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From: kent@xanth.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Silent Service
Message-ID: <2380@xanth.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 6-Sep-87 03:54:49 EDT
Article-I.D.: xanth.2380
Posted: Sun Sep  6 03:54:49 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 6-Sep-87 20:43:58 EDT
References: <8CRONEJP@UREGINA1> <153@jc3b21.UUCP>
Reply-To: kent@xanth.UUCP (Kent Paul Dolan)
Organization: Old Dominion University, Norfolk Va.
Lines: 54
Keywords: hypocracy
Summary: Removing manual protection is _only_ good for pirates!

In article <153@jc3b21.UUCP> fgd3@jc3b21.UUCP (Fabbian G. Dufoe) writes:
>
>     Jonathon Crone posted a long article complaining about the problems
>caused by the copy protection on Silent Service (MicroProse).  He is
>absolutely right!  I would never have bought the game if I hadn't been able
>to defeat the copy protection.  Fortunately Marauder II does a fine job.
>It not only gives you a non-protected copy on a standard DOS disk, it
>strips out the "Identify the silhouette" protection scheme.
>
>     Silent Service is a great game but the copy protection doubles its
>cost, because you also have to buy Marauder II.  MicroProse would sell a
>lot more of them if they didn't have such an objectionable copy protection
>scheme.
>
>     It's a real shame when legitimate users who purchase a program have to
>turn to programs like Marauder II (which, incidentally, is a fine program)
>to protect their investment in software.  That kind of additional cost
>shouldn't be necessary.  But because of firms like MicroProse lots of
>people who aren't pirates have to buy Marauder II.
>
>
>--Fabbian Dufoe

Now I'm a little hot.  Marauder II claims to be a tool for legitimate disk
backup.  Sorry, I just don't see _any_ reason to remove "keyword from manual"
protection except piracy.  The folks that have been nice enough to remove
disk drive homoginizer copy protection schemes in favor of keyword from manual
schemes, to let you do your own backups and run from hard disks, have every
reason to be furious (not to mention filing lawsuits for abetting of a felony)
with the makers of Marauder II.  Sorry, but I have yet to see a keyword in
manual scheme so tough that it wasn't worth typing in the words just to help
keep the makers of a decent game in business long enough to produce their next
game.

Notice that, so far as I can tell, _no_ on disk protection scheme can
work against the teenage kid who is willing to filezap or disassemble
the whole game to remove copy protection.  Nor can any dongle or
keyword in manual scheme long survive such a determined attack.  Every
program that I have ever heard of for the Amiga is readily available
in pirated form, which makes all forms of copy protection a bad joke
on the users by the vendor.  I just don't think that a manufacturer
providing the service of backing up disks whose original vendor tried
to interfere with backups, a laudable goal, should also sully itself
removing legitimate theft protection schemes that do not interfere
with the normal use of the software.

Notice the difference.  Weird tracks and obscure or unreadable files
are copy protection schemes.  Dongles and keyword in manual schemes
allow copies, they are theft protection schemes.  It would be a good
idea to keep the two clearly distinguished in our minds.

Comments?

Kent, the man from xanth.