CRACKS
For your benefit, I have again delved into the seedy underbelly of the Internet to help keep you informed of what it has to offer.
I submit this report on Cracking for your approval.
A Definition
Cracking is defined as the attempt to remove the copy protections inserted into software programs. A program successfully stripped of protections is then known as having been "Cracked".
Some of the removed protections include:
Time limits - example of this is a 30-day trial period, after which the program will no longer run.
Nag Screen - graphic that appears, at programmer determined intervals, asking you to register the software.
Serial Number - the use of an assigned number that is required for the program to function.
A Crack usually comes in the form of an .exe or .com file. Like a file you download from a software company to correct a bug or add a feature, a Crack patches one or more of the applications .dll files or the main .exe file itself.
Similar to the other Internet giveaway, Warez, the legality of Cracks is far from being globally defined.
The most common belief stated online is that it is legal to write, upload and even download a Crack, as long as you don't use it to disable a software title's copy protection. However on 10-24-97, it was reported here in the U.S. that two separate arrests were made for the "illegal distribution of Cracks."
The news article reveals a few interesting points about how the FBI and the SPA had two sites under surveillance for seven months!
Wow, it took that long to gather evidence!
The article also states that the SPA found over 17,000 sites listed on the net that were similar to the ones taken down. Lets see, at seven months for every two sites that would take them only 4,958 years to bust them all.
While it may or may not be illegal to use and distribute Cracks, the legality of actually "Cracking" a piece of software is an entirely different matter.
The legality of reverse engineering software has been established in many parts of the world. In Europe for example, this activity is clearly defined as legal in the European Union Directive.
In the United States, several court cases have ruled that the reverse engineering of software is legal, as long as the motive is not commercial gain.
Read more about cases that ruled in favor of the right to disassemble software.
You may have read the above text and said to yourself, "Hey the software license says I am forbidden to decompile the software I own."
You're right, it does. Except, you don't "own it". You are being "allowed to license it".
The reason for this is so that the company that produced the software can be exempt from any liability resulting from a faulty product.
Did that hot new software title format your hard drive? Nothing the manufacturer can do for you because you do not "own" the title and only legal owners have the right to demand compensation.
In reality of course, things are different. Even the standard "Software License" states that depending on where you live, all the previous gibberish "may not apply to you".
This does not stop them from saying it however, also you "must agree" to this license or you will not be allowed to proceed with the installment of most software titles.
Here is a list of some of the tools used in Cracking:
Hex Editor - used to patch disassembled code.
Wdasm 8.93 - shareware disassembler, also includes a debugger.
IDA Pro 4.15 - interactive disassembler.
DCC32 - De-compiler that kicks out actual C source code.
SoftICE - most powerful Cracking tool in existence.
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