Month: August 2018

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Nach dem Ende des Routerzwangs hat es etwas gedauert, bis die Nutzer umsteigen. Doch die Tendenz ist nun eindeutig. (Router, DSL)

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Für mehr Verve und Antrieb bei der Digitalisierung will Bundeskanzlerin Merkel einen Digitalrat gründen. Als Mitglied sind zehn Experten unterschiedlicher Fachrichtungen gesucht. (Digitalisierung, Internet)

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There are dozens of anti-piracy systems in the world designed to protect everything from music, movies and TV shows through to videogames and software.

In years gone by, many made the mistake of claiming to be impenetrable but as history has shown, most protections now act as mere stumbling blocks, to slow leaks and piracy down. What is more unusual is to hear of an anti-piracy tool itself being leaked online.

That appears to have been the case when code belonging to security company Guardsquare appeared online.

“We develop premium software for the protection of mobile applications against reverse engineering and hacking,” the company’s website reads.

“Our products are used across the world in a broad range of industries, from financial services, e-commerce and the public sector to telecommunication, gaming and media.”

One of Guardsquare’s products is Dexguard, a tool to protect Android applications from being decompiled, something that can lead to piracy, credential harvesting, tampering and cloning. Unfortunately, a version of Dexguard itself ended up on Github.

In a takedown notice filed with the Microsoft-owned code platform, Guardsquare explains that the code is unauthorized and was obtained illegally.

“The listed folders….contain an older version of our commercial obfuscation software (DexGuard) for Android applications. The folder is part of a larger code base that was stolen from one of our former customers,” Guardsquare writes.

While the repository containing the illegal copy of Dexguard was quickly taken down, the leaked code had already spread. Guardsquare found almost 300 ‘forks’ of the stolen software on Github and filed a request to have them all taken down.

That has now taken place but the account of the Github user who originally uploaded the content seems to be intact.

Using the name ‘HackedTeam’, the account contains code dating back several years. Some appears to be linked to Android spyware previously described as “one of the most professionally developed and sophisticated Android malware ever exposed.”

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and more. We also have VPN reviews, discounts, offers and coupons.

Es könnte weitere Konkurrenz für Youtube und Twitch geben: Valve arbeitet an einem eigenen Angebot, das wahrscheinlich mit dem E-Sport-Turnier The International startet. Wie es dann weitergeht - unklar. (Steam, Spiele-Streaming)

Netflix legt viel Wert darauf, dass Nutzer sich Serien fast nahtlos ansehen können. Nun wird eine Funktion getestet, die zwischen einzelnen Episoden doch etwas Werbung einblendet - für Netflix-eigene Inhalte. (Netflix, Onlinewerbung)

GOG, the purveyors of classic and DRM games, have labelled game streaming "just another layer of DRM".

In a wide ranging interview with GameIndustry.biz, GOG's head of global communication Lukasz Kukawski distanced the digital games store from the hype surrounding game streaming, suggesting that GOG's customers prefer to download and own games instead.

"We don't see it as a thing that will take over games distribution," Kukawski says in relation to game streaming. "Our stance in digital distribution is to own the games because they are DRM free, and for many gamers this is very important. With streaming, there's another layer to it. You already have games with DRM, so it's more like licensing games than owning them. And streaming is more like renting a game, so it's another layer to this ongoing discussion."

Kukawski further believes that hardcore gamers would want to own their games and would not want to compromises such as the delay for streamed games.

Furthermore, Kukawski says GOG isn't worried that a streaming platform operated by a game publisher directly, and offering access to classic games on a subscription basis, would pose a threat to GOG's business model. 

"I don't see it as a threat on that side, at least at the moment," said Kukawski. "When we talk to publishers or to rights owners about some old games they have, in many cases they either don't know they own the rights for a game, or they just probably don't care about it. Like, 'We have it but we don't see it as something we can monetize or we don't have the time and resources to do it.'"

In other words, big game publishers are just not interested in monetizing classic games in their inventory, preferring to focus on AAA titles.

As for the noble task of convincing the rest of the game industry that DRM-free is the way to go, Kukawski says that while indie publishers are open to the idea, big publishers are still staying away, despite GOG's own success with its Witcher 3 game, which was published DRM free.

"We're trying of course to convert them as much as possible, for example bringing up the example of Witcher 3, which launched on GOG day one [DRM free] and nothing happened. The world didn't end. The game is selling extremely well even nowadays. It's not like the DRM-free version killed the sales for the game. And we see that gamers appreciate this approach, and more and more publishers are open to at least talking to us and seeing what the concept is behind us doing it, and why it's worth it for them to do it. It's a more open discussion. It's an ongoing process, but we see definitely that publishers are more open to the concept," said Kukawski.

[via GameIndustry.biz]

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