More Fun With StarForce
I should probably just let it go, but the depths of how bad I think StarForce’s methodology in enforcing copy-protection is, I can’t help but pass on two more links.
The first is to a CDFreaks story with quotes from FutureMark, who has been studying how the software works. Here’s the most damning:
“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.”
Suspicious activity, according to several user reports, generally consists of such damaging actions as putting in a music CD while playing Space Rangers 2. There are no words… well, there are, but I’ll refrain.
The second link is a list of StarFroce “protected” games. There are a lot of notable titles on this list. (Sorry, Bill, Chaos League is on the list.) If you have any of them installed and have had stability issues with your PC, well, you may find your answer here. If you have any of these games and want to replace the infected (allegedly) driver on your system this site includes a mirror link to a removal tool StarForce provided. It’s always a good sign when your software is so useful that you’re obligated to post a tool for removing it from users’ systems. Just ask Sony.