[Infowarrior] - Ubisoft's Internet-required DRM Already Cracked

[Richard Forno]

Ubisoft's Internet-required DRM Already Cracked
2:50 PM - March 4, 2010 by Marcus Yam
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/ubisoft-drm-internet-crack-hack,9794.html#xtor 
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Hackers have already found a way around Ubisoft's Internet DRM that's  
used on Silent Hunter 5 and Assassin's Creed II.
Last month, we found out about a new Ubisoft DRM scheme that requires  
PC gamers to be constantly connected to the Internet in order to play  
an authenticated game. With the highly anticipated Assassin's Creed II  
and Settlers VII being some of those titles protected under the new  
scheme, gamers voiced their concerns over such restrictive and  
potentially inconvenient DRM.

Of course, it'd be naïve to believe that pirates won't be doing their  
best in order to circumvent this protection. One of Ubisoft's first  
titles to use this new scheme, Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the  
Atlantic, released earlier this week – and it didn't take much time  
for pirates to crack the DRM.

In the release notes for the pirated version of Silent Hunter 5, the  
hackers instruct not to use the Ubisoft launcher or to block any  
connection to the Internet, and then use some modified files to run  
the game. At the end of the note, the hackers also urge gamers to  
support the companies that make the software they enjoy.

We cannot verify whether or not the cracked files effectively bypass  
Ubisoft's copy protection schemes, but it's clear that the pirates are  
tinkering with it.