My OS "lost" some activation/license data.

Ostriig on 13/3/2009 at 16:12

I'm starting to get worried here. Last week, an old 3DS Max version I had installed (don't ask) just popped up and asked me for a serial-key, as if it hadn't received one prior. I thought little of it, put it down to some quirk in the registry and went on with my life. However, just now I tried to start up Bioshock again, after a month or so of absence, only to have it prompt me for a serial key. Now, if I recall correctly, 2K removed the limited activations, so this particular instance shouldn't be something to be concerned about, but I'm wondering if I'm not seeing some sort of pattern here.

The only relevant info I can think of is that, assuming I still remember the order right, a couple of days before I got the Max error, I did a full virus scan that revealed two tracking cookies and an actual virus of some sort, and they all got removed. I'm wondering if maybe AVG somehow removed some license-relevant data along with the infections?

Has anyone else had this sort of problem, where activated/registered/whatevered software just went all stranger on them?

kamyk on 20/3/2009 at 22:05

Yep, Paintshop pro 7 did that to me every time I ran a virus scanner. I finally gave up and bought version 9. The music editing software Fruity loops has a similar problem relating to a couple of it's instrument plug-ins. My anti-virus keeps telling me they were viruses. Had to check with Image-Line to make sure they were not. Now I have them on the ignore list.

Ostriig on 21/3/2009 at 00:29

Ah, well what do you know. I guess it's no big deal with the Max and PS, they were both quite old versions, though if AVG8 picked up BioShock's license as a virus, I'd call that a cock-up with the antivirus. I'll inspect the results more carefully next time I do a scan, thanks for the info!

Nameless Voice on 21/3/2009 at 00:57

I thought Bioshock's copy protection was a virus? ;)

Ostriig on 21/3/2009 at 01:21