It's bad enough for gamers.

Now people are finding this intrusive software on other types of discs. This could be even more of a problem. Professional people that depend on their dics and cd drives to operate properly are at risk; maybe you as a gamer are too; as in doctors, civil engineers, and maybe even airline pilots - okay, that's stretching it, but you get the idea.

here we go m8s - Rootkit in Alcohol and Deamon tools
http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/200...t-digital.html
Does any body want to start boycotting Alcohol or DT? No?
Oh.. sorry, this not the right place for it...

ahahahahahahaha Much as I've tried to avoid all games with Starforce on them, I bought some games from GoGamer and got a free present: Trackmania. :D

Oh well, at least I didn't pay for it, and since it's not my type of game, I'm not going to install it anyway.

Very funny. Except they are not rootkits because:

1. The installation of the hidden driver files and registry alterations is not a secret. The files are for the operation of the software, not a hidden function unknown to the user. The registry alterations do nothing but hide the files from involuntarily installed malware like Starforce which A120 and DTools protect against.
2. They are easily uninstalled via the control panel. No traces are left behind.
3. The drivers are not spyware, they cannot secretly phone home or update, nor do they interfere with the operation of your PC.

Good point! I'd rather keep the originals in their cases and use copies. When the copy dies, I break the disc into pieces and make another one... At least the originals will still be here, and the cost would be very much lower!!

Annoying Copy Protection + High Price Tag = less consumers.

They should review their equations!! :D Maybe the developers are trying to frighten pirates, but they are frightening potential buyers for sure! How many gamers who were faithful to some publisher are now willing to actually STOP buying games from them if they continue using StarForce as copy protection? And when faithful followers stop supporting their favorite publishers, how will they sell to new customers? A great deal of new gamers get info from elders, so if elders tell you a game's not worth the pain, you are less inclined to buy it! :rolleyes:


PS:I managed to finish POP3 in 2 days and to clear the side effects of SF, I had to reformat my baby. Lucky I had 2 HDD, so I didn't lose data. So much time lost because of one game, I'm definitely staying away from SF from now on. :mad:

To those who accuse people against StarForce as being whining pirates:

1) StarForce can be easily circumvented - just look it up on Google, it's like three easy steps.

2) StarForce has been known to damage CD/DVD drives on certain versions of WinXP and/or firmwares.

3) StarForce leaves a gaping security hole in your system by granting system level privileges to everything running on your computer.

4) Games with StarForce do not tell you that it is being installed, nor does it remove it the game is uninstalled.

So companies that use StarForce are endangering your CD/DVD drive and security for a worthless anti-piracy program that can only be removed by a tool offered by its creators - meaning if you didn't know you had StarForce installed, you wouldn't know to remove it.

If you still think StarForce is a good idea, you're either a troll or a blithering idiot.

Hehehe
 

STupid StarForce!:mad: :mad: :mad: Wait till the makes get a taste of this eh!:cool:

Me too!
 

I to am joining the boycot of Starforce protected games.
After installing Worms Mayhem, I had endless trouble with writing cds. It wasn't even as if I was trying to write cd images or copy cds. I was having trouble writing data cds! :mad:
After removing the starforce drivers, my writer once again could write cds with no trouble, so there is no doubt that the starforce drivers were the problem.
Also I had trouble installing some other heavly protected games like Sacred.
(which by the way is a bought original).
Again once the starforce drivers was removed, I could install the other games with no trouble.
When I fork out NZ$100 for a game, I expect it not to wreck havioc on my system or interfere with or damage my hardware.
Is my expectations to high?:confused:

How very convenient...
 

Ah, how very convenient this quote is for SF developers... but wait, YOU ARE one of the developers, right? At least you're one of the official SF Forum Moderators, so spare us your venom :mad:
Besides, there is a world of a difference between the intrusive way SF behaves on a user's PC without his consent and the way DT4 or Alcohol behave. AND so far, I haven't seen anyone complaining about DT or Alcohol affecting their normal OS operation like SF does.

Besides, my workstation has both Ultra SCSI Hard Drives and CD Drives (Real ones) and when I bought X3-Reunion, no indication on the box coud be found stating that the game would be unplayable with those. It took me 3 weeks of pingpong between Egosoft and SF support to realize that there was nothing to do about it. Most incredibly, 90% of both companies' efforts were directed towards finding out wether or not I had purchased the game :mad:

In addition to that, I bought an external USB 2.0 IDE DVD/RW to be able to play the game. Guess what... the game wouldn't run from that drive either.:(
I returned the game to the store two days ago

Needless to say, I'm done with SF protected games (at least while SF modus operandi remains like it currently is)

NO!!!!! Youre expectations arre by no means too high. People buy games to play them, not have the protection of the $90AU game infecting and even stuffing up their system! LAWSUIT!LAWSUIT!LAWSUIT!LAWSUIT!LAWSUIT!:D :D :p
WHen it comes to cracking SF, Star Force Clean Removes the drivers, but the moment you start up the game again, it reinstalls them again! Imbloodypossible! Hehehe.

SF games dont works on my Cedega , too :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

The fu**** PC reboot Grrrrrr

Starforce to Hell


MfG

-
 

:cool:

?? :confused: ??

I suppose he wanted to add himself to the long list w/out saying anything ?
He could have also said "Hello, me too" while meaning exactly the same..

hello, me too...:o :p

Alrighty, I've read every single post in this thread. (WHEW!) Add me to the boycott list, I'm convinced that this protection should be completely outlawed.

I have 3 games in front of me right now that are SF protected that I still have the boxes to: Dead To Rights (DTR), Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe Edition (MATDE) and Peter Jackson's King Kong Signature Edition (PJKK). I know I should have the Trackmania Sunrise box right here handy too, but I can't seem to find it at the moment. I know I have a few more, but these are the ones I still have the boxes to investigate.

Anyway, looking at the packaging, only one of them mentions anything about having any copy protection on it at all....PJKK. It says (and I quote),

Notice: This game contains technology intended to prevent copying that may conflict with some CD-RW, DVD-RW and virtual drives.

This was in a (approximately) 1/4" by 1" little box on the back of the packaging. Carefully notice that it DID NOT say the protection was Starforce. Hey! At least in warned you though....nevermind that you you had to hunt it down on the box to see it. Also notice that it said it may conflict, not destroy, your drives. :rolleyes:

The other 2 games say NOTHING about the fact that it can damage (or conflict with) your PC in the least. :mad:

(minor digression)
A couple of months ago, my Plextor CD-R drive (2410a if my memory serves) started getting VERY slow to recognize disks and would fail to write basic data CD's consistently (sometimes it would, sometimes it wouldn't). I just figured that the drive's time had come and replaced it. Now I wonder. I can't test it to see if it works fine in a non-SF infested system since I tossed the drive and replaced it with a LiteOn DVD-R drive. :rolleyes:

Anyway, to my point. I think ALL Starforce infested games should have the warning that PJKK did, but TELL you that it is, in fact, SF that is the protection, not only that the protection used MAY cause issues. That way we'll know not to waste money on those games. While I've not had any absolute proof that SF has really caused any damage to my system, why blatantly invite problems?

I have a couple ideas for the people here to make our purchase decisions easier. One may be sort of shady and/or illegal, but that one idea would certainly help get the message across to more people outside of the internet.

First (and this is the easy one) make a sticky post in the PC Games section that lists ALL known SF infested games. Keep it updated as new games with the SF infestation come out. While this thread has that info in spades, many may never see it, but a sticky post is hard to miss. This way, when a game comes out and you aren't sure of it's protection scheme, you have one simple post to check to see if it's one with the SF infestation. ;)

Next, (and this is the shady one that would have to be done voluntarily because it COULD get you in trouble) is to get a roll of super sticky labels (you know, the kind of sticky that license plate stickers have, can't remove those suckers very easily at all without destroying whatever they're stuck to ;) ) that have something like this printed on them, "Warning: This game uses Starforce protection which MAY damage your PC or limit its ability to function properly", (or something like that) and stick these labels on SF infested games in stores so EVERYONE that picks up the box will see the warning (instead of having to search the whole box that may not even have such a warning) and hopefully will spread the word (or at least cause them to investigate) about the dangers of StarForce.....not to mention instantly alerting those of us that ARE aware to not even touch that game.

Sound like good ideas to you?

Well, I'm going to uninstall MATDE (only SF game currently installed) and run the SF cleaner program now. Later all.

My goodness! This ended up to be quite a long post. :eek: Sorry 'bout that. Just goes to show what a sensitive issue this is to us honest puchasers of games I guess.

@Rayder
I believe the only reason King Kong has the warning on it is because now they realize there is potentially a problem and they are just covering their asses!
With the warning, they now add to the box, nobody can argue in court that they were not told of a protection being used. But as you say they still dont mention it is actually starforce!
With so many complaints and petitions, circulating on the internet now, I believe it is only a matter of time before something drastic happens. Whether or not this will actually stop publishers from using Starforce remains to be seen?
Now that warning gives people a strong reason to return their starforce games for a refund! All they have to do is say it conflicts with their drives and wont work! After all we should not be expected to buy new hardware just to run a game! This argument could actually go 2 ways though as some people buy new graphics cards just to play a newer game!
The shops would not be able to disagree as it states it on the box! The shops would have no choice but to refund your money!
If the shops have to keep refunding money then maybe they might stop stocking starforce games? So that is another way, if everyone purchases a game then returns it 2 days later for a refund!
As for you sticker idea, I like it!! I can just see myself doing that! :p
I havent purchased a starforce game for a very long time, and I feel the only game that I may really miss is Race Driver 3 (Toca). But even that wont persuade me to go through the hassles of installing a starforce protected game!!
I wont even download game demo's anymore until I find out for sure which protection is being used on it!!
Anyway keep boycotting and stay PC safe. ;)

Hey guys, I was going to buy a game that had recieved some good reviews, but I decided to rent it first... good thing to, as it has StarForce 3 and it's not on your list.

It's Ricky Ponting International Cricket 2005, known in other countries as Brian Lara Cricket 2005, so yeah, another one to watch out for.

Damn StarForce! I'm right behind you guys.

More tidbits
 

Yikes! I guess you've seen the latest news regarding Starforce and Stardock..?

Stardock, maker of GalCiv2 was critizied by Starforce for not using their cp. The thread has since been locked, but this has caused quite a stirr.

Linkies:
http://forums.galciv2.com/index.aspx...aid=106741&c=1
http://www.star-force.com/forum/inde...topic=670&st=0
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=1209

This one even made gamespot's PC news: http://www.gamespot.com/news/6145864.html

@midfingr
The interview, on Gamespot, with Galactic Civilations II lead designer and Stardock head Brad Wardell is very interesting. He brings up a few things that have been mentioned many times before but which have been argued about time and time again! The main point being:
Now I have heard a lot of you talk about this!

Another interesting point is:
Ive always maintained that if a game is good enough people will purchase it!

I think they are on the right path with the updates idea. But the problem is, will developers/publishers start releasing unfinished games (with files purposely missing) so that you need to patch it before you play?
This in my opinion would not be a bad thing! It would sort of be like what we had to do with Halflife 2. That being we had to download files before we could play. Difference with Halflife 2 being we had to still use the CD to play until they succumbed and released the patch to allow the use of NoCD. ;)

@HBAndrew
May I suggest you have a read of the forum rules before you bother to post such dribble again!!

UGH!!! I just got burned by buying a game that had the StarForce virus/rootkit (whatever) in it. :mad: L.A. Rush. Luckily, I checked GCW before opening it....

It's a good thing I didn't open it. If I would have opened it, I would have been stuck with it. Back to the store it goes. And when I take it back, I'll be sure to let them know that it was because of the potentially damaging protection that it contains as my reason for bringing it back. :p

Loss of sales +1 thanks to StarForce....and NOT piracy! ;)

The StarForce-infested list of games NEEDS TO BE A STICKY POST so we can reference it quickly, without having to hunt down this petition thread. Could that please be added?

I may just do that soon? ;)

SF Virus
 

I Promise the bearer not to purchase any "Software" containing StarForce Copywrite Protection and any of its nasty, underhanded, vile drivers. I personally think there may be a case against them using the "Human Rights" Convention, that states we are all entitled to privacy and choice and as far as I can see SF are breaching this by installing this software even though we have agreed to the EULA it denies the individual the choice of playing the game without the drivers being installed and therefore invades ones privacy.
Needs a lawyer to look at it!!
Leon of London.
OG61065

CDFreaks has an interesting article about StarForce and it's destroying disk drives.

http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/13212

Yes... I boycot all StarForce games. I worked with Starforce twice during and after installations and it's just too much for me to accept.

Buying this game is not an issue... $20.00 is nothing for me. If I like a game I buy it; but as long as this game uses Starforce the only way I will play it is if I have a No-CD crack. That goes for most games I play even though I buy them. Don't like the BS.

If these companies are so worried about protecting thier "Itellectual Rights" then they should copy what Webroot's SPyware or Newsleecher does to protect thier software. Period.

starfucker...
 

waht about the apps like starfucker or the tools like this...Do they make some stuff or they are in vain for starforce v3?

Starforce f**ks me the buyer

therefore I shall f**k Starforce by not buying any more of their s**t

* Not everyone here is a pirate but I feel treated as one when I encounter a Starforce title

The lawsuits are starting!!!!!

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=1559

WOOT!

StarForce should be eliminated from the whole scene, they are nothing but intrusive and damaging!! NEVER will I purchase StarForce games, big up to all those whole crack starforce games!!!

Damn Starforce !!!
 

Yes, for now on, i will boycott all Starforced games !

I just bought ToCA 3 few days ago and im starting to suffer from miscellaneous issues with my OS. I can't believe that Starforce creators deliberately spread a CRITICALLY DANGEROUS software world wide without receiving any sentence from no tribunal... I mean... WTF ?! Besides Starforce society is very well aware on those matters, everybody is nowadays. Damn it !

I really hope a patch will be available soon, released by Starforce itself, that will allow us to play our games without this insane protection installed. Then, obviously, Starforce should seal his doors forever and shoot his managers in the legs to make them remember what they have done.

Well it looks like we are winning lads, with the anonouncement that UBI soft are trashing Star**** another publisher is added to the list of 'those who have seen the light'. Starforce does not make more money for pubishers, quite the oposite thanks to all those who stood up and shouted ' I AM BOYCOTTING Star**** so you can shove your new game up your ****'. :D

yep.. Starforce is gone from Ubisoft....

so.. I hope that Ubisoft release new patchs from the starforce game, without it... like.. KING KONG!! :D

My Poor plextor :( :( :( let's sue codemasters as well.
 

Today I decided it was time to do a little spring cleaning on my harddrive,
as it was stuffed with way too much anime :-p

I stuffed a verbatim in my plextor PX-712A and started dragging media into Nero. When I clicked the burn button, I noticed the only speed it could record at was 2.3 X ??? like .. hellloo ? 2.3 x?? what is that ?

At this point I knew exactly what many of you reading this know by now ..

"Staaaaaaaarfooooorce!!!!! 3!!!!!"

I got this nifty piece of "MALWARE" from installing Toca Race Driver 3.

To resolve this issue I simply flashed my drive with a fresh ROM from plextor.
now it burns at 12x again :-D

I was not actually buying into the whole starforce fucking up my hardware idea, but now, as it has happened to me and my mate, both using plextor...

There no longer exists doubt in my mind that starforce does all the bad things people say it does. It's time we, the end users draw the line. We must and cannot accept to be treated this way.

what can I say ... let's sue the remaining publishers for using starforce,
especially codemasters, since they made such a good race game,
and packed it with starforce. On a second note it might be unfair to sue them over money, since using starforce cuts back on sales anyway. I suggest we sue, and demand they do some proper market research, before money hungry bosses and shareholders decide what the proper protection software to be used is. I guess even codemasters should hire me or another throughbred nerd as their "ethical supervisor" not the monopoly man!!!
lol
...

Qgal5kap out ...

www.boycottstarforce.net
 

Here u can find many answers to your problem with starforce protected games.:)

Move2Play protected via Starforce 3...
 

When playing a game, I'm buying the game ! I'm a Starcraft and Warcraft addict and I bought all originals...
My way of playing is to make an ISO image and play it via Daemon tools. The reason is CDs and DVDs suffer much too much !
Last week I bought the "Move2Play" game (an Eyetoy like for PC) and detected a Starforce 3 protection on it :-(
My kids are 9 and 3 years old... they aren't carefull enough which means they are screwing games sometimes.
2 weeks ago, my 3 years old son came to me with my original "Toy Story 2" DVD... Totally SCREWED by himself: "it doesn't work dad !" (of course, he just broke it in 2 parts !)
With Starforce 3 (and above), it seems there is NO possibility for a backup :-(
This was the ONE AND ONLY Starforce protected game I ever bought !
This will be my way of boycotting Starforce in the future...
Just because I cannot possibly be present each tims my son will play on the computer...

Boycot?
 

With all due respect to the author of this post..the only people haveing issues with starforce are the ones with illegal copys....my advice is to buy the frigging game if you like it and quit bitching !

@pendragon361
Not true at all!! You obviously have no idea! Please keep your opinions to yourself! No unfounnded accusations! :rolleyes:

same problem here... and YES - it's because starforce (after driver cleaning all works fine again)

Yes, me too boycotting Starforce games as well.:)