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Third party DRM's (SecuROM, Gameshield Ironwrap, Punkbuster, etc.) safe for PC's?

post #1 of 4
7/11/12 at 8:09am
Thread Starter 
Are third party DRM's safe for PC's? I've read very mixed opinions about them, and i'm looking for the straightest answer someone can offer.

So far i've avoided all games with these attached to them. I've heard people getting BSOD's because of them, and also heard that once the DRM's are on your PC they download random things without consent at all.

Pretty much a whole mess of problems, but on the other hand some people are saying they're completely fine and don't do anything bad to your PC.

Maybe i'm just paranoid about it, but I definitely don't want this stuff happening to my first PC build. Really looking to get this cleared up, there's a handful of games i'd like to play but avoided just because of these third party DRM's.
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post #2 of 4
7/11/12 at 8:43am
Not all you have listed are DRM, such as Punkbuster which is cheat detection software. In regards to being safe, generally the software is viewed as invasive as it typically doesn't interfere with the running of your computer. Personally I have not run into any issues regarding DRM interfering with anything other than the game that it was designed for.

The only issues I know of are in regards to playing the game the DRM was made for. An old game I used to play a while, Spellforce, was known for having the notorious DRM known as starforce (people have claimed that this DRM caused their computer to light on fire, which is just absurd.) Sadly while the game would be able to run on Windows 7 64 bit, the starforce DRM could not and as a result I could not run the game.

In fact, Steam itself is quite extensive DRM, but clearly has no such reputation that you speak of. The purpose of DRM is to control content, not damage computers.

A more in depth read on DRM (and piracy, as that's the primary issue DRM was created for) can be found here.
http://www.tweakguides.com/Piracy_8.html
Edited by Luminouslight - 7/11/12 at 8:49am
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El Escorial
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post #3 of 4
7/11/12 at 9:43am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the info, +rep. Going to read up more on them in the link you provided.

When the games install the DRM's they need to run, where do they actually install to? The drive you have the game on, or do you actually choose which drive and such it goes to? I don't like not knowing where software on my computer goes, I like to keep everything tidy, in check and just know where everything is.
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post #4 of 4
7/11/12 at 9:58am
Typically primary component of the DRM is integrated into the executable of the game in question. However, to make it more difficult to by bypass, lower level components may be installed to prevent exploits. It's not as simple as in which folder the files are located. Largely what DRM does in order (This includes additions to registry and drivers) to restrict content is kept secret to make the system far more difficult to crack. The article I linked talks about this at the end of that particular page and in most of the next page.

EDIT: That's not to say that there isn't copy protection has created exploits. An example of this can be seen with Sony and DRM that they put on CD's.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootkit_scandal

Essentially they put in a rootkit to conceal their changes to the OS that prevents users from copying CD's. Unfortunately the rootkit could be exploited to install viruses and malware on to computers as well. Of course Sony got what they deserved from this blunder.
Edited by Luminouslight - 7/11/12 at 10:10am
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