2k are you ever going to provide a way for demo users to remove securom

[greylantern]

Whether it turns out it was a storm in a tea cup or a real security threat is not the issue.

It needs sorting out.

Here's a though, you know everytime we post on here the moderators (2k) can SEE our IP address in their admin panel?

YOu know they have installed something that opens up a port on your PC without you knowing or being able to detect it with typical security (this is from what I read as I admit i'm no expert).

So what if they mix those two and decide to do a little 'back door' snooping using your IP, their open port and hidden posibilities that only they know about.

I'm not saying this CAN happen or would happen but until we know it CAN'T happen (and not from some anonymous posters on a forum) then it remains a problem.

[greylantern]

Oh and of course that appears to apply to demo users to so not just 'valid customers' but people who previously played the demo and removed it. They possibly still have access, if you piss them off enough with rants what could they do (if anything?)

[BES]

As far as I can tell there is NO way currently to remove it from a Vista 32 or 64bit OS...im told securom will make a removal tool..

The WindowsXP way seems to work though that are many posts on here on how to remove it..takes abit of work, but now I will play the game,then remove it completely from my system using tools in the mentioned posts on the forum on how to remove it....ill post a few links though:

http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?threadid=203200

Newer link, third post from bottom, has a few more new tools:
http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=169832

[Guspaz]

What I want to know is why my Steam copy of the game (and demo) have SecuROM at all! Steam is itself a copyprotection scheme. Why does 2K feel the need to have another ADDITIONAL layer of DRM on TOP of Steam?

Is Steam not good enough for 2K? It's good enough for Valve and HL2...

[AlienMind]

so excuse me maybe i'm just dumb and didn't read the demo-eula or something, but IS THERE SECUROM ON THE DEMO OR NOT?? as far as I deduct there is one on the steam-demo and none on the downloadable 1.8GB one?

[adakeb]

Originally Posted by 2K Elizabeth

there is no securom on the demo.

Lies. What do you call this?

[TonyV]

Guys, I, like many other users, have been looking forward to this game. However, this is totally unacceptable.

The 2K SecuROM FAQ has at least a couple of inconsistencies that I see:

SecuROM DOES NOT USE any root kit technology in its implementation.

Yes, it does. Your statement that it doesn't in spite of the fact that it does makes you look very bad. As as been pointed out several times, it installs registry keys that cannot be deleted via normal means, and it is software that subverts the administrative privileges of a user's machine. Is 2K using it for evil? Maybe not, but that won't stop other more nefarious people from doing so. When Sony's rootkit hit the wild, they insisted that they weren't using it for evil either, but it didn't stop hackers from quickly taking advantage of the rootkit on people's machines to use it as an avenue of attack.

In other words, even if SecuROM and 2K has the best of intentions, that's not good enough. Good intentions are what the road to hell is paved with, after all.

Secondly, the FAQ says:

SecuROM does not fingerprint the hardware.

It then goes on to say:

The only data collected is the serial being used for activation, the IP address used for activation, an identifier for the software being activated, and the hash of the machine ID...

You won't have to reactivate unless you change several pieces of hardware and this will count as one of your 5 allowed computers, if reactivation is required.

I have two pretty simple questions. How exactly is the "machine ID" derived that a hash of which is sent? How is it that a machine whose hardware isn't fingerprinted would have to reactivate when several pieces of hardware are changed?

Let's not kid ourselves. The hardware is, in fact, fingerprinted, and the first statement in the FAQ that says it's not is an outright lie, just like the statement that SecuROM isn't a rootkit is. The statements are a PR effort intended for the sole purposes of misleading users who aren't computer savvy enough to actually dig in and check their veracity to accept them at face value, setting their mind at ease, and getting them to install dangerous software that opens up significant security holes on their system.

Last (that I know of), but not least, 2K Elizabeth comes here and posts a message saying, "there is no securom on the demo," when it has been shown with glaring obviousness that there is, in fact, SecuROM on the demo. Maybe she was simply mistaken, but taken in whole with the other attempts to cover up what is going on and mislead your users, I'm not much inclined to give her the benefit of a doubt now.

This is totally unacceptable. I downloaded but have not played the demo yet on my Xbox 360. I will be deleting it. I was in the process of downloading the PC demo to try out this weekend, and I have canceled it and won't be buying the game. I'm also going to do all that I can to alert my friends who are gamers of the dangerous software that is being included in 2K's game.

As far as I'm concerned, you have lost all credibility as a company over this. Congratulations, you might well have indeed stopped a few software pirates from playing the game. In the end, though, you've impacted your revenue and profits far more than any software pirates might have, I hope you're happy.

You've already lost me as a customer, and your unethical actions have already started a PR nightmare with a post on Slashdot appropriately titled BioShock Installs a Rootkit (where I happened to hear about this, thank goodness). At this point, you basically have two options to try to recover. One is to immediately drop SecuROM from the game, apologize profusely to those who might still be interested in buying the game, and distribute a removal tool for getting rid of the SecuROM rootkit. The other is to continue to deny, obfuscate, and lie about what you've done in the vain attempt to try to wade out of the mud by digging deeper into it, which will cause a huge outcry against your company and this game and kill your sales. Given your actions to date, I'm pretty sure which method you'll try, which is why I say you've already lost me as a customer. Hopefully more sane minds at your company will prevail.

[M-O-S]

Yeah, wow. Why is elizabeth and 2k lying for, then?

[SniperFox]

Originally Posted by 2K Elizabeth

there is no securom on the demo.

Wow, even employee's lie about a serious situation of ignoring the laws of sale & privacy.
Can't believe a company like this is doing these things against honest paying consumers.

[pepe#]

The guys responsible for this copy-protection crap only care about the sales and marketing. You can not argue with them on a technical level.

If you like the game, buy it.

Then wait for cracks and modified images to appear in the net and play it.

No need to worry about the useless securerom rootkit-du-joure. And rejoice, you also don't have to put in the original DVD every time you want to play the game..

With companies telling me what to install and how to use the stuff I bought from them, I have absolutely no problem with that.

You can protest all you want, the government is buyed by the content mafia and will only reduce your rights if you ask them.
But in this age, code is law.


PS: I'm still not sure if I'm going to buy the game. Maybe if there are some nice bundles or so. But as a SS2-gamer, I'm sure going to play it.