Microsoft Disables Securom and Safedisc DRMs and thus their games

[Pedro-NF]

Microsoft Disables Securom and Safedisc DRMs and thus their games

Microsoft has disabled 2 of the old style DRMs, and subsequently the games that use them, on Windows 10. Games that use Securom and Safedisc no longer work on Windows 10 without a patch of some sort to remove the reliance on these DRMs. This decision was made by Microsoft in response to security concerns, but as a side effect rendered hundreds of old games unplayable on the new operating system without players installing no-CD cracks or re-buying the games via modern digital distribution services which don't use the now-abandoned DRM.

Now Microsoft have released a security patch that also removes support for the Safedisc DRM from Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1. The description for update 3086255 says that it "addresses a defense-in-depth update for the secdrv.sys driver, a third-party driver." It then explains how it addresses that problem: "The update turns off the service for the secdrv.sys driver. This may affect the ability to run some older games." Oh.

Source: Guru3D