Kingdoms SecuRom discussion - forum rules only

[Lord of the Isles]

For the same reason as why on some housedoors it says that that house is protected electronically.
You'll get in by throwing in a window, but it can scare people off.

I'm sure you are right when it comes to their motives.

The trouble, to continue the metaphor, is that they are painting the notice that their house is protected on MY house walls, 98% of burglars get in through doors anyway, not windows, and the paint they are using might cause structural problems to my walls in the future.

But it's no big deal to me at least. I'm enjoying playing Lands to Conquer so I'll just return Kingdoms anyway. And if SEGA/CA think that copy protection is more important than losing the odd customer for Empire:TW, that's their call.

I have a moral objection to downloaded cracked versions of games; it's something I'd never do. So that means I'll just have to do without. Kind of ironic that.

[Ferret]

sorry for being ignorant but does Securom actually do anything to your computer, I haven't noticed anything different

[Stig]

sorry for being ignorant but does Securom actually do anything to your computer, I haven't noticed anything different

Nah, nothing. It's a myth

[flambergius]

sorry for being ignorant but does Securom actually do anything to your computer, I haven't noticed anything different

It is a security risk. As far as I know SecuROM does not significantly affect normal operation of your PC, that is to say it does not slow your PC down or use resources like CPU-time or RAM to a significant decree.

It is very hard at the moment say for sure what level of security risk SecuROM is general or what is the risk scenario in installing Kingdoms. I far as I know, it is not even known for certain what version of SecuROM Kingdoms has. In highly general terms, the risk seems low to moderate.

What is known is that SecuROM, regardless of version, has bugs and design flaws - all software has. No security flaw has been widely reported resulting from those bugs, nor has any attack been seen in the wild targeting SecuROM v7.x. That does not mean that SecuROM is safe now, although it likely is, but more significantly it says nothing about whether or nor the SecuROM installed on your PC remains safe. As SecuROM is difficult to detect, monitor and remove, you need to be concerned about SecuROMs safety for the lifespan of your current operating system installation (which often equals the lifespan of your PC). You can limit your exposure by diligently following computer security reporting. If you do, I would say the risks will remain low. If you don't follow the reporting then you are in effect betting that SecuROM is made by either really, really good programmers or at least very lucky ones.

(I had a whole paragraph here about UAService, but it got sort of technical without actually saying anything interesting, so I cut it out.)

In the end you must ask yourself two questions:
1) The risk being what it is, am I willing to accept it? While this is nowhere near the worst risk factor you must assume just to use a PC, remember that risks are cumulative.
2) This risk is unnecessary and it is being forced as a part of a trade by the other party for their gain (as perceived by them). Does this piss me off? If you do decide to make a stand, I would suggest that you don't just not buy the game but also make CA/Sega aware of your reasons.

Btw, one thing about security risks: you are not very likely to be the target identity theft or have your credit card number copied even if you have a very vulnerable system. You are much more likely to become a unknowing accomplice in spamming, cybercrime and/or cyberwarfare, also know as a botnet zombie. In that sense security risks are like dumping environmentally hazardous waste, the cost to society is often greater then the direct cost to you.

Anyways, I bought the game, and installed it. No problems and no issues for me, but then again my game rig is not networked in any way. No, I'm not paranoid, there are people out to get us. Having been on the business end of a DDoS I know that for sure.

[Tafferboy]

In the end you must ask yourself two questions:
1) The risk being what it is, am I willing to accept it? While this is nowhere near the worst risk factor you must assume just to use a PC, remember that risks are cumulative.
2) This risk is unnecessary and it is being forced as a part of a trade by the other party for their gain (as perceived by them). Does this piss me off? If you do decide to make a stand, I would suggest that you don't just not buy the game but also make CA/Sega aware of your reasons.

I can agree to that. Don't buy a game if you think the publisher is treating you unacceptably as a paying, loyal customer by imposing invasive and unremovable anti-piracy protection that is not without risks. Protesting by not purchasing is the only way to discourage its use in the future and bring a solution in the form of a patch.

Buy a game with intrusive copy protection and you are basically sending a message to the publishers that you don't mind and it's alright for them to continue using it. The result is progressively more and more intrusive copy protection in future releases as publishers test how much further they are able to cut into customers' rights and get away with it. Pray Bioshock does not herald a new beginning where games of the future require online activation and allows set number of installations.

Anyway, here's a link with detailed instructions for the removal of the Securom malware.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/98...-bioshock-demo

It is a very complicated, risky, and painful process which is not for the faint of heart. I have not attempted it and can't say it will work in removing all traces of Securom.