Not only is Starforce an evil driver-based copy-protection system that will spontaneously reboot your machine without warning if it thinks its being circumvented, not only is it on surprisingly many PC software products including a few you just might own, not only does it not remove itself when the game that installed it is uninstalled, but now they're claiming that the complaints about their software ultimately come from the Russian Mafia, and are asking authorities in the U.S. and Russia about looking into them.... (Previous Starforce idiocy on MeFi.)
posted on Mar 21, 2006 - View this thread

Ubisoft's demo of the new King Kong PC game comes with a lovely surprise: StarForce copy protection software. Starforce installs a device driver with no warning, and many users have complained that it causes system instability. It also appears totally contrary to the idea of allowing users to copy the demo between one another (effectively robbing Ubisoft of free advertising). As with any form of copy protection it appears StarForce is simply an annoyance to the casual user, while the dedicated pirates are well on their way to cracking it.
posted on Oct 24, 2005 - View this thread

Vive la Revolution. Are DVD Copy Protection technologies now illegal in France? (via techdirt).
posted on Apr 25, 2005 - View this thread

If you've bought one of BMG's new copy-protected CDs, remember to hold down the shift key while loading it into your PC. That one keystorke will let you be free to rip, mix, and burn it.
posted on Oct 7, 2003 - View this thread

Drop the marker and back away from the CD-RW drive. Add Senator Joe Biden (D - Delware) to the list of politicians eager to put the brakes on technology, kowtow to Hollywood and otherwise stop the Earth from turning: Biden's new bill would make it a federal felony to try and trick certain types of devices into playing your music or running your computer program. Breaking this law--even if it's to share music by your own garage band--could land you in prison for up to five years. And that's not counting the civil penalties of up to $25,000 per offense. Biden's bill is on the fast track and not getting the same press attention that Sen. Holling's CBDTPA bill had earlier this year.
posted on Jul 29, 2002 - View this thread

Homer Simpson: Hack your DVD player. It seems in countries in which the DVD Copy Control Authority doesn't own the government, even the giants of corpmedia don't like the "protection" features the platform foists on consumers. On Fox's Simpsons UK DVD release FAQ page, Homer himself says "I have no idea whatsoever what regional coding means. But it is essential that you buy a multi-regional player. Do it now." Is the DVD region-coding system really only relevant in the United States?
posted on Jul 11, 2002 - View this thread

Harry Potter released unprotected. In a move that makes me say both "Wha?" and "Kickass!", Warner Bros chose to release the Harry Potter DVD and VHS home versions sans the Macrovision copy protection. It could stand to be quite an experiment, or quite a blunder on their part.
posted on Jun 15, 2002 - View this thread

When stupid laws attack: this article points out that the widely syndicated article about thwarting the copy protection of sony's CDs is a direct violation of the DMCA. Will news directors at Reuters, Yahoo, and CNN be seeing fines and jail time soon? How many times does it have to be pointed out that the DMCA restricts free speech as it attempts to thwart piracy at any cost? (via k5)
posted on May 24, 2002 - View this thread

Copy protection of music CDs is morally wrong, and as Americans we can and must assert our rights to Fair Use of the media we have purchased. But I give it to the Germans: they have figured out a way to defeat Cactus DATA Shield 100/200 and KeyAudio. [translated from German by Google]
posted on May 15, 2002 - View this thread

Good news for Mac-owning, Celine Dione fans

"The process is pretty easy: I took a bit of electrical tape and applied it to the edge of the CD, the 'shiny side', - just a half inch of the stuff - and aligned it with the very edge 'data track session ring' visible on these copy protected CDs. Took the tape out to the outside of the CD and put it in my CD Rom."
posted on May 14, 2002 - View this thread

"The Right to Read." A short story from Richard Stallman of the Free Software Foundation. What *could* happen to education, innovation, and intellectual freedom if all information becomes property.
posted on Feb 4, 2002 - View this thread

Sweeeeeeeeeeeet!!!!! A bit of a repeat, but absolutely justified
posted on Jan 18, 2002 - View this thread

Who says DeCSS litigation is dead? Norwegian court indicts the fellow who cracked DVD protection.
posted on Jan 11, 2002 - View this thread

Copy protection for CDs does not have future says Philips. Philips spokesperson Klaus Petri, speaking to Reuters, says its company counts on the fact that the refusal of consumers will convince the music industry to step back from copy-protected CD's. Petri said that Philips could sue the manufacturers of CD's with copy protection (as managers of the world-wide CD patents), because they would not correspond to the standards. "those are silver disks with music on them, but which do not resemble CD's". [via Neowin.net]
posted on Jan 9, 2002 - View this thread

U.S. representative questions the legality of copy-protecting CDs. A decade ago, record companies pushed through a law (the Audio Home Recording Act - summary or full text) that gave them a royalty on the sale of certain blank recording media; in return, they acknowledged the right for listeners to make some digital copies for personal use. Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) is asking if new schemes blocking even legitimate copies are in violation of this law.
posted on Jan 5, 2002 - View this thread

Copy-Protected CDs: The List! Buying CDs as gifts this holiday season? If the people on your gift-giving list have MP3 players or listen to their CDs on their computers, you'll want to have this list handy, as these CDs have intentional "copy-protection" defects that may render them unplayable on computers, certain car stereos, and some other high-end audio equipment.
posted on Nov 30, 2001 - View this thread

"There might be consumer expectations here, but there is no legal right." For the last several months, music consumers around the world have unwittingly been buying CDs that include technology designed to discourage them from making copies on their PCs. The technology inserts audible clicks and pops into music files that are copied from a CD onto a PC. According to Macrovision, the company that has provided the technology to several major music labels. (I want to say "Fuck the music industry," but that would be rude.)
posted on Jul 20, 2001 - View this thread

Charley Pride's Copy-protected CD hacked -- or is it? Apparently, the people involved in trying to keep the CD off Napster failed to realize they are dealing with the World Wide Web.
posted on May 16, 2001 - View this thread

the shame of the music industry The industry seems ut to foil any attempt to allow known methods of foiling guards against making copies of music. Is this ethical and right or an imposition of monopolistic control over technology?
posted on Apr 30, 2001 - View this thread

Napster proof CDs? (Salon link, so shoot me) A new scheme for copy-protected CDs that uses errors and false data to confuse your CD-ROM drive. (more inside)
posted on Mar 28, 2001 - View this thread

John Gilmore on the implications of copy protection "If by 2030 we have invented a matter duplicator that's as cheap as copying a CD today, will we outlaw it and drive it underground? So that farmers can make a living keeping food expensive, so that furniture makers can make a living preventing people from having beds and chairs that would cost a dollar to duplicate, so that builders won't be reduced to poverty because a comfortable house can be duplicated for a few hundred dollars? Yes, such developments would cause economic dislocations for sure. But should we drive them underground and keep the world impoverished to save these peoples' jobs? And would they really stay underground, or would the natural advantages of the technology cause the "underground" to rapidly overtake the rest of society? -- I think we should embrace the era of plenty and work out how to mutually live in it."
posted on Mar 16, 2001 - View this thread

"Welcome to the United Police State Of America." Number two Linux spokesman Alan Cox may have been a bit over the top in his reaction, but industry plans to integrate copy protection and rights management into future hard drives could cause all kinds of legal and technical nightmares.
posted on Dec 22, 2000 - View this thread

It seems the SDMI team would rather declare victory than actually be victorious. In order to qualify for the prize, you have to sign an NDA and not reveal how you broke in. The Princeton team refused to sign and apparently SDMI no longer thinks they count. Instead, the Princeton team intends to publish their results, including how to deactivate all the systems. But since Princeton won't get any money, that apparently means SDMI is secure. What a bunch of maroons.
posted on Nov 9, 2000 - View this thread

"Boycott hacksdmi.org" [I can't believe the idiots at SDMI thought this was actually going to accomplish anything anyway.]
posted on Sep 15, 2000 - View this thread

Put down that remote! The MPAA wants to equip the next generation of video recorders with copyright-protection technology, to allow broadcasters to prevent you from recording their shows.
posted on Sep 5, 2000 - View this thread

If you choose to accept this music file, Mr. Phelps, it will self-destruct after one listen. If you attempt to tamper with or share this file, it will also self-destruct. Thank you for your attention. End of Line.
posted on Aug 1, 2000 - View this thread

So the DVD copy protection was cracked, and it's interesting to hear the comments from the industry. The DVD Forum's release makes the hackers sound awful. The DVD folks feel like they've been ripped off. Can't these motion picture and DVD industry folks see this as a good thing? A couple hackers decrypted what was supposed to be a secure format and they're horrified? They should be horrified at the idiots that created the weak 'protection' in the first place. These hackers just did the industry a great service. They found a gaping security hole before good recordable DVDs ever came out! I'm surprised hackers are vilified instead of being offered lucrative positions as security experts.
posted on Nov 3, 1999 - View this thread