From TM Wiki

StarForce is the copy protection technology contained within TMO, TMS and TMN. It is unknown if it will be used within TrackMania United.

Contents 1 How It Works 2 Problems 3 Reputation 4 Uninstalling StarForce 5 Updating Starforce 6 Links

How It Works

When you install Trackmania, a copy protection tool is installed which prevents casual copying of the CD. A hidden device driver is installed without the player’s knowledge or consent.

The exact methods StarForce uses are unknown, but it is believed that the software measures the angle between the first and last written sector on the CD. Only original copies made form the master disk have the same properties which is difficult to reproduce.

Problems

The StarForce drivers are often linked to system instability, computer crashes and CD-ROM drive slowness.

Reputation

StarForce is designed to be difficult to reverse-engineer. Games are often cracked but this takes time due to the secretive nature of StarForce.

Ubisoft dropped the use of StarForce after a $5 million lawsuit relating to security breaches which allegedly occurred because of the software.

The following games have had StarForce removed using an official patch.

• Area 51
• Heroes of Might and Magic V
• Restaurant Empire
• The Fall: Last Days of Gaia
• X2: The Threat

Uninstalling StarForce

1. Download the [SFREMOVE tool] as a ZIP archive.
2. Extract and store sfdrvrem.exe anywhere on your hard disk.
3. Run sfdrvrem.exe.

Note : StarForce is required to run Trackmania.

Updating Starforce

1. Download the [SFUPDATE tool] as a ZIP archive.
2. Extract and store sfdrvup.exe anywhere on your hard disk.
3. Run sfdrvup.exe.

Links

• Official StarForce website : http://www.star-force.com/protection/users/
• Boycott StarForce : http://www.glop.org/starforce/
• Wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starforce