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Question about DRM and anti-virus


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At some point in the near future I'm going to buy this game. I thought I was going to get it earlier in the year and downloaded the demo, but things keep getting in the way.

In the meantime, I've noticed something that has me a bit concerned given the limited number of installations on the license.

In spite of being flagged for exclusion, about once every six weeks or so something happens and my desktop icon for CMBN and its associated executable get disabled by my anti-virus program.

What I usually do at that point, since I've kept the set-up files, is to re-install the game.

I am not about to go out and get rid of my anti-virus program just for one game.

And if this were a $10 game I wouldn't worry about it and would just go ahead and take the plunge.

But money is tight, and is giving every indication of getting tighter.

So here's my question.

If I buy CMBN, will I have to keep the set-up files on my computer so that I can re-install every six weeks when the executable gets disabled by my anti-virus?

And will that re-installation require a re-activation?

Because if it does, I'll be burning through my allowed activations really fast, perhaps even without having played the game.

I've got a couple of the Strategic Command games which I've been modding happily for the last few months, and their executables never seem to have been effected by my anti-virus. Do they use a less finicky and less draconian form of DRM, or might it be safe to assume that if I don't have anti-virus disabling problems with Strategic Command, I wouldn't have it with CMBN? I guess what this boils down to is whether my anti-virus (Avira) will find the DRM scheme on the final product less objectionable than that on the demo.

I'd really appreciate an official answer on this, because I refuse to shell out for this game and all of its expansions (let alone the Italian and East Front incarnations and expansions) only to have everything go poof periodically. The support team has always been very responsive, but the specter of having to do a couple of e-mail exchanges with them every other time I want play the game is a bit daunting.

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In spite of being flagged for exclusion, about once every six weeks or so something happens and my desktop icon for CMBN and its associated executable get disabled by my anti-virus program.

Yuck that sucks. I have not experienced that before. I have Symantec on my secondary machine - no issues and my old machine had Norton - again no issues.

I hope @Pak40's advice works for you.

If I buy CMBN, will I have to keep the set-up files on my computer so that I can re-install every six weeks when the executable gets disabled by my anti-virus?

I would keep the install files anyway as back up but no you should not have to do that.

And will that re-installation require a re-activation?

My experience with reinstalling is that no additional activation is required (as long as we are talking about reinstalling on the same machine)

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A

In spite of being flagged for exclusion, about once every six weeks or so something happens and my desktop icon for CMBN and its associated executable get disabled by my anti-virus program.

What I usually do at that point, since I've kept the set-up files, is to re-install the game.

[...]

If I buy CMBN, will I have to keep the set-up files on my computer so that I can re-install every six weeks when the executable gets disabled by my anti-virus?

And will that re-installation require a re-activation?

I like to bash BFC's DRM as much as the next guy, but to be honest if your AV program silently drops your specifically made exclusions then your AV program has a bug there.

Also, reinstall doesn't require reactivation. The AV did not prevent the executable from anchoring the DRM information deep in the system, it's still there :)

Even given all that, why don't you just keep a copy of the exe file on a USB stick after each update so that you can copy it back when the exclusion got excluded?

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