Atlus.com is currently down, as the company says it is working to "repair and restore" the web site, asking visitors to "protect their computers with anti-virus software and to run malware removal software on their systems to ensure that their security is not compromised."

The publisher has issued an apology via e-mail to subscribers of its newsletter, saying it is "deeply troubled" by the attack. The full communication is after this.

Dearest fans of Atlus,
Today (4/24/2009), our web domain (atlus.com) was hacked and compromised. A third-party entity embedded malicious code into the script, and regretfully, for a period of a few hours (from roughly 9:00am PST until 2:30pm PST), this malicious software (which we believe we have identified as a Trojan) may have made its way onto your systems.

The faith and trust of our fans is of the utmost importance to us, a responsibility we don't take lightly. As such, we are deeply troubled by this development, and we are now working to repair and restore the website.

We advise any and all of our fans, whether they visited our website or not in the past day or two, to protect their computers with anti-virus software and to run malware removal software on their systems to ensure that their security is not compromised.

As we work quickly to restore the Atlus website and to investigate the nature of this security breach, we ask for your understanding and patience.

Sincerely,
Atlus

The contest, which I just noticed on the site today, ends today. According to the site, anyone who can reproduce and demonstrate that his software causes instability IN THEIR OFFICE gets $10,000 U.S.

If you read the terms of the contest you ll see the very suspicious number 2.

At your own expense you arrive to StarForce headquarter which is placed in Russia, Moscow, Altufievskoe shosse, 5/2. Please arrange your visit with us beforehand and during working hours 10 AM to 6PM Monday through Friday Moscow time.

If you manage to win, then StarForce will compensate you for your travel expenses, pay for two days lodging in a three-star hotel in Moscow and give you $1,000 cash. Wait, I think a zero dropped off their prize money in the official rules.

If you lose, they won t pay you anything, will publish your name on the site as a loser (I shit you not) and ..eeeeeeeh.. .shoot you in the back of the head.

Ironically, at the bottom of the contest page is a deal to get $10 off on some anti-spyware. Irony is delicious. Eat it everyday.

"Prove it!" and receive $10 000 from StarForce! [StarForce]

StarForce Threatens to Sue Me [Boing Boing]
Anti-Copying Malware Leaves PCs Susceptible
Do NOT Download this Game
Authors of StarForce Threaten Lawsuit Upon Criticism [Consumerist] Including link to StarForce removal tool.

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.

The anti-PC copy protection site Boycott Starforce has listed Trackmania Nations as a game that carries Starforce (see Luke's post below). Starforce is hidden and installs without the user's consent or knowledge. These unwanted drivers are even linked to system instability and computer crashes. Yuck.

Luke's Post [Kotaku]
Excellent Article on Game Pirates [TG Daily] Thanks Michael!

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.

If a company effing with your machine isn't enough to piss you off, how about Starforce themselves failing to recognize the issues their malware causes? And they even go one step further suggesting that user error is what causes the problems, not their janky-ass code. Nevermind that users didn't sign up for this self-installing garbage. Shame on you, publishers who use this crap. Shame on you.

Anti-copying malware installs itself with dozens of games [Boing Boing]
Boycott Starforce [Official Boycott Starforce Site]