SafeCast

This article is about the discontinued computer software. For the radiation measurements network Safecast.org, see Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

SafeCast (software protection) was a registered trademark for Macrovision's legacy software protection system.[1] Safecast features product activation (via telephone, or through internet), and executable wrapping technology. SafeCast can be easily defeated with a keygen.

Controversy

SafeCast exploits the lack of operating-system security in Microsoft Windows and writes directly to the boot track of the local disk as part of its operation. TurboTax, Intuit's tax-preparation software product, uses SafeCast in some versions, and the protection scheme has been blamed for a wide variety of problems with product activation and use, leading Intuit to partially remove the technology. Adobe also uses a version of SafeCast for its CS products, and has had similar but less frequent problems, particularly with certain types of disk configurations (RAID, multiple-boot), but continues to use the technology for copy protection.

Dangers

SafeCast with old versions of TrueCrypt can leave a machine in an unbootable state.[2] This is a problem of SafeCast Protection and not TrueCrypt. The makers of TrueCrypt, however, have further insulated the drives from external writes in the later versions, and it can now handle this protection scheme with no damage to data.

Removing SafeCast

SafeCast nests itself into the user's computer deeply and therefore it can be quite challenging to remove all of its components. The procedure of removing SafeCast includes the deletion of several files, the removal of information from the Windows registry as well as manipulating data directly of the hard drive.[3]

SafeCasted Applications

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ Safecast trademark is dead since April 8th, 2008 according to TESS http://tess2.uspto.gov/
  2. ↑ http://www.truecrypt.org/docs/?s=incompatibilities
  3. ↑ wikiHow article: How to Remove Safecast