Beware this type of Sofware security system

[Guest danowat]

>Your absolutely right, Dan. However, reinstalling your OS>does not make you a pirate, yet in some cases people are being>denied access to much-loved software following a reinstall and>feel swindled.And this is the problem, of course reinstalling your OS does not make you a pirate, but it is up to the vendor to weed out the legitimate claims from the non-legitimate ones.This is where the vendor needs to make this process as easy as possible for the legitimate customers.I sure hope we dont have to go back to some of the piracy protections of the early 80's, remeber those? LOL ;), the two I remember fondly where the "coloured" card in Jet Set Willy, and the weird lens thingy of Elite, now they were proper security systems LOL.Dan.

[Guest shanwick]

>>This needs to be addressed before payware companies even consider "relaxing" their anti-piracy measures, untill then we have to put-up or shut-up<>To be honest with you, I can't see why anybody would need to reinstall more than once a year<

[Guest A321]

>To be honest with you, I can't see why anybody would need to>reinstall more than once a year.>>My current install is a good few years old, this includes>numerous hardware upgrades, if people are having problems with>this aspect of anti-piracy systems, then they need to look at>why their systems need this amount of reinstalling.>Dan.>>Not to be rude but is that any of your business, If I want to re-install my OS each and every day, I would not get to fly much, but thats up to me.I just had to format, becuase of various things, but I found out that My ATI Drivers had gone mad, and where causing me to have no menus in any App, and NO MATTER what I did it would not go away.I bet my system is as good as yours, but I end up having to re-install at least 3-4 times a year, does that make me a Pi-rat??Im sorry, as long you can provide a valid Recipt either in writing or by email, then you should be able to Re-install your product as often as you want, if you cant provide proof, well then, thats your fault.If developers are fed up with resetting people's Install counts, then Automate the system, or find another way.Again the all out bow-down to payware people, dont even consider the otherside of the debate. "Sure ill pay for your product and use my system the way your pointless EULA says I should..."Its funny you Dont see Pi-rats getting in a huff about Security, why? Is it because as usual "Crime does pay" and once its cracked they dont have to beg for the product, I just layed out hard earned for.Where has the consumers right to use their bought products gone.I also guess this is in relation to a well known developer, All I can say is I have one problem with them, but after that, they have always been helpful and very quick to rest my Installs.Jason

[Guest danowat]

So whats the answer?, payware companies are not going to relax their measures, and people are not happy with the measures that the payware companies are having to impliment.I can see no soloution to this problem, not untill piracy is removed from the equation and thats is never gonna happen.As for the reinstall, I must just be lucky then, my home PC has worked fine for years, no slowing down, FS2002 was fine, FS2004 is fine too, I also run a design office, and although they are not gaming sytems, the systems there have been running the same install for years, all operating fine.So to conclude, I have no answer to this problem, but it is certainly one that needs addressing.Dan.

[Guest danowat]

>Not to be rude but is that any of your business, If I want to>re-install my OS each and every day, I would not get to fly>much, but thats up to me.>>I bet my system is as good as yours, but I end up having to>re-install at least 3-4 times a year, does that make me a>Pi-rat??Hi Jason,I never said that reinstalling your OS makes you or anybody a pirate, but this is a method of stopping multiple installs of different systems using a machine generated checksum, this system works, as shown by the amount of people who have problems when they reinstall. so it is a working system, although I am sure it can be circumvented by certain people/groups.>Im sorry, as long you can provide a valid Recipt either in>writing or by email, then you should be able to Re-install>your product as often as you want, if you cant provide proof,>well then, thats your fault.I totally agree with you, if you can provide proof of purchase then the vendor has no other option but to let you reinstall your product.BTW Jason, you always take me the wrong way ;) LOL, your not from Yorkshire are you?Dan.

[Guest A321]

>>BTW Jason, you always take me the wrong way ;) LOL, your not>from Yorkshire are you?>>Dan.No not all Dan, You know im a bit of a rebel, look at my forums :) well not really.Im just peeved at the fact that it seems here at least, its always the consumers fault, I know what you meant, i guess I worte that one off the cuff.Excuse me...JasonIm from good old london... :)Jason

[Guest danowat]

Yep, it pees me off too, the customer always has to pay for other peoples problems, the problem is the people who it is meant to stop, mix in the type of circles where these systems can be got around.So I dont know what the soloution is.London hey?, I am an Essex boy, so not to far from your neck of the woods ;).Dan.

[Rottenlungs 0]

Hehe, the lens thing on Elite rings a bell. I also remember the "Code Wheel" that came with F/A18 interceptor on the Amiga. Ah, those were the days. I also remember my first virus encounter on the amiga, "Something wonderful has happened, you Amiga is alive".I digress! I think flight1 have got it right, their wrapper system has worked a treat for me. It allows you to store the whole install file locally but also validates at install-time based on Credit Card, which ultimately is how we pay for these things in the first place and is therefore the best "key" to unlock the software with.Now, where did I put my copy of FA18 and my Amiga??Cheers

[Guest danowat]

Yes the flight1 system seems like a good one, although unfortunatly they do not take my card, so I cant test it out.I would also say that the other good ones from companies are LAGO and Realair, but these systems are open to abuse, there are keygens and allsorts available to get around these systems, so although they are good from a customers point of view, they are also open to abuse from the pirate crowd.I don't mind the activate online system, although this can cause problems for people who do not have net access at home.I certainly hope that a system that can please all just around the corner.Dan.

[Guest A321]

>Yep, it pees me off too, the customer always has to pay for>other peoples problems, the problem is the people who it is>meant to stop, mix in the type of circles where these systems>can be got around.>>So I dont know what the soloution is.>>London hey?, I am an Essex boy, so not to far from your neck>of the woods ;).>>Dan.Hey danEssex is a nice place, I used to go down there quite a lot, i forget the name of the part, but Its a great plce for a night out. I did not see many white high heels though. I was a little disapointed. :)Jason

[Rottenlungs 0]

"I certainly hope that a system that can please all just around the corner"Yes, there seems to be a lot of frustration from both sides of the fence at the moment..CheersLungs

[Guest Bigshot]

Small Claims Court. Sue em' in the county where you live. Get the Judgement plus costs. Report it to the credit bureau. Easy!

[Guest shanwick]

>>So whats the answer?, payware companies are not going to relax their measures, and people are not happy with the measures that the payware companies are having to impliment<

[Guest Matt Johnson]

Hah. Work in London, live in Essex (suburban, inside the M25). :)--M

[Guest danowat]

WOW, now thats some philosophy, increase the price to cover piracy, in which time more people turn to piracy to overcome these cost increases, and the price increases even further.This is NOT a soloution, piracy is a major problem, in every field, music/films and software, and increasing the price of products will not stop it, it will make it worse.You have a right to buy or not to buy, you also have a right to mantain your rights once you have brought a product, if the product is not of merchantable quality, (i.e. you cant use it) you have the RIGHT to get your money back, no ifs, no buts, thats the law, at least in the UK.I fail to see a problem, has anybody actually been REFUSED to install a legitimatly purchased product?.Has anybody had at anytime a refund refuse?, I would be interested to hear of either cases.Dan.