BioShock Installs a Rootkit 529
An anonymous reader writes "Sony (the owner of SecureROM copy protection) is still up to its old tricks. One would think that they would have learned their lesson after the music CD DRM fiasco, which cost them millions. However, they have now started infesting PC gaming with their invasive DRM. Facts have surfaced that show that the recently released PC game BioShock installs a rootkit, which embeds itself into Explorer, as part of its SecureROM copy-protection scheme. Not only that, but just installing the demo infects your system with the rootkit. This begs the question: Since when did demos need copy protection?"
Re:Yet another game (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Not QUITE a rootkit (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Yet another game (Score:5, Interesting)
I was really ready to get angry (I had pre-loaded days before and it had the gall to make me wait another 2 hours since download speeds were awful - but that isn't activation related, AFAIK), but it's hard to make much of an issue of a 30 seconds delay.
Also, I live in Brazil. Sometimes games would take months, sometimes years and on occasion, they would never be available here in a legal form. Buying from the USA is of course possible, but even then it would something like US$20+80% customs taxes. And sometimes it would be translated (poorly) - argh! Prices are about the same as the US, sometimes a bit higher, sometimes a bit lower.
So I consider being able to download major releases (instead of just indie games) and play at the same time as anyone else major progress.
Steam could improve their download client a lot, though. I get 460K/s routinely on Getright with multiple connections, but sub-100K/s is the norm on Steam.
Maybe Sony is doing this on purpose? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:raising vs begging the question (Score:1, Interesting)
You'd correct someone if they called their computer case and all it encloses the CPU, right?
You'd correct someone if they mixed up ram, memory, bandwidth, and latency, right?
You'd correct someone if they mixed up mean, median, average, and stupidity, right?
It's up to the people who know better to correct the people who don't. You know what you'd get if you started throwing around legal jargon you didn't understand in front of a lawyer or judge? You'd get corrected, fast.
Re:Yet another game (Score:5, Interesting)
In my opinion, Steam is far worse than any regular DRM, because instead of simply installing software that checks and validates your game, you're allowing a company access via network to your game where they can outright regulate whatever you do with it.
I never installed Steam for that reason. It freaks me out. I don't want anyone on my machine other than myself, and I don't feel companies have a right to regulation on that level.
Even though this Bioshock thing turns out not to be a true Rootkit, it's a game I was going to buy, but now that I see they install this additional mess, I will be passing it up.
I will be happy if a piracy group supplies with me a DRM free version. But I truly LIKE to give my money to teams that deserve it, and I feel the inclusion of secureROM in this game may be robbing a very deserving team of it's sales.
In the end, if the publisher feels they need to install anything that is not necessary to the game itself, they will not get my money.
Re:Not a rootkit (Score:4, Interesting)
Note that cmdlineext.dll (and other versions cmdlineext02.dll, cmdlineext03.dll) can be a bit tricky to remove. Since it's registered as a shell extension, and Explorer is invoked during startup, the file will always be in use unless you unregister it:
regsvr32
After rebooting, you can then (hopefully) delete the file. Note, however, that the file will be recreated and re-registered the next time you run a SecuROM game, so you have to take some extreme measures if you want to ensure that the file can't come back. I've tried creating a zero-length file and setting the permissions to Deny for all users, as well as setting the file read-only, and that seems to do it for at least some versions of SecuROM.
This functionality is at least as nefarious as the more commonly reported portion of SecuROM, which is indeed a service in the current version and can be stopped like other services.
Anyway, as for the larger question, I didn't buy Civ IV because of SecuROM, and I'm not buying BioShock because of it, either. If 2K decides to capitulate on this issue at some point, I'll reconsider. In any case, it'll give Irrational time to work on a patch for some other issues that have come up.
Re:It does not (Score:3, Interesting)
Regardless I'm a lot less inclined to trust the company over a rootkit detection kit to be frank. I would definitely not put it past them to install a rootkit then try to pass it off as 'just a registry folder and some keys'.
Boy am I glad I was too lazy to install the demo back when I downloaded it. I really hate these 'Don't mind us, we'll be over here gaining access to every part of your computer while you play the game you bought from us, purely for security' type things. Why should the company get to know anything about my computer without my permission? Even their statement that they generate a unique ID for my computer is far more than I think they should be able to do. Obviously that unique ID relies on some information about the computer. When did we start saying 'eh' to companies taking information about our computers without permission? Doesn't that fall under some right, the right to not have people searching your personal property whenever they want (not the amendment, I know that's government only). It's really absurd that this is even considered a reasonable practice, I wonder how they would react to me wandering in to their building and putting some 'not a rootkit, just a couple of folders in the registry' on their servers since it contains information about my personal property...seems like it would be only fair, you gather info about me/my property without my permission, I get to put trackers on that info, and your hardware by extension, so I can make sure you don't pass it around...
Re:Oh great (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Yes it is. RootkitRevealer says so (Score:2, Interesting)
More Criminal Behavior by Corporations (Score:2, Interesting)
Period!
No DRM for me. (Score:3, Interesting)
I looked to see if Steam had a version that wasn't infected, but it was too.
I'll pass on this game. There are others.
Re:Oh great (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Yet another game (Score:5, Interesting)
In the PS1's case (and probably newer consoles), anti-piracy technology made new games not work on chipped consoles. Oh, unless they were burned.
Maybe these companies should give up on anti-piracy. It seems that most people are decent enough to pay for something that's worth the price of admission. I can't imagine that all of these measures have made enough money from would-be pirates to justify money lost from would-be consumers turned off by DRM, etc. Not to mention the money they had to spend to set up all that shit. I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that they'd make more money and have a better brand image from simply chilling out and trying to sell worthy products.
Re:Oh great (Score:5, Interesting)
The outrage over this on the 2K forums [2kgames.com] made them raise the limit to 5 installs on a given copy of windows, and up to 5 installs on different machines. Ever. Problem solved, right? I mean, who ever installs software they buy more than 5 times, right? Must be pirates. They want to carry on playing in a couple of years, they can go buy a new copy.
Oh, and they'll release a utility at some point in the future that when run, will supposedly uninstall the game and 'deregister' your install with the online securom database, thus giving you the privilege of reinstalling your own game on your own computer one more time. Just hope windows doesn't go belly up before you get to unregister. And I can't wait for the day all games do this, and I have to run round manually deregistering all of them prior to a reinstall with different tools. Then calling support when it doesn't work and won't let me reinstall.
Re:Yet another game (Score:3, Interesting)
When BioShock couldn't activate I used TCPView and nmap to figure out why it couldn't activate (because the "failed to contact key server" game instantly). Turns out the port on the IP it was trying to contact wasn't even open. The usual windows services including SMB was tho'.
Disapointed - Not Buying - Passing the Word (Score:2, Interesting)
That's like begging to be cracked (Score:3, Interesting)
I just wonder how many people will still take the, for the functionality unnecessary, burden of actually licensing the software, though.