Content

• To step
• Warnings

Have you always wanted to know how copy protection works with computer programs? With the right tools you can analyze the operation of a program and see how copy protection works. By means of assembly language you can change these programs so that they never have to be registered or bought.

To step

1. Learn the assembly language. To crack most software you need to master assembly language or assembly, which is a "low-level" programming language. Assembly language is a symbolic representation of machine language, and each assembly language is specifically related to the type of computer you are using. Most assembly languages ​​are expressed in binary or hexadecimal instructions.
2. Install a disassembler. To examine and modify DLLs, you need several tools, including a disassembler. IDA Pro is a good alternative as it is a disassembler and debugger. Fortunately, a free version is available at https://www.hex-rays.com/products/ida/support/download_freeware, although it is much more limited in functionality than the Pro version. You can also try dotPeek, which is a DLL supporting decompiler that decompiles .NET assembly code to C #. Another alternative is OllyDBG, which allows you to open DLL files for free.
3. Open the application you want to crack in your disassembler. The process is a bit different depending on the disassembler you are using. This shows which DLL files are loaded by the program. Use the debugger to investigate which functions are being called from the DLL.
4. Find the counter function. Many programs use a timer as copy protection, when the time is up a user can no longer use the program. The goal is to find and bypass this counter code.
   • If the program you want to crack uses a different form of security, you should look for that.
5. Set a breakpoint on the counter. Once you've isolated the counter function, you can use SoftIce to break the code the moment it happens. This way you can look at the exact code that is called up when the counter function is activated.
6. Change the counter code. Now that you have found the code for the counter function, you can change the code so that the counter never reaches the point where you can no longer access the program. For example, you can adjust it so that the counter cannot count to the limit, or you can bypass the counter by going over it.
7. Recompile your newly cracked software. After disassembling and editing, you will need to compile the new version of the program so that your changes are reflected to the DLLs and other dependencies.

Warnings

• Software piracy is illegal.
• Cracking is illegal with most software.