Denuvo Anti-Tamper , or Denuvo - anti-tamper protection technology developed by the Austrian company Denuvo Software Solutions GmbH; a company created through a share buyback by its own management (MBO) from .
| Denuvo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | Denuvo Software Solutions GmbH |
| operating system | Microsoft Windows |
| First edition | 2014 |
| condition | Works |
| License | Proprietary Software |
| Site | |
Technology
Early reports that Denuvo Anti-Tamper “continuously encrypts and decrypts itself so that it is impossible to crack” appeared in the fall of 2014 [1] . However, Denuvo Software Solutions said the technology “does not constantly encrypt and decrypt any data on the media. There would be no benefit in terms of security or performance. ” The company does not disclose how Denuvo Anti-Tamper works [2] . Chinese group claimed they hacked Denuvo Anti-Tamper on December 1, 2014 . The group claims that this technology includes a “64-bit encryption machine”, which requires cryptographic keys that are unique to the specific equipment of each installed system [3] .
Later, in early December, the same group released a crack for the Dragon Age: Inquisition video game, which uses Denuvo Anti-Tamper to protect Electronic Arts' Origin Online Access DRM [4] . But it took almost a month, which is unusually long for computer games [4] . Denuvo recognized that “every protected game can ultimately be hacked” [4] . Ars Technica notes that most legitimate sales for large games occurred within 30 days of release, and therefore publishers may consider Denuvo a success, bearing in mind that crackers took significantly longer to crack Denuvo-protected games [5] .
Denuvo-protected games require online re-activation for each hardware update. Denuvo limits the number of activations to 4 hardware updates within 24 hours [6] [7] .
Hacking Protection
According to reports from January 2016 , 3DM almost abandoned attempts to hack the Just Cause 3 game, which is protected by Denuvo, due to difficulties associated with this process [8] . They also warn that, due to current trends in encryption technology, hacking video games in two years may become impossible [8] [9] . Thomas Goble of Denuvo believes that some console games may be released on PC in the future due to this technology [9] .
On August 6, 2016, on the unofficial site of the Skidrow hacker team, a way appeared to launch the DOOM game from the previously unknown REVOLT hacker group [10] . Soon, roundabouts for other games [11] were posted on the same site, using the vulnerability in the Steam digital distribution service [12] .
On August 8, 2016, a group of hackers CONSPIR4CY (briefly CPY) uploaded the first full Denuvo hack into the network in the form of a crack for the game Rise of the Tomb Raider [13] . Over the next year, the CPY group posted hacks for other games protected by Denuvo [14] .
During the second half of 2017, a new release group STEAMPUNKS appeared that released keygen for a series of games, which, according to the developers of the Denuvo Software GmbH security developers themselves, turned out to be a complete Denuvo license emulator, since it does not require changing the game source code [15] .
Since October 2017, Denuvo protection has been compromised by crackers within hours of the game’s release [16] .
Conflicts
Some consumers claim that Denuvo Anti-Tamper shortens the life of solid-state drives (SSDs) by writing an excessive amount of data to disk [1] [17] [18] [19] [20] . Denuvo Software Solutions in response states that “Denuvo Anti-Tamper does not often read or write data to the medium” [2] .
In December 2017, it became known that problems on Denuvo servers prevented players from using licensed copies of Batman: Arkham Knight , Middle-earth: Shadow of War, and Mad Max games purchased on Steam. When I tried to start, error messages appeared, so I had to repeat the connection procedure many times. Malfunctions concerned only editions from Warner Bros., but this gave new arguments to supporters for a complete rejection of Denuvo, which interferes with playing legally purchased licenses [21] .
In 2018, director and producer Katsuhiro Harada reported problems in the PC version of Tekken 7 : a drop in frame rate due to anti-piracy protection, which is constantly being updated [22] .
In addition, updating the Sonic Mania game with Denuvo caused a slowdown and getting stuck on the menu, which Steam and Reddit users complained about [23] . It is written on the Sega website that the protection does not affect the frame rate in any way [24] , but the players have sufficient grounds to cast doubt on this statement.
Also, CODEX hackers reported that while playing Injustice 2 for some characters ( Gorilla Grodd and Robin ), Denuvo makes numerous checks, which entails micro-dependencies, which are also present in the license [25] .
Overlord Gaming found that protection reduces gaming performance, causing a delay of 60 FPS and increasing download times. Testing was carried out before and after the release of the official patch that eliminated Denuvo [26] [27] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Karan Kalra. How The New DRM Denuvo Might Be Damaging Your SSD (Update ) . ASidCast (November 18, 2014). Date of treatment July 6, 2019. Archived January 19, 2015.
- ↑ 1 2 Denuvo Denuvo Software Solutions GmbH. Date of treatment July 1, 2016.
- ↑ Paul Younger. Denuvo DRM has been cracked . PC Invasion (December 3, 2014). Date of treatment July 1, 2016.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Robert Purchese. Don't call it DRM: what's Denuvo Anti-Tamper? (eng.) . Eurogamer (December 19, 2014). Date of treatment June 30, 2016.
- ↑ Kyle Orland . Major piracy group warns games may be crack-proof in two years (English) , Ars Technica (January 8, 2016). Date of treatment July 1, 2016.
- ↑ Steve Burke. (Updated) Mirror's Edge Catalyst DRM Limits PC Users to 4 Upgrades . Gamers Nexus (June 7, 2016). Date of treatment October 10, 2016.
- ↑ Scott Michaud. Mirror's Edge: Catalyst DRM Rumors Are Wrong PC Perspective (June 7, 2016). Date of treatment October 10, 2016.
- ↑ 1 2 Owen S. Good. Piracy group nearly gives up on cracking Just Cause 3, warns of bleak future . Polygon (January 9, 2016). Date of treatment July 1, 2016.
- ↑ 1 2 Robert Purchese. Finally, tide turns in war with PC game crackers . Eurogamer (8 January 2016). Date of treatment July 1, 2016.
- ↑ John Papadopoulos. Denuvo has been defeated, first working crack for DOOM is now available (UPDATE: Rise of the Tomb Raider also “cracked” ) . DSOGaming (August 5, 2016). Date of treatment August 8, 2016.
- ↑ John Papadopoulos. Just Cause 3, Rise of the Tomb Raider & Inside have been cracked / bypassed . DSOGaming (August 6, 2016). Date of treatment August 8, 2016.
- ↑ John Papadopoulos. Denuvo fixes bypass exploit, pirated games can no longer be activated . DSOGaming (August 8, 2016). Date of treatment August 9, 2016.
- ↑ John Papadopoulos. Rise of the Tomb Raider - First real crack is now available . DSOGaming (August 9, 2016). Date of treatment August 9, 2016.
- ↑ John Papadopoulos. Resident Evil 7 - Latest version of the Denuvo anti-tamper tech cracked in less than five days . DSOGaming (January 29, 2017). Date of treatment February 18, 2017.
- ↑ Maria Nefyodova. The SteamPunks group hacked Denuvo's defense and introduced the license generator for Dishonored 2 . The Hacker (June 8, 2017). Date of treatment June 15, 2017.
- ↑ Kyle Orland. Denuvo's DRM now being cracked within hours of release . Ars Technica (October 19, 2017). Date accessed May 18, 2019. Archived April 15, 2019.
- ↑ Julia Pozdnyakova. Does Denuvo Affect Performance: Test Results in Final Fantasy XV 3DNews (March 12, 2018). Date of treatment July 6, 2019.
- ↑ Benjamin Gründken. Dragon Age: Inquisition - Meldungen um SSDs zerstörenden Denuvo-Kopierschutz verunsichern Spieler, viel Lärm um nichts? (German) . PCGamesHardware (22. November 2014). Date of treatment July 6, 2019.
- ↑ The-Khoa Nguyen. Zerstört neuer Denuvo-Kopierschutz SSD-Laufwerke? (German) . PC Magazin (25. November 2014). Date of treatment July 6, 2019.
- ↑ Denuvo-Kopierschutz zerstört gerüchteweise SSD-Laufwerke (German) . Gulli.
- ↑ Peter Zabochin. Due to problems with Denuvo servers, players cannot play purchased games . Gamebomb (December 20, 2017). Date of treatment July 6, 2019.
- ↑ Svetlana Nelipa. Denuvo brakes Tekken 7 . " Gambling " (April 16, 2018). Date of treatment July 6, 2019.
- ↑ Julia Pozdnyakova. The Denuvo update “broke” the licensed version of Sonic Mania for some users . 3DNews (July 20, 2018). Date of treatment July 6, 2019.
- ↑ DENUVO Q&A . Sega . Date of treatment July 6, 2019.
- ↑ John Papadopoulos. Crackers claim that Denuvo anti-tamper tech causes stuttering issues in Injustice 2 . DSOGaming (August 26, 2018). Date accessed August 26, 2018.
- ↑ Nazar Steporuk. A detailed analysis of Denuvo confirmed the serious problems of this DRM protection . 3DNews (December 27, 2018). Date of treatment July 6, 2019.
- ↑ Andrei Galadei. Denuvo's negative impact on PC gaming performance has been confirmed . " Gambling " (December 27, 2018). Date of treatment July 6, 2019.