Official Sims 2 Thread

[Dimensio]

Originally Posted by jimscreechy

Mr Dimensio,

But seriously does it really matter? I mean, does it 'really' matter, or are you allowing the paranoia to take root?

Conversely, perhaps I am the one being blase about security and system access rights. hmmm, I wonder. Open to comment; witty, stupid or perhaps insane.

My boyfriend is a Windows 2000/XP network administrator in a small but important (in the heirarchy) department of a local university. He is not affiliated with the university's IT department. He deals only with computer systems in his department, while the university's IT department handles systems across the rest of the campus.

He has no MSCE or other accredation beyond an English degree, but he manages his user's systems and his own computer according to actual security guidelines, including the guideline found here. He also runs his computer at home in this way. He is the one who has taught me about Windows security paranoia.

The IT department staff, run by quite a few MCSEs (among other accrediations and degrees in computer-related fields), typically set up computers such that users are always logged in with full Administrator privledges.

My boyfriend's department has never had a serious problem with trojans, worms, spywayer or viruses. The university's IT department is constantly scrambling to clean up the big mess made every time a new trojan, virus or worm is released intot he wild.

I did say that my boyfriend only managed computers in his own department. Well, this is no longer entirely true. Other departments have been put under his control at their request, because when that happens, they suddenly find that their networks and computer systems run far more efficiently.

So yes, I think that it does really matter. Running as Administrator all the time in Windows is like running as root all the time in *NIX. The only difference is that Windows has built-in functionality for creating new accounts with full Administrative privledges, while *NIX does not -- at least not normally -- allow new "root" accounts to be created. Any *NIX administrator will tell you that only a complete moron would run as root all the time in that OS, yet Windows users think nothing of doing essentially the same thing in Windows, and software companies (such as EA/Maxis and Ion Storm) think nothing of requiring users to do that just to make their games work (Thief III has a bizarre requirement for Admin access or the game will self-destruct, but it can be circumvented)

And I also think that people who have no trouble running with full Administrative rights at all times are being blase about system security. A great number of the security outbreaks -- such as any that are triggered through an exploit in IE or Outlook -- could be averted if people would run their systems properly and not log in as Admin for browsing websites, checking email or playing games. System exploits can only do as much damage as the privledge level of the process through which it runs allows.

Beyond this, there is the fact that there is absolutely no justifiable reason whatsoever for a computer game, once installed, to require full Administrative access to an operating system. Moreover, the SecureROM protection in Unreal Tournament 2004 shows that it is entirely possible to have a CD checking system that does not require full administrative access, so again there is no excuse for including copy protection in a game that makes the game require full Administrative access to run. There are only two possible explanations for such a requirement: programmer malice or programmer incompetence.

I don't want software written by either malicious or incompetent programmers running with full Administrative privledges on my computer. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I've seen the damage wreaked by people who allow just that.

[crazygamelover]

Holy mass paranoia! Batman.

Its a game not some malicious attempt to kill computers worldwide. Maybe we should go to defcon 4 here. Just kidding!

Caution: Play at your own risk.

[Dimensio]

Originally Posted by crazygamelover

Holy mass paranoia! Batman.

Its a game not some malicious attempt to kill computers worldwide. Maybe we should go to defcon 4 here. Just kidding!

Caution: Play at your own risk.

Remember what the uninstaller for the unpatched Pool of Radiance (the disastrous "sequel", not the original Gold Box) did?

I'd say that my paranoia is justified, especially in light of the incompetence and/or malice that I explained earlier.

[crazygamelover]

You do have a valid point but one mishap doesnt mean that everyone is out to get you. The likeliness that there is foul play involved in this instance is almost inconceivable. I hardly doubt there is need for parnoia, however I do agree that one should always be prepared for the unexpected. In this regard I do see your point but none the less it is just a game.

Your thoughts are duely noted and all are advised to proceed at your own risk, when dealing with homebrew software. I do feel that we do not need to fear eachother though cause we are all on the same team here. Everyone here works together to help eachother not maliciously hurt one another. If that was the case this site would suk and I can assure you this site does not suk. As a matter of fact it is the best and the formost authority on every kind of backup known. It is the best website on the net in my book.

If we could spread mass parnoia throughout the entire gamer society, we would surely cut down the piracy rate though.
I know alot of companies that would love it if we had the power to stop piracy all together but there are those who do break the rules and when caught they face the conciquences.

Gaming is always at the risk of the end user and a certain trust must be enstilled otherwise we are all doomed to our own creativity. Leave the lil buggers alone and they will leave you alone (most of the time)! As for the more aggressive worms/virus', we have to deal with them as they present themselves. Meanwhile back on the Ranch, the rest of us can relax and play the original if it becomes to paranoid to play a backup. Either way No Worries there m8! Btw Cheeers on the good point you made and I hope you see mine as well. Good day Miss!~

[Dimensio]

I'm actually less paranoid about the homebrew community than I am about developers screwing up in a way that massively screws with my system.

For example, Thief III has a little in-game check to make sure that the user playing is running with full Administrative rights, even beyond the CD check. If a non-Admin player tries to run the game, it deletes its own system files, rendering the install useless. This is an act of pure malice. It is easily circumvented by disabling write-access to the files (after which the game runs without problem), but it's a clear case of the devs sabotaging their own game to enforce an arbitrary and technically stupid requirement.

What happens if they screw up the 'delete the system files' code so that it is activated even when an Admin runs the executable? What happens if it goes from 'delete the game's system files' to 'delete arbitrary files on the machine'? When developers are pulling that kind of ****, I don't want to run their software under my Admin account.

Finally, my ultimate point is that while some people don't care about recommended security measures, I do. I do not run things under my Administrator account unless it is specifically an administrative task. I don't appreciate companies like EA/Maxis deciding that they know better than security experts, and when game companies pull this kind of crap I have to rely on the crack community to provide a proper workaround. Unfortunately, thus far, nothing has come out for this particular game.