Protect Your UT2004 CD Key

[RaptoR]

This Atari forums thread discusses various ways to keep your Unreal Tournament 2004 CD-key safe from the growing number of malicious CD-key stealing programs. These programs grab your UT2004 CD-key from your Windows Registry and send it back to the program's author, who allows it to be used to let cheating smacktards and warez monkeys play UT2004 online. The first you'll know about this will be when your key is banned from the master server for cheating, or you're unable to connect because your key is already in use.

One of the methods described in the thread involves some Windows Registry tweaking through the regedit utility, so only attempt it if you know what you're doing! The thread also contains links to a few CD-key 'scrambling' programs which only place your correct CD-key value in your registry when UT2004 is in use, filling it with a dummy value when you're not playing to prevent it being snatched by malicious programs.

Of course, the easiest way to keep your CD-key safe is not to run suspicious-looking programs in emails and forum posts, however the tricks described are a useful precaution.

 

[MÆST]

From that thread, I found this program, by Hellcat, to be very useful: http://forum.skill-club.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13267

Basically it encrypts your key with a password so you have to enter your password to change your key in your registry in order to play.

 

[Dontbeanass]

There is just to much damn drama involving this cd-theft BS. I think I will go to battlefield Vietnam until this crap dies down. The answer to this--is dont have Cd keys epic! If you must have them--figure a way to protect them BEFORE you release a product. It should not be left up to the consumer to have to mess with his/her rig--in order to protect their key from being hacked!
You want software copying at a minimum--then cover your own ass's and find the key fix yourselves. I paid money to play the damn game--not re-write the frikin code!

 

[Imaginos]

Actually, it's the consumer's responsibility to safeguard the key. Anyone who bought UT agreed to that when they installed the product. Epic has no obligation to people that don't take precautions to prevent key theft. End of story. This also applies to bf:vietnam too.. keystealers steal keys.. any and all keys.
Software such as this is meant to act as an additional failsafe should a trojan somehow get into the operating system. Drama? What drama? If you see mentions of keytheft, you're not seeing drama. You're seeing people that either willingly or unwittingly compromised their operating systems' security and are passing on warnings or crybabying.

 

[wildfrogman]

Actually, when people bought UT back in the day UT didnt have cd keys that could be stolen correct? What they were saying is there needs to be better security rather than leaving the key just lay unencrypted in the registry where activeX scripts where just visiting a website can cause you to lose your cd key to theiving scum. Sure, there are some that install junk on their systems but most I would bet is activeX scripting that many people dont know about.

 

[Eyegore]

Sorry Imaginos - I agree with Dontbeanass. This whole thing is nothing but a big pain in the ass for normal users like me. Sure, I have technical skill, but why should I have to go through all that hoopla to be sure I don't get banned from a server? If someone manages to steal my key, I get banned and have to remove the software from my system, with no recourse or appeal?!?

This type of protection needs to happen on the development side, not the consumer side. After all, without consumers, where would Epic be? Now it's like you take this attitude that we should not only pay the bucks to play the game, but we need to kiss Epic's ass and go through a whole rigamarole just to be sure we can continue to play?!?

I'll not tell anyone my key, but why the hell do I need to go messing around my OS to be sure I can play the game without getting banned? In the business world, that's considered poor design.

Protect the key at the source level, Epic. Don't make us jump through hoops to play your game, then threaten us with lawyers if someone steals our key and we don't remove the software from our drives.

 

[Imaginos]

Nothing wrong with disagreeing.

If people feel they have no protection for their UT CD key, that tells me there's a bigger issue there. While there's no precautions that are 100% foolproof, I'm confident that my data is safe. And among all the important ones and zeros I have stored on my home computers, the cd key isn't anywhere near one of the top concerns.

While the software companies could do something to help protect the key, I think a proactive enduser can do more. Stopping any risky behavior goes a long way..

 

[MrMaddog]

All that mucking about in the Registry only applies to XP, which isn't gonna go anything for those with Win98 (I'm not paying $200 for an upgrade unless it comes with a new PC). Will have to take a look at the Cd-key secure program as soon as I have the time.

Also, it should be noted that the only way to keep "any" online intrusion out is with a good firewall. Since I'm getting DSL real soon I plan on getting a router with a steady firewall at hardware level, being that I don't trust a software based firewall on Win98. My point is while Epic should address the issue of preventing stolen CD keys to prevent legit paying owners from being unfairly punished, it's better to protect your own crap than waiting for another company to do it. Cavet Empiore, and all that...

 

[wildfrogman]

Well, a firewall wont stop activeX scripts from stealing keys. ActiveX goes through the firewall's front doors and unless you disable activeX, use some anti scripting software and use a browser other than IE say Firefox or Mozilla set to default you would still be vulnerable to cd-key theft. Most people dont do all that usually. All you need to do is visit the wrong site and.... BAM activeX runs in the background and cd-key is stolen without them even knowing.

 

[[WoD]Mephisto]

wildfrogman is right.

if anyone is just a little bit concerned about the sercurity on his pc at all, he wouldnt be using IE. imho, MS should remove that software entirely from windows, since it claims windows to be just as safe as linux.

another good way of protecting your key is to play UT on Linux, like I do. it runs just as well and you wont have to worry about your registry. you also dont habe to worry anymore about virusses, spyware and other crap that comes in your pc through IE, but that's beyond the scope of this topic...