Mac program destroys your computer if you try to steal it!
Here’s what’s boncing about the web right now!
Mac Display Eater kills home filesPR disaster waiting to happen
A MAKER of Mac software has uncovered a “scary” anti-piracy measure in a bit of code called Display Eater.
Display Eater records motion video on your screen which you can then convert to a Quicktime movie.
However writing in his bog here, Karsten Kusche, who works for another Apple software maker Briksoftware, says that if you try to use a pirated serial number with Display Eater, the software will delete your home file, which in Mac land is the same as killing your computer.
Kusche said that while it is not right to pirate software it is a bit drastic to kill a mac user’s home file.
He said that the would be pirates might even buy a licence one day if they like the software or at least talk kindly about it. However if it is the same software that killed their computer they are less likely to say nice things about it. We would have thought they would have sued. µ
The facts:
The developer did this as a “Scare Tactic” to prevent people from stealing his app, but it backfired on him. Either way, it was a very bad idea and he will pay for it.
Public Letter:
I hope the public will read this entire letter.
There has been alot of confusion regarding the copy protection of the program called Display Eater.It is described here in:
There exists two illegal cd-keys that can be used to register the program without paying for it. When Display Eater detects these keys, it would delete your home directory.
However, this is not the case in reality. The whole purpose was to create a scare campaign. You can download, the file linked from the main page, which is now down(the link is still intact here), and check it for yourself. It has been this way since 2/7/07.
It was my hope that by creating a scare campaign, I could stop wasting time writing copy protection routines to be broken over and over. But, I was wrong, it backfired.
People started buying multiple keys, which I never intended, and in the beginning when the protection was in place, people who did not even know they had committed piracy or what piracy was were left in the dark. Legitimate users started fearing the program, which I never imagined.A reporter called me today, and suggested that I make it free, and then have users pay for support. Or open source the program. I will consider all of these. -Reza