Items tagged with DRM
Gamers who purchased Doom Eternal have quickly realized that Bethesda made a mistake in its packaging for the Bethesda Launcher. Everyone knew that Doom Eternal would be using Denuvo DRM to keep the game from being cracked and posted online -- or at least it would slow hackers down for a while. However, the developers mistakenly packaged a complete DRM-free copy of the game executable inside the game download package. The game executable, minus the Denuvo DRM software, sat in a folder inside the Bethesda Launcher version called "Original." We say the DRM-free "sat" in the folder inside the original download because Bethesda appears to have quickly realized the mistake it made and issued a patch...
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In a groundbreaking move, the Library of Congress and US Copyright Office have proposed new rules that will give consumers the ability to legally hack the DRM of electronic devices to repair or maintain those devices. The devices these proposed rules would cover and legalize the hacking of include smartphones, voice assistants, tractors, cars, smart home appliances, and other devices. These proposed rules will be a major win for the right to repair movement. Devices that can be legally hacked would have to be "lawfully acquired" meaning that the proposed rules wouldn't make it legal to hack the DRM of stolen devices. Rules would also stipulate that the hacking of DRM is legal only for "maintenance"...
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Google is rolling out something akin to DRM for Android APKs as a way to verify that apps originated from the Play Store. Rogue apps that are malware-ridden are running rampant these days, so this is just an extra layer of security that Google is implementing to help safeguard Android users from attacks. The new DRM has a single goal, and that is to allow users to be certain that an app they are using is genuine and hasn't been tampered with. The number of apps that have been found with malware inside or to be outright fake is ever growing in the Android realm. Late last year it was found that a fake WhatsApp app had racked up over a million downloads. To be clear, Google isn’t billing...
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OnePlus has built a name for itself by releasing Android phones that offer a high bang-for-buck, and in the process has attracted a modest following. Sacrifices sometimes have to be made to maintain a lower price than the competition, though one unexpected compromise was that the company's OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T phones debuted without the ability to stream HD video from a handful of services, including Netflix. OnePlus is rectifying the situation with an update, though it's not something owners can download on their own. The issue at hand is a digital rights management (DRM) one, and specifically the lack of either phone's ability to reach the L1 security level in Google's Widevine DRM. That's...
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TorBrowser users could be in for a rude awakening thank to some rather nefarious Windows DRM-protected files that are making the rounds. It appears that malicious parties could use malware that is ensconced within DRM-protected files to reveal their true IP address. It should be noted that this latest attack vector requires both the use of Windows and the Tor Browser. As Hacker House reports, clicking on “these ‘signed WMV’ files do not present any alert to a user before opening them they can be used quite effectively to decloak users of the popular privacy tool TorBrowser with very little warning.” Such a sneaky attack would leave your IP address wide open for hackers, copyright holders, or...
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Oculus just made a change to its software which removes a controversial “feature” that it added last month. The company has disabled its DRM that checked to make sure that Rift hardware was actually connected to a PC before games purchased and downloaded from the Oculus Store could be played. This DRM in effect killed workarounds like Revive, which allowed owners of the HTC Vive to play software originally designed to run on an Oculus Rift. Oculus today confirmed the removal of the DRM check. "We continually revise our entitlement and anti-piracy systems, and in the June update we've removed the check for Rift hardware from the entitlement check," said Oculus in a statement emailed...
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Oculus suddenly finds itself embroiled in a game of cat and mouse as it attempts to keep titles exclusive to the Rift from running on competing VR headsets. Unfortunately for Oculus, its latest attempt at padlocking content with a DRM update backfired, and instead of stopping hacks like Revive from working, Oculus ultimately made it easier to pirate games. Let's back up a moment and see how we got to this point. At the end of last year, Oculus founder Palmer Luckey made what amounts to an open software statement by proclaiming, "If customers buy a game from us, I don't care if they mod it to run on whatever they want. As I have said a million times, our goal is not to profit by locking...
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Keurig’s attempt to lock its competitor’s coffee pods out of its brewers (all while running “The choice is yours” branding) has finally come to something of an end – though it’s not one that will appease some Keurig owners. The company announced that it is bringing back the My K-Cup in time for the holidays, giving its customers some freedom when choosing which coffee the Keurig will brew.“We want customers to be able to brew every brand, any brand of coffee in their machine, and bringing the My K-Cup back allows that,” Keurig CEO Brian Kelley told analysts in a call this week, reported Fortune. Supporting the My K-Cup will let customers choose their own coffee, but keeps competing (sometimes...
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I drink more coffee than I'd like to admit. Most of it is black, since I like the idea of not overdosing on sugar throughout the day, although on regular occasion I do dump a bit of flavored creamer in there for a treat. Surprisingly, there's an additive that's all the rage right now that I somehow never thought to add: delicious, fat-free DRM. Admittedly, that might be because I prefer to have freedom when it comes to something as dead simple as coffee. Keurig sees it a different way, as its Keurig 2.0 system, released last summer, introduced a digital rights management mechanism. The launch didn't come as a surprise; the company's CEO gave us all advance warning last spring. Well, what the...
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If you ever have any doubts about the success of PC gaming, look no further than Steam. On any given day, a bunch of different content gets released - from full titles to DLC - and it just never seems to slow down. For proof of that, Valve says that over the course of the past nine months, it's added over 1,300 titles to the service, and Steam as a whole now has over 100,000,000 active accounts. With such major growth and general success, I've found it odd for a while that Valve wouldn't update Steam's main website. Sure - it's suitable enough, but a fresh coat of paint can help keep things fresh. Last month, the company released an update to Steam that improved its aesthetics somewhat, so it...
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Well this is surprising (and in a totally good way) -- Comixology, the cloud-based digital comic book distributor founded in 2007 and acquired by Amazon this past April, is now allowing customers to backup comics stripped of Digital Rights Management (DRM) protection. DRM-free backups are available to save in PDF or CBZ format. "We're excited to make this DRM-free backup option available to our customers and publishers today," Comixology co-founder and CEO David Steinberger said in a statement. "Our customers can keep a copy locally and continue to do their reading on Comixology in our industry-changing Guided View." There's a bit of a buzz killing caveat in that not all of Comixology's...
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When Microsoft announced that it was canceling the much-hated always-on Xbox One requirements, a collective cheer went up from the Internet -- and also, a collective grumble. A number of players were ready to get rid of physical discs altogether, looked forward to the Family Share features that Microsoft had promised, and generally wanted a console that would move forward into digital distribution, even if it came at the cost of giving up privileges today. Those fans have put together a Change.org petition calling for Microsoft to add back the features that it removed from the console. The petition is short and to the point, reading: This was to be the future of entertainment. A new wave of gaming...
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Ever since Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One in May, the user community has raised holy hell about the 24-hour mandatory online check in, the loss of used game sales, and the onerous online requirements that prohibited game or console imports into countries where the Xbox One service hasn't officially launched. Microsoft's entire E3 demo was buried thanks to a $499 price tag and a crushing video from Sony. Throwing military users under a bus by insisting they just buy an Xbox 360 was apparently the final straw. Today, Microsoft threw in the towel. The Xbox One will not require a 24-hour check in. It won't require an online check-in or verification system at all. Here's Don Mattrick with the details:...
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A couple of months ago, while a lot of people were up in arms over the Xbox One's potential "always on" requirement, Gears of War creator and former Epic Games developer Cliff Bleszinski said, quite simply, "#dealwithit". Unlike so many others, he simply didn't see the reason why an "always on" console was a bad thing, insinuating that it's the "world we live in". Given this, it should come as no surprise that Cliffy B is also in favor of Xbox One's used game DRM - that is, where a disc-based game can be traded only once. On Twitter, and via Computer and Videogames, he defends the scheme by saying, "You cannot have game and marketing budgets this high while also having used and rental games existing....
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While both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are a ways off from their release, I can already tell you one thing to expect: neither console is going to be fun as the previous-generation. Why? It's simple: consoles used to be about gaming, plain and simple. Today, consoles are becoming more like PCs; they're being infused with TV, movies, music and other content. Sure, more stuff to do could be interpreted as "better", but what we're also getting are additional "protective" headaches, such as DRM, rumored for the Xbox One and now the PlayStation 4. Last week, Joel wrote up a great editorial that explains his thoughts on used game DRM. As he eloquently states, "Do you know why Microsoft hasn't 'confirmed...
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Years ago, DRM was finally kicked out of the digital music scene. And consumers rejoiced heartily. But DRM is still a major, major factor across the entire spectrum of digital content -- be it UltraViolet for movies, or DRM filters embedded onto Blu-ray Discs, and most things in between. Now, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which is responsible for coming together and putting forth Web standards, has published a draft for Encrypted Media Extensions (EME). What's that, you ask? It's a structure that'll allow DRM content to be displayed in the browser, without plug-ins like Flash or Silverlight being required. In other words, it's a major step forward. Yes, DRM is still there, but this could...
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Whether it's software, games, movies or even books, piracy is rampant. There's no denying that, and there's no one that understands the harmful effects of it better than the content creators themselves. Over the years, we've seen some humorous attempts at trying to sway the pirate towards becoming a paying customer, and there's probably little doubt that some have worked. In recent memory, Serious Sam 3 introduced a monster only in the pirated version of the game that hunted you down indefinitely and was impossible to kill. There's also Take On Helicopters, which corrupted textures on purpose in the pirated version of the game. Humorously, before these mechanics were understood, some pirates...
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For the past nine days, Maxis has been caught in a firestorm of epic proportions. Having failed to beta test the game appropriately or account for actual server loads, Maxis' SimCity servers disintegrated under the onslaught of people wanting to play a game they paid for. Since launch day, company executives and representatives have remained steadfast on one point -- the game must be played online. "With the way that the game works, we offload a significant amount of the calculations to our servers so that the computations are off the local PCs and are moved into the cloud. It wouldn't be possible to make the game offline without a significant amount of engineering work by our team." Maxis general...
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The problem with DRM schemes is they tend to punish honest paying customers with a level of inconvenience that's annoying at best, and crippling at worst. Every once in awhile we're reminded of this, such as the current server SNAFU that's affecting SimCity, an otherwise well-received game with favorable reviews. Electronics Arts (EA) is a big proponent of DRM, and when you load SimCity, it has to first check in with the mother ship to make verify you're not a digital pirate. After that, it requires an always-on connection. Fair enough, but if you're going to go through the trouble of attempting to weed out unscrupulous users who may have obtained the game through illicit means, you better make...
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Toshiba this week announced the launch of new microSDHC memory cards based on SeeQVault technology, a mobile DRM standard licensed by NSM Initiatives LLC and backed by Panasonic, Samsung, and Sony. The technology applies bidirectional authentication with a unique identifier and public key infrastructure, and can be integrated into flash memory cards along with the devices that run them. "SeeQVault technology gives consumers access to the latest digital content - and the freedom to enjoy it across platforms. The SeeQVault card can be used for playback of content from a smart phone, tablet or TV with a high level of security," Toshiba says. The end-game is to tie content such as pre-loaded movies...
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Sony's next-generation PS4 unveil is just two weeks away, which means leaks concerning both it and Microsoft's next-generation Xbox Durango (sometimes referred to as the Xbox 720), are at an all-time high as well. Unfortunately, not all the news is good. Rumors continue to swirl that the next iteration of Xbox will lock out used games entirely and require a constant Internet connection. The used games angle is something we've covered before. New games would come with a one-time activation code to play. Use the code, and the game is locked to the particular console or Xbox Live account it's loaded on. Physical games will still be sold (the Durango reportedly supports 50GB Blu-ray Discs), but the...
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It may have taken Ubisoft a hundred million years to figure out that honest-to-goodness consumers really, really despise always-on Digital Rights Management (DRM) schemes, but bless the publisher's heart for finally caving. Actually, Ubisoft did away with always-on DRM over a year ago, but is just now making it official. "We have listened to feedback, and since June last year our policy for all of PC games is that we only require a one-time activation when you first install the game, and from then you are free to play the game offline," Ubisoft's Worldwide Director for Online Games, Stephanie Perotti, stated in an interview. Perotti and Corporate Communications Director, Michael Burk, spoke at...
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