Saturday, December 17th 2011
The Witcher 2 Contains Secret Sauce To 'Catch 100% Of Pirates'
Yes, really - 100% of those pesky "pirates" will be brought to book! The game's studio, CD Projekt RED (CDP Red) isn't letting on how it's doing so, either, claiming it's a "trade secret" and not giving out the name of the external company that's implementing the anti-piracy technology, claiming that to do so would damage their business. Seriously. The problem with identifying a dodgy copy of something is that the main info they have to track them down, are the IP addresses of the suspect. This has been shown many times over now, not to be a reliable tracker of who's doing what. At the most, it will pinpoint the account holder that it relates to, in some cases. However, this outfit reckons they've nailed this dealbreaking problem once and for all - and without any evidence on how they go about it. Snake oil, perhaps? The Polish company have therefore been sending out legal notices to thousands of suspects in Germany, chosen because this country has some of the strictest copyright laws in Europe. Presumably, they must be leaning on the ISPs to hand over customers' physical street addresses, although this isn't made clear, but read on for how this might be accomplished. In an email to PC Gamer, CDP Red VP Michael Nowakowski made the following statement:
So, there appears to be two options to how this tracking technology works:
1 There is no technology and this is just smoke and mirrors (with a dash of snake oil) designed to extort marks into coughing up money to make CD Projekt go away
2 They really do have some "tracking technology" in their games. Now, what could this be? Well, as they're not telling us, it's only right and proper to be highly suspicious of what it actually does and to put it in the same class as common criminal malware. This is because the only logical way that they can track the individual in any semi-reliable manner, is to lift personal information off their computer. Let's speculate on how this could be achieved. It would include stuff such as email logins, bank logins, Facebook logins, network traffic sniffing to read the contents of highly personal and confidential messages and any other login where personal information such as a name and address might be kept. You name it, they might be doing it. This kind of activity is of course highly illegal everywhere, so no wonder they'd want to keep quiet about it. It makes traditional draconian DRM schemes such as SecuROM and the like seem like a walk in the park by comparison, doesn't it?
So, do you really want to install software that does some or all of this on your computer, just to play a lousy video game? Obviously, that's a resounding NO!
Regardless of how they track down suspects, this exercise is extortion with a legal veneer, pure and simple. This is because there haven't been any independent studies showing that "piracy" reduces profits and makes companies go to the wall - they have all been big media industry sponsored. However, there are several independent studies that show it does nothing, or actually enhances sales by indirect means, such as reputation spread by word of mouth. Of course, the powerful media cartels based in America, are able to buy government reps all over the world to make them pass corrupt laws as if all this "piracy" really was hurting them - three strikes, PROTECT IP & SOPA are just three examples. Consider the blockbusting sales here and here of Modern Warfare 3 recently. This will be the most "pirated" game of all, yet it still outsold all of Hollywood put together...
There is of course, one sure fire and legal way to beat a company that tries such dirty tricks: the boycott. Don't buy their products and don't pirate them, then laugh as you watch them go under (all the while still blaming alleged "piracy", of course). I personally wholeheartedly recommend this course of action. Once again www.techdirt.com is recommended as the site to go to, as they expose abuses like this daily.
Sources:
TG Daily, PC Gamer
We're addressing only 100% confirmed piracy causes that are 100% possible to prove. We are not worried about tracking the wrong people. As this is the trade secret of the company working on this, I cannot share it. However, we investigated the subject before we decided on this move, and we aware of some past complications (the famous Davenport case). The method used here is targeting only 100% confirmed piracy cases. No innocent person was targeted with the letter so far. At least we have not received any information as of now which would indicate something like that.Notice how the Davenport case is "famous" rather than "infamous" - they actually went down in flames over their extortion tactics. Also notice how they covered themselves by saying "At least we have not received any information as of now which would indicate something like that." So, they could be targeting the innocent after all, they just haven't heard about it. Nice.
So, there appears to be two options to how this tracking technology works:
1 There is no technology and this is just smoke and mirrors (with a dash of snake oil) designed to extort marks into coughing up money to make CD Projekt go away
2 They really do have some "tracking technology" in their games. Now, what could this be? Well, as they're not telling us, it's only right and proper to be highly suspicious of what it actually does and to put it in the same class as common criminal malware. This is because the only logical way that they can track the individual in any semi-reliable manner, is to lift personal information off their computer. Let's speculate on how this could be achieved. It would include stuff such as email logins, bank logins, Facebook logins, network traffic sniffing to read the contents of highly personal and confidential messages and any other login where personal information such as a name and address might be kept. You name it, they might be doing it. This kind of activity is of course highly illegal everywhere, so no wonder they'd want to keep quiet about it. It makes traditional draconian DRM schemes such as SecuROM and the like seem like a walk in the park by comparison, doesn't it?
So, do you really want to install software that does some or all of this on your computer, just to play a lousy video game? Obviously, that's a resounding NO!
Regardless of how they track down suspects, this exercise is extortion with a legal veneer, pure and simple. This is because there haven't been any independent studies showing that "piracy" reduces profits and makes companies go to the wall - they have all been big media industry sponsored. However, there are several independent studies that show it does nothing, or actually enhances sales by indirect means, such as reputation spread by word of mouth. Of course, the powerful media cartels based in America, are able to buy government reps all over the world to make them pass corrupt laws as if all this "piracy" really was hurting them - three strikes, PROTECT IP & SOPA are just three examples. Consider the blockbusting sales here and here of Modern Warfare 3 recently. This will be the most "pirated" game of all, yet it still outsold all of Hollywood put together...
There is of course, one sure fire and legal way to beat a company that tries such dirty tricks: the boycott. Don't buy their products and don't pirate them, then laugh as you watch them go under (all the while still blaming alleged "piracy", of course). I personally wholeheartedly recommend this course of action. Once again www.techdirt.com is recommended as the site to go to, as they expose abuses like this daily.
345 Comments on The Witcher 2 Contains Secret Sauce To 'Catch 100% Of Pirates'
I don't expect people that do pirate games to get on their rooftops and scream, "I pirate software!" On the other hand, I don't expect people who aggressively support such things to be outraged or indignant if people suspect them of pirating.
If I was vehemently arguing on a forum for the legalization weed, I wouldn't be surprised if people suspected that I blaze. If it could bring me trouble, I simply wouldn't confirm or deny.
it is entirely possible to recognize the lies, price gouging, and general disdain for customers that the game industry contains - while at the same time refraining from illegally downloading software. And when you assume we are pirates ourselves, from your base argument you are personally calling us thieves. do you really expect us to not become upset with that ? not to mention there is simply no need to make assumptions about someones personal character, just because they disagree with you. if you can't add anything more than that to the discussion, imho you don't really deserve to be a part of it
There is no mention of tracking software being installed anywhere. The are monitoring piracy sites, and using that to catch people in some manner.
I said it's not >surprising< that some may suspect others of it if they vigorously defend such a position.
I support gay rights however I'm straight. I don't become indignant if people accuse me of being gay. Why? I don't find being gay morally objectionable.
Also - you are not (i don't think) currently in a discussion ABOUT homosexuality. no one is calling you gay in order to personally disparage you in an attempt to evade the fact that they have nothing to add, or can't logically respond to an argument. it's bad enough when people assume knowledge and use insults out of ignorance - when it's a deliberate attempt to derail and defame... yeah that's a little annoying
Yes, they should come clean on what methods they're using and I don't buy the argument that it would compromise their ability to catch people. If their methods are really so legal and benign, then they shouldn't have a problem discussing them.
Then the part about how them tracking down suspected pirates is extortion is also something I strongly disagree with. They have a right to protect their intellectual property. It doesn't matter what effect piracy has on the issue, it's taking something you were not authorized to take, and is therefore illegal. The monetary ramifications on the gaming industry are irrelevant.
It's not extortion if they have valid claims against the subject, and the amount demanded is not exorbitant. If they have proof a person pirated it, they have a valid claim. You simply do not have enough facts on this issue to be able to label it extortion.
If you have a copy of the game that was not obtained legitimately, you need to pay the retail value for that game, plus any costs associated with them having to take legal action. If you do not want to obtain the game legitimately, you don't get to have it, period. It's pretty cut and dry to me. There is no gray area. This is not extortion if all they are asking is for the cost of the game plus any legitimate legal fees. That is 100% reasonable.
if the law were set by hitler or pol pot, does it have as much weight then? well then who are YOU to decide whose laws are worth following and whose aren't? we don't have that right?he's not defending piracy - i don't think anyone here actually is. he is defending the innocent people who get snared in the extortion trap. i don't get why it is so hard to separate the two. there is more to the argument than they are pirates, pirates = thieves, end of story. the publishers actions DO matter, regardless of what caused them. the have repercussions and to just shift that blame to "pirates" is simply an attempt to scapegoat, though a good one at that.
btw...an accusation would start out "you are"
not "sounds like"common sense is all we need here...
anybody know the difference between a brown-noser and an a$s kisser???
depth perception
All they will have to do is; Open Firewall, block all incoming/outgoing traffic / Remove LAN cable / switch off router... good luck "tracking" that IP /rolls eyes
despite the theories about software being used to track you, all the comments from the sourcem materials sound like they're just checking IP's from the torrents again.
But (there is always a but isn't there? :D) I wouldn't get my hopes up too much, I am sure there will be pirate that will create some sort of "3rd party tool" that will block their eyes, they always seem to find away around the system.
one person can download it and share it to 50 other people or 5,000 so the IP addresses really are worthless.
btw, no I don't see this whole "piracy" issue as such a big problem, as I've said. That doesn't change anything, either. ;)
Finally, an accusation can made any way one likes and yours was a semi-veiled and not very subtle one, so don't BS me that you weren't.