StarForce
StarForce Professional 3.0 is the first system that offers a multi-level and
fully-functional protection, which encrypts not only the executable files, but
also non-executable files included in the application. StarForce protected games exe files are protected in many ways making reverse code engineering difficult.
Most of the other copy protection (SafeDisc 2
SecuRom *New* etc.) incorporate various uncopyable "digital signatures" or
other marks, which are applied on the CD's surface utilizing special mastering equipment. When such a
CD is copied using
CD Burning software, these "digital
signatures" don’t transfer to the copy, thus making it difficult to burn. Yet,
there are many problems associated with copy
protections of this kind. The main problem is the fact that the glass master
can be made only at the replication facilities that possess special mastering
equipment. Also, these days there are many
sophisticated CD burning programs widely available (such as CloneCD, Alcohol
120%, Blindwrite etc.) that can make copies in RAW
mode and recreate the original disc
sector-by-sector, ignoring the "digital signatures" all together.
Finally, altering the physical structure of the CD by applying the "digital signatures" can lead to compatibility
problems of the protected discs with CD/DVD-ROM
drives that consumers use. StarForce
protection systems do not require the use of any "digital signatures"
on the CD's surface. The protection reads and evaluates the native physical
parameters of the genuine CD's. These
physical parameters cannot be copied from CD to CD because they depend on
the complex unique structure of the glass
master. The CD's containing the same product
but manufactured from different glass masters have distinct physical parameters.
The StarForce protection allows the extraction of a
24-byte alpha-numeric key, using only one of
the genuine CD's and an ordinary CD-ROM drive. This key contains information about the physical parameters of the
CD's of a
particular batch. The key is used by the protection module, embedded in
the executable file of the games application, as a replica for identification of
the genuine CD's. It allows the launching the protected games application only if the
CD is identified as genuine, that is, its physical
parameters correspond/match to this particular key, and it is
located in the CD/DVD-ROM drive. If you want to learn more about the official release of
StarForce click
here.
Detection Of The Protection
You can use one of the many protection
detection tools from our Game Copy Protection Identifying Tools page to identify
whether the protection is being used on your
game.
Burning/Backup Solution
There are several different methods you
can use to successfully burn/backup your game, as follows:
StarForce Professional v3.0 has been released
recently and there is no known
way to successfully backup games protected with this version. Previous versions can be copied with the following methods:
You
can use CloneCD to successfully burn the
game. Use ClonyXXL to scan the game,
it will then tell you what protection is being used on the game (StarForce)
and the correct settings to use in CloneCD
to successfully backup the game. You can also use Alcoholer
protection scanner and Alcohol 120%
burning software. Use Alcoholer to
scan the game, it will then tell you what protection is being used on the
game (StarForce) and the correct settings to use in Alcohol
120% to successfully backup the game. BlindWrite
can also successfully burn a game with this protection on it. You can also use
Daemon
Tools to emulate the game and the protection. *Remember,
if you experience problems with burning the game at high speeds, (2 speed +)
(both the read and write process), then burn the game at lower speeds such
as 2 speed and under (both read and write process). A lot of the time
burning the game at slow speeds will solve problems of the install not
working, or the burner not bypassing the CD's protection.
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