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Starforce Reboots Your PC Without Warning. Don't Like It? You're Mafioso.

Are you still not convinced that you shouldn't buy games that use Starforce? From Gadget Life:

Now, Futuremark has uncovered a very dangerous anti-piracy system Starforce is now using. This copy protection system installs a driver that runs at the highest level of access on the system, which gives it low level access to the PCs hardware and any drivers and processes. This driver runs regardless of whether the game runs; keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity such as attempting to copy a protected disc. If something suspicious is detected, it forces the PC to make an immediate reboot, regardless of any other applications running and whether or not the user has any unsaved work.

Gee, why would anyone not want to purchase a product that relied upon Starforce for its DRM? According to a Starforce PR spokesman, it is because they just must be members of the Russian mafia:

StarForce Technologies, for its part, often takes extreme offense to negative comments... ...When questioned, Zhidkov [SF's PR manager] told us, "The issue on StarForce is obviously sponsored by our competitors or organized crime groups that run CD/DVD piracy [operations]. We are now in close coopreration with [US and Russian officials] investigating the matter and trying to find out who stands behind the boycott campaign.

That quote was obtained from the latest issue of Computer Gaming World.

Starforce DRM Exposed And It's Not Pretty [Gadget Life]

10:40 AM on Tue Mar 21 2006
By brownlee
1,140 views
5 comments

Comments

  • sigh oh silly starforce.

  • Wait, how did I end up in the Russian mafia? That was suspiciously easy. Tell Natasha to bring me my vodka! Its time to extort some protection money from shopkeepers!

  • Maybe I should steal all my future games to avoid the DRM.

  • After the Sony DRM debacle of 2005, you would think that StarForce Technologies would learn not to generate even more bad publicity for themselves when their company is already widely reviled for their DRM software. Apparently not, since their PR manager makes them look about as disgusting, as arrogant, and as downright stupid as Jack Thompson. Oh, and I love the fact that he says that his company will have a site investigated for pointing out why people shouldn't buy games that use software that invades consumers' PCs and causes them to crash. Hey, here's an idea! Maybe the individuals behind the supposed "organized crime groups" don't like your obviously shady business practices and are going to continue to spread the word no matter what you do! When this is all said and done, I hope all game publishers learn from this -- to not screw over their potential customers by associating with companies that screw over everyone else in the long run.

  • I have another idea: how about not charging a freaking arm and a leg for the software to begin with? They want to get rid of piracy? How about getting rid of the purpose of piracy?

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