Now Windows 7, 8 and Vista lock out some old games too

In August it was revealed that the then new Windows 10 would lock out some older disc-based games that used certain DRM methods.

Now it seems that the same restrictions have been rolled out older versions of the OS, including Windows 7, 8 and Windows Vista.

Rock Paper Shotgun reports that a recent update addresses a defence-in-depth update for the secdrv.sys driver, a third-party driver”, as per Microsoft’s wording, adding: The update turns off the service for the secdrv.sys driver. This may affect the ability to run some older games.”

SecuROM games seem to be safe from the change, titles running SafeDisc will now no longer run without the use of an illiicit no-CD crack. Microsoft has offered a quite technical workaround (either temporarily using command prompt or more permanently via the registry), but it comes at the price of leaving a PC potentially vulnerable to certain attacks.

It’s worth noting that the flip side to any potential inconvenience is that DRM is widely loathed. The eradication of systems such as SafeDisc is largely positive and is likely to affect only a small number of users.