DXO Warning!!!

[sjprg]

Be aware that if you install the trial version of DXO that it also installs another another program named Interlok without telling you, in your root directory, that you cannot remove. IMO this is tresspassing and I am up in arms about it. It produced a conflict with other programs on my computer and required a reformat and reload of all my programs to get rid of it.

[sjprg]

As a ligitimate purchaser of a product I feel that no product has a right to invade my computer and do anything EXCEPT the process it was purchased for. The practice of installing hidden files for the sellers protection is not in my interest and IS the same as hacking my system. How the seller controls the copying of his product is not my concern BUT he cannot be allowed to corrupt my computer system in any manner. The seller has legal recourse to pirates. He has no rights to my computer. PERIOD, NONE.

[Noel_Carboni]

Yeah, that's crap. Same kind of stuff Sony (I think it was) tried to pull with audio CDs installing copy protection junk. I notice they pulled that idea back in a helluva hurry.

Here's some more information about "Interlok"...

PACE Anti-Piracy -- Products and Services -- InterLok Pro for Macintosh
Pace InterLok 5.6 software download - Mac OS X - VersionTracker

As a software producer and seller myself, I understand why authors use this stuff but I believe a MUCH better approach is to offer great software for a reasonable price, so that those folks who want it will actually buy it instead of trying to steal/hack it. Plus, add some other advantages for being a registered user, such as support or newsletters or even free upgrades.

It has long bothered me that Adobe does something similar with Photoshop (FNPLicensingService). But what can you do? I cannot live without Photoshop.

Overpriced software with malware add-ons to prevent theft (especially those that invade your system in such an intrusive manner) is just plain wrong. I encourage everyone to boycott the software until the manufacturer sees the light.

-Noel

[Ronald Garrett]

I'll be the first to say DXO will not be added to my computer. How does one know if such a situation exists with software?

I have a HP media center computer. When HP decides to run "HP updater", all other computer functions lock up. I've had my fill. New custom computer is on the way. No affliation with the "big guns".

I need to learn how to stay away from programs like DXO if possible.

[sjprg]

The sad part of all of this is that the graphics portion of DXO is so great. If they could get their manament together and quit rushing things and start producing more modules they would have such a great product. I found this for pace tools. Hopefuly should work for DXO.

To remove Pro Tools:
1) Go to the "Control Panel" on your computer and open "Add or Remove Programs".
2) Locate "Digidesign Pro Tools (version)" and select "Remove".
3) Select the third option from the top "Pro Tools, Device Drivers, Preferences, Databases and MIDI Device/Patch Names", and continue through the uninstall process.
You DO NOT need to reboot your computer at this time. Rebooting your computer is one of the last steps.
4) Locate "Interlock Driver Kit" in "Add or Remove Programs" and select "Remove" and continue through the uninstall process.
5) Locate "PACE System Files" in "Add or Remove Programs" and select "Remove" and continue through the uninstall process.
If you do not see "PACE System Files" in "Add or Remove Programs" then you will need to delete the "PACE Anti-Piracy" folder located in C:\Program Files\Common Files.
6) You need to make sure "TPkD" is removed from "Non Plug and Play Devices" from Device Manager. To do this, follow the steps below.
*If you are already able to "Show Hidden Devices" in Device Manager, then skip to Step 8.
1. Press [Windows]+[Break] to bring up the System Properties dialog box. Or, right click on "My Computer" and choose Properties.
2. Select the Advanced tab and click the Environment Variables button.
3. Click the New button below the System Variables panel.
4. In the New System Variable dialog box, type devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices in the Variable Name text box and 1 in the Variable Value text box.
5. Click OK to return to the System Properties dialog box and then click OK again.
6. Select the Hardware tab and click the Device Manager button.
7. In Device Manager, go to View | Show Hidden Devices.
8. Expand the branch of "Non Plug and Play Devices" in the device tree locate "TPkD"
9. To remove the "TPkD" device driver, right-click the icon and select Uninstall.
You should also make sure the PACE files have been removed from the Registry. To do this click on "Start" and select "Run". Type "regedit" and hit "OK". Click the "+" sign next to "My Computer" to reveal it's contents, if the contents are not already revealed. Then, click the "+" sign next to "HKEY_Local_Machine", then click on the "+" sign next to "Software". Locate the "PACE Anti-Piracy" folder and delete it. Now, restart your computer.

[Ronald Garrett]

Wow, waaaaayyyy over this rednecks head. I think I'm going to thourghly discuss and research any program I add to this new computer.

In the past I have tried lots of editing programs. I think I'm going to stick to the core six I now use and just attempt to learn how to utilize them better.

[AlanRew]

Thanks, Paul, for this very thorough set of instructions about how to remove the PACE interlok code from a PC - will save many people a lot of grief.

I think DXO have seriously shot themselves in the foot over this issue, as well as releasing DXO 5.x before it was of a sufficiently good quality level. As a software developer, I've seen this many times before - the marketeers force out a release before the developers/QA are happy with it. The damage to the company's reputation more than cancels out any extra profit they might make by early sales.

Regards

Alan

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