Strange thing with key code

[Detritus]

A couple a days ago in another forum someone mentioned he had gotten hands on a pirated SH3 but couldn't get it to run, because apparently there wasn't anything about key code included. So he asks advise, I say' Naughty, naughty' and tell him to buy one instead. Today, someone else replied to him and Lo-and-Behold, gives him MY keycode:down: The very thing printed on the disk. WTH? I most certainly haven't given it to anyone, copied the disks or even registered it to Ubisoft so there shouldn't be any way someone getting it. Security off my comp is more than adequate and in fact I haven't even had SH3 installed on my current hard drive, so it shouldn't be possible for someone accessing it. I've been hacked? Any ideas what's happening, before I break out my gun and start looking for this jerk?

[Farside]

hey mate i have absolutely no idea but i have heard of people hacking webcams etc and spying on people. possible? have you a webcam?

[Dutch]

Oh man thats scary, sounds to me like you might possible be/have been/ infected with a key logging trojan or something of the likes where they can pick up your keys on your keyboard as you type them, because I'm not aware of any program files in SH3 that records you S#. Have you recently updated/scanned you computer for viruses?

Sorry I can't give you a definative answer, but thats what it sounds like to me. You definatly want to check into that, very very indepth.

[VipertheSniper]

Oh man thats scary, sounds to me like you might possible be/have been/ infected with a key logging trojan or something of the likes where they can pick up your keys on your keyboard as you type them, because I'm not aware of any program files in SH3 that records you S#. Have you recently updated/scanned you computer for viruses?

Sorry I can't give you a definative answer, but thats what it sounds like to me. You definatly want to check into that, very very indepth.


As far as I'm aware, I didn't have to type in my key-code a single time when installing and I own a legal version, with it's key-code printed on the DVD (I mean how much sense does that make, putting the key-code on the thing that's in drive to install it?). I even wrote it down, only to be surprised I didn't have to enter it.

Edit: Maybe I had to type it in the first I time I installed SH3, but that's too long ago to remember, if I had to or not. Nevertheless, either I didn't have to type it in for any install, or I only had to type it in for the first one and then it got stored in the registry.

[Dutch]

Thats sounds right to me. Just yesterday when I installed SH3 on my new PC I had to enter, but I seem to remember when I had to uninstall/reinstall SH3 on my old PC that I didn't have to reenter my S#. I guess that the only thing good about Star Force :damn:

[Detritus]

Not necessary to type the key? Hmph, what's the point having it? One of these 'great' things again with trying to lure people for registering and thereby getting all sorts of spam mail from the companies.
No, don't have a webcam so that can't be it.
Virus databases are updated on daily basis (at least once), as well as malware definitions and scanned once a week. My F-secure should be able to pick up anything so it still doesn't explain it. And as I noted, SH3 isn't and has never been installed on current hard drive (been too busy) so the possible spooks have only been able to get the code from the previous drive, with the same security protocols so it's still a bit of an open question.
How unique are the codes, in fact? Is it definite that every cope gets it's own code? I'm beginning to doubt.

[CWorth]

Something that others are failing to look at is there are also key code generators out there.

You simply download it and it generates a keycode for the game from its database.

This is also one way he could have gotten your exact key.

[Gizzmoe]

How unique are the codes, in fact? Is it definite that every cope gets it's own code? I'm beginning to doubt.
Most, if not all, have the same key code (MH39X-XFUNW-...). I bought two copies of SH3 and both had the same.

[Detritus]

Yeah, I was thinking about the keycode generator but wasn't sure. However, as Gizzmoe pointed out- and probably solved the whole issue- is that there are only a small number of codes out there slapped on quite a few disks. Heh, we seem to share the same code, btw. Don't really know what to think of this. Relieved, for most likely not being bugged after all? Angry, for the whole pointlesness of the code(s), not just in SH3? I'll think I'll go with annoyed for scaring me for no reason. B....rds. Anyway, I think it's good we now know this little piece of information.
Gizzmoe and lads :up:

[HW3]

In the UBI Support Knowledge Base there is a key code available that is supposed to work for any DVD of Silent Hunter III.

[enaceo]

I don't really remember getting asked for my code.
The guy that gave the other one the same key you had most certainly used a generator.
There's no way hacking would get you the CD key from the disk.Maybe if they managed to read a cfg or dll that records it for the game ,but that would be almost impossible to do over the net without being noticed ,and I really doubt someone would hack your computer just for a code he can find by probably just searching for it on google.

[svenks]

There's no way hacking would get you the CD key from the disk

No, but the key gets stored in the registry, so you only need to enter it once (I know, did some snooping around/backing up of the reg. prior to installing GW).
The code could easily have been read from there, but I really think the bottom line is that there is only a few codes, and it's a coincidence that Detritus' came up.

BRGDS
Sven

[enaceo]

There's no way hacking would get you the CD key from the disk

No, but the key gets stored in the registry, so you only need to enter it once (I know, did some snooping around/backing up of the reg. prior to installing GW).
The code could easily have been read from there, but I really think the bottom line is that there is only a few codes, and it's a coincidence that Detritus' came up.

BRGDS
Sven

Well I noted about reading cfgs or dllsor registrys

[SteamWake]

Isnt it just possible that several disks may have the same key code ?

edit; WTH is up with my avitar ! LMAO

[Detritus]

Gizzmoe and I at least share the same, lol. Weird is the word. However, this really doesn't seem to be such a terrible crisis after all as I first suspected. Same code for many copies, keycode generator, some idiot just sharing the code over web or P2P seem the likely culprits. Only question here is what might happen? Not just SH3 but in other games, too. Could it happen, that you use your keycode and register the product and then get into trouble because of the reasons mentioned above? That the code would be somehow tagged for illicit copy? Never heard of such a thing but it would seem as a possible situation.

[enaceo]

Codes can be "tagged " or "black-listed".Microsoft does that too.And some other older games,but I don't think it is still done these days.If a code is found to be leeked or used more times it is deleted from the viable data-base and if you have that code you will probably have to buy a new one ... (happened to me on steam once ,had to pay +10$ to get some CD-key for my HL2-GOTY edition ,there was some weird problem some time ago,looks like all the players that got GOTY ,including me ,had the same problem with cd-keys not being accepted.However,Valve gave us the money back ,and gave us CS-Condition-zero as a way of saying "I'm sorry" ).
For SH3 ,cD-keys don't seem to be so important,as some games don't even require them ,some hare duplicates...but for games like COD and COD2 or ... Homeworld ... Swat4 and others ,when 2 people are on the net at the same time with the same cd-key ,they both can't play anything.I'd think I'd be very pissed if this happened to me because someone used a generator and got my key .