Denuvo Accused of Using Unlicensed Software to Protect its Anti-Piracy Tool - Sensationalist Headlines

[QUOTE] [I]In what could be a severe case of irony overload, anti-piracy company Denuvo is being accused of using unlicensed software to protect its infamous anti-piracy tool. A developer of VMProtect, software which itself protects against reverse engineering and cracking, says that Denuvo has been using the product without obtaining the necessary permission.[/I] Just recently, anti-piracy outfit Denuvo has been hitting the headlines every few weeks, but for reasons the Austrian company would rather forget. As a result of providing the leading anti-piracy solution for games, the company is now well and truly in the spotlight of pirates, each desperate to defeat Denuvo protection on new games as quickly as possible. Now, however, the company has a rather different headache to contend with. According to a [URL="http://rsdn.org/forum/shareware/6733058"]post[/URL] on Russian forum RSDN, Denuvo is accused of engaging in a little piracy of its own. The information comes from a user called drVanо, who is a developer at [URL="http://vmpsoft.com/"]VMProtect Software[/URL], a company whose tools protect against reverse engineering and cracking. “I want to tell you a story about one very clever and greedy Austrian company called Denuvo Software Solutions GmbH,” drVano begins. “A while ago, this company released a protection system of the same name but the most remarkable thing is that they absolutely illegally used our VMProtect software in doing so.” drVano says that around three years ago, VMProtect Software and Denuvo entered into correspondence about the possibility of Denuvo using VMProtect in their system. VMProtect says they were absolutely clear that would not be possible under a standard $500 license, since the cost to Denuvo of producing something similar for themselves would be several hundred thousand dollars. However, with no proper deal set up, drVano says that Denuvo went ahead anyway, purchasing a cheap license for VMProtect and going on to “mow loot” (a Russian term for making bank) with their successful Denuvo software. “Everything went well for Denuvo until we notified them that their VMProtect license had been canceled due to a breach of its licensing conditions. Options were offered for solving the problem, including paying modest compensation to us. Our proposal was ignored,” drVano says. Interestingly, drVano says that VMProtect then took what appears to be a rather unorthodox measure against Denuvo. After cooperation with Sophos, the anti-virus vendor agreed to flag up the offending versions of Denuvo as potential malware. VMProtect says it has also been speaking with Valve about not featuring the work of “scammers” on its platform. [/QUOTE] [QUOTE] [B]In a nutshell, Denuvo is being accused of using pirated versions of VMProtect in order to create its own anti-piracy software. It’s one of the most ironic claims ever made against an anti-piracy company and it will be intriguing to see how this plays out. According to VMProtect, legal action might not be far away.[/B] “Through our long-standing partners from Intellect-C, we are starting to prepare an official claim against Denuvo Software Solutions GmbH with the prospect of going to court. This might be a very good lesson for ‘greedy’ developers who do not care about the intellectual property rights of their colleagues in the same trade,” drVano concludes. Just last week, the latest version of Denuvo was cracked by rising star Baldman, who revealed what a toll the protection was taking on video gaming hardware. The protection, which according to reports is the only recent version of Denuvo that doesn’t use VMProtect, collapsed in less than a week. [/QUOTE] [url]https://torrentfreak.com/denuvo-accused-of-using-unlicensed-software-to-protect-it-anti-piracy-tool-170605/[/url]

An article from russian news site has updated it's article to state the relationship is long obsolete and no longer relevant [t]https://tenryuu.blob.core.windows.net/astrid/17-06-06_22-27-19-Google_Translate_-_Waterfox.png[/t] [url]https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fdtf.ru%2F7062-sozdatelyam-zashchity-denuvo-prigrozili-sudom-za-ispolzovanie-piratskogo-softa&edit-text=[/url]

Still, this could become a PR nightmare for them.

If Denuvo is actually using unlicensed software in their product then fuck them, and I hope the VMProtect team goes to court. That said, TorrentFreak is eager to report on unsubstantiated news when DRM is concerned (see: 'Denuvo will murder your SSD'), so I'd like to see a little more substantial evidence before grabbing the pitchforks.

This reads like some opportunist trying to ring some money out of a controversial figure so yeah I dunno I'm not taking what this guy is saying at face value.

this comes out around the same time dishonoured 2 and tekken 7 have been cracked :)

[QUOTE=Jelman;52318550]this comes out around the same time dishonoured 2 and tekken 7 have been cracked :)[/QUOTE] Dishonoured got a key generator of all things. I am in awe, really.

[QUOTE=Jelman;52318550]this comes out around the same time dishonoured 2 and tekken 7 have been cracked :)[/QUOTE] Tekken was cracked by Baldman, he is making himself a pretty good name. Dishonoured 2 is interesting though. It was "cracked" by a new group called STEAMPUNKS. It should be noted that Dishonoured 2 uses the older and slightly harder to crack v3. Now the interesting thing is that the "crack" from STEAMPUNKS doesn't actually get rid of Denuvo. The .exe is untouched. It is actually more like a key gen, it makes a perfectly valid denuvo id for the game. Further more it uses its own version of a steam emulator. Which is a bit uncommon since there are like 3 common ones used. Problematic is that this crack is actually heavily protected by VMProtect (of all things) with the highest security options. :v: So it is actually not really sure yet if that one is safe or if it does any funny business. On topic: I think torrentfreak is a bit late on this. From the post above it seems like they probably had an agreement that included some money. Also noted that the current Denuvo does not include any VMProtect anymore. Might have been part of that.

denuvo is pretty much dead anyway

We are witnessing the end of an era of DRM. Since DRM will never die, brace for the next introduction.

[QUOTE=Mitsuma;52318571]Tekken was cracked by Baldman, he is making himself a pretty good name. Dishonoured 2 is interesting though. It was "cracked" by a new group called STEAMPUNKS. It should be noted that Dishonoured 2 uses the older and slightly harder to crack v3. Now the interesting thing is that the "crack" from STEAMPUNKS doesn't actually get rid of Denuvo. The .exe is untouched. It is actually more like a key gen, it makes a perfectly valid denuvo id for the game. Further more it uses its own version of a steam emulator. Which is a bit uncommon since there are like 3 common ones used. Problematic is that this crack is actually heavily protected by VMProtect (of all things) with the highest security options. :v: So it is actually not really sure yet if that one is safe or if it does any funny business. On topic: I think torrentfreak is a bit late on this. From the post above it seems like they probably had an agreement that included some money. Also noted that the current Denuvo does not include any VMProtect anymore. Might have been part of that.[/QUOTE] The reddit discussion on the steampunk crack was interesting

[QUOTE=testinglol;52318611]denuvo is pretty much dead anyway[/QUOTE] Its really not though. It's still one of the most successful DRM solutions on the market currently. Most of the rapid cracks so far have been from developers who don't do PC development normally if I recall, so it was probably implemented wrong in some way. Though the crack teams are slowly finding workaround, it doesn't seem like there's a golden egg that breaks the DRM consistently yet.

[QUOTE=hexpunK;52319214]Its really not though. It's still one of the most successful DRM solutions on the market currently. Most of the rapid cracks so far have been from developers who don't do PC development normally if I recall, so it was probably implemented wrong in some way. Though the crack teams are slowly finding workaround, it doesn't seem like there's a golden egg that breaks the DRM consistently yet.[/QUOTE] CPY have been consistently shitting on Denuvo and each iteration of it takes less and less time for them to crack.

[QUOTE=helifreak;52320330]CPY have been consistently shitting on Denuvo and each iteration of it takes less and less time for them to crack.[/QUOTE] [t]https://files.catbox.moe/kpypbx.png[/t] Assuming this list is up to date, it's still protecting stuff. There's a difference between actually breaking the DRM so much that it's useless and managing bespoke cracks for games. Denuvo is still working as intended for a lot of developers. DRM isn't a long-term solution after all, it's meant to protect in the first few weeks of the life of whatever content it's protecting. That's generally where the most sales are made after all.

It's not up to date I think, 99% sure I heard about titanfall 2 and sniper elite 4 getting cracked.

[QUOTE=Crimor;52320385]It's not up to date I think, 99% sure I heard about titanfall 2 and sniper elite 4 getting cracked.[/QUOTE] I can't find much on them getting around the TF|2 implementation, but it looks like SE4 got got by them just spoofing the required things or something similar. It's never going to be perfect, but compared to previous DRMs, I'll take it tbh. I'd rather not see shite like SecureROM make a comeback as they were actively intrusive DRM solutions and in some cases straight up broken depending on your hardware configuration.

It's been known for almost as long as Denuvo exitsts that like... 90% of the Denuvo is a slightly edited version of VMProtect. I'm surprised that it took that much time for VMProtect devs to react to this.

[QUOTE=hexpunK;52320407]I can't find much on them getting around the TF|2 implementation, but it looks like SE4 got got by them just spoofing the required things or something similar. It's never going to be perfect, but compared to previous DRMs, I'll take it tbh. I'd rather not see shite like SecureROM make a comeback as they were actively intrusive DRM solutions and in some cases straight up broken depending on your hardware configuration.[/QUOTE] Newer Denuvo games have only taken 1-2 weeks to get cracked, at least the popular ones. Andromeda took 13 days, Prey took 9, GW3 took 12, RE7 took 6, you get the point. No matter the method they still allowed people to play the game without Denuvo stopping them. At this point it isn't even worth the $10,000-$100,000 they charge (or per sale fee).

Aren't all these uncracked games basically multiplayer only games, or games with a singleplayer tacked on that basically nobody cares about anyway? I think they just don't bother cracking them and stick with the high profile ones

[QUOTE=iownuall;52320525]Newer Denuvo games have only taken 1-2 weeks to get cracked, at least the popular ones. Andromeda took 13 days, Prey took 9, GW3 took 12, RE7 took 6, you get the point. No matter the method they still allowed people to play the game without Denuvo stopping them. At this point it isn't even worth the $10,000-$100,000 they charge (or per sale fee).[/QUOTE] the first week is one of the only important times to stop piracy. 10-100 grand is nothing in the face of literally millions in profit.

[QUOTE=hexpunK;52320364][t]https://files.catbox.moe/kpypbx.png[/t] Assuming this list is up to date, it's still protecting stuff. There's a difference between actually breaking the DRM so much that it's useless and managing bespoke cracks for games. Denuvo is still working as intended for a lot of developers. DRM isn't a long-term solution after all, it's meant to protect in the first few weeks of the life of whatever content it's protecting. That's generally where the most sales are made after all.[/QUOTE] The majority of those games are multiplayer only or multiplayer focused, which would be pointless to crack. Then there's VR games, indie games, and sports games, which have practically no following. Let's breakdown the games an see why they've not been cracked yet, the games I can see crackers actually bothering with will be in [i]italics[/i] for clarity. [b]Multiplayer:[/b] -----[I]Titanfall 2[/I] (Multiplayer primarily, a short singleplayer campaign) -----Battlefront (Multiplayer primarily, a boring wave based horde mode can be played alone) -----PvZ Garden Warfare 2 (Multiplayer primarily) -----Need for Speed (Always online) -----For Honor (Multiplayer only) -----[del]Conan Exiles[/del] (Multiplayer focused survival game, still in Early Access) (Update: It has been cracked, actually) [b]Indie games:[/b] -----Adr1ft (A space based walking sim from a no name developer) -----Unravel (A cute platformer with a small following) -----ABZU (An underwater exploration game) -----Planet Coaster (A park creator game which doesn't play like Rollercoaster Tycoon, which many hoped it would) [b]VR games:[/b] -----EVE: Gunjack -----Edge on Nowhere -----Damaged Core -----Rockband VR -----Dragon Front -----Robinson: The Journey (A PSVR exclusive) -----Battlezone [b]Sports games:[/b] -----[I]Football Manager 2017[/I] (Very popular management game) -----[del]Fifa 2016[/del] (Has been cracked) -----Fifa 2017 (No one on PC cares about Fifa) [b]Racing Games:[/b] -----[I]F1 2016[/I] (Long running F1 racing game series, somewhat multiplayer focused) -----Moto Racer 4 (A motorbike racing game with mixed reviews) [b]Other:[/b] -----[I]Total War: Warhammer[/I] (Multiplayer is an option, though not the focus of any Total War game) -----[I]Sniper Elite 4[/I] -----[I]Dragon Quest Heroes II[/I] (Sequel to a spin off of two series which don't have large PC followings.) -----[I]Agents of Mayhem[/I] (Not out yet, looks shit, every comment section I've seen for this game has been repeats of "This looks generic/boring") -----[I]South Park: The Fractured but Whole[/I] (Not out yet) -----Fernbus Simulator (A simulator game which exists mostly to advertise Flexibus, a German coach company) -----Rocksmith 2014 Remastered (A rerelease of a game which requires a real guitar) -----Just Dance 2017 (which only sells well on consoles) -----Golfzon Driving Range (Which is actually [url=http://www.golfzonsimulator.com/golf-simulator/gdr/hardware/]an entire arcade golfing set up[/url], not a downloadable game) -----Dead Rising 4 (No one wants this game. In fact most people wish it didn't exist.) -----Ghost Recon: Wildlands (Constantly connected to the internet like most of Ubisoft's games, though it doesn't require a connection to play) -----Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition (No one cared about this game when it was new, they especially don't care about it now that Gearbox have thrown away all their good will) -----Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War III (Mixed reviews, apparently the game has been gutted and turned into a generic fast paced RTS.) Multiplayer games don't tend to get cracked because there's no point, Indie games don't have large followings generally, VR games have a tiny audience and require a VR headset to test, the rest are mostly unpopular, unknown, require a weird set up, or aren't out yet. Crackers tend to do it for the recognition, and aside from the highlighted games there's no widespread recognition to be gained from cracking most of these titles. Crackers who are interested in VR might give a crack at the VR games, but that also means ripping out the steam/Oculus store integration from them too. There's a reason why DOOM, Prey (2017), and Tekken 7 have been cracked and there's a reason Fifa 2017 and Fernbus Simulator haven't, crackers don't crack games no one cares about.

[QUOTE=hexpunK;52320407]I can't find much on them getting around the TF|2 implementation, but it looks like SE4 got got by them just spoofing the required things or something similar. It's never going to be perfect, but compared to previous DRMs, I'll take it tbh. I'd rather not see shite like SecureROM make a comeback as they were actively intrusive DRM solutions and in some cases straight up broken depending on your hardware configuration.[/QUOTE] I mean I'm not really sure how they could make a comeback, considering they don't work with Windows 10.

[QUOTE=Janus Vesta;52320968]list of games[/QUOTE] I can't actually believe they bought denuvo for fernbus sim :v: [editline]7th June 2017[/editline] Denuvos sales department must be staffed by magicians

[QUOTE=gk99;52320999]I mean I'm not really sure how they could make a comeback, considering they don't work with Windows 10.[/QUOTE] He said "shit like." Not literally securom as it is right now. If denuvo actually is pretty dead, a new system will be devised that could potentially be very intrusive like securom or starforce.

[QUOTE=thelurker1234;52321764]He said "shit like." Not literally securom as it is right now. If denuvo actually is pretty dead, a new system will be devised that could potentially be very intrusive like securom or starforce.[/QUOTE] The reason it doesn't work on Windows 10 is [I]because[/I] of how intrusive it is. It being so deeply involved with the system and being potentially vulnerable to viruses is the whole thought process behind blocking it.

[QUOTE=Janus Vesta;52320968]Multiplayer games don't tend to get cracked because there's no point, Indie games don't have large followings generally, VR games have a tiny audience and require a VR headset to test, the rest are mostly unpopular, unknown, require a weird set up, or aren't out yet. Crackers tend to do it for the recognition, and aside from the highlighted games there's no widespread recognition to be gained from cracking most of these titles. Crackers who are interested in VR might give a crack at the VR games, but that also means ripping out the steam/Oculus store integration from them too. There's a reason why DOOM, Prey (2017), and Tekken 7 have been cracked and there's a reason Fifa 2017 and Fernbus Simulator haven't, crackers don't crack games no one cares about.[/QUOTE] If the takeaway here is 'only highly-anticipated singleplayer-focused games using Denuvo get cracked' then Hexpunk is right: Denuvo is still working as intended for a lot of developers. If I'm an indie dev, or a lower-profile large developer, or even a AAA studio working on a mixed SP/MP game, you're basically telling me that Denuvo is an effective choice. That's a far cry from saying Denuvo is useless altogether just because it's been cracked on some games.

[QUOTE=catbarf;52322933]If the takeaway here is 'only highly-anticipated singleplayer-focused games using Denuvo get cracked' then Hexpunk is right: Denuvo is still working as intended for a lot of developers. If I'm an indie dev, or a lower-profile large developer, or even a AAA studio working on a mixed SP/MP game, you're basically telling me that Denuvo is an effective choice. That's a far cry from saying Denuvo is useless altogether just because it's been cracked on some games.[/QUOTE] Yeah, sure. I was just pointing out why they weren't cracked. I didn't make any argument as to how effective Denuvo is. I don't like DRM personally because it makes archival a pain in the ass but I also think the old claims that Denuvo will kill your SSD were sensationalist crap.

[QUOTE=catbarf;52322933]If the takeaway here is 'only highly-anticipated singleplayer-focused games using Denuvo get cracked' then Hexpunk is right: Denuvo is still working as intended for a lot of developers. If I'm an indie dev, or a lower-profile large developer, or even a AAA studio working on a mixed SP/MP game, you're basically telling me that Denuvo is an effective choice. That's a far cry from saying Denuvo is useless altogether just because it's been cracked on some games.[/QUOTE] ok but you realize denuvo costs a fuckton right theres a reason its 99% AAA companies, and another why even big company games like DOOM remove it near immediately after a bypass. I also heard that they have to get denuvo to re-apply something each time they want to update, it was used as the explanation to why Conan Exiles had pushed an update that had no denuvo before updating again with it a couple hours later at one point.

[QUOTE=VenomousBeetle;52325815] I also heard that they have to get denuvo to re-apply something each time they want to update, it was used as the explanation to why Conan Exiles had pushed an update that had no denuvo before updating again with it a couple hours later at one point.[/QUOTE] I think it's because they sent out a build that was built without the configuration that applies denuvo to the package, because implementing it is as simple as adding the package. But you can build the software without it, which is what I would assume is down for internal testing. If the build that's sent to steam has the wrong config, well ...shit

[QUOTE=gk99;52322609]The reason it doesn't work on Windows 10 is [I]because[/I] of how intrusive it is. It being so deeply involved with the system and being potentially vulnerable to viruses is the whole thought process behind blocking it.[/QUOTE] DRM writers will find a way to create something intrusive. Even if it means demanding a rootkit be installed or something along those lines (like sf5 Antichrist did)