*Update – June 10th* – A tutorial for this program has been added at the bottom of this post!  Also, this program has indeed been tested and according to Simmers Against SecuROM, removes ALL SecuROM related files on your computer as the ones in your Registry, despite of what the email below states.

I’m sick of dealing with SecuROM on my machine.  So I emailed SecuROM and stated that I wanted the registry files and everything removed from my computer.

Hello there,

I have to ask this.  Where did it state anywhere on my games that SecuROM was going to be installed on my machine?  No “I agree” statement come up, nor any other option to decline if I wanted such a software to be installed without my premission.  I would like to remove it – it doesn’t even go away after installing The Sims 2 FreeTime!  What gives your company the right to put such a product on any machine without first being notified of what will be installed?

Please let me know either how to remove the remaining files (according to research it your program even installs into the computer registry!) either manually or by a tool.  What you have done is the invasion of privacy and unacceptable.

Oh, and please save the “We don’t collect any private information, yada-yada” automated response.  I would like to know from one of your tech guys a removal process to rid it from my machine.

-Jud

And thus their reply:

Hello.

SecuROM does not install any malware, including any viruses, spyware or Trojans, nor does it enable any third-party to gain access to your computer.

SecuROM simply downloads and stores SecuROM license data and information to assist with disc authentication and activation. This data and information does not affect your computer system in any way.

The link below contains a tool which removes SecuROM except it’s digital rights management data:

http://www.securom.com/support/SecuROM_Uninstaller.zip

Please download it, extract the application file and follow the instructions below:

To use this tool correctly, please follow these instructions:

–  The easiest way is to copy the SecuROM_Uninstaller.exe file into your C\: directory.

–  Open the Windows command box by pressing <Start>
and selecting the <Run…> option.  Now type “cmd” <without “s>
and press <Enter> on the keyboard.

–  Please type now:  SecuROM_Uninstaller.exe /fulluninstall

–  A dialog box will appear.  To start the SecuROM uninstallation, press
the <OK> button.

Press any key to exit.

Please understand that any application that uses SecuROM will rebuild these files and folders with future launches.

Best regards,

SecuROM Support Team
SecuROM on the web: http://www.securom.com
or via e-mail: support@securom.com

*** Please include the subject line exactly as written above including your ticket number in all communications to ensure proper handling ***

I ran the above program, and sure enough, it removed all of the SecuROM files off of my computer – even the ones in the registries that are a pain to remove.

One thing I have to mention – I didn’t have the latest FreeTime patch installed, but I did have FreeTime.  If someone can try it with the FreeTime patch then use RegEdit to confirm if the registries are still there or not, I would appreciate it.  Also check to see if all of the files are gone (I don’t have any signs of SecuROM anymore, but I could be overlooking it).

If you don’t trust downloading from the SecuROM website (and to be honest, I don’t blame you) I uploaded the file along with the instructions to the Sims 2 – Misc. Programs section of the site.

Hopefully this tool is the answer to our problems for an easier approach of removing SecuROM on our machines.

Tutorial for using the SecuROM Removal Tool

Here is a very simple tutorial to wipe all the SecuROM files off of your machine.

Before you begin, I have to make note that you *might* need to disable your Anti-Virus program before you run it.  I use AVG 8 for my scanner and had no issues, but Aphrodita over at Simmers Against Securom had to disable hers due to the program being detect as a virus (false detection with AVG) and not wanting to run proper.  (It ISN’T a virus or trojan, even if AVG says it is – I wouldn’t support it if it was).

STEPS:

  1. Download & Install the SecuROM removal Tool
  2. Extract the files to your C:\ Drive
  3. For Vista, See Step #4; For XP check out Step #5
  4. On Vista, go to your Start Menu and select All Programs > Accessories > Run.
  5. On XP, go to your Start Menu and select RUN.
  6. Type in cmd once the Run dialog box appears
  7. Command Prompt program will now run.  Type in cd c:\ in the window.  This will change the directory to the C:\ drive, as that is where you need to be to run the program.
  8. Now type in the following SecuROM_Uninstaller.exe /fulluninstall and press the Enter key
  9. It will run the SecuROM Removal Tool
  10. SecuROM will now be wiped off of your machine!
  11. Don’t run your games off of the CDs anymore or use your original .exe files as that will re-install SecuROM on your machine.  You’ll need to find a No-CD/Fixed EXE which doesn’t have SecuROM embedded to it.  You can find the site to get these on Google via searching for the term in bold above.