Sony's back for more, running BioShock DRM with a rootkit
By Paul Miller 
posted August 25th 2007 4:39PM
posted August 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]
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).