Copy Protection Firms Encourage Piracy?

Ars Technica has a reflection on the revelation that StarForce had linked to pirated versions of Galactic Civilizations II. From the piece: "It's not hard to see why the publishers use the stuff; after all, no one wants to spend a couple of years on a project only to see their efforts rewarded by flat sales and a robust pirate market. Still, in the quest for better protection, these copy protection schemes have grown in both sophistication and invasiveness. Some schemes now install their own hidden device drivers that monitor your computer's optical drive access, trying to prevent copying and other unapproved uses. (If this sounds familiar, it should. Game copy protection, after all, is just another form of DRM.)"

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Well covered by Penny Arcade

[Elwood P Dowd]

Penny Arcade news post on StarForce thugs

The comic will briefly be available here,

And later it will appear in its permanent location: Penny Arcade comic on StarForce thugs

(I wonder if they'll ever sort out their flakey software.)