Earlier quoted context omitted.
Cracking was a 90s term for pirating software
pirating software (movies, and music) is a term from the 90's by the MPAA, Riaa, and Games industry in attempting to link the act of simple copyright infringement, a civil non-criminal violation of the law to violent robbery on the high seas... Cracking is a method of removing undesired features or inclusions from software, often licensing controls, or other anti-consumer features. Many many many people "cracked" the…
Rockstar is selling cracked game copies on Steam
51–60 of 259 posts
Re: Rockstar is selling cracked game copies on Steam
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
Cracking was a 90s term for pirating software
pirating software (movies, and music) is a term from the 90's by the MPAA, Riaa, and Games industry in attempting to link the act of simple copyright infringement, a civil non-criminal violation of the law to violent robbery on the high seas... Cracking is a method of removing undesired features or inclusions from software, often licensing controls, or other anti-consumer features. Many many many people "cracked" the…
The term "pirate" definitely predates the 90's and RIAA, etc. We used it quite liberally in the 80's BBS era.
Re: Rockstar is selling cracked game copies on Steam
#53Razor 1911 ! I had completely forgotten about them. They cracked games in the 1990s, and if memory serves well, there was a nice ascii art logo that came with games. Apparently they’ve been active again since 2010, but in my ( much older ) mind, steam has made piracy mostly obsolete. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Razor_1911?wprov=sfti1
As good as Steam might be, it’s still required for the games you purchased to run, and that doesn’t align with some people. You own your games on Steam as much as you own your music on Spotify. So priacy is still alive and well, and a lot of the arguments I see for it is stripping DRM and ownership.
I prefer Steam over other platforms because multiplayer is effortless, with a friend or at a LAN party that means means more time actually playing the game. But if it’s not on Steam or not everyone can afford it, we’re probably playing a cracked, portable copy.
Re: Rockstar is selling cracked game copies on Steam
#54Why is this hex dump being used as a verification rather than just showing the two (supposedly the same) hashes of the entire executable themselves? Should be a quick 20 minute job for whoever call themselves "journalists" today. I suppose it's possible for that particular string to get into the binary by some other means. Maybe failed anti-circumvention that checks for known strings in its own directory or something…
First problem: You presume this person has another executable of provable provenance to check against.
Second problem: There could be many different official executables for this game. Each would have a different hash. Provenance proving applies here too.
Third problem: Two hash values doesn't communicate the actual story as well as what this person (who may or may not be a journalist, that appears to be your assumption) chose to do.
Re: Rockstar is selling cracked game copies on Steam
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
You need to either be or represent the copyright holder. I'm 99% sure most warez groups have no interest in exposing themselves to any legal systems when it comes to what they do.
If I say I represent such a group, then; is it likely that anyone will disagree? DMCA cases seem to be about who has the scarier looking letterhead anyway. To whom would I have to prove or disprove my standing to take Rockstar games down, I wonder? Does Steam have any right to refuse such a request just because it's patently absurd?
> If I say I represent such a group, then; is it likely that anyone will disagree? DMCA cases seem to be about who has the scarier looking letterhead anyway.
If you say you represent them, all the scary letter heads will go to _you_.
Re: Rockstar is selling cracked game copies on Steam
#56While not too big a deal on its own, if the binary was doing something it wasn't supposed to (which was/is common with cracked games from untrustworthy sources) it would open Rockstar up to a mountain of liability.
I'm guessing this is some subcontractor taking shortcuts rather than an official company policy approved by legal.
Re: Rockstar is selling cracked game copies on Steam
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
[flagged]
That sounds like zit lol
It sounds like something else too. Email press@twitter.com to find out.
https://www.npr.org/2023/03/20/1164654551/twitter-poop-emoji...
Re: Rockstar is selling cracked game copies on Steam
#58While not too big a deal on its own, if the binary was doing something it wasn't supposed to (which was/is common with cracked games from untrustworthy sources) it would open Rockstar up to a mountain of liability. I'm guessing this is some subcontractor taking shortcuts rather than an official company policy approved by legal.
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Re: Rockstar is selling cracked game copies on Steam
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
You need to either be or represent the copyright holder. I'm 99% sure most warez groups have no interest in exposing themselves to any legal systems when it comes to what they do.
If I say I represent such a group, then; is it likely that anyone will disagree? DMCA cases seem to be about who has the scarier looking letterhead anyway. To whom would I have to prove or disprove my standing to take Rockstar games down, I wonder? Does Steam have any right to refuse such a request just because it's patently absurd?
Imagine you did this and ended up in court. If you admit you lied on the DMCA request, you'd be admitting to perjury. If you continue to claim to be the cracker, Rockstar could sue you for damages from IP theft.