Sony's back for more, running BioShock DRM with a rootkit
By Paul Miller 
posted Aug 25th 2007 4:39PM
posted Aug 25th 2007 4:39PM
BioShock is undoubtedly a critical darling, but it's not without its share of technical woes. 2K Games is already on the ball with the widescreen field of view "issue," and has even slackened activation requirements, allowing for up to five SecuROM activations per copy of BioShock. Unfortunately, activation problems go deeper than that, since the Sony-owned SecuROM has deemed it necessary to pack in a rootkit with the BioShock installation, both for registered versions of the game and, inexplicably, the demo. We would've hoped 2K games chose its DRM provider carefully, and screened for such shenanigans, but Sony's SecuROM really has no excuse, since we've certainly been down this path before.Update: Our pal Dan at PC Gamer points out that while he thought it was goofy to have the DRM on the demo too, it turns out that they pretty much always do this -- if they don't, pirates can use the unprotected exe to figure out what the difference between the demo and retail exe is, and that makes it easier to hack out.
Update 2: 2K has a statement up about BioShock's DRM. According to them, SecuROM isn't an actual rootkit, it's just hiding some registry keys on your system. Gaming Bob, who originated this story, has also retracted his analysis of the DRM as being a rootkit, and posted up some easier instructions for removing the SecuROM service, so it looks like it's indeed safe to come out and play.
[Via Fergie's Tech Blog; thanks Nfinity]
You have got to be kidding.
NOT A ROOTKIT: Its Microsoft's Spyware detection program mislabeling a registry entry as rootkit.
"It doesn't install a rootkit. It's a registry value that Rootkit revealer gives you a notice of. Just like every file that your Spyware detector pings on isn't neccessarily a trojan. This ISNT a rootkit, just a nasty registry entry."
I guess engadget's staff don't read stories before copy/pasting them any more than slashdot staff do.
Still looking for that gadget blog where the writers know what journalism is.
If it's not a root kit... then why can't I delete the registry setting without having to jump through a bunch of hoops?
I've got administrative access... which means I get to do whatever I want to the system...
I've got a registry key... which I can't delete... I can't view... I can't rename... I can't do anything to... under my administrative access... where I'm supposed to be able to do whatever I want to my system...
...how is that not a root kit? it might not be a traditional root kit... but it's still a root kit...
@lordcat
You seem to not know what a rootkit is. You can change registry information using regedit.
@Donald
You seem to not understand the issue at hand. The rootkit installs registry entries which you, the administrator, cannot remove using regedit. There are other programs that accomplish this same thing, such as VX2 and CoolWebSearch. Both of those are malware that are purposely designed to be difficult to remove. The issue at hand is that a company should not be allowed to purposely design an application that the administrator is unable to remove using normal tools.
And it's a shame that they chose to implement their own DRM in Steam, rather than using the regular Steam authentication system (which allows unlimited installs, but only 1 playable at a time).
That's the last time I'll be buying a non-Valve product on Steam... Although Valve certainly deserves some of the blame for this, as they could've easily prevented this by simply refusing to distribute software that doesn't utilize Steam authentication. I'm sure that had 2K refused, they would've lost money, but is losing their reputation instead worth it?
Wow they even have it in Steam copy? Glad I didn't bought the copy.
Activation wise... 5 times, in the life time? That is ridiculous. What if after 5 times of system reinstallation caused by the SecuROM screwing up the system, and they won't activate it anymore and assume everybody, even the legit owners are thieves?
It's like, forcing we the consumers to use the "other" copies and methods.
Well, apparently if you go through an uninstall process first, they'll allow you another install. If you use up your installations without uninstalling, you'll need to beg them to reset your "install counter".
I'm not in the habit of uninstalling every piece of my software if I need to reinstall my computer, and I'm never going to be.
I've got a "base image" of my computer with only the bare minimum software install on it. If my computer gets badly messed-up, I just restore the backup image and ready to go. I'm not going to play silly games with publishers who treat paying customers as criminals, while the pirates bypass all of their activation schemes.
I downloaded the demo, and I can't delete the SecuROM registry key even with full administrator rights in Windows! Fuck you, Sony!
Yeah, tell me about it... What makes it worse is SecuROM basically trashed my system. Oh well, another reason to go get a 360 and play it on that. I'm just surprised they put it in the demo too.
you need to download "regdelnull" from Microsoft's website. do a Google search.
I downloaded the demo from fileshack. RootKitRevealer doesn't show SecuROM on my system at all. I don't have any files from the manual removal instructions. Anyone else not have SecuROM after installing the demo?
How the fuck M$ even allows this kind of shit on their OS is beyond me.
I'm a Linux user. You can only value your freedom and security so much before you get pissed and switch.
But then, our open source fps games are a bit behind the others. They'll catch up quickly, though. Give us one year.
--that's what dual booting's for.
SecuROM uses a hidden registry entry to store your activation keys so you don't nuke them, rendering your install unplayable. The actual software used by the service isn't hidden at all. The "rootkit" is those hidden key entries.
Read _all_ the articles and info before publishing with ZOMG headlines, willya... please? ;)
Thank for the info - I was going to give Bioshock a go but I am not going to install anything with SecuROM on it.
Not worth risking system stability just to play a game. Games with SecuROM or other intrusive techniques are an automatic thanks but no thanks for me.
Isn't it ironic how the pirated copy is much better than the original because it doesn't require the original "game disk" in the drive and more importantly it doesn't fuck up your system?
Yes, it's a real kick in the teeth to loyal PC gamers who pre-ordered but were never warned of such underhand tactics.
IF THEY HAD NOTHING TO HIDE THEY WOULDN'T HAVE HIDDEN IT
There is no mention of it installing undeletable files/keys NOR activation limits until AFTER you have bought it (in fact not even then really).
The demo dropping it's payload was bad enough (worse actually cos it was totally unexpected) but PAYING to have their infection is insane. My copy still sits here uninstalled.
all i have to say is PAWNED!
Good job, rage. That's the spirit.
"Consumer got Ooowwwnnnnned!"
...how about not.
'Pawned'
Last time I checked that was trading stuff in for money, damn sure that I've never seen a company 'pawned' on the internet.
If you're gonna use slang, use it right damnit!
dammit
Just added this game to the list of "won't ever touch"
Thanks for warning us. Bye bye Bioshock :)
I'll pass the word along to others not to touch it. I don't even want to see their apology. They knew perfectly well what they were doing.
eol for them.
it's quite ironic to see this happening to a game that's all Ayn-Rand, anti-corporate, and anti-Big Brother.
buy a 360, its a great game. :)
Even in the demo no one pirate demo
sony needs another spanking
EA also has the SecuROM DRM crap for Madden 08.
I had the DVD all ready to be installed till I found out about it. No way am I putting that thing on my PC.
You'll notice that if you read the blog that was linked in the blog article that the original author removed the references to BioShock and rootkit. This is another case of internet rumors spreading like wildfire.
DRM is another topic altogether, but please try to get the facts right.
Then we have another story: "As false rumors of rootkit drm on bioshock cover web, gamers speak out with indignation."
Noted. If they /do/ pull that rootkit crap again, this is what's waiting for them. I hope they are very keenly aware of that.
2K Games says otherwise:
http://www.2kgames.com/cultofrapture/pc_faq.html
Look at the 14th Question (or just scroll down).
Hmmmm.... They say it's not a rootkit, so it must not be a rootkit. I mean, why would they be deceptive about that? ;)
I got my collecters edition 4 days ago and it's sittin here still in it's packaging, somethings making me not open it and no I don't think it's a crap game so it's not that :p
Cool, I will wait until the 'modding' community has a 'cure' for this - in other words, I just saved 50 bucks!
Well, Circuit City has Bioshock PC on sale for $40 starting tomorrow. I WAS going to go out and buy (as in purchase; with money; not pirating). Now, I won't be buying it because of this. I just cleaned the SecuROM garbage from the demo off my system.
Congrats 2K games. You just lost a customer. I hope you lose a few more because of this ineptitude.
Yeah ...blame Sony when 2k actually implemented SecuRom in their games. Sony did not force 2k to use their product. Blame 2k if you want someone to blame.
Too true, God, how could they screw me over? I've been waiting for this game in a way since the days when I popped System Shock 2 into my CD drive, this is Chaos Theory all over again, a great game I'm never going to play(I actually bought that one and it wouldn't work).
I had heard that this was a non intrusive rookit... This sort of makes me really angry. Bad DRM, bad.
The SecuRom protection isn't a rootkit, not even close, The author in the original blog where the story stemmed from recanted his bullshit.
SecuROM is bad enough, thankyouverymuch.
What pisses me off is that this kind of stupid, destabilizing, intrusive technology isn't even needed. You can make a much softer protection scheme to keep people from copying it freely, like non-hidden registry keys. And you can't keep out the hardcore hackers no matter what software you use.
So SecuROM et al are putting our systems at risk for no reason other than the limitless stupidity of some exec somewhere.
I'm glad I bought the 360 version where all the DRM is built into the hardware. :)
How about a ps3, where you own the hardware? Games? ps3 os. other stuff? psubuntu.
I think that's hard to beat. Even got a blu-ray drive, I mean- as long as you know your 09f9's and 45f5's, I think that is one heck of a deal.
unless, of course, blu-ray doesn't become the dominant new format.
Also why would I want to run Linux on a PS3 when I can
1) Put together a cheaper PC that has better support for software and games
2) Have graphics acceleration on that PC
3) Can have a Blu-ray HD-DVD drive.
That sounds like the better deal to me.
Hell, my gaming PC isn't even as much as the PS3, and I bet it's better at graphics than it too!
So you're saying the ps3 gpu doesn't have a linux driver? Crap. Gotta remember though, that thing's like having a stream co processor. I'd take that over a gpu anyday. Still, it can only go so long before it has good drivers, right? By the way, I'd like to see how you'd manage to get that much graphics power _and_ other pc components for less than that price...
I am in favor of the flexibility and modularity of a pc, make no mistake. I think the entire idea of a game console is complete crap. I just figured it may have been crap I could have taken advantage of.
Another reason to enter that 360 contest.
Another bit half arse of journalism from Engadget
Maybe the second time is the winner...
This is confirmed FUD. There is *no* rootkit installed with Bioshock. The guy who wrote the original article admitted on his own forums that he did it to generate traffic and ad revenue.
I wonder if a site like Engadget can be held liable for slander for reporting a story like this without checking its facts? You know, one of the central tenets of journalism?
Engadget is a blog, not a news site. As long as you keep that perspective you won't get too riled up about anything on here.
Well then, Sony has a free chance to witness the emotions it would stir if it would.
I was going to buy this game...not anymore. Future 2K released will be avoided as well.
Spread the word...make them suffer where they can feel it: Lack of sales.
Done. I was going to buy this one too. Not anymore, buh-buye Sony.
Is a man not entitled to the game he buys?
NO, says the man at SecuRom. It belongs to 2K.
NO, says the man at 2K. It belongs to us.
NO, says the man at Microsoft. It belongs to our license purchasers.
I rejected those answers.
Instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose...piracy! Where the gamer would not be censored, where the PC owner would not be bound by petty encryption, where the buyer would not be constrained by corporate greed. And with the downloading of your torrents, piracy could become your salvation.
Excellent post :)
Andrew Ryan has an important less on for Sony:
"We all make [DRM] choices, but in the end our [DRM] choices make (or break) us."
One more reason to steal the game.
I vividly recalled the pains installing released here in Europe Quake 4 (which in the end turned out to be "poor" to put it politely). SecuROM words were all over the place too. And I managed to run game only after three reinstallations and removal of my DVD recorder from PC.
Ahoy. As usually software pirates are going to enjoy the game more than legit customers...
P.S. And why then they complain about piracy hurting them??? If they start hurting customers - some of them might want to "return" the favor. Only natural expression of human nature.
I wonder if this is the same securerom that was styled in C&C3 where if you had installed programs such as poweriso in the lifetime of the system build, it would not run. Any securerom game gets pirated because it complains at all the other software on my system. What ever happened to just installing and go. Why is installing a game worse than registering vista? Who comes up with this arbitrary number of 5 installs? What if I want to play it 5 years from now?
The 5 installs are not for the lifetime of the product, if that's what you mean. 5 years from now you'll still be able to play it (barring any video driver compatibility nonsense)
damn it Sony!! lol. I think this will end up just like when Sony BMG music puts those flawed DRM software rootkits in all those cd's. I just hope these rootkits don't damage anyone's computers.
This is nothing like that, because the Securom protection is NOT A ROOTKIT. Do a little research.
"*REFERENCES TO ROOTKIT HAVE BEEN REMOVED, FURTHER INVESTIGATION HAS REVEALED A MISUNDERSTANDING IN THE THE SECUROM SERVICE"
sorry its just this article led e to believe it was a rootkit.
Moreover, crackers out there will be laughing in the face of this, since SecuROM security has been broken several times over already. It will only be a matter of time before BioShock's protection will be cracked as well, leaving the illegal downloaders with a care-free, non-rootkit packing version of the game.
This is not Sony's fault...its 2K's. The idiots have seen several impressive top games go down the shitter almost instantly in popularity becuase of SecuROM...and then they go ahead and authorize it's usage in their most anticipated game for several years. What a bunch of idiots. It's like they WANT individuals to pirate their BioShock, becuase of the crippling protection schemes, and replayabiliy inhibiting features brought forth by SecuROM.
You would think 2K has learnt from Ubisoft's screwups....but aparently they still haven't. Whatever...it's their loss. BioShock is a truly wonderful game, but it's sad it fell into the same technical mishaps as any other game which got stuck with SecuROM.
Hmm I just don't understand why 2K did this. Ubisoft chose not to put any copy protection scheme in Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2. I can't think of a better reason than the fact that they've been harassed with tons of user inquiries when after their popular games with protection scheme hit the shelves. Yes, it is easy to be copied because there isn't any protection but is there any game or software succeeded in "protecting?" Not one I believe. Making their customers suffer because of their stupidity doesn't seem quite ight.
This is an outrage even if it's not a rootkit. It hides registry entries? Give me a break!
Yeah really. That's what I use registry monitoring software for.
and it modified this key, and this key, and thi- undo. Gone.
I want that monitoring software - what are you using? And does it deal with invalid keys like the one described in this article? E.g. the key name ends in * and so normal ways to remove the key don't work.
Does Vista still have a registry? The whole concept of a central, global registry for all things is probably the biggest design flaw in Windows XP. It's responsible for WinXP installations going down the drain after a year or so of heavy use.
Another Engadget anti-Sony rant crashed and burned. You had to retract your statement about the rootkit...next time double check your facts when the source is a blog.
This is what happens when a company like AOL buys a blog. It turns into the same kind of crap that AOL was/is. Engadget is gaining quite a track record of posting nonsense before checking it's facts, causing all kinds of mayhem.
Engadget has been off my radar for almost a year now. I only popped in here due to Digg pointing to the story.
Guys, Securom has been on so many games in the past without such a big ruckus. Take a look at this list and you'll see that many many games use SecuROM or some other form of protection. Some examples of other mainstream games with secuROM are FEAR, Neverwinter Nights 2, Hitman Blood Money, and many others. SecuROM is not another Starforce, it doesn't really harm anything. the only difference with this new securom on bioshock seems to be the online activation, which is what brought it to attention. I think people are overreacting.
SecuROM for NWN2 DID cause a big ruckus on the Atari forums. I have never played my copy because of SecuROM. It now serves as a $50 reminder to check the DRM before buying any game. Companies need to learn not to do that, I will just not buy any SecuROM-protected software.
I do work on my PC - I really can't afford it to get compromised by some game company's fancy.
Rootkit or no, it is a repugnant system, and a terrible disrespect to their customers.
This is just another case of a well-intentioned but poorly reasoned attempt to curb piracy. I wish developers would simply accept the fact that piracy will always exist on the PC because its an open platform, and stop wasting money with DRM crap that does nothing but harm the consumer.
I believe that if software is well written, the sales will reflect that. And as for the people who insist on pirating the game anyhow, well, they probably weren't going to buy it anyhow.
I just wanted to chip in that (though the age of my PC is an increasing factor), I have not bought a PC game in probably over a year, and all the DRM headaches play a big part. It's just one more reason I got BioShock for 360, and I'm glad I did -- the game kicks ass, and I was playing it less than 5 minutes after I first put the disc in the tray. PC gaming still has a lot going for it, but console gaming looks more attractive every year (IMHO).