Do you want SecuROM in ANY EA Games?

Lethn · 15-08-2008, 04:46 PM

Hiya guys I thought I'd create this thread to see what the overall general EA community thought of the SecuROM anti-piracy measures that are being implemented in pretty much all of EA's games. Now for those who don't know what SecuROM is here's a link to wikipedia that describes what it does SecuROM - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

For me, I actually am extremely worried about this software, there have been quite a lot of experiences where people have detected it as a virus even myself included when I bought a copy of Bioshock and installed it on my PC and the virus found the software in the .exe file and I had to re-install the game all over again and remove my virus protection in order to get it to work.

This is certainly enough to make me twitchy and I wanted to know what everyone else thought, as you might have guessed from my signature I am currently boycotting Spore one of the only games since C&C3 that I might have actually considered buying from EA Games and many others are boycotting EA in the forum now because of SecuROM and the anti-piracy measures that EA are putting in.

To be honest in my point of view, this whole anti-piracy protection does not work, in fact crackers thrive on the challenge of taking down anti-piracy measures like this and even then can get the game crack released within a week the actual game is released. I also talked to a Games Developer I know from another company about this sort of thing and he said at most SecuROM only protects against casual copying, so things that actual legitimate customers would do like using a program like nero or other burning software and it pretty much hinders the legitimate customer more than help them.

Let's try and keep this thread civil so everyone can freely express their opinion as well please, I want to see what the whole community thought of this.

The Jake · 15-08-2008, 04:48 PM

Woe to anyone who says yes.

Lethn · 15-08-2008, 04:50 PM

I hate SecuROM as well but like I said let's keep it civil, if people can argue their points well that's fine just don't go ruining it by flaming

Speshal Crayon · 15-08-2008, 04:59 PM

Will SecuROM only be on the Windows version of Spore?

Er, no. I don't want it. I don't game on a PC often though, so it doesn't affect me too much.

Nightbringer · 15-08-2008, 05:24 PM

Touch wood l never had problems with it, and it never stop me buying games so l find it hard to vote.

tangfastic91 · 15-08-2008, 06:42 PM

Whilst I'm against secuROM, i think spore should be protected somehow. obviously im living in an ideal world. we just need EA to trust us

777788889999 · 15-08-2008, 06:47 PM

I think there are lots of people that would buy Spore if it were not for the copy protection... The "anti-piracy"... but copy protection never stopped pirates... so securom is not there for the pirates... its for their customers...

Mokkun · 15-08-2008, 07:01 PM

Im also aginst this "Virus/Rootkit" program, (it contains many similarities whit previouly menchoned categories)

i have posted a nice description of the current way its going at
The Securom Conflict

Securom treats all as criminals, even the paying customers, it dont prevent piracy, it encourages it.

RomaniaSTEAUA4 · 15-08-2008, 07:33 PM

No, i haved big problems whith SecuROM, I haved an original game and it said "Please inseart the original CD disk. For more information check SecuROM's adress". And the game whas original, so is not good for EA GAMES

Lauren · 15-08-2008, 08:18 PM

Not really, but I wouldn't be one of those people protesting to EA saying they're not going to buy a fantastic game because of it.
1. Millions of other people are going to buy it, they aren't going to remove SecuROM just because 15/16 people aren't going to buy it because of it.
2. It's going to be epic and you know it. I can see people giving in and buying it anyway.
3. Hello, there's other anti-virus' in the world.
4. SecuROM isn't malware. Because it doesn't damage the system. It only resembles malware because it's installed without user permission. Which obviously stops software rippers to notices it.
5. You buying a video game protected with secuROM, doesn't mean you are endorsing it.

I votw, other. I will acknowlage secuROM, but I won't consider it as malware.

The Jake · 15-08-2008, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lauren

Not really, but I wouldn't be one of those people protesting to EA saying they're not going to buy a fantastic game because of it.
1. Millions of other people are going to buy it, they aren't going to remove SecuROM just because 15/16 people aren't going to buy it because of it.
2. It's going to be epic and you know it. I can see people giving in and buying it anyway.
3. Hello, there's other anti-virus' in the world.
4. SecuROM isn't malware. Because it doesn't damage the system. It only resembles malware because it's installed without user permission. Which obviously stops software rippers to notices it.
5. You buying a video game protected with secuROM, doesn't mean you are endorsing it.

I votw, other. I will acknowlage secuROM, but I won't consider it as malware.

Obviously it does damage your system otherwise people wouldn't be complaining so much. It would be pretty stupis to complain at something just because it installs itself on your computer.

I had a problem with Sim city Societies because SecuROM thought I had software emulation running.

Markt75 · 15-08-2008, 10:11 PM

I just think there are so many different things people dislike about it, I personally wouldn't say it was Malware, Spyware or a Virus, and to be honest if they just got rid of the limited activations then I really wouldn't care about SecuROM being installed. But by limiting us to three activations they have crossed a line and I just will not buy any PC game that does this, for this reason I obviously voted No.

Watashiii · 16-08-2008, 09:17 AM

Okay, it's not the first time I have adware/spyware on my computer. I already have an EA download manager

But limiting Spore to three activations is like the publisher decided to make fun of people who are stupid enough to spend money on their game

Lauren · 16-08-2008, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Jake

Obviously it does damage your system otherwise people wouldn't be complaining so much. It would be pretty stupis to complain at something just because it installs itself on your computer.

I had a problem with Sim city Societies because SecuROM thought I had software emulation running.

That's not damaging it though. All it did was stop you playing a game. You can live with a game.

I've never had problem with SecuROM, and I've had many EA games, probably all the one's since The Sims. And I've been operating on Different systems alot. I don't know anyone else who've had secuROM problems anyway -.-

It's stupid really.

Stickykeys · 16-08-2008, 06:13 PM

I don't see why SecuROM is causing so much bother, If it was that much of a pain and it do something it shouldn't (like editing the system files or deleting REGEDIT files). It should have been written down in the report which Beta Tester write... Stating what it has done and what can be done to resolve it. Since it's actually in a game as protection it must have not done much trouble to the beta testers who was actually tiraling it.

Lauren · 16-08-2008, 10:23 PM

Or maybe they're like Sony and don't Beta Test at all.

Just sayin'

ABCRic · 20-08-2008, 09:37 AM

look at my sig. at reclaimyourgame.com (previously simmers against SecuROM) there is info on what SecuROM really does and how to remove it. note that securom did not affect me, but it did to many people.

Becky · 20-08-2008, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lauren

That's not damaging it though. All it did was stop you playing a game.

So it's right that it stops you playing a game you paid for?

I've never had an issue with SecuROM either, but after reading about the problems others have had, I don't want it in any EA games.

Lauren · 20-08-2008, 07:44 PM

Refunds, duh. I still didn't harm you're computer though. I don't really see how it can

wrc777 · 22-08-2008, 12:47 AM

I would never illegally download a game as i believe that if it is good enough for me to want to play, then it is good enough for me to want to pay to own a copy and fund the games producers.

As SecuROM installs rootkits onto a users PC then this causes conections to the internet below the OS therefore antivirus programs cannot block this traffic and is why the only way to get rid of these rootkits is to fully reinstall the OS. Imagine if someone hacked this system and gained access to the millions of computers with this unplugable hole.
Also with only 3 activations it would have become a problem as i have had to reinstall my own OS four times within the past week without being able to uninstall anything first due to the nvlddmkm driver crash if i had installed one of these games each time it restarted i would have run out of activations by now.

I am not and will not buy any software that installs unknown programs to my PC and i think it will damage the PC game industrys reputation as a whole within the future as people become aware of the unscrupulus attempts to moniter and inprision tactics the modern consumer has had placed upon them by the games industry.
Just take a look at the reaction the rootkits on some of sonys products got, and with other sites such as phorm surfacing it is only a matter of time before the consumer pushes back.

View Poll Results: Do you think the anti-piracy measures and SecuROM made by EA are a good idea?
Yes	3	9.68%
No	27	87.10%
Other	1	3.23%
Voters: 31. You may not vote on this poll

15-08-2008, 04:46 PM	#1 (permalink)
Lethn Rookie Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 73	Do you want SecuROM in ANY EA Games? Hiya guys I thought I'd create this thread to see what the overall general EA community thought of the SecuROM anti-piracy measures that are being implemented in pretty much all of EA's games. Now for those who don't know what SecuROM is here's a link to wikipedia that describes what it does SecuROM - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For me, I actually am extremely worried about this software, there have been quite a lot of experiences where people have detected it as a virus even myself included when I bought a copy of Bioshock and installed it on my PC and the virus found the software in the .exe file and I had to re-install the game all over again and remove my virus protection in order to get it to work. This is certainly enough to make me twitchy and I wanted to know what everyone else thought, as you might have guessed from my signature I am currently boycotting Spore one of the only games since C&C3 that I might have actually considered buying from EA Games and many others are boycotting EA in the forum now because of SecuROM and the anti-piracy measures that EA are putting in. To be honest in my point of view, this whole anti-piracy protection does not work, in fact crackers thrive on the challenge of taking down anti-piracy measures like this and even then can get the game crack released within a week the actual game is released. I also talked to a Games Developer I know from another company about this sort of thing and he said at most SecuROM only protects against casual copying, so things that actual legitimate customers would do like using a program like nero or other burning software and it pretty much hinders the legitimate customer more than help them. Let's try and keep this thread civil so everyone can freely express their opinion as well please, I want to see what the whole community thought of this. __________________ *No longer buying any EA PC game which includes 3 Activations, I do NOT* endorse the Three Activations/SecuROM**

15-08-2008, 04:48 PM	#2 (permalink)
The Jake Elite Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Location Gender: Male Posts: 5,301 Blog Entries: 3	Woe to anyone who says yes. __________________ But in his velvet mind He believes with all his might We’ll all go to Alaska when we die

15-08-2008, 04:50 PM	#3 (permalink)
Lethn Rookie Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 73	I hate SecuROM as well but like I said let's keep it civil, if people can argue their points well that's fine just don't go ruining it by flaming __________________ *No longer buying any EA PC game which includes 3 Activations, I do NOT* endorse the Three Activations/SecuROM**

15-08-2008, 04:59 PM	#4 (permalink)
Speshal Crayon Elite Join Date: Feb 2007 Age: 16 Gender: Female Posts: 6,587	Will SecuROM only be on the Windows version of Spore? Er, no. I don't want it. I don't game on a PC often though, so it doesn't affect me too much. Last edited by Speshal Crayon; 15-08-2008 at 05:15 PM.

15-08-2008, 05:24 PM	#5 (permalink)
Nightbringer Forum Guru Join Date: May 2006 Location: Awake in my dreams Age: 26 Gender: Male Posts: 1,495	Touch wood l never had problems with it, and it never stop me buying games so l find it hard to vote. __________________

15-08-2008, 06:42 PM	#6 (permalink)
tangfastic91 Forum Regular Join Date: May 2008 Location: Wouldn't you like to know... Age: 17 Posts: 563	Whilst I'm against secuROM, i think spore should be protected somehow. obviously im living in an ideal world. we just need EA to trust us __________________ Heres my profile on sporepedia: Also known as BCiodo *BOUGHT SPORE, LOVE SPORE, I'm weak I know, but I do NOT* endorse malware/SecuROM**

15-08-2008, 06:47 PM	#7 (permalink)
777788889999 Rookie Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Sweden Age: 26 Posts: 179	I think there are lots of people that would buy Spore if it were not for the copy protection... The "anti-piracy"... but copy protection never stopped pirates... so securom is not there for the pirates... its for their customers... __________________

15-08-2008, 07:01 PM	#8 (permalink)
Mokkun Rookie Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 107	Im also aginst this "Virus/Rootkit" program, (it contains many similarities whit previouly menchoned categories) i have posted a nice description of the current way its going at The Securom Conflict Securom treats all as criminals, even the paying customers, it dont prevent piracy, it encourages it. __________________ http://www.spore.com/view/profile/Shadowdragoon 95% or moore of anny problems is most likly related to the bugy "Virus" DRM called Securom that messes whit Spore.

15-08-2008, 07:33 PM	#9 (permalink)
RomaniaSTEAUA4 Rookie Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Romania, Bucharest Posts: 472	No, i haved big problems whith SecuROM, I haved an original game and it said "Please inseart the original CD disk. For more information check SecuROM's adress". And the game whas original, so is not good for EA GAMES __________________ FORZZA STEAUA! CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE! Hagi...GOOOAAALLL...Galatasaray Cimbom ULTRASLAN ROMANIA-TURKEY: FRIENDS Call me TIMI

15-08-2008, 10:11 PM	#12 (permalink)
Markt75 Rookie Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 54	I just think there are so many different things people dislike about it, I personally wouldn't say it was Malware, Spyware or a Virus, and to be honest if they just got rid of the limited activations then I really wouldn't care about SecuROM being installed. But by limiting us to three activations they have crossed a line and I just will not buy any PC game that does this, for this reason I obviously voted No. __________________ No longer buying any game that has limited activations/SecuROM

16-08-2008, 09:17 AM	#13 (permalink)
Watashiii Forum Regular Join Date: Jul 2008 Age: 28 Posts: 679	Okay, it's not the first time I have adware/spyware on my computer. I already have an EA download manager But limiting Spore to three activations is like the publisher decided to make fun of people who are stupid enough to spend money on their game __________________

16-08-2008, 06:13 PM	#15 (permalink)
Stickykeys Forum Guru Join Date: Aug 2007 Age: 15 Gender: Female Posts: 1,172	I don't see why SecuROM is causing so much bother, If it was that much of a pain and it do something it shouldn't (like editing the system files or deleting REGEDIT files). It should have been written down in the report which Beta Tester write... Stating what it has done and what can be done to resolve it. Since it's actually in a game as protection it must have not done much trouble to the beta testers who was actually tiraling it. __________________ 'The Onion' Editor

20-08-2008, 09:37 AM	#17 (permalink)
ABCRic Rookie Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Portugal, it's all i'll tell you... Gender: Male Posts: 162 Blog Entries: 5	look at my sig. at reclaimyourgame.com (previously simmers against SecuROM) there is info on what SecuROM really does and how to remove it. note that securom did not affect me, but it did to many people. __________________ News! Screenshots! Videos!(sims2/3) ABCRicSims."com" My Sims2 Creations

22-08-2008, 12:47 AM	#20 (permalink)
wrc777 Rookie Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 14	I would never illegally download a game as i believe that if it is good enough for me to want to play, then it is good enough for me to want to pay to own a copy and fund the games producers. As SecuROM installs rootkits onto a users PC then this causes conections to the internet below the OS therefore antivirus programs cannot block this traffic and is why the only way to get rid of these rootkits is to fully reinstall the OS. Imagine if someone hacked this system and gained access to the millions of computers with this unplugable hole. Also with only 3 activations it would have become a problem as i have had to reinstall my own OS four times within the past week without being able to uninstall anything first due to the nvlddmkm driver crash if i had installed one of these games each time it restarted i would have run out of activations by now. I am not and will not buy any software that installs unknown programs to my PC and i think it will damage the PC game industrys reputation as a whole within the future as people become aware of the unscrupulus attempts to moniter and inprision tactics the modern consumer has had placed upon them by the games industry. Just take a look at the reaction the rootkits on some of sonys products got, and with other sites such as phorm surfacing it is only a matter of time before the consumer pushes back.