Starforce launches new universal software protection platform
Posted on 25/04/05 17:34 by Jan Willem                             
Starforce launches new universal software protection platform

Some of you have a lot of respect for them because they have such a hard copy protection, others hate them for it. However Star-Force is currently known as one of the companies that develops hard to defeat copy protections. Every CD Freak that has ever tried to backup a disc protected by the Star-Force copy protection knows that it's not easy. Although the company seems to be technology wise on many points making it superior to it's competitors fortunately does not enjoy the largest market share. However the company is rapidly gaining popularity amongst software publishers and its latest announcement states that the company will become active in other markets as well.

The company has announced the StarForce Protection Studio which is targeted to various groups. These are e.g. developers and publishers of games and other software, companies that deliver software over the internet and those who want to release only small batches of their software.

"StarForce created Protection Studio following extensive research into software protection market demands, finding that, in overwhelming numbers, customers required a flexible system that would provide both licensing and protection features. We believe that Studio is a groundbreaking and truly unified control center," comments StarForce CEO Michael Kalinichenko, "providing effective tools to streamline the protection implementation process as well as assisting responsible managers in the spending reduction of two of their most important assets: time and money."

"The protection implementation process can be a complex one, consisting of several steps that require knowledge and experience in both technical as well as commercial aspects," says Oleg Salyakhov, Technical Director of StarForce. "Thus, the stages of the entire process are often shared between several responsible people within the project group. The architecture of the StarForce Protection Studio is therefore designed to help organize the protection application workflow in the most convenient way, and also provides advanced tools to coordinate those different work phases."

Protection Studio goes further than being just a copy protection solution. As a comprehensive protection platform, it includes superior code protection, advanced anti-emulation, and flexible activation and licensing technologies combined into a single easy to manage solution. A customer simply selects a solution matching the company's specific needs, and proceeds from there.

Along with its superb product use control features, the protection provides a wide range of business development opportunities. Activation and licensing technologies open up additional marketing possibilities, including license distribution control, product activation statistics, market demand research, client promotion and much more.

StarForce Protection Studio is built on a comprehensive approach to a software product protection, which, based on the company's seven-year experience in heavily pirated IT-markets, has proved to be effective in USA and EA countries as well. StarForce supports protection on every stage of the product development cycle, be it beta, demo, a localized version, a release or an update. Moreover, Protection Studio features MMO games and Internet sales protection and supports both the on-demand and buy-and-download schemes.

Although every copy protection can most likely be cracked over time, the copy protection developers are rapidly winning a lot of the time. The longer it takes before a copy protection gets defeated the more people will give up. Discuss copy protection issues in our Copy Protection Forum!

Source: Star-force

Reactions
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By Prototype, Monday 25 April 2005 17:50
Wonder what part of windows this will screw up or what hardware incompatability will they create this time? {judging by past performance} SF is well on the way to being cracked, 1 title IKO already cracked.
By kamikazee, Monday 25 April 2005 18:06
They've already had to recall one title because of their anti-copy measure's. maybe they'll create more problems than good. I know with me I can't use usb devices if this is installed, no mouse, no keyboard, no usb hard drives, none.
By Richteralan, Monday 25 April 2005 19:10
They are installing hidden drivers into my Windows. I hate hidden drivers running on my PC. Therefore I won't buy any game that uses starforce, period.
By Olli, Monday 25 April 2005 21:31
Olli> They are installing hidden drivers into my Windows. < As does SafeDisc, SecuRom and all the others as well. > I hate hidden drivers running on my PC. < Who doesn't? > Therefore I won't buy any game that uses starforce, period.< Following your argumentation you shouldn't buy any game that uses protection, period.
By do one, Monday 25 April 2005 22:52
The great man speaks
By Richteralan, Monday 25 April 2005 23:02
exactly. thanks for pointing the obviousloveit
By SupremeCheddar, Tuesday 26 April 2005 04:45
So how long until the French ban this?
By akanafene, Tuesday 26 April 2005 07:40
You gotta admit thar StarForce is extremely effective if not in preventing unauthorized copying then in delaying the release of game cracks. The latest example is PC version of 'Splinter Cell' - it's been released for almost a month and so far there is no crack for it. And if there is a crack for a StarForce protected game it is usually a result of game publisher releasing an unprotected game or group getting a hold of beta version executable. Cannot say that I like it but I'm definitely impressed by StarForce.
By LastStand, Tuesday 26 April 2005 09:56
LastStandYet but when you are in the possition where one of your drives do not work with the 'new' copyprotections and your DVD burner is blacklisted you find that copyprotection do not make you buy games.
By cobrar22, Tuesday 26 April 2005 10:59
Securom ,Safedisc drivers are not present in memory all the time cause you don't have to reboot pc ,with starforce you have to so these silly drivers (including all the hardware trouble) are continue loaded in youre windows. this is not acceptable for me .
By CORRSA, Tuesday 26 April 2005 11:33
stand together morons boycott starforce products if everyone stood together on this they would be gone because companies wouldnt be selling their products you the PAYING customer have the power to get rid of this !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By tinku, Tuesday 26 April 2005 19:12
Quote>stand together morons. LOL im sure your fellow cdfreakers will like that one. You must be the BIGGEST ROFL!!!
By Thudmeizer, Tuesday 26 April 2005 21:22
Actually.. I'd love to these "protection bi*ches" get a little quartering in their diet, much like Lawyers and bankers but thats for another day. biggrin Ahh.. copy protection: the bane of modern day "anal digital behaviour".. The need to overly protect digital property so much so that it actually defines the customer indirectly as a criminal. So much for the right of legal backups, so much for NOT having to worry about hidden device drivers being subversively installed, so much for having to possibly even think about worrying about the CD reader you can use with the product used, so much for fast game startups or wearing out media and drive + allievating the constant CD whizzing sound.. Protection schemes are needed to protect digital property but this utter trite needs to be shoved up the protection company's arse! Its just plain damn wrong and yet another removal of the power of the consumer. Glad there's discussion over this as more publicity the more it'll be villified. And right it should be: its evil. Remember: A Game sells on Merit, and not how well you protect it. Even if it were dupped, a quality product gets sold regardless of hype or not.
By verba111, Tuesday 06 September 2005 20:17
i dont now
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