Various quotes from my assignment:

The use of SecuROM is highly controversial because certain aspects of the protection are similar to functions of malware. So, you may ask, what does secuROM actually do? Some versions of SecuROM, particularly older 2.x versions, may silently install a shell extension that prevents Windows Explorer from deleting 16-bit executables. secuROM 7.x also prevents any of the games running if certain Microsoft programs have been run since reboot.

"This low-level access to the operating system has led to an accusation that SecuROM has access to Ring 0, providing direct access to the kernel. EA is currently being taken to court over the use of this DRM system in Spore. However, officially SecuROM only has access to Ring 3 of Windows, which contains normal applications.”


I have been against steam since it was introduced, but was forced to use it to play Portal. And it is actually ok. It seems to have changed much over the years, I will still get ETW. secuROM, i've never had a problem with, so I will continue to use products which contain it, until I do have a problem.