Anything is crackable, if somebody really wants to do it. But I wouldn't recommend anybody uses a site like that mentioned, the "more surprises inside" tend to be viruses or trojans nicely wrapped up with the allegedly "useful" file which may, of course, turn out to not be what was promised. It is one of the most popular ways to distribute muck like that, and you would look a bit silly complaining to the police about it.And believe it or not, traffic from sites of that sort is monitored (in the UK at least) for the purposes of prosecution for downloading pirate software so tread carefully. This was mentioned on a three-part documentary series on the television recently.John

There are plenty of ways to stop every type of attack without the whole sale elimination of entire countries from access.

The issue was with New Zealand didn't have ANYTHING to do with the elimination of whole countires, those are 2 entirely unrelated things. User in New Zealand did not have any problem when we excluded some problematic countries, like Vietnam, Laos, Yemen, etc. I assure you that NO customer ever came from those countries. This block was in place since 2007, when we opened the FSDT website, and nobody ever complained about it.The issue with New Zealand started because we added (much later) a further block for the proxies, which is entirely different than IP block by country.THIS one created such problem because, apparently, many users in NZ are accessing the Internet through a proxy redirect, perhaps without them even knowing.THIS one has been removed.However, it doesn't change the fact that nothing of this, opposite to what you said, ever had anything to do with piracy control.

I guess that any company that wants me to uninstall KLAX because I purchased EHAM really doesn't have a lot on the ball.

First, you are wrongly speaking about FSDT, while instead you are refering to Cloud9 products. As was explained, many times, we are not Cloud9, and we never been, we just SELL to Cloud9 the right to use our Addon Manager, and that's it. In exchange of that, I'm also doing some user support on Cloud9 forum, with questions related to the program, that's why several people wrongly assumed that I might have been part of Cloud9. Even the popular legend about "Cloud9 became FSDT", is wrong as well, because FSDT it's part of my company, VIRTUALI, which exists since 1993 and has been doing commercial addon for flight sim since then, while Cloud9 was founded in 2004, I think, and by entirely different people.Now, about the supposed fact that you should "uninstall KLAX because you purchased EHAM", that's not the case.There are no compatibility problems whatsoever with ANY of the FSDT and Cloud9 products. The current version of all Cloud9 products works flawlessly with the current versions of FSDT products.If you were requested to confirm your activation again for any of the Cloud9 products, after you installed either the current EHAM, or any of the FSDT products, it's because CLOUD9 CHANGED it's activation policy, from 1 activation per order, to a much better and user friendly 5 activations per order, under our suggestion. We give SIX activations per order, Cloud9 decided to go from 1 to 5. Meaning you could now change hardware 5 times before having to contact them for a reactivation.This required to "switch" all the Cloud9 activations to the new policy, and it was an one-time only thing that required just a few seconds, to register the program with the new activation server, and it would automatically update all installed Cloud9 products to 5 activations per order, and even restarting counting from 0, regardless how many activations you already had in the past for Cloud9.So, you didn't have to remove KLAX when you installed EHAM, you simply had to confirm its activation, once, and you would have had KLAX with 5 activations as well.Of course, everything would only work if you had a LEGIT copy of KLAX. It's quite clear that, if you had a bogus serial number that was activated thanks to a crack, it wouldn't been possible to update this fake activation so yes, if you had a *pirated* copy of KLAX, if you bought EHAM, it wouldn't work.Umberto Colapicchioni - VIRTUALI s.a.s.http://www.fsdreamteam.com

Well, that maybe true in some instances, but I think that you're missing the point. You see, all software is crack-able and will always be cracked in one form or another. So any attempt to prevent it, (by your own admission and mine), is impossible. Also to pretend that scenery will not be fully functional once it's been cracked, is borderline naive and saying so is a bit misleading at best.The point here is how much grief and aggravation will you put your paying customers through to protect your copyright which is not protectable? In my opinion, if you're going to survive as a company, then you need to inspire loyalty within your customer base and the flight simulator community. Otherwise just like Lago, any effort will ultimately fail. Look at the pathway Cloud9 is on. It's like all of the dotcom webs that were being tracked to their doom 9 years ago. It was terrible but predictable at the same time.I believe that there are enough people that actually want good scenery companies to survive and flourish. I am one of them but at the same time, I don't want to get involved in any crusades that a company has against piracy. I don't want to be enlisted in that army and just want to fly.Point in fact, bglman.dll. My system is carrying it around and it doesn't help flight simulator go faster, have better frame rates, or do anything that I really need. Why is it there then? MarkOh, I'm sitting here staring at my Cloud9 KLAX and EHAM CDRoms...I'll type out one of the lables for you...CA 0008007851NOLEGGIOVIETATOCD ROMLOS ANGELESSCENERYC9A6110CLOUD 9It's a little silver tag on the back...Good enough for you?

Hi,

But, having a crack that is released many months after the product, that doesn't work with any updates and it doesn't work with any of the new sceneries, it's not very useful. If one is really so

I must contradict you about your certainty of your protection as a friend of mine used the crack with latest products and all working fine ..... !!!

like Vietnam, Laos, Yemen

Sure the people from those countries must be happy to rely on pirates for have your products.Anyways .. it's a cat - mouse game ... heheHave a nice day !

Well, that maybe true in some instances, but I think that you're missing the point. You see, all software is crack-able and will always be cracked in one form or another. So any attempt to prevent it, (by your own admission and mine), is impossible.

That's exactly what I've said, we know that nothing is uncrackable. However, being cracked after 9 months, after the scenery has sold quite a bit already and after we already released newer products and updates for the older scenery that doesn't work with the crack anymore, it's VERY different than being cracked 0-day, like a lot of flight sim products out there.

Also to pretend that scenery will not be fully functional once it's been cracked, is borderline naive and saying so is a bit misleading at best.

To pretend to know this for sure, it's instead very naive. How do you know for sure the cracker successfully removed ALL checks inside the program, and how do you know that all checks behave exactly in the same way, which is to display the obiects ?The program is designed exaclty in a way to give the cracker the impression he HAS successfully cracked the product, but there are several things that will stop to work, but not soon.

In my opinion, if you're going to survive as a company, then you need to inspire loyalty within your customer base and the flight simulator community.

We are doing very well, thank you. People recognize the quality of our products, and the speed of our support. And, sales are going well so, obviously, people are voting with their pockets.And, about piracy protection, you are forgetting a crucial thing: we are not JUST protecting our products, we are also giving something BACK to the customer, which is of course:TRIAL VERSIONSSome users are getting it, for example, this posts here say it all:http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?showtop...p;#entry1574289Nothing to be added here...he perfectly understood the issue.

Point in fact, bglman.dll. My system is carrying it around and it doesn't help flight simulator go faster, have better frame rates, or do anything that I really need. Why is it there then?

Another "fact", which is just your assumption. You are mistakenly thinking that module does ONLY protection, because that's the part you, as an user, gets in contact with it.In fact, in addition to that, that module handles also several utilites features, that are neeeded by the scenery for some features, like the position of AI in order to draw several ground vehicles or not, if the AI is present, the weather conditions and surface temperature, in order to have the scenery draw objects like ice blocks around the runway in winter, etc, the time of the day and the day of the week, in order to have the scenery display some objects on specific dates are times, the handling of "events", were the scenery can display some things, like animations, but not always, or randomly. The auto-detection of the user airplane type, including the correct position of the front wheel, so the scenery can activate a proper docking system without having to use COM frequencies, and with correct stopping distances with any airplane. So, the modules is a sort of FSUIPC, but optimized for scenery use instead than Gauges.And that's just the FS9 version of the module, which is not as feature rich as the FSX one.Under FSX, instead, what that module does is just what you are saying it does not: it DOES help improving the frame rate, because it offer to the scenery ALL the optimization features that all developers were complaing to be missing in FSX. So, in FSX it helps fps by offering features that would be otherwise not availble in the FSX SDK, like precise loading distance handling, LOD for all objects even in SP2 (we don't suffer the lack of LOD in SP2, thanks to that module), viewpoint optimization to cut out objects that should't be visible, and there are even settings that the user can tweak to control this, so he'll be able to decide a good compromise between fps and loading distance. ALL of this, not available under the normal FSX SDK for sceneries, is made with the Addon Manager, and we might not be able to create something as complex as JFK without it. We know this for sure because, during the developement of the scenery, we start testing the scenery using regular BGL and, when the scenery gets almost complete, the fps is usually really bad, and we would have to relased it like this, if we didn't had the Addon Manager. Once we start converting into direct C++ calls to be handled by the Addon Manager, thus bypassing BGL, the fps go up again.So yes, at least for the FSX version, the Addon Manager, on top of doing all the other things as the FS9 version, will ALSO help improving the fps. At least, to make sceneries as complex as JFK (which many thought as being "impossible" in FSX), to work.Umberto Colapicchioni - VIRTUALI s.a.s.http://www.fsdreamteam.com

It's a little silver tag on the back...Good enough for you?

I couldn't possibly know if you have a legit KLAX or not, you had your explanation and, if you read it better, you would have realized that I've said there are no problems with Cloud9, as long you are using *current* versions of their sceneries.Your CD is NOT current for sure, because it was released in 2006 I think, the only thing that is valuable inside is the SERIAL NUMBER, which allows you to use the product.So, you just need to download the latest installers from Cloud9 website, they'll recognize your CD serial but, being newer versions, will surely work with newer version of the Addon Manager that were released in the meantime. And, it's much better to always install FSDT stuff after Cloud9, because we are backward compatible with them, but their installers can't possibly know about our products.So, to recap, if you have some Cloud9 products on CD, the best course of action is:- Install the CD, so this will allow the installer to ask for your Serial Number to be put in the registry, if it's not already there.- Download the Full installer of the same scenery from Cloud9 website and install it- Now you can install all the more recent FSDT stuff, if you want to.This will allow to use your Cloud9 bought products, together with everything that has been released after that.And, pardon me but, how this is any different than having an old CD of an airplane that comes with an old version of FSUIPC, which might downgrade the version you already had, and render another product useless ? It's exactly the same thing: you realize your CD came with an older .DLL, you update FSUIPC with the current version, and it will usually works.Umberto Colapicchioni - VIRTUALI s.a.s.http://www.fsdreamteam.com

I must contradict you about your certainty of your protection as a friend of mine used the crack with latest products and all working fine ..... !!!

Sorry, you can cite any "friend" you want, but I only confirm that crack you mentioned works ONLY and only with the products that were available at that dat so, NOT with the latest products, they are not even in the Addon Manager menu and, if a product is not listed there, even the "cracked" version doesn't know of its existance and it will not display any scenery when you fly there, because nothing will tell that a scenery to be activated is supposed to be there. You can go to your "friend", and verify this: does "he" sees KLAS or KFLL listed, after installing the crack ?So, I repeat and confirm: that crack is several months old, and it doesn't work with the latest products. If a new crack would ever released in the coming monhts, we'll probably have released other product in the meantime that wouldn't work with that one either so yes, it's a cat and mouse game, but we are usually always several months ahead, and people know this.Do you really think we don't know exactly where and when cracks are published, and we don't throughly check them to see how they work as soon they are released ?Umberto Colapicchioni - VIRTUALI s.a.s.http://www.fsdreamteam.com

Virtuali, I don't see any comment from you concerning the little tag that I typed out. Does that mean I'm a paying customer or not? Regardless, I have been saying all along that there is probably other functionality in the bglman file...most of which I personally don't need and yet cannot remove because it's embedded in the copy protection schema...eSellerate and the transaction surcharge...hummm...Anyway, I cannot think of a better vehicle to smooth the way for a company policy...a bit of smoke and mirrors. Weather bglman is truly useful or not is subjective. I don't use it, the frame rates at KLAX are deplorable at times, there are no updates to make it faster or better. We just carry bglman like Gunga Din carried the water.MarkBy the way, this is an FS9 forum...

Virtuali, I don't see any comment from you concerning the little tag that I typed out. Does that mean I'm a paying customer or not?

Are you refering to the tag about the "proof" of purchase of the CD ? I think to have clearly explained what you have to do in order to have your CD working, wasn't that clear enough ? The CD version and the online versions are using exactly the same activation system, it's just the CD version surely comes with an older version of the scenery, which is pointless anyway, considering you can always freely download the full installer from Cloud9 webiste, and the serial you have on the CD WILL WORK with it, no problem.

Regardless, I have been saying all along that there is probably other functionality in the bglman file...most of which I personally don't need

YOU don't need it, but the scenery does, and the scenery designer choose to use that feature, which might not interest you, but might interest other people.

and yet cannot remove because it's embedded in the copy protection schema...

So what ? Since we are not going to release unprotected sceneries anyway, it makes sense to have everything in the same module, rather than having two modules (and the added overhead that comes with it), one with special features and one with the protection.

eSellerate and the transaction surcharge...hummm...

What "surcharge" ??

the frame rates at KLAX are deplorable at times, there are no updates to make it faster or better. We just carry bglman like Gunga Din carried the water.

Again, another wrong assumption of yours: what makes you think the very presence of the Addon Manager makes any difference to KLAX fps ? KLAX is what it is, there's a Trial version avaialble, and the reason why there's a Trial, is to allow people to check performances on their system, and people are usually quite satisfied with it, of course thos that are able to correctly judge fps which, at KLAX, when they are low, are usually casued by the sheer number of AI airplanes that large airport is able to attract, not the airport itself.However, that's not the point, the point is that you are implying that the Addon Manager might have some impact on KLAX fps, which is of course not true, because, as I've said before, it doesn't do much in FS9 to IMPROVE fps, but surely it doesn't affects it in a negative way. It's the FSX version that, instead, helps IMPROVING the fps.Umberto Colapicchioni - VIRTUALI s.a.s.http://www.fsdreamteam.com

Virtuali, this is important so let's make sure we get it straight. You have been making the distinction that Cloud9 and FSDT are different companies....Why is it then that FSDT is changing my Cloud9 bglman.dll? Why do they have any play on it whatsoever and why are they not leaving it alone? Remember, I have been saying that the 2 companies have been married all along.MarkSo that's a proof of purchase tag then...hummm...I could have sworn you said I was a possible thief?

By the way, this is an FS9 forum...

So what ? Most of the features I've listed applies to the FS9 version as well, does this means it's not allowed to say that the FSX version ALSO improve fps, in addition to all of that other things ?By I'm suspecting that, in order to prove your point, I might create a list of non-protection related things the Addon Manager does, as long as I whish, even in FS9, but you would always say you are not interested.Umberto Colapicchioni - VIRTUALI s.a.s.http://www.fsdreamteam.com

Virtuali, this is important so let's make sure we get it straight. You have been making the distinction that Cloud9 and FSDT are different companies....Why is it then that FSDT is changing my Cloud9 bglman.dll?

There's no such thing as a "Cloud9 bglman.dll", Cloud9 doens't own that product, at all. They have a license to use it, and for that one they pay us, to include it in their products.We develop it, we keep it upgraded, it's our stuff and, if you care to check the copyrights, both on the Cloud9 installers (which clearly say that the Addon Manager is used under license ) and on the .DLL itself, you wouldn't find any trace of Cloud9 there. It's our own stuff, and we have the right, and the duty, to keep it updated.

Why do they have any play on it whatsoever and why are they not leaving it alone?

Becasue, obviously, that long list of non-protection features didn't come all at once, but it was added when each scenery was designed, according to what the scenery designer himself needed at that time. Since Cloud9 PAY to use that file, they had every right to ASK to us to add new features, when they had new products that use them. And we are still doing the same for our own stuff so, the program gets constantly udpated, when needed, we only need to ensure is always backward compatibile the all the sceneries and airplanes released, which it is.If you remember, the first version that Cloud9 used, had several issues with antivirus software, but versions that we released later are WAY more antivirus friendly, but this would benefit also to Cloud9 product because, the program is the same.Or, are you suggesting it would have been better if we NOT supported it and kept it updated ?

Remember, I have been saying that the 2 companies have been married all along.

And you were wrong all along...there's a normal business relationship betwee the 2 companies, and that's it. We always been separate companies.Umberto Colapicchioni - VIRTUALI s.a.s.http://www.fsdreamteam.com

OK, I'm done here. I think the mods have probably already got there finger on the trigger anyway. I think I've proven my point about loyalty to the community and what's in store when you deal with Cloud9 and FS Dream Team. A lot of smoke and mirrors, no solutions, only more confusion and back peddling. This group is to help people understand FS9 and hopefully what they're going to deal with. My hope is for a better flying experience and the sharing of ideas. I had an idea about Cloud9 and FSDT and at least for me, I think I wasn't mistaken :)Mark

Wow! I had no intention of starting this little fight, I just wondered why I couldn't get to the website ;) It is interesting that I found last night I could get to FSDreamteam.com through a proxy, just not direct from my US based ISP. This morning I'm trying again from my own IP address and got right in. Thanks!KP

I think I've proven my point about loyalty to the community and what's in store when you deal with Cloud9 and FS Dream Team. A lot of smoke and mirrors, no solutions, only more confusion and back peddling. This group is to help people understand FS9 and hopefully what they're going to deal with.

It's funny that you think to have "proven" your point, when the facts are exactly the opposite:TWO issues has been raised here:1) the web access problem for people with proxies, that (as confirmed by more than one user already ) HAS been solved.2) your specific issue with what to do in order to have your Cloud9 CD working with newer stuff, which I have clearly explained.BOTH issues has been given solutions to. Those are the the facts. Umberto Colapicchioni - VIRTUALI s.a.s.http://www.fsdreamteam.com