±Recent Visitors

Recent Visitors to Com-Central!

±User Info-big


Welcome Anonymous

Nickname
Password

Membership:
Latest: cgsimpson
New Today: 0
New Yesterday: 0
Overall: 6645

People Online:
Members: 0
Visitors: 558
Total: 558
Who Is Where:
 Visitors:
01: Community Forums
02: Community Forums
03: Community Forums
04: Community Forums
05: Photo Gallery
06: Photo Gallery
07: CPGlang
08: Community Forums
09: Community Forums
10: Photo Gallery
11: Community Forums
12: Community Forums
13: Community Forums
14: Community Forums
15: Community Forums
16: Community Forums
17: Community Forums
18: Your Account
19: Community Forums
20: Downloads
21: Home
22: Community Forums
23: Community Forums
24: Community Forums
25: Community Forums
26: Photo Gallery
27: Community Forums
28: Community Forums
29: Community Forums
30: Community Forums
31: Community Forums
32: Community Forums
33: Community Forums
34: Community Forums
35: Home
36: Community Forums
37: Your Account
38: Community Forums
39: Photo Gallery
40: Community Forums
41: Community Forums
42: Photo Gallery
43: Community Forums
44: Photo Gallery
45: Community Forums
46: Community Forums
47: Community Forums
48: Community Forums
49: Community Forums
50: Community Forums
51: Photo Gallery
52: Photo Gallery
53: Community Forums
54: Photo Gallery
55: Community Forums
56: Community Forums
57: Home
58: Community Forums
59: Community Forums
60: Downloads
61: Home
62: Statistics
63: Community Forums
64: Community Forums
65: Member Screenshots
66: Photo Gallery
67: Community Forums
68: Community Forums
69: Photo Gallery
70: Community Forums
71: Community Forums
72: Home
73: Community Forums
74: Photo Gallery
75: Community Forums
76: Photo Gallery
77: Community Forums
78: Photo Gallery
79: Photo Gallery
80: Downloads
81: Downloads
82: Community Forums
83: CPGlang
84: Photo Gallery
85: Community Forums
86: Community Forums
87: Downloads
88: Home
89: Community Forums
90: Home
91: Community Forums
92: Community Forums
93: Home
94: Community Forums
95: Photo Gallery
96: Community Forums
97: Home
98: Photo Gallery
99: Community Forums
100: Community Forums
101: Community Forums
102: Community Forums
103: Community Forums
104: CPGlang
105: Community Forums
106: Community Forums
107: Downloads
108: Community Forums
109: Downloads
110: Home
111: Photo Gallery
112: Community Forums
113: Community Forums
114: Community Forums
115: Community Forums
116: Downloads
117: Home
118: Downloads
119: Community Forums
120: Downloads
121: Home
122: Home
123: Home
124: Home
125: Community Forums
126: Community Forums
127: News Archive
128: Community Forums
129: Statistics
130: Photo Gallery
131: Community Forums
132: Community Forums
133: Community Forums
134: Community Forums
135: Photo Gallery
136: Downloads
137: Photo Gallery
138: Community Forums
139: Community Forums
140: Community Forums
141: Home
142: Photo Gallery
143: Community Forums
144: Photo Gallery
145: Community Forums
146: Community Forums
147: Community Forums
148: Photo Gallery
149: Community Forums
150: Community Forums
151: Community Forums
152: Community Forums
153: Community Forums
154: Home
155: Community Forums
156: Home
157: Member Screenshots
158: Community Forums
159: Community Forums
160: Community Forums
161: Member Screenshots
162: Photo Gallery
163: Community Forums
164: Community Forums
165: Photo Gallery
166: Photo Gallery
167: Community Forums
168: Community Forums
169: Photo Gallery
170: Community Forums
171: Community Forums
172: Community Forums
173: Community Forums
174: Community Forums
175: Community Forums
176: Statistics
177: Statistics
178: Community Forums
179: Photo Gallery
180: Member Screenshots
181: Community Forums
182: Community Forums
183: Community Forums
184: Home
185: Community Forums
186: Home
187: Community Forums
188: Community Forums
189: Photo Gallery
190: Photo Gallery
191: CPGlang
192: Home
193: Community Forums
194: Community Forums
195: Community Forums
196: Community Forums
197: Home
198: Community Forums
199: Community Forums
200: Community Forums
201: Community Forums
202: Home
203: Community Forums
204: Community Forums
205: Downloads
206: Community Forums
207: Home
208: Downloads
209: Treasury
210: Community Forums
211: Photo Gallery
212: Downloads
213: Community Forums
214: Community Forums
215: Community Forums
216: Community Forums
217: Community Forums
218: Community Forums
219: Photo Gallery
220: Community Forums
221: Photo Gallery
222: Community Forums
223: Home
224: Community Forums
225: Photo Gallery
226: Community Forums
227: Photo Gallery
228: Home
229: Community Forums
230: Community Forums
231: Community Forums
232: Community Forums
233: Community Forums
234: Community Forums
235: Member Screenshots
236: Photo Gallery
237: Community Forums
238: Community Forums
239: Community Forums
240: Photo Gallery
241: Community Forums
242: Community Forums
243: Photo Gallery
244: Photo Gallery
245: Community Forums
246: Community Forums
247: Community Forums
248: Community Forums
249: Community Forums
250: Community Forums
251: News
252: Community Forums
253: Community Forums
254: Community Forums
255: Community Forums
256: Photo Gallery
257: Community Forums
258: Community Forums
259: Community Forums
260: Community Forums
261: Search
262: Community Forums
263: Community Forums
264: Community Forums
265: Community Forums
266: Home
267: Community Forums
268: Home
269: Community Forums
270: Photo Gallery
271: Community Forums
272: Community Forums
273: Photo Gallery
274: Community Forums
275: Community Forums
276: Home
277: Downloads
278: Photo Gallery
279: Community Forums
280: CPGlang
281: Photo Gallery
282: Community Forums
283: Community Forums
284: Community Forums
285: Community Forums
286: Downloads
287: Home
288: Home
289: Community Forums
290: Community Forums
291: Community Forums
292: Community Forums
293: Community Forums
294: Community Forums
295: Community Forums
296: Community Forums
297: Photo Gallery
298: Your Account
299: Statistics
300: Community Forums
301: Community Forums
302: Community Forums
303: Community Forums
304: Community Forums
305: Community Forums
306: Community Forums
307: Community Forums
308: Home
309: Community Forums
310: Photo Gallery
311: Community Forums
312: Community Forums
313: Community Forums
314: Home
315: Home
316: Community Forums
317: Community Forums
318: Community Forums
319: Your Account
320: Community Forums
321: Community Forums
322: Photo Gallery
323: Your Account
324: CPGlang
325: Community Forums
326: Community Forums
327: Community Forums
328: Community Forums
329: Community Forums
330: Community Forums
331: Community Forums
332: Community Forums
333: Community Forums
334: Home
335: Photo Gallery
336: Community Forums
337: Community Forums
338: Community Forums
339: Home
340: Photo Gallery
341: Photo Gallery
342: Photo Gallery
343: Community Forums
344: Community Forums
345: Community Forums
346: Community Forums
347: Community Forums
348: Your Account
349: Community Forums
350: Downloads
351: Community Forums
352: Community Forums
353: Community Forums
354: Downloads
355: Photo Gallery
356: Community Forums
357: Community Forums
358: Photo Gallery
359: Community Forums
360: Community Forums
361: Community Forums
362: Community Forums
363: Photo Gallery
364: Community Forums
365: Photo Gallery
366: Community Forums
367: Photo Gallery
368: Community Forums
369: Community Forums
370: Community Forums
371: Community Forums
372: Community Forums
373: Community Forums
374: Community Forums
375: Photo Gallery
376: Community Forums
377: Photo Gallery
378: Community Forums
379: Photo Gallery
380: Home
381: News
382: Community Forums
383: Community Forums
384: Photo Gallery
385: Community Forums
386: Community Forums
387: Photo Gallery
388: Photo Gallery
389: Community Forums
390: Community Forums
391: Home
392: Community Forums
393: Community Forums
394: Community Forums
395: Community Forums
396: Community Forums
397: Statistics
398: Photo Gallery
399: Community Forums
400: Community Forums
401: Community Forums
402: Community Forums
403: Photo Gallery
404: Community Forums
405: Home
406: News Archive
407: Community Forums
408: Downloads
409: Community Forums
410: Photo Gallery
411: Community Forums
412: Community Forums
413: Member Screenshots
414: Community Forums
415: Downloads
416: Community Forums
417: Photo Gallery
418: Home
419: Photo Gallery
420: Photo Gallery
421: Community Forums
422: Photo Gallery
423: Home
424: Photo Gallery
425: Community Forums
426: Photo Gallery
427: Community Forums
428: CPGlang
429: Community Forums
430: Community Forums
431: Community Forums
432: Community Forums
433: Community Forums
434: Home
435: Your Account
436: Community Forums
437: Home
438: Community Forums
439: Downloads
440: Community Forums
441: Member Screenshots
442: Community Forums
443: Community Forums
444: Photo Gallery
445: Community Forums
446: Your Account
447: Community Forums
448: Community Forums
449: Community Forums
450: Community Forums
451: Community Forums
452: Community Forums
453: Photo Gallery
454: Your Account
455: Community Forums
456: CPGlang
457: Community Forums
458: Home
459: Downloads
460: Community Forums
461: Community Forums
462: Community Forums
463: Community Forums
464: Community Forums
465: Photo Gallery
466: Downloads
467: Community Forums
468: Member Screenshots
469: Photo Gallery
470: Community Forums
471: Home
472: Photo Gallery
473: Community Forums
474: Community Forums
475: Community Forums
476: Photo Gallery
477: Community Forums
478: Photo Gallery
479: Community Forums
480: Community Forums
481: Community Forums
482: Community Forums
483: Downloads
484: CPGlang
485: Photo Gallery
486: Photo Gallery
487: Photo Gallery
488: Home
489: Home
490: Photo Gallery
491: Home
492: Home
493: Community Forums
494: Home
495: Community Forums
496: Community Forums
497: Photo Gallery
498: Home
499: Community Forums
500: Community Forums
501: Community Forums
502: Community Forums
503: Community Forums
504: Community Forums
505: Photo Gallery
506: Community Forums
507: Community Forums
508: Community Forums
509: Photo Gallery
510: Community Forums
511: Photo Gallery
512: Community Forums
513: Community Forums
514: Community Forums
515: Community Forums
516: Your Account
517: News Archive
518: Photo Gallery
519: Home
520: Community Forums
521: Home
522: Home
523: Community Forums
524: CPGlang
525: Photo Gallery
526: Photo Gallery
527: Community Forums
528: Photo Gallery
529: Downloads
530: Community Forums
531: Home
532: Community Forums
533: Community Forums
534: Community Forums
535: Community Forums
536: Community Forums
537: Community Forums
538: CPGlang
539: Community Forums
540: Community Forums
541: Community Forums
542: Home
543: Downloads
544: Community Forums
545: Photo Gallery
546: Community Forums
547: Community Forums
548: Community Forums
549: Community Forums
550: Photo Gallery
551: Community Forums
552: Community Forums
553: Community Forums
554: Photo Gallery
555: Downloads
556: Community Forums
557: Community Forums
558: Community Forums

Staff Online:

No staff members are online!
Confessions of an honest cracker... :: Archived
This is a forum for Software related items such as OS', Virus notices, cool or free programs, etc. Gaming software should go in the gaming folder pertaining to the current info.
Post new topic    Revive this topic    Printer Friendly Page     Forum Index ›  Software

Topic Archived View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Shadow_Bshwackr
Janitor

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 21, 2005
Posts: 7015
Location: Central Illinois, USA
PostPosted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 1:28 pm
Post subject: Confessions of an honest cracker...

Doing some web surfing today, I came across this article on the subject of cracking CD copy protection and if we can justify it. Interesting article from Twitch Guru...

Confessions of an Honest Cracker

CyberMage

14 Dec 2005 11:46


The year is 1988. Interplay Productions released The Bard's Tale III this week, and someone from our team has borrowed a copy from where he works at a local software store. His company allows employees to "check out" software so they can understand what they sell. That is how we got most of our games without buying them.

Introduction


The four of us gathered around a little 14" TV that night and started the game. Unlike the vast majority of gamers, we had no interest in slaying beasts or completing quests. The challenges we sought were buried in 6502 assembly code, the language the game ran in.

The Bard's Tale III had a very annoying method of copy protection. Teleporting required you to enter a code from a strange spinning code wheel. We triggered the protection scheme four or five times, monitoring what the code did when we answered correctly and what it did when we were wrong. After a few lines of patched code - voila! Every answer would be right, regardless, which eliminated the need for the code wheel. An hour after first running the game, we had a working cracked version.

This wasn't the first game protection system we had cracked. Our oldest member was 17, and youngest was 14 when we started. Our resume of cracked games included at least 75 titles. No protection scheme had ever taken us more than a weekend to crack, and most fell within five minutes. It took longer to add our animated logo and animation to a game after ripping out inconsequential data so our loader screen could fit on the floppy. Even back then we would add cheers and jeers to the other cracking groups out there.


The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same


Back to the present. Things haven't changed much. Copy protection schemes are still annoying to the purchaser. Sometimes they are downright cruel. Crackers, pirates, whatever you call them, they will still crack the protection scheme within a few hours of getting a copy with rare exception, while the legitimate owners who have purchased the games have to jump through hoops every time they want to play.


So what exactly does copy protection protect game publishers from? If you can get a pirated game such as Doom III online days before it's for sale in stores, complete with the protection cracked, where's the protection?

Copy protection schemes keep the average user from making a copy for his or her buddies at work or school. It obviously doesn't prevent the true pirates from spreading their "warez". It doesn't even keep the 12 year old kid from pirating a copy for his friends if he is really motivated, much less stop the financially minded piracy groups from pirating for profit.
Cracking For Convenience

This leads us to why I still crack games. Yes, I still do it, and I freely admit it. I'm also a consumer and buy all the games I play. If I want to "try out" a game, I don't download a pirated copy, I go play it at a friend's house, or convince the salesperson at CompUSA to install a copy on his demo PC so I can try it out. But once I've actually purchased a game, I often crack it.

I crack for convenience. I don't waste my weekends breaking protection like I did when I was in my teens because now I can simply go to a single website and find cracks for nearly ever game released. I let someone else do the hard work. I crack games I've purchased so I won't need the manual, map, spinning code key or even the CD in the drive like so many games require today. When I play a game I've bought, I want to just sit down and PLAY the game, not worry about proving I really do own my copy. My credit card statement is proof enough.

Unfortunately, in the strictest sense, I'm violating the DMCA. I'm bypassing or circumventing encryption or anti-piracy methods in the software I've purchased. I'm still as much of a criminal as I was at 14. More so because now I could be fined thousands of dollars and face jail time. This is not because I'm stealing money or sales from the publisher, but simply because I refuse to have the CD in my drive while playing a game I purchased. Sorry guys, but when I sit down to play Call of Duty, I don't want to hunt for my CD. I don't want my kids scratching the disc. I don't want to do anything but play the game. Somehow I doubt that a jury in a court of law would ever convict me - but then again, you never know.

Most of the "enter a word from the manual" or "name this place from your map" have disappeared and publishers are now using disk format protections such as SafeDisc, license numbers or key files to protect their product. In some cases these methods can be worse, or even cause a disc to be unreadable in some drives. A particular enterprise software package my company uses requires license key files for each module. When initially installing, the vendor incorrectly generated one or more key files. A few weeks after installation, certain parts of our software quit working without giving a clue as to why. I got so frustrated that I told the vendor that if I had not already spent my $15,000 on the software, I would be looking at a competing product.

Other companies use a required online activation. TurboTax did this a few years ago. Six years down the road if they are not supporting online activation, or worse the company doesn't exist anymore, how can I open my tax file if I need to reinstall and access it? I noticed last year's TurboTax seemed to have dropped this online activation requirement.

That's where pirated copies can easily become what is referred to as BTO copies, "Better Than the Original" because they are easier to use, less annoying and safer in the long-run. Some copy protection software will install special drivers that might interfere with other software on your computer, or cause instability. Cracked copies remove the reliance on those drivers, allowing the user to have a "cleaner" system. Other software requires constant Internet access every time you launch the program, even if there is no need for Internet access once it has started. With a laptop, I don't expect to always have Internet access.

Other software, typically in a higher price range, will require a dongle or gadget that must be connected to the computer for the program to work. In a few years, if you've dropped that dongle one too many times, you may suddenly find the software for which you have paid thousands of dollars no longer works.

Online Games Are Winning

Games that are primarily played online seem to have the edge. When you game online, you expect to enter a username and password at some point, and associating that with a unique license key in some hard-to-fake method seems like a natural thing to do. Online anti-piracy schemes are the best balance of providing the publisher with protections while adding no real inconvenience to the consumer. Unfortunately some games have both online key validation and still require the disc in the drive or some other method of protection.

As much as you might hear people complain about "Steam", Valve's software distribution, copy protection and network game play browser, Valve has the right idea. Steam has simplified their anti-piracy methods while giving Valve a way to conveniently pull statistics of what games are played the most, not just what games have been purchased. Valve can tell you at any given time about how many people are playing Counter-Strike, or Half-Life II online, and instantly globally ban a license key if found to be invalid. This still brings us back to the TurboTax scenario - what if Valve went out of business? I paid good money for my game, but will be unable to play. Early on there were similar problems when the Steam ticket server's were unreachable and there were hours or even days that many people could not play Half-Life or it's mods such as Counterstrike online.

The Future Of Copy Protection

Back in the late 1980s, some game publishers had come to realize that anti-piracy methods were doing more to hurt the consumer than saving their product from theft. Those companies stopped putting copy protection entirely on their products. I'm sure there is no report showing how that affected sales, but I'm doubtful that they lost much if any revenues by doing that. The common approach to "lost revenues" is "how many people have a pirated copy", rather than the more accurate but harder to track "how many people have a pirated copy but would have purchased one if they didn't?"

Software developers deserve to be compensated for the software they produce. They have worked hard to make a product, quality or not, and if you want that product then it goes without saying you should buy that product. There will likely always be software pirates. However, copyright protection schemes only protect the publisher from honest people. Should they thus continue to irritate honest buying customers?
The Future Of Copy Protection, Continued

Anti-piracy methods need to somehow rise above the cat-and-mouse game and get to the root of the problem. There are many people who don't believe it is stealing, others say they are angry at game publishers for charging $60 for games that "suck," while yet others just can't afford all of the games they want, and they resort to theft. Perhaps gaming addiction even plays a part. Perhaps the thrill of shoplifting without even having to enter a "shop" is the motivation for some.
As For Me, I Still Crack But I Don't Pirate

As a technically-minded consumer, I'm also a responsible consumer and I do buy my games and other software. I use Linux, OpenOffice, CheckBook Tracker and other open-source software for all my productivity applications since I can't afford to buy the latest office package or personal finance software and still afford to feed my gaming addiction. I program for both Linux and Windows using Open-Source tools because I can't afford big development kits. Even with emulators, running Half-Life 2 in Linux really isn't an option so I keep Windows around for much of my gaming. It's unlikely the computer game industry will change their practices anytime soon, so I keep my ear to the ground for the latest OSS games released, and crack those annoying protections for the games I do buy.


Long article but good reading IMO.
Back to top
View user's profile Visit poster's website Photo Gallery
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic    Revive this topic    Printer Friendly Page    Forum Index ›  Software
Page 1 of 1
All times are GMT - 6 Hours

Archive Revive
Username:
This is an archived topic - your reply will not be appended here.
Instead, a new topic will be generated in the active forum.
The new topic will provide a reference link to this archived topic.