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Boing Boing Threatened By Software Creator

Posted by Zonk on from the wah-wah-wah-all-the-way-home dept.

mfh writes "StarForce has issued threats to Boing Boing's Cory Doctorow in retaliation to Cory's post about the anti-copy malware that installs itself along with many popular (and unpopular) video games." From the BoingBoing post: "Yesterday, I posted about StarForce, a harmful technology used by game companies to restrict their customers' freedom. StarForce attempts to stop game customers from copying their property, but it has the side-effects of destabilizing and crashing the computers on which it is installed. Someone identifying himself as 'Dennis Zhidkov, PR-manager, StarForce Inc.' contacted me this morning and threatened to sue me, and told me that he had contacted the FBI to complain about my 'harassment.'"

7 of 351 comments (clear)

  1. Here is a picture of Dennis Zhidkov by Sundroid · · Score: 5, Informative

    Smile, you're on Slashdot: http://icoc.freehomepage.com/contact.html

    --
    Sun and Fun
  2. What has been broken by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    List of games they fucked up:
    http://fileforums.com/showpost.php?p=299834&postco unt=205

    courtesy of http://www.fileforums.com/showthread.php?t=70333

  3. Making a list and checking it twice by thaerin · · Score: 5, Informative

    Ever since I heard about some of the random issues caused by Starforce a few years back, I've always avoided any game title under it's protection. You can find a pretty good up-to-date list of known Starforce protected titles over here - http://www.glop.org/starforce/

    --
    If big boobed women work at Hooters do one legged women work at IHOP?
  4. Re:No point in getting us riled up without a targe by web_boyo_in_sac · · Score: 5, Informative

    Dennis Zhidkov
    PR Manager
    StarForce Technologies
    Altufevskoe shosse, 5/2
    127106 Moscow, Russia
    Tel +7 (095) 9671451
    Fax +7 (095) 9671452
    ICQ: 75-371-896
    E-mail: denis.zhidkov@star-force.com
    Http: http://www.star-force.com/

  5. Re:Yay, more useless litigation... by amazon10x · · Score: 5, Informative
    anybody who can reproducibly demonstrate their software harming a system

    You understand that one of the 'rules' of this competition was that it had to do permanent damage. Someone (multiple people, actually) showed them that when they installed a game with StarForce, their DVD(cd?) drive began to malfunction. However, they would not let this individual claim the prize because after completely wiping the HDD and reinstalling windows it began to work properly. They claimed this did not harm the system because it did not do permanent damage.

    (I don't have a source to back this up right now, I'll find the article later.)

    If I install a game on my system I don't want to have to reinstall my OS everytime I want to burn a DVD.

  6. Re:Yay, more useless litigation... by amazon10x · · Score: 5, Informative
    I realized I had the bookmark right here. Straight from the terms of the contest:

    Using your PC (the subject PCs hardware must be under warranty terms) or any StarForce office PC you demonstrate that:
    - All the drives in the system are properly functioning prior to the installation of a StarForce protected product of your choice. A legal version of operational system must be installed and there must be no other third company products installed. StarForce experts have full access to the subject PC for verification of installed software.
    - After the installation and start-up of StarForce protected product (the product itself must not be hazardous for optical drives) the CD or DVD drive in the subject PC is not reading CD/DVD discs or the drive is not writing CD/DVD discs.
    - After this demonstration the subject Drive must be removed from the subject PC and installed into any other computer that has no StarForce protected products or drivers installed, that has a legal version of operational system and has no third company products installed. StarForce experts have full access to the subject PC for verification of installed software.

    Should the subject Drive fail to read or write CD/DVD discs in the second PC, you will be acknowledged the Winner.

    That last sentence means that you must make the software actually physically fubar you drive to the point it will not work in ANY SYSTEM without starforce protection. Everyone knows starforce isn't physically smashing drives with hammers; they are breaking drivers to the point one needs to reinstall Windows.

    This contest will never be won.

    As a side note, if you decide you want to try to win this contest anyway, you must foot the bill to fly to Moscow (the one on the other side of the planet) and show the folks in the office.

  7. Re:The FBI? by Egatlov · · Score: 5, Informative

    First, the contest was, until very recently only $1000, not really a large bounty.
    if you read their rules you have to travel at YOUR expense to moscow to demonstrate the problem. You then have to demonstrate in ONE DAY a problem with the DVD/CD drive which "Until it reaches the latter stages most people do not even realise it is happening."
    The contest is a PR move with rules constructed to make winning impossible. The bashing has been on target and valid.