Anyone Remember SecuROM?

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Years later I still despise this version of DRM. :mad:

In 1997 a sophisticated PC CD-ROM anti tamper software was introduced by Sony DADC known as SecuROM. SecuROM did much to frustrate paying customers but very little to stop piracy. Here is the story of the most pointless and frustrating DRM in the PC world.
 
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I do. I think this software broke one of my cd-drives back in the day. I can't recall which game it was, but the drive of that desktop broke down after trying to read the Securom protected cd for few minutes.

So yeah, I can't really prove this, but I do remember that the cd which broke my drive had Securom protection. No lasting harm done though. Since it was a fairly new pc, I went back to seller and wanted a refund which they did and replaced the broken drive.
 
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I really loathe these types of aggressive DRM ... anything that makes the experience worse for paying customers than for pirates I find pretty infuriating. I remember actually having to download a no-CD patch due to issues with some game in the mid 2000s ... and given my attitude towards that sort of thing, that was not an easy decision and really ticked me off!
 
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I also remember it.

From a customer point of view it was an obvious malware used by publishers as dust into eyes of shareholders who were deluded it does something positive for their business. For all I know no publisher was taken to court for enforcing it which is kinda sad.

Was it the public outcry or a simple technology going forward the reason it died, I have no idea, but good riddance.
 
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SecuRom was a major driver in increasing my novice programming skills.
 
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Well one fun fact Sony also help fund and promote Denuvo Anti-Tamper.:)
I do. I think this software broke one of my cd-drives back in the day. I can't recall which game it was, but the drive of that desktop broke down after trying to read the Securom protected cd for few minutes.

So yeah, I can't really prove this, but I do remember that the cd which broke my drive had Securom protection. No lasting harm done though. Since it was a fairly new pc, I went back to seller and wanted a refund which they did and replaced the broken drive.
A few CD's with this DRM ruined one of my drives also back in the day. It was also added to music cd's for a while, and I read quite a few articles on how it damaged CD players.

One other DRM called Tages was almost as bad as SecuROM.
 
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Boy, we used to talk about that around here, eh?

Then when Bioshock developed their online requirements we went ballistic. Since the death of boxed game and the use of digital services this has been less of an issue. Now the issue is redundant online "security" which is not so secretly a way to track. Some, like Blizzard, tried to force users to use their real names. This is still an issue. Good luck with Epic.

--

SecuROM cracked my NWN disks. It was such a ubiquitous problem that Bioware recommended you use a copy of the disk after you install, sent replacement disks to anyone who asked for them then managed to force Sony to remove it in a patch.

Does anyone remember that rootkit Sony installed if you played their music cd's on your computer?
 
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Yeah, if I remember correctly, it was especially aggressive with some Ubisoft games.
 
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I still have far too many old games with this which I fear I'll never be able to play again ( some of them aren't even on GOG or Mag... Steam ! )

So, in the end, money was for them more important than player's ability to play a game through the ages ...

When I had realized that, I began looking at publishers almost only through "the money eye" ...
 
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Is being unable to play TRON: Evolution a good thing or a bad thing? ;)
 
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A DRM WORSE than Denuvo

 
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Well it's more about Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass being worse then Denuvo & Epic for game performance. As for Epic I bought a few exclusive games. Still prefer Steam.
 
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Interesting, how fast a thread about SecuRom became a discussion about something else.
 
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