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1Up has confirmed that Ubisoft dropped malware copyright company Starforce like a bad habit. While Ubi was willing to admit they dumped Starforce, again, like a bad habit, they weren't really willing to say why. More »
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In a fitting comeuppance for the nexus of evil known as Starforce, Ubisoft has wiped Heroes of Might and Magic V free of the malware and won't use it in future copy protection. The bad, bad, bad anti-piracy system is pimped by Russian gangsters, so unscrupulous that they offer nay-sayers free knuckle sandwiches in some Moscow warehouse. A $5 mil class action lawsuit was brought against Ubi for using loathsome Starforce DRM in their games back in 2004 and continued to be publicly berated for using it. The company took a hint. Do we hate Starforce? Yes, and now so does Ubisoft. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=166898&view=rss&microfeed=true Ubisoft will be releasing an extra-special bonus happy fun time Limited Edition of Heroes of Might and Magic V along with the plain old regular boring hateful version. The spectacular wonderful amazing edition will include the two previous versions of the game, extra maps, a soundtrack, and the same invasive StarForce malware as the regular edition. But hey, you can enjoy the soundtrack while trying to scrub StarForce from your rig. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=165677&view=rss&microfeed=true Hate Starforce? Want to sue them? Well, Christopher Spence has already done it on your behalf. Christopher has filed a $5M class action lawsuit against Ubisoft for using Starforce DRM in their games, and if he wins, you'll be entitled to collect if you've ever had your system infected by Starforce. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=164303&view=rss&microfeed=true More Starforce wackiness! After warezing critics' games and accusing others of being affiliated with the Russian mafia, what's next for gaming's most beloved Russian son? How will they entertain us today? More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=163115&view=rss&microfeed=true If you think you may have already installed Starforce onto your gaming PC, what do you do? Well, if you're a Russian mafioso like most Starforce detractors you get one of your gangster lackeys to take the rig out to the woods and shoot it. If by some chance you're not, the Boycott Starforce site has a list of games that incorporate the copy protection software, and instructions for removing it. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=162299&view=rss&microfeed=true Are you still not convinced that you shouldn't buy games that use Starforce? From Gadget Life: More »
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Starforce is sleazy, no doubt. Their first transgression was programming and marketing a highly-invasive form of copy protection to begin with. Then they began threatening their critics with frivolous lawsuits. And as icing on the cake, they decided to post torrent links to Galactic Civilization 2 on their website in response to Stardock's criticism of copy-protection in general. It's enough to make a gamer want to break a Starforce-infected cd in half and jab the shards through the vitreous humor of Starforce CEO's eyeballs. More »
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ArsTechnica has a column up with the intriguing title "Do copy protection firms encourage piracy?" Then, rather interestingly, they don't bother asking or answering that question at all. More »
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We recently got this thoughtful email from Kotakuite David S. about a recent Customer Service exchange he had with computer gaming's own personal Beelzebub, Starforce. More »
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The kids at Stardock Systems, creators of the Galactic Civ series, posted a refreshing editorial of sorts on their site yesterday. Citing a sensationalizing Digg headline ("Company WANTS its game pirated!") the Stardock folk talk about thei particular anti-piracy solution: good games with good service. That's nuts! More »
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NextGen's Greg Vederman has an overview of copy protection currently being used in PC games, including which company we can all hold responsible in our effigy burnings and a list of what game developers use it, for when the revolution is ignited. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=159684&view=rss&microfeed=true The staff of Starforce is inviting anyone who can prove that that his or her malware is malware to fly to Russia on their own dime and prove it in person. Let me just say, momma didn t raise any stupid boys. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=151890&view=rss&microfeed=true Website Boing Boing was threatened with legal action by StarForce, the makers of this heinous malware that mucks up your computer when it self-installs beside a game you've purchased. Claiming harassment, a PR representative from StarForce allegedly contacted the FBI about Boing Boing's piece. In other news, telling the truth is apparently harassment, when your company is making some janky-ass spyware. More »
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We're not here to point fingers or lay blame, because we all make mistakes. However, over the weekend, a few gaming sites posted on Trackmania Nations and even told their readers to download it. Prize money was even dangled for the online "free" competition. Thing is, the game is infested with malware. More »
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Boing Boing points to a piece of software that self-installs when you install certain PC games, and although it's designed to prevent pirating it actually damages your system. From Boing Boing: "The software causes system instability and crashes." Ouch. There's a list of games that currently employ the Starforce security measures here. Check out your game library, and more importantly, check out the literature over at the official "Boycott Starforce" website. It's like rootkits all over again. More »
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