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Case study: Karl hesitates between a game and an IDE
Karl is sharp. He is 23 and has just one more year before graduating
with a Masters Degree in Computer Science from this renowned institute
of technology. He is among the very best students and is appreciated by
all his professors.
Karl loves technology. He spends numerous hours per day on his computer,
browsing the Internet to find new utilities, or developing applications
as part of his degree, or for himself. He knows the internals of both
Windows and Linux. His CV mentions his advanced skills with several high
level programming languages as well as with Intel's assembly language.
He is probably what people call a "geek", although he does not
like that word.
He also enjoys computer games. One of his friends who lives 45 minutes
away recently bought a spectacular action game and Karl was impressed
when his friend demoed it to him. Karl wondered how this game would look
on his brand new top-of-the-line 3D card. He asked to borrow that game
from his friend so that he can test it on his own computer. Both he and
his friend have DVD-writers, and they are used to duplicate CDs and DVDs
of applications between the two of them, whether they use those
applications or not - just in case they have a need in the future.
Back home in the evening, Karl starts playing with that game. It is simply
awesome for him. This is a great game! One of the best he saw in years
actually. And on his 3D card, it looks so real, that it shines! But after
completing level 2, the game stops. Karl's frustrated. He realizes that
the game is protected and will not execute further without purchasing it.
He is particularly upset that even having the DVD in hand is not enough!
He quickly searches the Internet. He checks that the game he has in hand
is the full version. It is! He knows of several sites which lists
activation codes for thousands of applications, and which usually have
codes for even the most recent commercial and shareware programs.
Unfortunately, those sites don't list any code for that game. He goes
further and checks the site of the game itself and discovers that they
use Byssus Hydra, a server-based control solution similar to Microsoft's
software activation system used to protect Microsoft Windows XP and
Microsoft Office.
Suddenly Karl starts thinking. He removed protections like that before.
It took time however. He knows how to generally work through any
anti-tampering and code obfuscation mechanisms. Even the most advanced
of them. And he can disassemble any application and understand how it works.
With time he can break anything.
But it has to be worth his time. How much is that game? $49.95.
He shrugs in disdain. He knows he could save $49.95, but he would much
prefer spend his precious time on cracking something better: for example,
that powerful Integrated software Development Environment (IDE) that
was recently released. He particularly likes the "Architect" version of
that IDE, but at $3000, it's way too much for him, even with his summer
job starting soon.
Of course he could break both the game and the IDE, but he would also
like to spend time with friends and go to the beach over the week-end
when possible! It's getting late and he needs some sleep. He shuts his
computer down leaving the DVD inside. He will try the game again tomorrow
and if he really likes it, then he will buy it. Karl falls asleep,
smiling as his mind visualizes the face of his friends when he will
announce that he broke that top-of-the-line programming environment.
That, is really worth his time!
By raising barriers against hackers, Byssus ensures that hackers will think
twice before investing any time disassembling and reverse-engineering an
application protected with Hydra.
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