[TippeX]

Originally Posted by SuspiciousJedi

Examples:

#1 - I want to listen to a CD while I play the game, I can't because I must put the game CD inside even though it is not really needed. I make virtual game CD of my original and put it in virtual drive and it doesn't work. I make virtual music CD of my music CD and put it in the virtual drive leaving the original game CD in physical drive and it doesn't work because either way it gets blocked by Starforce. I could rip audio CD to mp3 and play it from WinAMP but I am an audio purist and I don't like listening to mp3s. It is my constitutional right to differ from the others.

>> blocked by starforce? since when did starforce interfere with audio disks?

#2 - I want to play a DVD movie to a family member via my second sound card and the TV out while I am playing but that is not possible with Starforce too.

>> since when did starforce protect dvd's (movies that is)

#3 - I want to use Soft-Ice debugger to debug my own software or the driver I am writting for my company. Now what?

>> simple, you reboot and dont load softice

#4 - I want to monitor application setup so I can repackage it because 16 bit setup refuses to run on 64-bit Windows XP. I need registry/file monitoring. Now what?

>> regmon/filemon from sys internals?

Well for one, it is not active only when the game is running so in my view it is a spyware. It can as well contain code to snoop on my network traffic and my keyboard and to disclose that to third parties and there is no way to check whether it does it or not because by protecting the game the way it does (on the kernel level) it protects itself from analysis too. And AFAIK the protection code is not available for public scrutiny.

>> again the network traffic CAN be monitored, theres tons of network analysys programs out there, that can capture packets etc

You know, even simple things like deodorants or detergents or food have their ingredients listed because certain people are alergic to some of them and those people avoid buying it because it could harm them. Same logic can be applied here so I am afraid your point is not valid here.

theres logic, and then theres paranoia, and then theres jumping to conclusions without first researching the topic you're discussing, which category do you belong in?