Anti-Piracy Ideas

[Alec_85]

People without Internet should not be sitting @ a computer in the first place Plus it's really easy to get Internet nowadays. Not having a connection is getting less of a good excuse by the minute really

 

[Briderider]

er time have moved on you guys. Games like operation flash point are now virtualy impossible to pirate. They wright delibarate mistakes in to the CD these are picked up by the Hardware decoders and corrected and it works fine. However if you then wright a new CD / copy the file the corrected infomation is written back and when this is read in again it will differ from what was originaly there. Now you can get round this but its very hard.

 

[marksmanHL2 :)]

I completely forgot about operation flashpoints system.


That was very impresive.....



It actually uninstalled itself very slowly from my system and I had a legitimate copy... which was irritating.

However I reinstalled and it worked fine. Got me kinda confused that!

 

[Wilco]

The Errors on a CD system is very good for stopping people copying CDs, it doesnt help if people pass around a CD and use a Keygen tho . Also once you get 1 copy on the internet it can go anywhere.

I was looking at how Microsofts new Digital Rights Management works. Its their new music protection software for .wma files (Napster uses it, which I how I found out).

Basically the data (in there case song, in this case game) is encrypted. In order to decrypt it you need a passcode off a license server. Each copy of the song (game) has its own individual key. This key is taken by the player (steam) and sent to the license server along with its own Player (steam) Code, and a machine code generated by what hardware u have (Steam User ID). The License server then checks that:
a) The File code is correct.
b) The music player is authorized and
c) The User has a license for that song

If so it sends back a code in other to decrypt the file. These codes only work for a limited time (say for a day or so). Then the player needs a new code.

As far as I can see this is very hard to hack without knowing the decryption algorithm. You can't create your own player to play it because you need a player code. You can't get one code and use that forever because it runs out. If you comprimise another players code they just update it.

If anyone can see a way of bypassing this do say, I've been wondering about it.

Obviously this does need an internet connection, but that is the only way you will stop pirating.

 

[Wilco]

oh and with XP you can send off your Key in the Mail you get 30 days to activate it.

 

[ScopeD]

Hey, why not make it like this. When you install the game, it would make you go to the net, and the net would check your game serial, and that way if someone has two same ones, it wont let you install it......... so all those key-gens wouldnt work.

Or hackers can bypass it? Any more ideas?

This is basically what steam does at the moment. And there will updates when hl2 arrives so be warned hackers.

 

[Sai]

i'm not at all pro pirateing, but it's really inevitable that the game will get cracked, and be available on warez or suprnova, but the only thing i can think of that the pirates may not be able to crack is online play

 

[Daiceman9]

i'm not at all pro pirateing, but it's really inevitable that the game will get cracked, and be available on warez or suprnova, but the only thing i can think of that the pirates may not be able to crack is online play

What are you talking about, they already do that, there were Warcraft 3 Beta servers running a few weeks after the beta was out, they just needed to crack the main EXE to workaround the CD key and another program to mess with what server you connect to.

 

[Cylleruion2012]

Someone posted that you'd have to be fingerprinted and stuff at the store where you buy it (post was a few days back, I think it was on that stupid thread "HL2 is coming will you buy?")

I don't believe that, but I bet that Valve will have some good anti-piracy things going on.

 

[Kirkburn]

What are you talking about, they already do that, there were Warcraft 3 Beta servers running a few weeks after the beta was out, they just needed to crack the main EXE to workaround the CD key and another program to mess with what server you connect to.

Er, perhaps, but thats not *really* online play, that's "look at us, we're all illegal buggers on this server, all alone" Firstly for MMORPGs the server could be tracked and closed down as it is highly illegal. Secondly, for FPSs it means u can't play against anyone who isn't stealing/theiving/whatever you want to call it. Which is most people!

 

[<RJMC>]

operation flashpoint is piratable
but I dont know about that errors

the pirated opertion flashpoint runs fine

about the Warcrft3 beta is true,here in my city there a Cybercafe who hav the beta of the expansion,but they hav the real game now

 

[kotic]

the reason this wont work is because it doesnt appeal to the people who dont have internet access.

 

[Daiceman9]

Those people are in the far minority, though alot of people want HL2 to be able to work for dialup even though 4% of people on steam have dialup.

 

[wonkers]

There is no such thing as anti-priracy. The idea is ubsurd. CD-keys and all that is to stop morons from giving the game to their friends.

Stop acting all high and mighty because your mad other people will get the game you baught for free.

 

[Kirkburn]

Those people are in the far minority, though alot of people want HL2 to be able to work for dialup even though 4% of people on steam have dialup.

Of course HL2 will work over dialup ... why wouldn't it?

There is no such thing as anti-priracy. The idea is ubsurd. CD-keys and all that is to stop morons from giving the game to their friends.

Stop acting all high and mighty because your mad other people will get the game you baught for free.

What are you on about? There are programs such as Starforce 3 to stop CDs being copied (and distributed over the net), and we damn well have a right to get angry if people steal!

 

[ELIXIR]

What if the buyer doesn't have internet access? They would be screwed!!!

well lets just say that internet connection would be required.... min sys specs.......

 

[ELIXIR]

I agree that internet checking would be an excellent way of preventing piracy - people without net access may complain, but is that not similar to having a graphics card that is too old, or a PC that's too slow? It'll just be another one of those 'requirements' to run a modern game

couldnt of said it better my self

 

[Kirkburn]

Yay! My first officially useful post Thanks, man!

Anyways, there are some pretty damn excellent CD protections programs out there now, and there will always be pirating buggers but it's takign them longer and longer to crack. Am intrigued as to how VALVe going about it ... what did they use for CS:CZ?

 

[The Mullinator]

I have dial-up and its definately not an option to have HL2 connected at all times to the net so I can play single player, its not like a high-speed connection where you can keep it on at all times since it also means the phone no longer works.

 

[Kirkburn]

Why do you think it needs to be connected to the net all the time?? Steam supports the option to be offline, anyway ...

 

[CrazyHarij]

I bet Steam will be a great way to prevent piracy.

 

[ufux]

I don’t see hl2 losing much to piracy this time round, Times are changing, your not just buying a GAME, its no longer just a case of cracking a protection & your done, yes you'll have the pleasure of thinking Ha ha I got this game for free but what then? What about updates, expansions packs, all new content.

The benefits of owning a legit copy far out ways the messing about, Hell I found it a pain in the ass finding the correct version updates for my "legit" copy of half life 1 , Just Imagine 6-12 months down the line update after update, version 1,2,3,4 or whatever & finding Cracks for this ,Cracks for that, Just so you can play online with your buddy's & them all laughing @ you when you cant connect to Server as your version is out of date or worse.

You= Waiting in hope that the next update add-ons to be cracked

Your Steam buddy's= all sitting round a Camp fire in the latest map telling old war stories of how Jim bob took down a strider with banana skin and LTFAO @ you for being a tight ass.

The way I see it, The only people that would bother downloading a cracked copy etc are the ones that would probably never buy it & play it anyway, or just for Bragging rights "ha-ha I got hl2 W :cheese: :cheese: T "

Ufux

 

[Thorn of Death]

Valve cracked thier own Half-life after a few patches.





How'bout this:

The installer checks wither there is a crack directory in the CD, and if it detected one, it would screw up critical windows' files and crashes the computer.

That way it'll stop the game from being cracked in the first place.

Obviously, there's some way around it.

 

[bigun]

the only way to beat piracy is to throw the people who do it in jail

it was in the news a while back that the cracking group razor 1911 had got busted by the FBI and they got some pretty hefty jail terms.

a nerdy hacker is a real hardman when hes behind a computer screen. hes not such a hardman when hes in a federal penetentiary being made some guy's bitch.

you just watch - the only reason piracy hasnt been dealt with much is cos it didnt make that big a dint in compaines profits. with he internet its starting to grow and grow. thus law enforcement gets involved and these people get ****ed.

the US has even been putting pressure on russia to close down these games markets you get on the streets selling pirated games. and believe me, russia will do what the US tells them to cos they want all the IMF loans they can get.

once anything becomes a large enough problem then the authorities will clamp down on it.

the only possible problem is when organised crime gets involved and starts getting these nerds to hack for them to make more money.

 

[staddydaddy]

you just watch - the only reason piracy hasnt been dealt with much is cos it didnt make that big a dint in compaines profits. with he internet its starting to grow and grow. thus law enforcement gets involved and these people get ****ed.

Uhh sorry to burst your bubble dude but

A.) The Internet isnt starting to grow (go back about 6 years ago.)
B.) Piracy is a big big problem
C.) Piracy has been tried to be sqwashed

 

[Diablo2k]

Valve cracked thier own Half-life after a few patches.





How'bout this:

The installer checks wither there is a crack directory in the CD, and if it detected one, it would screw up critical windows' files and crashes the computer.

That way it'll stop the game from being cracked in the first place.

Obviously, there's some way around it.

Then they will get sued, since cracks arent illegal in every country.

 

[Kirkburn]

Why would they get sued? You buy the game, you agree to their license agreement. After that you cannot sue them for something you've most likely just agreed to!