blog posts

Cracking is a technique used to break access to computer software or an entire security system, usually with malicious intent. Although it is functionally similar to hacking, it has different goals and methods. In any form or method, a crack means bypassing the security system. In the simplest possible way, software cracking can be defined as modifying Software to remove unwanted features or unlock and access more features, such as copyrighted features.

Before explaining the crack itself, it is necessary to remember that using cracked Software has its risks and problems. It is better to download this Software from safe and reliable sources or, if necessary, do not do such a thing. The following are the dangers of using cracked software.

• Beware of hackers: Downloading and installing cracked Software puts your computer or phone at risk, depending on how much access that program has. Your personal information and data are at risk; Because hackers can easily access your private files.
• Illegal: As mentioned earlier, downloading and using pirated Software is illegal. Of course, the amount of punishment is different in different countries.
• The risk of the device becoming infected with a virus: there is no guarantee that the cracked Software is not infected. You click on a specific link to download the Software, but you may infect your computer with the same click.
• Risk of data loss: Suppose you bought Software from an illegal site at a lower price, and that Software doesn’t work. You will not get any support or warranty from that software site, and your device may be damaged. If an official site offers you support and data protection in exchange for the services provided.

What is Software cracking?

A software crack is when someone modifies software to disable or completely remove one or more features. For example, free use of Software that charges extra money for a section or features or has annoying ads is the most important reason for using cracked Software.
Cracking and using software is illegal in many countries due to violation of copyright law. However, cracking is considered legal in reverse engineering for educational purposes. While there are many lawsuits and actions to prevent cracking, software developers have had little success in preventing it. At least one of the following tools or techniques is used to crack Software:

• Crack

The crack breaks the code of the Software to increase the number of days of its trial period. Suppose a program gives you 15 days. The crack made for that Software can increase the limit of the 15-day trial period to something like 365 or 3650 days by cracking and changing the software code. A crack is an additional software you need to run after installing the main Software. The crack requires the user to search for the original software installation folder and the original software file inside that folder. After accessing that file, it changes the code and increases the usage period of that Software. Cracks work best for Software that doesn’t connect to the Internet.

• Patch

The patch is the pre-cracked original file of the Software that comes with the original Software in a package. After installing the original file, users must replace the original Software with the patch file of that Software. Patches are superior when cracks fail. Some software periodically checks the software license with their server over the Internet. So the problem with cracks is that when you crack software, the next time the Software connects to the Internet, it may check its code with its server. If the Software is activated illegally, it will notify the user that the Software is unlicensed and give the user a certain number of days to register it or purchase the original license if the patch changes the code and completely removes the software license check feature.

• Keygen

Keygen is functionally limited. Keygen allows you to generate illegal license keys for Software. Any key generated by Keygen may not work; it may not register or activate the Software. Sometimes users need to generate many keys and try them one by one to get the correct key. The Keygen developer analyzes the algorithm used in the original Software to generate keys for that particular Software, then uses the same algorithm in his Keygen. Keygens are made for a wide range of Software.

Crack history

The term “crack” was created in the mid-80s, and of course, it was not only related to software cracks. The term was coined by hackers who wanted to distinguish themselves from people whose only goal was secretly penetrating security systems. While hackers’ only goal is to break into secure systems, crackers are more interested in gaining knowledge about computer systems and possibly using that knowledge for pranks or exploits. In simpler words, the goal of real hackers is more than just cracking a system. The closeness of these two groups’ work has caused these terms (hack and crack) to be used interchangeably many times.

Most early crackers were computer enthusiasts who formed groups and competed against each other in cracking and software development. Cracking a new copyright design as quickly as possible was often seen as an opportunity to demonstrate one’s technical superiority. Many software crackers later became very capable reverse engineers. The assembly knowledge required to break the protections enables them to reverse engineer the drivers and move them from Windows drivers to reference code drivers for Linux and other open-source operating systems.

Learning how to crack the Software

In the first step, you should be able to understand the program itself in its unmodified form. Before you crack, you need to figure out what features are undesirable (from a manufacturer’s point of view) or what features are left that you can work on. Adding features is usually called “modding,” which is significantly harder than “cracking” (disabling some features). For example, if a cracker wants to bypass the license of a game, he may have to buy the game for himself and play it to the end. Or for example, if a program has a time limit, it should be checked exactly what features are disabled after the time limit has passed.

The second step is to think like an architect. Specifically, Cracker puts himself in the software engineer’s mindset to try and guess how the undesirable feature was implemented. This method forms the basis of Kerker’s approach to the problem. Some simple tests the Cracker does is to see if simple hacks like clearing a registry value or setting the clock back can bypass the program in question.

The third and main step is reverse engineering. Reverse engineering a piece of Software is a lot like taking apart a machine and putting it back together blindfolded. In this way, you are not even sure what model of the car you are taking apart, but you almost know how the car works, and you can feel with your hands what parts connect, what parts are critical to the operation of that car, etc.

Technically, all you need to crack the Software is a text editor that can edit the hexadecimal values in a binary (Hex Editor software is good for this). Cracking software ultimately boils down to rewriting a few selected bits in a binary.

However, it is almost impossible to understand a complex binary by looking at the hex values, let alone modify them. Disassembler software (such as Ada pro) and runtime visualization tools (BinaryAnalysisPlatform/qira) can help visualize/inspect high-level features of the program, so the Cracker can understand what is going on inside a program. This step is the most difficult, as most apps apply multiple security features, so you can’t easily bypass them. The fields of security research and reverse engineering are constantly innovating, making the field of reverse engineering so interesting.

This step takes a lot of time. It’s hard enough to read hundreds of lines of code written by someone else, even with thorough documentation and references, let alone readable code that lacks documentation and is presented with deliberately obtuse and difficult symbols. Crackers are usually very patient and meticulous and take a long time to achieve their results. In a word, it can be said that cracking is like solving a very complex puzzle.