Did Rebirth have Denuvo on launch? It doesn’t seem to now.

It’s not kernel-level though. It’s application level.

Steam doesn’t even have admin access, let alone kernel access.

Yeah, this is the first time I’ve thought about pirating a game I could buy in like 25 years. Good job, Square!

Those people playing the games should be reconsidering their relationship because of how insecure their partner is.

Seriously. I mean, maybe talk things out before going nuclear, but don’t accept such controlling behavior as okay. A little therapy can go a long way.

Sure, there are some people who have unhealthy relationships with video games (and fiction in general), and that shouldn’t automatically get a pass. I’ve seen some crazy shit in the Baldur’s Gate 3 community. But for the vast majority it’s just a game. I mean, I’m not going to fuck a bear, a half-devil, or a squid in real life. I promise.

The cheapest options I’ve found over the years are mostly black Friday sales on lifetime plans. Be careful who you trust, of course. There are lots of scammy ones out there, but there are also some reputable companies that have been around a good long while still offering lifetime plans. Check reviews before buying.

Over the years I’ve picked up cheap(ish) lifetime memberships with pCloud, Koofr, and Filen. I’ve already gotten my money’s worth out of them.

I use Borg to create encrypted backups on an external HD, and then I periodically sync that to cloud providers. I prefer E2EE services but it’s not a strict requirement for backups since Borg encrypts them anyway.

On Windows I recommend Kopia instead of Borg, at least until Borg gets an official stable windows build (planned for 2.0, currently in beta)

I exclude most things I could re-download like games and movies so 1TB covers my needs pretty well.