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Nintendo Switch developers can now use Denuvo to curb piracy
It’s relatively simple to pirate Nintendo Switch titles and play them on PCs, portable consoles like the Steam Deck and even lower-powered Android phones. This is a problem for the company, and it’s addressing it by partnering up with cybersecurity company Irdeto and its anti-tampering software suite Denuvo.
Microsoft confirms its recent Series X update lets Xbox One discs be played offline
Many Xbox One disc games can be played offline thanks to a new update.
Canon forced to ship 'knockoff' ink cartridges due to chip shortage (updated)
Canon has had to ship printer ink cartridges without copy protection chips due to shortages, and that's creating headaches for users.
Apple to pay $308.5 million for allegedly violating a DRM patent
Apple has been ordered to pay $308.5 million in a lawsuit alleging that the copyright protection in the App Store and Music violates PMC's patents.
We're all kinda fine with DRM now
Digital Rights Management. The phrase alone, or just its abbreviation, DRM, once had the power to spark scathing editorials and spawn furious debates in online forums worldwide. In the 2000s, major PC video game publishers began adding software to their discs that limited the number of times these games could be installed, tracking and verifying players in new, conspicuous ways. Variations of this system persisted throughout the early 2010s, when Microsoft attempted to release the Xbox One with built-in DRM checks. The response from fans was so vicious that Microsoft abandoned its strategy and rebuilt the Xbox One without DRM just months before its launch date. Fast forward to February 2020. NVIDIA launched GeForce Now, the first and only cloud gaming platform to operate on a "DRM-free" basis. When you buy a game via GeForce Now, you get to keep it, regardless of whether the service itself remains live -- a promise that its competitors, Google Stadia and Microsoft's xCloud, can't make. Yet, no one seems to care.
iFixit confirms you can still repair your own iMac Pro or MacBook Pro
Yesterday MacRumors and Motherboard reported on Apple service documents that indicated anyone replacing key parts on computers equipped with its custom T2 chip would require special diagnostic software to finish the job. While Apple has not commented on the leaks itself, the DIY repair folks at iFixit tested out the possibility by buying a brand-new 2018 MacBook Pro, pulling it apart and replacing the display. Shocker: it still worked, even without the software.
Apple ‘software lock’ prevents repairs on iMac Pro, 2018 MacBook Pros (updated)
In new Apple computers with its custom T2 chip (currently the iMac Pro and MacBook Pro 2018 models) it serves the purpose of "the System Management Controller, image signal processor, audio controller, and SSD controller." That means it can handle the system's secure boot system and on the fly encryption, as well as image processing for the FaceTime camera. While the enhanced security is nice, it has additional implications. According to MacRumors and shown on documents posted by Motherboard, anyone doing significant repair work on these systems will be left with a nonfunctioning system until they run the "Apple Service Toolkit 2" diagnostic software. For the MacBook Pro that includes "display assembly, logic board, top case (the keyboard, touchpad, and internal housing), and Touch ID board," and on the iMac Pro, it's the logic board or SSD.
Notorious Denuvo gaming cracker Voksi arrested in Bulgaria
Anti-piracy tech company Denuvo isn't messing around when it comes to game hackers. It touts its digital rights management (DRM) tool as uncrackable and for the most part, it held up for years. But in 2016, a Bulgarian games cracker called Voksi managed to break the system, and now he's been arrested.
Google adds anti-tampering DRM to Android apps in the Play Store
Google has made a small change to Play Store apps that could prove a significant help to the security of your Android phone. The company is now adding a "small amount" of security metadata to Android APKs to be sure that they were distributed through the Play Store or an approved channel. This will make it possible to verify an app even you're offline, Google said, making it possible to officially add that title to your store library and receive updates through Google's portal. It's digital rights management by another name, as Android Central observed, but that doesn't necessarily mean there's reason to panic -- it may ultimately be helpful, even if there are legitimate concerns.
OnePlus 5T will only play HD Netflix if you send it in for service
Good news: the OnePlus 5 and 5T can finally play Netflix in HD... if you're willing to go through a convoluted process. OnePlus has launched an update program to enable the higher-resolution video streaming, but the "security processes" involved in enabling HD require that you send your phone in. As it revolves around the WideVine copyright protection used to allow Netflix playback, OnePlus has to perform the update with a wired connection to an "authenticated PC" -- thanks, movie industry.
Divisive anti-piracy company Denuvo has a new owner
Denuvo, the firm behind the best-known gaming anti-piracy tech, has been snapped up by global digital security company Irdeto. The company's divisive software, which protects video games from attempts to "crack" them and produce a free copy, is considered notoriously difficult to break.
Kodak is jumping on the cryptocurrency bandwagon
Kodak's big film revival isn't working out as well as planned, which leaves it in a tough spot. How is it going to spark interest and raise a ton of cash in a hurry? Easy -- hop on the cryptocurrency bandwagon. The former legend has partnered with Wenn Digital to launch a KodakOne image-rights platform that takes advantage of KodakCoin, a photo-centric virtual currency. In theory, the monetary format creates a reliable photo economy -- the distributed trust of blockchain ensures you get paid instantly and securely the moment someone buys your pictures. KodakOne, meanwhile, continuously crawls the web looking for copyright violations.
OnePlus 5T needs an update to play Netflix in HD
The OnePlus 5T is defined by its cinematic 18:9 screen, but don't expect to get the full effect while you're watching your favorite streaming service... at least, not yet. Owners have learned that the 5T and its OnePlus 5 ancestor can't play Netflix or Amazon Prime Video in HD, since they both lack the Widevine rights management certification need to play at anything beyond standard definition. Yes, your $500 pride and joy currently plays video at a lower resolution than phones costing half as much. Thankfully, there's a solution in the works.
Disney, Fox, Warner and Universal may team up on downloadable movies
After nearly a decade of battling between movie lockers, Disney may finally have support from other studios. According to a report from Bloomberg, "several major Hollywood film studios" are signed up to participate in a new film service with Disney, including Fox, Warner and Universal. Since 2010, most of the industry has relied on Ultraviolet to enable cross-store digital movie ownership, with the exception of Disney, which launched its own Movies Anywhere service in 2014. Most of us got our first taste of the systems that link purchases across stores like iTunes, or Amazon via digital copy codes included with DVDs and Blu-rays. The studios hope that by finally banding together, they can convince customers to buy more movies instead of relying on subscription services or other avenues to get their flicks. There's no word about what might happen to studio support for Ultraviolet, or stores that support it like Walmart's Vudu, but Disney Movies Anywhere currently links to iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, Google Play, FiOS and not Microsoft. The other major studios, Lionsgate and Paramount, are reportedly "supportive" but aren't joining yet.
Spotify no longer streams music in Apple's Safari web browser
If you use Safari to stream Spotify tunes, you're going to need a plan B. Listeners have discovered that Spotify's web player no longer works with Safari. Visit and you'll be asked to either use an alternative browser or fire up the native Mac app. When asked about the abrupt change, the company's customer support could only say that "recent updates" made Safari incompatible. It can't say if or when the feature will come back. We've asked Spotify if it can elaborate, but there's already some speculation as to the possible cause.
Web gets built-in copy protection hooks with a few key flaws
Like it or not, the web is getting some built-in padlocks. The World Wide Web Consortium has decided to publish Encrypted Media Extensions, a standard for hooking copy protection into web-based streaming video, without making significant changes to a version agreed to in March. While it's not perfect, the W3C argues (you still need to deal with a vendor's content decryption module), it's purportedly better than the make-it-yourself approach media providers have to deal with right now. There do appear to be some improvements to the status quo for digital rights management. However, there are more than a few detractors -- there are concerns that the W3C simply ignored concerns in the name of expediency.
'Rime' goes DRM-free after hackers crack the game in days
That didn't take long. Rime developer Tequila Works promised earlier this week that it would remove Denuvo, the anti-tampering/DRM system on the Windows version of Rime, if someone cracked it. Just five days later, and that's already happened and the makers have already released an update that's DRM-free. Interestingly, the developer tweeted saying its publisher was the one promising to make the game DRM-free if cracked. The tweet has since been deleted.
'Rime' creators will remove anti-tampering code if it's cracked
Game studios that use digital rights management (DRM) tools tend to defend it to the death, even after it's been cracked. It prevents 'casual' piracy and cheating, they sometimes argue. However, Rime developer Tequila Works is taking a decidedly different approach. It claims that it'll remove Denuvo, the anti-tampering/DRM system on the Windows version of Rime, if someone cracks its island puzzle title. This is an odd promise to make, especially since it amounts to an inadvertent dare -- find a way to break in and the developers will eliminate the need for that crack.
Netflix is no longer available for your rooted Android phone
Have you noticed that you suddenly can't (officially) download the Netflix app to your rooted Android phone? You're not alone. Netflix has confirmed that its app is no longer visible on Google Play to anyone with a device that is "not Google-certified or [has] been altered." A spokesperson tells Android Police that it's all about a shift in copy protection. Version 5.0 of the Netflix app now leans entirely on Google's Widevine digital rights management to prevent piracy, so it has to treat those modified devices as incompatible. The crackdown isn't completely shocking, but it does create some issues.
EA temporarily blocks Origin access in all of Myanmar
Some gamers are learning first-hand about the dangers of trusting your game library to a copy-protected service: you're at the mercy of that service and its interpretation of the law. Players living in Myanmar have discovered that EA started blocking access to Origin in the country sometime in September. Even if you started your account elsewhere, you aren't allowed to either visit the Origin store or use any of your purchased games. You can use a virtual private network to get around the restriction, but that could easily bog down your connection while playing online. Thankfully, the headache is only momentary.
