StarForce interview and piracy discussion

August 20, 2004

D4rk0n3 used our news submit to tell us about an interesting talk the folks over at the Firing Squad had with Starforce. The interview is pretty good and they ask some pointed questions. Of course, Starforce is under a bit of a contraversy in that it does install a driver on your system. This driver level protection kicks things up a notch.

Copy protection is getting more invasive. While we're not quite yet seeing dongles, copy protection has become a bigger hassle in recent years. First it was simply a matter of keeping the CD in the drive. Then we had CD keys. Then those CD keys began being authenticated online. Windows XP uses a scary validation system that I'm not looking forward to messing with when I upgrade my hardware in a few weeks. Now copy protection is disabling games if you have utilities that simply might help pirate a game - like Alcohol 120%, Nero or CloneCD.

Furthermore, copy protection denies users the right to an archival copy. We've all damaged, destroyed or lost discs and CD keys. Getting a replacement from a publisher can be and often is another hassle. Of course, if we honestly ask ourselves how many purely legitimate users of those utilities there are, odds are probably that deep down inside we have to admit "not many".

We will always have some form of protection for our games software, that's for sure. But, has Starforce gone too far? To learn more about the Starforce protection scheme, the effect it has on your system and the company behind it, visit the Firing Squad. But then, please come back and give us your two cents here. In addition, you can always go to our Copy Protection Discussion Forum and view the latest topics, or visit with others that have Starforce protected games.

Source: Firing Squad