So I've decide to organize some info for those who haven't heard about this issue and I hope other members help as well.
You may also '' flame '' Maxis for their poor work and the lack of skill in a critical time.
:blob6: May the flaming begin! :blob6:
Thanks to Maniac to provide us a bit of information on this.
http://www.insimenator.org/showthread.php?t=61410http://www.insimenator.org/showthread.php?t=61800---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check
here if you want to read about the EA evilish history and why they should be burned
By BeosBoxBoy - Read this if you want to hear the logical and truthfull explanation
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How to know if you have this piece of sh*t on your pc?Start
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Execute ( type regedit) and press enter
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HKEY_CURRENT_USER
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SecuROM--------------------------------------
What is SecuROM? ( Thanks to Celesta92059 a fighting the oppresion member of Sims 2 BBS )
SecuROM INFORMATION
If you have installed Sims 2 Deluxe, H&M Stuff Pack, or Sims 2 Bon Voyage, you have SecuROM copy protection installed on your computer. EA doesn't warn you that this potentially harmful software is being used. The SecuROM copy protection is distributed by Sony Electronics Inc., Headquarters in New York & California.
What is SecuROM
This is what MaxoidSam says it is
SecuROM is an anti-piracy program that is designed to keep people from unlawfully copying software, in theory for the purpose of re-selling illegally. It's also designed to ensure that the game you are playing is a legitimate copy of the game.
EA products (The Sims 2 included) had previously been using a program called SafeDisc for copy protection up until about April of 2007. At this point EA switched to SecuROM. So far, SecuROM has been used for The Sims 2 Deluxe Edition, H&M Stuff, and Bon Voyage. We are using Version 7 of SecuROM.
This is how beosboxboy (from a Sims 2 website we can not talk about here) defines SecuROM
SecuROM is a CD/DVD copy protection program that is intended to prevent software, music, and video piracy developed by Sony. SecuROM is is known to cause more issues than any other copy protection software, a simple Google search will provide you with all you need to know about this. Prior to Bon Voyage and (maybe) H&M Fashion Stuff, EA was using SafeDisc. Other games may have installed this, but if you have only Sims 2 games on your computer, it is likely that it was only installed when you installed Bon Voyage expansion pack or maybe H&M Fashion Stuff. Maxoid Sam did not authoratively say when EA started using SecuRom with The Sims 2 franchise.
SafeDisc CD/DVD copy protection program for Windows applications and games, developed by Macrovision Corporation; though SafeDisc protection effectively prevents regular home users from creating functional copies of CDs or DVDs, it is quite easy for skilled software crackers to bypass. The reason for EA's switch to SecuROM is pretty obvious.
SecuROM is highly controversial. It may interfere with the performance of Windows on any number of levels and is regarded by most security software firms (Symantec, CA, McAfees, etc) as "risky" or "dangerous". It has been known to interfere in the playability of games even when you have a legally purchased copy of the game. Additionally, SecuROM has not been very effective at preventing people from using illegally copied software, for example the copy protection on the game BioShock was cracked within ten days of release, the on-line activation measure that shipped with BioShock also seems to be mainly aimed at preventing lending and rental of the game. In the case of The Sims 2 Bon Voyage Expansion Pack, the cracked version was available the same day as release... go figure.
[End of Quoting]
Sony is being sued in a number of States, and there is a class action suite against them. Many of Sony's customers are sueing them in their local small claims courts. The lawsuits are regarding Sony's rootkit technology that is included in most if not all software Sony distributes.
Microsoft's Mark Russinovich's blog entry's regarding Sony
http://blogs.technet.com/markrussinovich/search.aspx?q=Sony&p=1http://blogs.technet.com/markrussinovich/archive/2005/10/31/sony-rootkits-and-digital-rights-management-gone-too-far.aspxOther links about Sony
http://www.sonysuit.com/Sony's back for more, running BioShock DRM with a rootkit
http://swik.net/User:stinkyworld/Engadget+feeds/Sony%27s+back+for+more%2C+running+BioShock+DRM+with+a+rootkit/bkf49http://www.engadget.com/tag/rootkit/http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%2BSony+%2BLawsuits-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What is a Rootkit?Some of you have tried to find SecuROM on your system and can not find it. I promise you, if you installed Sims 2 Deluxe, H&M Stuff Pack, or Sims 2 Bon Voyage on your computer you do have it, but that's what a rootkit does, it hides itself from you making it difficult for you to find it and to prevent you from uninstalling it.
Rootkit? What? What is a rootkit? Do I have a rootkit?Microsoft's definition and a program at Microsoft to find out if you have one:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/RootkitRevealer.mspxHere is a picture of SecuROM's rootkit on my computer
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i306/celesta920/SecuROM.jpgNotice where it screams "!CAUTION! NEVER DELETE" that file is a rootkit. All the other SecuROM files on your computer you can easily delete by highlighting and pressing the delete button, except that one. It screams only to scare you. Truth is if you can find a way to delete it (which is the hard part), it would be harmless. In fact it would be beneficial to you and your computer to delete it.
What does a rootkit do?Sony or MaxoidSam have not denied SecuROM installs a rootkit on our computers (probably so they couldn't be accused of lying to us). In their statements they fail to even mention the word "rootkit". They only deny that what they install is malware or spyware.
In MaxoidSam's statement he avoids directly denying SecuROM installs a rootkit, but instead he says
"SecuROM claims is it not spyware, malware, or any other kind of 'ware that would extract personal information from your PC. You can read all about what Sony says about SecuROM at their website." [
http://tinyurl.com/2s4gwf ]
[end of quotes]
A rootkit itself is not malware, but a rootkit allows someone, either legitimate (as in the case of Sony and EA's use of it in the Sims games) or malicious (as in Internet attackers), to maintain command and control over a computer system, without the computer system user knowing about it. This means that the owner of the rootkit is capable of executing files and changing system configurations on the target machine, as well as accessing log files or monitoring activity to covertly spy on the user's computer usage.
What a rootkit does in laymen's terms:
A rootkit is a group of software tools that a hacker can exploit to obtain root (top-level) privileges to a computer. Once this top level privilege is obtained, the hacker can perform unauthorized activity on a computer and hide all traces of existence so it can continue to exploit the computer.
http://netsecurity.about.com/b/a/220992.htmMany many more explanations:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%2B%22what+is+a+rootkit%22&btnG=Google+Search
I myself I'll wait until Pescado, the creator of the fix for the spawning tour guides, gives a green signal for installing any patches. This may never be. Don't forget, if it ain't broken, don't fix it. As a final word : Fight the Oppresion, down with EAxis!