Receiving emails about "Copyright Infringement detected" | A long story (get your popcorn ready)

ZeptoBST

As the title says, we've been receiving those kinds of emails. Why? Because I download "illegal" content with torrent...

"So that's it, the end, I'm just a thief and I am rightly punished..."

(Laughs)

NOT.

...

Actually, it's much more complicated than that:

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I am a video-game enthusiast, that should be self-explanatory.

However, one value that I strongly hold to is to ALWAYS buy the games I want to play.

"Then what's the problem?" You may ask.

Well, I may be loyal to publishers and highly against piracy, but legitimate customers have a lesser experience.

Why?

All because of Copy-Protection (or DRM).

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I grew up in a environment where internet was a rarity, and for the most part of my life did not have any internet because it wasn't available to us. Since we only got internet, in more than limited quantity, less than ten years ago, I got used to be independent of internet for my entertainment (excluding YouTube).

Sadly, it seems like video-games on PC weren't spared. As such, the majority of games sold in digital stores are booby-trapped with DRMs, meant to limit what you can do with your games.

"Isn't DRMs meant to stop piracy?" You may ask.

It does, albeit only for a limited amount of time after games are released.

Why?

Because crackers inevitably find a way around them, allowing pirates to play those games without hassle.

Annnnnnd, that's where it the issues starts to arise.

While pirates have no issues playing those games, us legitimate customers have to deal with the heavy-handed copy-protection.

"How exactly is it an issue?" You may ask.

Well, as I have said before, it limits what you can do with your game.

For example, you cannot change the location of the game by simply copy/pasting it, you'd need to mess with the game launcher.

Ok, that's a fairly weak point, but that's not all.

DRMs also prevent you from copying the game to another computer you may have.

Obviously, if it's to copy the game to someone else's computer, then that's piracy.

But if it's just another computer you own, or maybe it's a computer you just bought or recently re-installed Windows onto, then you'll have to go through the trouble of downloading the launcher, logging into it (which isn't the fastest thing to do when there's so many security checks by email or sms these days), only then you can copy/paste the game onto the computer and locate it with the launcher. Very frustrating.

Also, DRMs may prevent modding games, something that's much beloved in the PC ecosystem.

(BTW, I'm talking about singleplayer mods, not online-multiplayer hacks that ruin other's experience.)

Last but not least, DRMs may prevent you from playing entirely.

The internet isn't as reliable as electricity, it may go down whenever it feels like it.

But that's not all, the servers required to "let you play the games you paid for" are also responsible.

So, if any of the two aren't working, then you may not be able to play the game you paid for.

(BTW, that happened to me. It's extremely frustrating that content I own has to be controlled by a volatile, online dependency.)

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Now, that's a big part of the story taken care of. On to the rest.

Here's my solution to the problem: Liberating

"What's "Liberating"?"

Well, since I want to get my games legitimately, but also be able to play them when I want and without any strings pulling it, I patch them using the files provided by the crackers.

To put it simply, I patch the games to circumvent the copy-protection. That's what I call: Liberating.

However, sometimes, the files provided by the crackers don't work (game updates are often a culprit, which makes things complicated). One solution then is to download the entire game with the "crack" (set of file(s) used to bypass the DRMs). Those are referred to as "Repacks". That way, it's guaranteed to work.

Most of the time, torrenting them is the easiest and fastest way to get those repacks.

Once downloaded, I search throughout them and seek ONLY the files that allow circumvention. Anything else gets deleted, as such, only the files needed are used and the rest are the legal files officially downloaded.

"Isn't it illegal to circumvent copy-protection?"

Generally, yes, but here's the thing:

Fundamentally, the way I do it is the most legitimate way possible. I want to make sure devs and publishers get their money, but I do not want the hurdles of string-pulling DRMs. I go out of my way to make sure the way I do it is the most legal.

May I add, I only do this for myself. I only do this with games I permanently own (games that require a subscription to be played don't get that treatment (because I don't play them)), I do not share my game-files with anyone, I do not share the "cracks" with others and I do not encourage anyone to pirate content.

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The big conclusion.

I am NOT a pirate, it would be insulting if someone said so. I am true to myself, and I believe that my methods are the best ways to fully enjoy games, while also being a loyal customer.

That being said, sadly, we still get those emails.

Being that I live with my parents, and they're the ones getting the emails, I wouldn't want to have them in trouble of course, but I can only be filled with anger when those mails claim that I pirated content despite the fact I purchased said content slightly before.

Sigh...

For anyone that happened to read till the end without getting bored, I hope you understand where I coming from and why it's aggravating to me.

I'd only like to know, on the behalf of my parents, do I need to fear those messages? Are we risking getting fined?

Thanks.

-Brandon

Emporium

Hi Brandon @ZeptoBST ,

I understand what you are saying. The old gamer in me, understands the want to be "leberated". BUT the developer in me will tell you that what you are doing is in fact "pirating", no matter how you try to justify it.

The games are distributed in a certain manner and meant to be played with the restriction put in place by the various devs, and distribution channels. When you BUY the game, you AGREE to those license terms when you install it. If you don't agree to them, you are free to NOT buy the game and not play it. The game is to be played "unmodified" in any way.

I am not saying I agree with the terms, but just stating the legality of it :)

Now regarding the letter... a single letter is not a big issue. Even 1 a year is not going to be anything major. BUT, depending on the ISP they may eventually also provide you a warning (not just forward you an email from the copyright holder). At that point, they can decide to suspend your service. I have not been with FIZZ long enough to know if they act on them eventually, I know my sister's ISP forwarded her a letter, and at the same time a warning, that if they get any more letters, they would cancel her service.

One thing you can do however is to get yourself a VPN service for these downloads. Using a VPN to torrent, may be a little slower, but at least it gives you some sort of protection. And sometimes you can get some nice deals. About a month ago, there was a promo on stacksocial for keepsolid VPN, lifetime subscription for up to 5 devices, for USD$13.25. OK, it may not be a tier1 VPN service, and probably not the fastest. But it serves it's purpose for the torrents. I usually just leave them run in the background on my synology NAS, so if it takes 3 times as long to download, I don't care honestly.

ZeptoBST

Fair enough.

I still think I'm better than a pirate, but it does feel grey, uncertain waters you know.

Obviously, it'd be better if piracy wasn't a thing entirely, then DRMs likely wouldn't be a thing and wouldn't be a problem. But, oh well, I can keep on dreaming about that.

Regarding the use of a VPN, I did get one before and it worked for the most part, but somehow they still managed to detect it on one instant. Though, idk if that was a mistake on my end (say if I forgot to enable it that one time).

I guess I could try again.

Thanks!