Don't buy these games.

http://www.glop.org/starforce/list.php

These games will install Starforce protection on your system, which includes a low level driver that runs all the time even when the game is not running.

The latest version may even reboot your system unexpectedly and without warning if it thinks you're trying to copy a protected CD for whatever reason.

The company that makes Starforce also recently posted a link to a torrent for Galactic Civilizations 2 on their forums because the developer badmouthed them and said they didn't think this sort of copy protection was warranted or increased sales.

thx sswift... good to know...

--Mike

Damn, there goes my "X3: Reunion"...

"The latest version may even reboot your system unexpectedly and without warning if it thinks you're trying to copy a protected CD for whatever reason."


What the difference it is from a malware(oh...I... forgot StarForce is a legal malware....)?

Do they tell you in the setup application that they are installing this, and do they explain what it's all about!!!

If not, that's a travesty in itself!

Dabz

phew I'm clean :-)

Not directly. I had Starforce present on my PC after installing a DEMO of Trackmania.
First I knew about it is when I got a message saying,

"Starforce installed. You must restart your computer."

Initially, I thought I had picked up a virus. After searching around and reading up on the 'protection' I posted a rather blunt message on their Digital Jester site demanding that they explain why their software may have jeopardised MY pc.

They said, "Don't worry, the protection only runs when you play the game. Besides, the EULA covers us."

Which is absolute **** as far as I am concerned.
There is NO mention of Starforce in the EULA.

Make a stand ... BOYCOTT STARFORCE PROTECTED GAMES
Let the publishers know why you refuse to buy their games too.

Check these previous posts:

http://www.blitzmax.com/Community/posts.php?topic=57409&hl=starforce

http://www.blitzmax.com/Community/posts.php?topic=55793&hl=starforce

http://www.blitzmax.com/Community/posts.php?topic=55686&hl=starforce

Oh, and I've got over 80 Non-Plug and play entries in my device manager list. I wonder how many of those are a bit suspect(?)

The only game I've been close to playing is the King Kong demo on a cover disc! Though, everything seems alright! :/

One thing for sure, my mate has the full version... He's buggered!

Is there anyway of checking if its installed by the way?

EDIT: Its okay, I've just reread the page and theres a couple of links at the top!

No sign of it in my system! :D

Dabz

Well, hopefully I'm safe from starforce by default, as I don't play commercial PC games. It is only games that use it, right?

However, the attitude of the company behind starforce seems unbelievably truculent towards the end user. :/

I learned a new word!

Are you being disingenuous, swifty? :P

I know THAT word. :-)

Damn.

"truculent" is that like a lorry hire company?

Is Brothers in Arms : Earned in Blood an expansion, or the original game?

Its a new game AFAIK. Mmmm, I liked the look of BIA but I have no intention of buying the game if it has SF protection.

Yay - yet another reason not to buy PC games :/

Earned in blood is a new game that follows Red from were the first gaem left him. He takes charge of a unit himself.

As for not telling you that starforce is installing, well no I cant say any of the games do tell you but the back of most Ubisoft games that have starforce protection has a notice on it(not all mind)

"This game contains technology intended to prevent copying that may conflict with some DVD-RW and virtual drives" (From BIE:EIB but also on RB6:Lockdown)

Personally I only really have an issue with it not liking my DVD-RW drive, I have no reason to be copying a protected disc but I do have a right to burn backups of my own stuff and while I dont like the idea of it installing drivers without telling me it seems one of the few protection systems that isnt bypassed the day the games out and I can see why that is attractive to publishers.
But I would prefer games not to use Starforce so I can use the games on a machine that doesnt have anything but a DVD-RW drive or even better have them not require the disc be present at all after install.

I am running Software Shelf's DLLShow... I was wondering what Dll(s) are the malware ones used by Starforce?

Thanks for the link, sswift!

I almost bought one of those games, but now Im thankful that I didn't. No starforce on my system, thankyousirs!

I'm sure that's an illusion StarForce are happy to see enforced. It takes about 8 hours to crack a Starforce protected game on a reasonably fast computer, which is longer than most but less than a day.

Hmm, looks like I've got some @#!*Force drivers installed here.

NONE of the software listed on that site (including demos) has ever been installed on this machine.

The driver is 'prodrv04.sys', version 4.2.

Interestingly, the only other files on this system with the same creation/modified datestamps as this driver are from... Halo (the game, not Josh)... I wonder if that's a coincidence?

You can uninstall Starforce with this: http://www.onlinesecurity-on.com/protect.phtml?c=55

I also just read about their new version here: http://www.star-force.com/protection.phtml?c=83&id=862

In a nutshell:
Undoubtedly the major improvement is the service of automated StarForce FrontLine drivers’ uninstall. This change was made because of multiple end-user requests. From now on the drivers will be removed automatically after the uninstall of all StarForce protected applications.

Sounds like our screaming was heard... a little bit. Maybe a *minor* improvement?

Thanks for the uninstall link, I haven't installed any of the games on the list and I have starforce drivers installed somehow.

Right clicking on the driver and selecting uninstall doesn't work, the driver is still there and running after reboot.

Too small of an improvement. It's still intrusive and abusive copy protection.

What really concerns me is the incusion of StarForce protection with the X3 demo (which is freely downloadable)

How can they justify that?

__________________________________

I 'do' understand the issues with distributing license but are they really suggesting they dont like distribution of their demos????

It's an outright lie. StarForce is a device driver that replaces parts of the kernel mode drivers hidden deep within the OS. STARFORCE IS -ALWAYS- running. AND in safe mode too.


I would assume it's all of them.


No, it's true. StarForce is the hardest to crack. Worms 4 for example wasn't cracked at all... until some months after the first patch was released. All game files can be encrypted with different keys, which means simply bypassing the copy protection is not a solution. In the case of Worms 4 (the most extreme case I have seen thus far) there was a protect.dll ranging in at 16 megabytes. Of course that is just to make things hard for the cracker - the cracked protect.dll comes in at 365 kilobytes. Not that I would know.


Up until recently I used to justify such things as, well, because all the game files for the full version can be encrypted, it is probably much easier just to bung the same encrypted files into the demo, thus needing StarForce to decrypt them. That was up until TrackMania Nations was released - a 100% full and freely downloadable game - and it does of course have StarForce. It just makes no sense.

I don't see Noel.

I bet decrypting files on the fly to load them is probably doubling load times at least.

Wow, I'm surprised how arrogant & self-rightous the forum mods/admins are about their malw-er-copyright protection routine with regards to people claiming it (with support evidence) that SF messes with your system.

and there's a whole lot of posts that they don't even bother responding to... they just nuke the post. If it's critical of the protection they'll probably just try to justify it and brush you off like an annoyance... but if you try to mention the boycott in any detail you are just as likely to get your post nuked.

That uninstaller might not work... and it's made by them so I'm suspicious what it really does. Try the unofficial way explainend here:

http://www.glop.org/starforce/remove.php

Now this was interesting reading:



Idiots.

http://www.consumerist.com/consumer/complaints/why-starforce-sucks-drm-csr-idiot-pirates-160308.php

I wasn't disputing it wasn't the hardest to crack. Just the fact that it was impossible. It's quite possible if you have the patience or the hardware. Ofcourse if you have 'enough' of the right hardware, you won't need to crack it at all, as you can replicate the discs perfectly.

I can't believe they managed to live this one down. I can't believe a company like UbiSoft would continue to financially support developers who have proven they have @#!*-all respect for copyright. Surely any real or imagined loss they take by casual piracy is dwarfed by the loss incurred by defamation of their brandnames and trademarks, for being associated with copyright criminals.

Sure thing, Tony. Thanks, never thought of that.




On a similar note, here's a snippet from the 'debug' log for X3 (the "technical data" regarding the crash that they ask you to send "to assess the root of the problem"...

((I've only edited it because it's bloomin' massive and I wanted to show the 'interesting' bits'))

Dear User!

This file contains detailed information on the problem occurred.
Save the file and forward it to your product Customer Support.

------------------------------ Information ------------------------------

[Protected Product Information]
CompanyName = EGOSOFT
ProductName = X3 Reunion

[Report Information]
ReportDate = Wednesday, March 22, 2006
ReportTime = 11:19 AM
ClientTimeZone = GMT Standard Time
ClientTimeBias = 0

[System Information]
System Information report written at: 03/22/06 11:19:28
System Name: GAMES
[System Summary]

sfdrv01	StarForce Protection Environment Driver (version 1.x)	c:\windows\system32\drivers\sfdrv01.sys	Kernel Driver	Yes	Boot	Running	OK	Normal	No	Yes	
sfhlp02	StarForce Protection Helper Driver (version 2.x)	c:\windows\system32\drivers\sfhlp02.sys	Kernel Driver	Yes	Boot	Running	OK	Normal	No	Yes	

[Program Groups]

Group Name	Name	User Name	
Administrative Tools	All Users:Administrative Tools	All Users	
Administrative Tools\Accessories	All Users:Administrative Tools\Accessories	All Users	
Administrative Tools\Accessories\Accessibility	All Users:Administrative Tools\Accessories\Accessibility	All Users	
Administrative Tools\Accessories\Animated Desktop V1.2	All Users:Administrative Tools\Accessories\Animated Desktop V1.2	All Users	
Administrative Tools\Accessories\BC Wipe	All Users:Administrative Tools\Accessories\BC Wipe	All Users	
Administrative Tools\Accessories\Inno Setup 5	All Users:Administrative Tools\Accessories\Inno Setup 5	All Users	
Administrative Tools\Accessories\Security	All Users:Administrative Tools\Accessories\Security	All Users	
Administrative Tools\Accessories\Security\Spy Sweeper	All Users:Administrative Tools\Accessories\Security\Spy Sweeper	All Users	
Administrative Tools\Accessories\Security\Trend Micro Anti-Spyware	All Users:Administrative Tools\Accessories\Security\Trend Micro Anti-Spyware	All Users	
Administrative Tools\System Tools	All Users:Administrative Tools\System Tools	All Users	

Administrative Tools\System Tools\CFi ShellToys XPress	All Users:Administrative Tools\System Tools\CFi ShellToys XPress	All Users	
Administrative Tools\System Tools\Debugging Tools for Windows	All Users:Administrative Tools\System Tools\Debugging Tools for Windows	All Users	
Administrative Tools\System Tools\PerformanceTest	All Users:Administrative Tools\System Tools\PerformanceTest	All Users	
Administrative Tools\System Tools\PowerQuest PartitionMagic 8.0	All Users:Administrative Tools\System Tools\PowerQuest PartitionMagic 8.0	All Users	
Administrative Tools\System Tools\Powertoys for Windows XP	All Users:Administrative Tools\System Tools\Powertoys for Windows XP	All Users	
Administrative Tools\System Tools\Software Shelf	All Users:Administrative Tools\System Tools\Software Shelf	All Users	
Administrative Tools\System Tools\VIA	All Users:Administrative Tools\System Tools\VIA	All Users	
Administrative Tools\System Tools\VIA\RAID	All Users:Administrative Tools\System Tools\VIA\RAID	All Users	
Blitz3D	All Users:Blitz3D	All Users	
Entertainment	All Users:Entertainment	All Users	
Entertainment\Games	All Users:Entertainment\Games	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Arcade	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Arcade	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Daikatana	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Daikatana	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Daikatana\Daikatana Mplayer Community	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Daikatana\Daikatana Mplayer Community	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Daikatana\Internet Links	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Daikatana\Internet Links	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Daikatana\Mplayer.com	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Daikatana\Mplayer.com	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Legacy of Kain - Defiance	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Legacy of Kain - Defiance	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Legacy of Kain - Defiance\Web Sites	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Legacy of Kain - Defiance\Web Sites	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Tomb Raider	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Tomb Raider	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Tomb Raider\Tomb Raider Chronicles	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Tomb Raider\Tomb Raider Chronicles	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Tomb Raider\Tomb Raider Chronicles\Web Links	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Tomb Raider\Tomb Raider Chronicles\Web Links	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Tomb Raider\Tomb Raider Level Editor	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Tomb Raider\Tomb Raider Level Editor	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Tomb Raider\Tomb Raider Level Editor\Documentation	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Tomb Raider\Tomb Raider Level Editor\Documentation	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Tomb Raider\Tomb Raider Level Editor\Tools	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Tomb Raider\Tomb Raider Level Editor\Tools	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Tomb Raider\Tomb Raider Level Editor\Web Links	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Tomb Raider\Tomb Raider Level Editor\Web Links	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Tomb Raider\TRAOD	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Tomb Raider\TRAOD	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Tomb Raider\TRAOD\TRAOD SCU	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Tomb Raider\TRAOD\TRAOD SCU	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Tomb Raider\TRAOD\TRAOD SCU\Extras	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Tomb Raider\TRAOD\TRAOD SCU\Extras	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Tomb Raider\TRAOD\TRAOD SCU\Web Support	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Eidos\Tomb Raider\TRAOD\TRAOD SCU\Web Support	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Valve	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Valve	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Valve\Half-Life 2	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Valve\Half-Life 2	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Valve\Steam	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Arcade\Valve\Steam	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Arcade\X	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Arcade\X	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Arcade\X\X Script Manager	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Arcade\X\X Script Manager	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Arcade\X\X Script Manager\Help	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Arcade\X\X Script Manager\Help	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Cards	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Cards	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Cards\MtG Editor	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Cards\MtG Editor	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Demo Beta Retro	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Demo Beta Retro	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Demo Beta Retro\Doom 3 Demo	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Demo Beta Retro\Doom 3 Demo	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Demo Beta Retro\Playstation	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Demo Beta Retro\Playstation	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Demo Beta Retro\qoob DEMO	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Demo Beta Retro\qoob DEMO	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Demo Beta Retro\RetroSphere DEMO	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Demo Beta Retro\RetroSphere DEMO	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Demo Beta Retro\Tile Cascade	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Demo Beta Retro\Tile Cascade	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Demo Beta Retro\X3 Reunion Playable DEMO	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Demo Beta Retro\X3 Reunion Playable DEMO	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\GameSpy Arcade	All Users:Entertainment\Games\GameSpy Arcade	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Misc	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Misc	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Misc\CountDown	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Misc\CountDown	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Misc\JSW and MM	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Misc\JSW and MM	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Misc\JSW and MM\JSW	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Misc\JSW and MM\JSW	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Misc\JSW and MM\MM	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Misc\JSW and MM\MM	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Real	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Real	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Real\RealOne Arcade	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Real\RealOne Arcade	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\RPG	All Users:Entertainment\Games\RPG	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\RPG\ADOM	All Users:Entertainment\Games\RPG\ADOM	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\RPG\EVE	All Users:Entertainment\Games\RPG\EVE	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\RPG\NWN	All Users:Entertainment\Games\RPG\NWN	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\RPG\NWN\Docs	All Users:Entertainment\Games\RPG\NWN\Docs	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\RPG\NWN\Docs\DMFI docs	All Users:Entertainment\Games\RPG\NWN\Docs\DMFI docs	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\RPG\NWN\Utils	All Users:Entertainment\Games\RPG\NWN\Utils	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Strategy	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Strategy	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Strategy\Rome - Total War	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Strategy\Rome - Total War	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Strategy\Rome - Total War\Mods	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Strategy\Rome - Total War\Mods	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Strategy\Rome - Total War\Rome - Total War Help	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Strategy\Rome - Total War\Rome - Total War Help	All Users	
Entertainment\Games\Strategy\Rome - Total War\Tools	All Users:Entertainment\Games\Strategy\Rome - Total War\Tools	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Audio	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Audio	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Audio\2nd Speech Center	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Audio\2nd Speech Center	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Audio\2nd Speech Center\Toolbar for Internet Explorer	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Audio\2nd Speech Center\Toolbar for Internet Explorer	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Audio\C-Media 3D Audio	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Audio\C-Media 3D Audio	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Audio\Easy MP3 Recorder	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Audio\Easy MP3 Recorder	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Audio\GoldWave	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Audio\GoldWave	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Audio\iTunes	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Audio\iTunes	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Audio\Music 2000	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Audio\Music 2000	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Audio\Power MP3 WMA Converter	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Audio\Power MP3 WMA Converter	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Audio\Skype	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Audio\Skype	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\AV Edit	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\AV Edit	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\QuickTime	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\QuickTime	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Real	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Real	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Real\RealPlayer	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Real\RealPlayer	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Video	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Video	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\3D Object Converter	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\3D Object Converter	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\Advanced Batch Converter	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\Advanced Batch Converter	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\Amabilis	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\Amabilis	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\ArcSoft Camera Suite	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\ArcSoft Camera Suite	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\DarkMATTER Collection	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\DarkMATTER Collection	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\DivX	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\DivX	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\DivX\DivX Codec	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\DivX\DivX Codec	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\DivX\DivX Player 2.1	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\DivX\DivX Player 2.1	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\FHG-Radium Codec	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\FHG-Radium Codec	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\Fraps	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\Fraps	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\GIMP	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\GIMP	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\InterActual	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\InterActual	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\InterActual\InterActual Player	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\InterActual\InterActual Player	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\Power DVD	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\Power DVD	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\Quick 3D	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\Quick 3D	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\Terragen	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\Terragen	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\Universe	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Video\Universe	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Windows Media Bonus Pack for Windows XP	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Windows Media Bonus Pack for Windows XP	All Users	
Entertainment\Multimedia\Windows Media Bonus Pack for Windows XP\Movie Maker Creativity Kit	All Users:Entertainment\Multimedia\Windows Media Bonus Pack for Windows XP\Movie Maker Creativity Kit	All Users	
Office Suite	All Users:Office Suite	All Users	
Office Suite\Microsoft Office Small Business Tools	All Users:Office Suite\Microsoft Office Small Business Tools	All Users	
Office Suite\Microsoft Office Tools	All Users:Office Suite\Microsoft Office Tools	All Users	
Startup	All Users:Startup	All Users	

[Startup Programs]

Program	Command	User Name	Location	
CTFMON.EXE	c:\windows\system32\ctfmon.exe	NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM	HKU\S-1-5-18\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run	
AVG7_Run	c:\progra~1\grisoft\avgfre~1\avgw.exe /runonce	NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM	HKU\S-1-5-18\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run	
CTFMON.EXE	c:\windows\system32\ctfmon.exe	NT AUTHORITY\LOCAL SERVICE	HKU\S-1-5-19\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run	
AVG7_Run	c:\progra~1\grisoft\avgfre~1\avgw.exe /runonce	NT AUTHORITY\LOCAL SERVICE	HKU\S-1-5-19\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run	
CTFMON.EXE	c:\windows\system32\ctfmon.exe	NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE	HKU\S-1-5-20\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run	
AVG7_Run	c:\progra~1\grisoft\avgfre~1\avgw.exe /runonce	NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE	HKU\S-1-5-20\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run	
Trend Micro Anti-Spyware	c:\progra~1\trendm~1\tmas\tmas.exe -autostart	GAMES\PJ	Startup	
CTFMON.EXE	c:\windows\system32\ctfmon.exe	.DEFAULT	HKU\.DEFAULT\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run	
AVG7_Run	c:\progra~1\grisoft\avgfre~1\avgw.exe /runonce	.DEFAULT	HKU\.DEFAULT\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run	
Trend Micro Anti-Spyware	c:\progra~1\trendm~1\tmas\tmas.exe -autostart	All Users	Common Startup	
C-Media Mixer	mixer.exe /startup	All Users	HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run	
AVG7_CC	c:\progra~1\grisoft\avgfre~1\avgcc.exe /startup	All Users	HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run	
AVG7_EMC	c:\progra~1\grisoft\avgfre~1\avgemc.exe	All Users	HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run	
CookieWall	c:\program files\analogx\cookiewall\cookie.exe	All Users	HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run	
ATICCC	"c:\program files\ati technologies\ati.ace\cli.exe" runtime -delay	All Users	HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run	
Cmaudio	rundll32 cmicnfg.cpl,cmictrlwnd	All Users	HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run	
zBrowser Launcher	c:\program files\logitech\itouch\itouch.exe	All Users	HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run	
SpySweeper	"c:\program files\webroot\spy sweeper\spysweeper.exe" /startintray	All Users	HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run	
SmcService	c:\progra~1\sygate\spf\smc.exe -startgui	All Users	HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run	

[OLE Registration]

Object	Local Server	
Microsoft Graph 2000 Chart	c:\progra~1\micros~2\office\graph9.exe	
Microsoft Excel Worksheet	Not Available	
Microsoft Excel Chart	Not Available	
Microsoft Excel Worksheet	c:\progra~1\micros~2\office\excel.exe	
Microsoft Excel Chart	c:\progra~1\micros~2\office\excel.exe	
Microsoft Word 6.0 - 7.0 Document	Not Available	
Microsoft Word 6.0 - 7.0 Picture	Not Available	
Microsoft Word Document	c:\progra~1\micros~2\office\winword.exe	
Microsoft Word Picture	c:\progra~1\micros~2\office\winword.exe	
Sound (OLE2)	sndrec32.exe	
Microsoft Clip Gallery	c:\progra~1\common~1\micros~1\artgalry\artgalry.exe	
Microsoft WordArt 3.2	c:\progra~1\common~1\micros~1\wordart\wrdart32.exe	
Media Clip	mplay32.exe	
Video Clip	mplay32.exe /avi	
MIDI Sequence	mplay32.exe /mid	
Microsoft Excel Chart	Not Available	
Microsoft Excel 4.0 Macro	Not Available	
Sound	Not Available	
Media Clip	Not Available	
Microsoft Draw 98 Drawing	c:\progra~1\micros~2\office\msdraw82.exe	
InterActual Skin	c:\progra~1\intera~1\intera~1\iplayer.exe	
Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation	c:\progra~1\micros~2\office\powerpnt.exe	
Microsoft PowerPoint Slide	c:\progra~1\micros~2\office\powerpnt.exe	
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starforce is a waste of time, the devs are dumb as heck and even demo sites are starting to label starforce demos with a "possibly harmfull" label

All the games I recongized on that list did bad as far as marketing goes.

@#!*, i bought xiii. i guess im screwed.

XIII, unlucky for some. :P

I'm still holding out on buying x3. Oblivion is surely going to take my mind away from all that starcrap saga. I don't mind the idea of protecting games but they've taken it way too far. When you're buying into new technology you don't want to be seeing other users with stuff like dead drives, reinstalls, games which take minutes to fire up (whilst doing a turd on your dvd drive), and games which just don't run.

In the uninstall instructions:


I have 9 (Nine!) starfarce items!

I am so very infected.

I QUOTE THERS NOT ENOTH PASETAMAL IN THE WORLD
FOR THIS HEAD AKE

.....

I've had XIII and Broken Sword 3 installed on this laptop over time but Starforce isn't installed according to the instructions on glop.org. I guess that these were examples of Starforce-protected games that actually uninstalled Starforce as the games themselves were uninstalled. Or maybe I got editions that were released without Starforce.

i use steam...

Was it really worth digging up a year-old thread to say that?

OMG! Attack of the Zombie thread!

Thread of the Living dead!

I want to know what in the heck this means (posted above by ANIMAL):

"I QUOTE THERS NOT ENOTH PASETAMAL IN THE WORLD
FOR THIS HEAD AKE"

<shrugs> Made me laugh.

I have loads of starforce stuff, and Ive less hasstle from them than from steam.

@markd



Theres not enough paracetamol in the world for this headache!

I take it he had a 'my grane' when he wrote that! :D

Dabz

I went through a LOT of DVD drives last year - 5 or 6... I now avoid starforce.

My drives have not troubled me since.

You guys really suck.

1. starforce only runs when the game using it runs

2. why are you bothered then? are you gonna copy illegal crap while playing the game?

3. get a life

oooohh... lol hit a nerve did we?

There is a patch for X3 out now by Egosoft that removes the need for the CD, its on there website.

As we are 'Devs' here, piracy is something that effects us all at one time or another.

Starforce, however stopped me using disk images of various projects I was working with, it installed itself without my knowledge and stopped me using other legitimatly bought software packages.

A long with all the DvD Drive probs, I decided not purchase anymore SF protected games.

The SF peoples assumption that everyone who complains about it are pirates is.. well laughable and more than a bit silly.

Cheers
Garion
Aint a Pirate, but avoids SF :)

Their latest patch 2.0 removes Starforce, they did the same with X2 and removed copy protection with a patch.

Personally I think games should state StarForce in the requirements like they do with DirectX. At least then I wouldn't have to wait until half way through the intallation before it informs me, I could just leave it on the shelf.

Bzzt, plain wrong.

Starforce installs drivers that replace OS system level drivers, such as the CD/DVD interfacing drivers. Always running.

And runs in 'Safe' Mode, too.

Prior to Starforce v4, it also introduced security holes through those replacement drivers. Starforce v4 has been Vista certified, so one would assume they've fixed it, though the jury is still out.


Irrelevant, now that you'ev been shown what an ignoramous you are.


Touche.