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Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!sbcs!bnl!jpm
From: jpm@bnl.UUCP (John McNamee)
Newsgroups: net.crypt,net.micro
Subject: Re: Software Piracy and Coupons
Message-ID: <227@bnl.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 31-Oct-83 19:24:53 EST
Article-I.D.: bnl.227
Posted: Mon Oct 31 19:24:53 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 4-Nov-83 01:54:57 EST
References: <2557@utcsrgv.UUCP> <221@bnl.UUCP> <3420@umcp-cs.UUCP>
Organization: Brookhaven National Laboratory
Lines: 17

From: jpm@bnl.UUCP

	While that is different from previous protection methods, if I was still
	in the disk cracking business I would get around it the same way I
	always did: Transfer the program to a "normal" disk and run it from
	there. No amount of screwing around with the disk format will stop good
	disk hackers from moving the program to a non-protected disk.

From: mark@umcp-cs.UUCP

	The normal disk will not have random bits, the program can detect this
	(by reading the disk) and so refuse to run.

Of course the program would have to be modified to not look for the
random bits, but that is quite easy for a good hacker. The disk
controler has a certain set of ports assigned to it and a monitor
program could easily be used to search for references to that area.