EAxis and SecuROM

EDIT: The problems with SecuROM seems to effect Vista PCs more that XP PCs. It also seems to effect newer hardware more.

After all of the problems that are all over the net from Bioshock players relating to SecuROM, I was quite suprised to hear that EAxis have now decided to switch their perfectly working CD Security software (Safedisk) to SecuROM malware.

Now all Sims 2 (If you have installed Bon Voyage, H&M Fashion or Deluxe, this means you) players can enjoy the amazing security this rootkit has to offer.

Including many of these features:
*The loss of any kind of CD/DVD burning capabilities
*The loss of all functionality of all printers, scanners and external hard drives
*The loss of any kind of antivirus/firewall protection (Norton and McCaffrey ~sp?~ are the most effected, go figure)
*Daemon Tools, Power ISO or Magic ISO rendered useless.
*Often prevents legally purchased copies of the game from working.
*"Phones Home" at regular intervals during gameplay causing so many performance problems that the game is rendered unplayable for intervals as long as 5 minutes.

But, what can you expect from something made by Sony?

The solution?

There really isn't one, unless you want to play the game with a no-cd crack, and never touching the game disk or official executable ever again (I found this out the hard way, after endlessly attempting to regain some functionality and finally opting for a re-install of my system). That is unless EAxis decide to recall the game and re-release it without SecuROM, but that seems doubtful.

Just in case you decide you can live with a no-cd crack, heres how to get rid of SecuROM (If you have not played from the game cd/official executable SecuROM should not be on your system. SecuROM is installed on first play from the official executable.):

(These instructions work for Windows XP and Windows Vista)

1. Download RegDelNull from here: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/Miscellaneous/RegDelNull.mspx
2. Extract RegDelNul.exe to C:
3. Open command prompt (run as administrator)
4. Type in this command "cd C:\" and press enter.
Type "regdelnull hkcu -s" and press enter
Type "regdelnull hku -s"
RegDelNull will search for keys marked as undeletable and delete them (and make them deletable).
Don't close command prompt
5. Click Start-->Run
6. In the run box type in "regedit" and click OK.
7. In RegEdit press CTRL+F to bring up the search box. Type in "securom" and press enter. Delete any SecuROM files that regedit finds. If it finds nothing, thats a good thing. Close RegEdit.
8. Click back to your command prompt window. Type "cd c:\windows\system32" and press enter.
9. Type "uaservice7 /remove" and press enter. This will stop the SecuROM user access service. If you get an error saying it does not exist, manually check your C:\Windows\System32 folder for uaservice7.exe.
10. Type "regsvr32 /u cmdlineext.dll" and press enter. If you get an error saying it does not exist or not configured, manually check your C:\Windows\System32 folder for cmdlineext.dll.
11. XP ONLY:
Open a folder.
Click Tools-->Folder Options.
Click the View tab and check the box next to "Show hidden files and folders".
Open up command prompt and type "at /interactive %systemroot%\system32\cmd.exe" eg "at 9:02pm /interactive %systemroot%\system32\cmd.exe" this will open a new administrative command prompt window.
Type in "cd C:\Documents and Settings\\Application Data\Securom" and press enter.
Type in "dir /A" then press enter. This will delete all files within the directory.
Type in "del /F /AH *" then press enter. (you may have to confirm deletion)
Browse to "C:\Documents and Settings\\Application Data\" in there you will see a file called Securom. Delete the file.

VISTA ONLY:
Click Start-->Control Panel. Open Folder Options.
Click the View tab and check the box next to "Show hidden files and folders".
Open My Computer, right-click C: and click Search.
In the search box type "securom".
Delete the file in the search results.
12. Download a no-cd crack from here: http://www.gamecopyworld.com/
13. Put the new exe in to your Sims 2 Directory (for Bon Voyage: C:\Program Files\EA Games\The Sims 2 Bon Voyage\TSBin). If you're asked to replace, click yes (or OK).
14. Right-click the new exe and select Send to-->Desktop (create shortcut).
Thats it. You can now play without securom getting onto your system.

DO NOT PATCH THE GAME! This brings SecuROM back as it is embedded in the official executable.
To fix the problems like constantly spawning NPCs, download the antiredundancy.package (read the install instructions in the zip) from here: http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/ffs/bv/hacks/antiredundancy.zip

I will keep up to date on new patch releases and no-cd cracks, so if there ever is a crack for the patched version I will post about it

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FYI:
Rootkit
The term rootkit is used to describe the mechanisms and techniques whereby malware, including viruses, spyware, and trojans, attempt to hide their presence from spyware blockers, antivirus, and system management utilities.

ALSO:
SecuROM is not in the EAxis user agreement.

I don't know about you, but I don't like things installed on my machine that I don't know about, it just screams malware to me.

ONE MORE THING:
Because of the way SecuROM installes istelf, it leaves a potential (undetectable) window for viruses and other malicious programs to become prolific in the system.

LAST THING:
When you uninstall any game/software etc with SecuROM "protection". SecuROM does not get uninstalled and offers you no way to get rid of it (if you knew it was there to begin with).


NOTE:
After destroying all trace of SecuROM on my system, I have had no performance issues with The Sims 2. Coincidence? I think not.