {pDs} Member, Registered User, Server Admin, Administration
Joined: 3/27/2008
Posts: 1,793
Points: 3,380
Location: Arizona
|
endyss wrote:Rikaelus wrote:Theft: the act of stealing; the wrongful taking and carrying away of the personal goods or property of another; larceny.
When you pirate software you're not taking anything away from anybody. You're copying what they have and taking the copy. The original owner retains possession.
That's one angle for it, anyhow.
Another angle is the financial one: By pirating something you're denying the creators the money for the goods they created. The flaw to that is the assumption that you'd ever pay for it. If you pirate a piece of software you'd never have any intention of paying for otherwise, then the creator isn't losing anything. Blah, blah, civil infraction versus criminal -- both are against the law and the key difference is theft can get you through in jail, while the former is usually a monetary penalty (though that may be changing). Btw I'm not disagreeing with you, but the "Copyright violation != stealing" is usually a canard brought out by people that like to justify doing it (not that I'm saying you do). Oopsie wrote:You know that none of that justifies stealing the software, right? If you do not like it, go without, not steal it then complain about it. Ironic, isn't it, that the people who'd just pirate the game and never buy it don't have to worry about all this SecuROM crap? Being upset about draconian DRM is purely the realm of the law-abiding customer, my dear sir. I love that bit. They include DRM to protect against piracy and instead fuel peoples' desire to turn to piracy to acquire the software with the DRM stripped out. EA was seriously stupid not just in the principle of alienating people, but in actually increasing the demand for pirated versions! But to the former point, since I don't feel like doing things in order... In principle I disagree with copyrights and patents. Call me socialist, but they're simply guaranteeing money for the creator while at the same time going a long way to preventing others from furthering the material to something greater. Not to mention they're the basis of thousands upon thousands of lawsuits which, again, simply cut off peoples' ability to advance technologies and ideas. I'd be much more in favor of simple laws that only require that credit be given to those who shoulder's you stand upon. That takes care of the vanity while not being practically selfish.
|
|
|
Rank: Administration
Groups: Administration, Newsie, Registered User, Server Admin
Joined: 11/6/2007
Posts: 987
Points: 783
|
One-Time Bump to push down outdated console topics. HolyJaw wrote:In the end, everything Endyss said.
|
|
|
| Users browsing this topic |
|
Guest
|