Product Families
Currently known official versions of StarForce include:
- StarForce Pro 3 (developed in 2002)
- Requires a "disk key" to be entered when the software is installed. This key is the same for all copies of the game, as it encodes the nature of the protection scheme as present on the master; this disk key is different from – and thus should not be mistaken with – the serial number which games traditionally use for online gameplay. An option to store the key on the product disk was added in later revisions.
- StarForce 3.5 (developed in 2005)
- Added support for 64-bit systems. StarForce-protected software that works on 64-bit Windows can be identified by the presence of a .x64 file in the software's install directory. Earlier versions would reboot the system or simply refuse to run the application on such systems.
- StarForce FrontLine 4.0 (developed in 2006)
- Fully supports 64-bit applications.
- Fully supports Windows Vista 32/64 bit.
- The first version of StarForce to pass WHQL Testing and be "Certified for Microsoft Windows Vista".
- StarForce FrontLine 4.7 (developed in 2006)
- Seems it is just an evolution of 4.0. No additional information available.
- StarForce Frontline 5.0 (developed in 2007)
- Provides a user interface for driver removal
- Allows for the deactivation and reactivation of online-authenticated applications
- StarForce FrontLine ProActive (developed in 2004, updated in 2009)
- Provides DRM + Protection solution for web distributed games and applications. Disc binding replaced by web activation. Doesn't utilize drivers or other low level modules.
- Current version - StarForce FrontLine 5.7 (developed in 2009).
- Includes web activation suite and disc check suite.
Protection Technology provides a driver update tool, but it does not widen compatibility for StarForce-protected games. For example, to add 64-bit support to a game built before StarForce supported it, a developer would be required to create patches specific to their product(s). Now driver update web-tool comes together with every application protected by StarForce.
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