[comp.os.msdos.programmer] Info wanted: Copy protection

magnus@THEP.LU.SE (Magnus Olsson) (09/20/90)

Copy-protected programs for the IBM PC seem to be more or less extinct - 
fortunately! Copy-protection still is an interesting subject, since the
programs involved must be rather nice hacks [or perhaps nice isn't the
msot appropriate word to use :-)].

So, I wonder if anyone out there has any information about how the
various copy-protection schemes work. 

Note: I'm not asking you to tell me how to crack protected programs,
just some general information on how copy protection was (is?) 
inmplemented.


Magnus Olsson		     	| \e+ 	   /_	      
Dept. of Theoretical Physics 	|  \  Z	  / q	      
University of Lund, Sweden	|   >----<	      
Internet: magnus@thep.lu.se	|  /	  \===== g    
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coxs@itsgw.rpi.edu (Sean Cox) (09/20/90)

magnus@THEP.LU.SE (Magnus Olsson) writes:

>Copy-protected programs for the IBM PC seem to be more or less extinct - 
>fortunately! Copy-protection still is an interesting subject, since the
>programs involved must be rather nice hacks [or perhaps nice isn't the
>msot appropriate word to use :-)].

>So, I wonder if anyone out there has any information about how the
>various copy-protection schemes work. 

      The most popular scheme I've seen lately is the "No on-disk copy-
 protection" scheme in a lot of games. When you start up the game, it asks
 for some peice of info from the manual or something that accompanied the
 original disk, usually these bits of wisdom are printed in such a way to
 make them difficult to photocopy.

                                              -Sean

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mitchell (Bill Mitchell) (09/21/90)

In article <9009201441.AA13387@thep.lu.se> magnus@THEP.LU.SE (Magnus Olsson) writes:
>
>...........
>
>So, I wonder if anyone out there has any information about how the
>various copy-protection schemes work. 
>

A year or two ago, PC Tech Journal devoted the major part of an issue
to this subject.  Interesting reading.  I've had to get rid of the
back issues I was saving, so I can't say which specific issue.  You
shouldn't have too much trouble finding it at the Public Library.