[extropy-chat] FWD (SK) RFC: copy protection report

Herb Martin HerbM at learnquick.com
Thu Dec 1 16:50:20 UTC 2005


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Acy Stapp
> 
> Dave, I can't reach your server (DNS won't resolve) but here are my
> thoughts on copy protection as a game developer:
> 
> It does not work. Never. Every available copy protection scheme has
> been cracked at least once, and that crack is made available to those
> who want to crack other software. People will crack your copy
> protection *for fun*.

Acy is correct.

Copy protection is ALWAYS defeated by the professional
and the serious crackers.

Copy protection just irritates legitimate users who are
the ONLY ones who cannot easily avoid it; it abuses the
trust of your legitimate users and REDUCES your customer
base since many of us will NEVER buy or approve the 
purchase of a copy protected system when any alternative
exists.

If copy protection works, Microsoft would and other major
software producers would use it -- practically all gave
it up years ago as a losing (money) proposition.

> USB dongles are a pain to use. When we buy software that requires one,
> we find a crack so that we don't have to use it. Otherwise some of our
> developers would have three or four dongles hanging off of their
> machine.

> At some point in your code you are going to have a function to check
> the copy protection and a cracker will find this function and change
> the machine code to return true.

Yes.  Anyone who seriously wants to break the copy
protection can do so.

> Really your only hope is to be so obscure that noone wants your
> product and no crackers want to break it.

Exactly. 

--
Herb Martin





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