Securom- Could someone please explain

Lately I've been reading a lot of people here talking about Securom. What exactly is it? From what I understand, it is a program that limits the number of times you can install one game. If I uninstall the game and reinstall it agian, does that count as 2 installations?

How do I know if the game I installed is packed with this Securom? I've just installed Dead Space a week ago, and can't remember a prompt or pop up about Securom...

It's kinda sad really. I choose to buy original games to support the gaming industry. Here in our country, it's actually hard to find original/legitimate copies of games and other software. Very few people are willing to pay $40 for a game when they can get the pirated version for less than $2.. And it's the ones who pay more who get the short end of the stick..

 

Securom is another word for Digital Rights Management, or DRM. Besides limiting the number of installations, Securom also prevents users from duplicating the disc. It also prevents the user from running game ISOs downloaded off BT onto virtual drives.

 

I see, so that's what DRM stands for.

How do I check if the game I have has this Securom? I've checked in amazon.com and people were complaining that Dead Space had this DRM. Are there any prompts during the installation process which would inform me?

My version is the Asia Pacific version, if that makes any difference

 

There's a list on wikipedia showing all games with SecuRom loaded, it's not that widespread but more and more games are shipping with it with big publishers like EA going full-on with its adoption.

 

It's being employed because PC gaming is being destoryed by pirates. Developers can make much more money producing games for consoles now than for the PC not because more play console games, but more people actually buy console games. PC games tend to just be downloaded.

There was a video on it somewhere on www.tomshardware.com but I can't find it

 

Most developers neglect putting any information on the game box about protection in place, but there is usually info about it either in the EULA or the game manual. Like somebody else said, the best way to check is to look online.

 

That's a little misleading.

DRM doesn't mean securom, it's just all digital rights management software.
Securom is a form of DRM, the way they want to use securom is completely up to the publisher of the game, they can choose to have the install limit, or just have securom in place to check if the disk is legit.

There are other types and companys that create DRM software for various things from games, to movies, and music. Securom is just known to be the most restrictive, and actually limits what legal buyers can do with thier legally owned software. Just think of it this way, if you buy a game with securom, you do NOT own it, you are only renting it, and it can be terminated at any time if they feel like it.

 

Yeah, true, I should have typed that Securom a form of DRM, not another word for it.

 

This is far from true actually. PC gaming still makes up the largest profit pool out of all gaming (PC & Console), largely thanks to subscription style gaming.

Non subscription style gaming netted over $911 million for PC games alone in 2007. $911 million.......

I think they are doing just fine....

(source = http://www.npd.com/press/releases/press_080131b.html)

I also have figures that stated at one point last year game sales were up over 40% from the previous year, but I don't have anything newer than April 07.

(source = http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=13654)

 

Has SecureRom even been effective in stopping people from piracy in the first place?

 

No - the pirates get a cracked version of the game without SecuRom and only the legitimate customers are affected:

http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/176/rlonlineactivationpiracga0.png

http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/1526/securom2gu8.png

 

DRM technologies prevent the average joe from just burning a copy for their friend. It doesn't really affect the more advanced user.

 

Yes, but even disk-checks did that. There is no need for online activations and limited installs to do that. Besides, I am not sure how many average joes are there who are incapable of downloading the game if they want to pirate it.

I am afraid that DDRM basically only affects us, since we purchase the games, while pirates get a superior DDRM free version of the game for free.

 

Oh now I understand.

Would have been great if DRM was able to stop piracy. But with the case now, only people who buy the original copies suffer

 

pretty much,

what a lot of people do is buy the game, download it too. install the downloaded/cracked one and save the real copy for online play and what not.

 

Securom, from my experience is pretty nasty. It acts as a rootkit and installs very deep in the system. Different service(s) are installed as well as garbage in the registry. I've had to use an app called RegDelNull from SysInternals to remove some of the garbage from the registry because you are unable to do it from regedit. If you couldn't tell, I'm not a big fan of it.

 

http://custompc.co.uk/blogs/cyberspice1/2008/09/02/the-trouble-with-securom/

is the best explanation i've found so far...

One of the big things is it installs itself with what is known as "Ring 0" access, which (I think) gives it driver-level access, and depending on what is installed, can cause security vulnerabilities and even cause physical damage to your DVD/CD Writers, (Starforge is the best example of DRM gone horribly wrong, it gave ring 0 privileges to any installed software and destroyed a lot of peoples' drives).

 

One way to tell whether your program has Securom is if it required online access after installation. The program wants access to connect to their servers and sometimes to download a .dll file.

Bioshock was one of the first to use Securom. They limit you to five installs which include any hardware changes you make. You can reformat and re-install on the same machine all you like, but if you change hardware, you burn an activation. Not a fan of this bs.

Bioshock does have an activation release program you can download. Run it on the machine you had Bioshock on and you release that one activation. It's a small consolation.

See if you're game offers a release.

.

 

I'm sorry, but those statements are just incorrect.

Not everything that requires net access to register is Securom, there are plenty of other DRMs that do that

And BioShock was not one of the first games to use securom, securom has been around for many years (Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri used Securom 4.x, and is over ten years old).

Bioshock uses Securom 7.x, which gives devs new protection options, including limited installs, and utilises the questionable installation methods that many (including myself) have been worried about.

Honestly, I don't know what to think about the whole issue now.

I've read some reports by respected IT Pros who say that securom is fine, some that say securom is tantamount to a commercially backed virus, some that say that it's fine as long as you don't have Nero/Roxio etc...

The issue a lot of people have is that newer versions of securom block legitimate programs including Windows Process Explorer because they are capable of analysing it while it runs and could help hackers to circumvent it entirely. It's necessary for securom to be a little more secure, but its something that third-party software is not supposed to have the power to do...

That said, I haven't had any problems that I've noticed yet, so I'm just thoroughly confused... Why can't there be a public, high-profile investigation on the subject of "invasive" DRMs?

 

That never worked .....

 

I don't get why people are all crazy about SecuROM. It's only needed because there are pirates. For example, would you not go on an airplane because of security checks? That would be unfair too, because you paid for something and you are being restricted.

 

If the security checks made me leave some of my baggage behind because theoretically I could use it to hurt someone, like beating someone to death with a hardcover book, then yes, I would take issue.

Securom often requires that you uninstall/disable all drive emulation software, as well as burning programs like Nero and Roxio, that you have paid for and have every right to run on your computer.

^^THAT is what the problem is, it's overstepping its rights and purpose.

 

No apologies are necessary because there simply isn't anything wrong with what I've written. What we are talking about is the present iteration of Securom, the scenario of limited installations and all the nefarious "what does it really do and is it ethical" discussions, the opening poster and yourself, et al, have been referring to. Isn't that the subject?

One way, not the only way, but one way to tell is whether the program requires a one time online access. Your anti-virus will alert you of it's attempt to make an outgoing connection. "Allow once" and it downloads "something" and activates. In fact, I believe the system holds a .dll hostage until the program connects with a Securom server as seems to be the case with Bioshock. There really should be no reason a legitimate customer should be kept from using a product because of their limited online access.

Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri.... ok, thanks for the history lesson. I guess we could have googled that if it was necessary.

Honestly, I've passed the point of paranoia some time ago. It's just a darn game.

The nascent point however, is what believe the OP was concerned with. That is, whether she has it and how many activations she's allowed.

Securom is really just a security contractor for whatever software company wants to hire. So, the number of so called "activations" depends entirely on what that software company has decided upon. As an example, Bioshock was limited to two. Customer furor widened it to five. Later, 2kGames decided to allow users to run additional software to release prior activations. But you know, Bioshock really isn't that good and software titles get old. Lipstick on a pig.

.

 

Guess EA are not confident in their games

 

I think its a big pain in the ***.

 

Securom is full of aids and fail. There should be a world wide petition/ poll for securom. Everybody hates it, nobody wants it, so it's a sure win, and EA will probably see the poll, not give a ****, and people will sue for treating them like pirates.

 

These companies only understand one thing, and that's their bottom line...

If you feel as strongly about doing away with securom or any other over the top DRM, just as I do, let these companies know - call, email, whatever, and make them aware that you will no longer buy any of their products and that furthermore, you will notify every one you know what their products contain.

 

This analogy is completely false. A better analogy would be if legitimate passengers had to undergo a full body cavity search ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_cavity_search) before being allowed to fly and go through arduous security checks each time before boarding an airplane. However, there was a completely unguarded passage to the airplane as well (and you wouldn't even need a ticket to use it), which anybody could use to get to and board the airplane, but it would be illegal to do so. Not wanting to violate the law, legitimate passangers would then go through all these unpleasant procedures, whereas terrorists and smugglers would not hesitate to use the unguarded passage.

 

How would you know?

 

DRM on games are not stop "hardcore" pirates. The kind that have a crack of the games up weeks before it hits selfs. Its more aimed at things like sharing a game with your friends, copying the game for your friends and re-selling games.

The argument that SecuROM does nothing to stop piracy is somewhat flawed because it does stop piracy, just not piracy in the assumed sense of the word.

 

Yes, but the older forms of DRM stop this just as effectively. Besides, I doubt this form of piracy is very common at all.

And this I believe is what DDRM is really designed to stop. Of course, re-selling games is NOT piracy. In fact, in some jurisdictions including DDRM to prevent resale of games might even be illegal, because of the "First Sale Doctrine" - I guess that's why game publishers keep on insisting that DDRM is necessary to prevent piracy - if they admitted that it is to prevent resale, they might well get sued in some countries. I am not a lawyer, though, so I don't really know this in detail.

 

Except that any high-school gamer knows about gamecopyworld, and therefore has the ability to crack the software. I'm tired of people saying it's only "hardcore pirates" who can bypass DRM - once the crack is made and uploaded to a popular site, anyone who's ever heard of a No-CD Crack can get ahold of it.

 

Hmm, just another question regaring EA games and this DRM.

How exactly do the 5 install limits work? Some people say that it is revokable, while others say it literally means 5 installs.

 

the best way to stop piracy is to shut down websites hosting the content. but then again there will always be piracy and they will find a way to distribute it....

if there is a problem(securom and etc), there are always people to get past that and that goes for anything

 

You can install the game on 5 different machines. In order to reclaim an install, you need to completely uninstall the program from one machine.

 

it probably leaves such a heavy mark in the registry that its impossible to find unless you are some kind of pro and know what to use and what to look for.

i highly doubt it leaves some kind of check or w.e on the cd itself

what if you reformat? will that work at cleaning out w.e keeps track of the game being installed?

 

How does this " reclaiming " work then? By simply uninstalling it? Or do I need to have to inform EA about it?

 

I know on the back of my FarCry 2 box, it states in a yellow rectangle that its protected by DRM, limited installs, etc, and other games such as Dead Space (Crysis/Warhead/Mass Effect) doesn't say squat about it on the box.

Correct me if I'm wrong (probably am), but I noticed that EA omits knowledge of DRM on their products until, well, you notice a suspicious looking folder on your hard drive entitled "$WINDOWS.~Q" that contains an awful lot of sub-folders leading up to a "SecuROM" folder that contains 2 awkward files that seem to be in a foreign language.

I find it a problem because I'm a neat freak with my hard drive and it won't allow me to delete the folder, let alone understand it. It wouldn't bug me as much if I had prior knowledge/ask for my permission to allow something I thought to be malicious on my computer.

(Sorry for ranting)

 

Not only just five installs, but every time you change your hardware counts as well.

 

Websites don't host the content. Most piracy is through peer2peer software, which means you download it from several other people's computers, and upload to several others at the same time.

Websites only host the data of where to go to connect to people, in .torrent files. Several big companies have tried to threaten one website into removing pirated content: thepiratebay.org.

Since the guy who runs this website isnt actually hosting anything, he appears to be untouchable.

Therefore, shutting down the websites is impossible, piracy continues as it did before SecuROM. The only thing DRM should ever do is prevent casual gamers from copying, like simple CD Keys and disc-checks did so well.