forum.vdsworld.com

Mac · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2003 5:44 pm Post subject:

ROFL, I'm sure all the VDS hackers/crackers/jackers (or
whatever ya wanna call 'em) are lovin' this... Laughing

Programmers defending the public distribution of a tool that
can be used to modify and/or plagiarize their own EXEs and
Dlls. Apparently I missed the logic in that somewhere... Confused

BTW, it's NOT just a resource compiler - it DECOMPILES the
finished product's resources (WITHOUT the source), allows
ya to add/remove/modify stuff, and then recompiles it. Got
any more reverse-engineering tools we should link to? Shocked

Anyway - I'm done (and hopefully nobody takes my sarcasm
personally). Like FF said, we all have opinions on this, and just
like everyone else - I prefer my own. Wink

Cheers, Mac Smile

LOBO · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2003 6:05 pm Post subject:

Skit3000 · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2003 6:27 pm Post subject:

Just a little additional info: You can't change other things then the icons in VDS exes with it...

Mac · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2003 6:36 pm Post subject:

Hortalonus · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2003 8:33 pm Post subject:

Wow! I didn't think my comment would start such an interesting discussion... it's been very enlightening to find out how everyone feels about this subject (not VDS supported icons). I won't tell anyone they're right or wrong because that's not my place, but just think about this... when a big software company (ie. Microsoft, Borland, Symantec) publishes a white hat tool that does the same thing that a black hat "hacker tool" does, is it's function any more legitimate?

It's good to hash things out once in a while... no hard feelings. It's a good thing we don't all go to the same barber shop! We'd always be arguing about stuff. Very Happy

jules · Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2003 9:45 am Post subject:

Okay, this is getting off-topic, but I had to respond to the comparison between Resource Hacker and a VDS decompiler. Resources are stored in a format which is in the public domain, described in places like Microsoft System Journal. Resource Hacker is simply using publicly available information and so is a perfectly legal tool. Your license agreement may make using Resource Hacker on your EXE illegal, but the tool itself is a perfectly legal tool. Garrett's gun analogy was very apt, IMO.

A VDS decompiler on the other hand can only exist because of reverse engineering proprietary copyright S.A.D.E. technology. Therefore the tool itself is illegal, no matter what you or the author intended doing with it. The author risks prosecution by having written it, and it might even be illegal to possess a copy of such a tool.

vdsalchemist · Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2003 4:55 pm Post subject:

Hi Mac,
Sorry I just had to say something;-) M$ Windows NT and above comes with API functions that do what ResHacker does. Look for the UpdateResource function in the Win32 help file on my site http://dragonsphere.vdsworld.com/Win32hlp.zip or look it up at http://msdn.microsoft.com .... Now ResHacker takes it one step more by making it possible to do this no matter the Windows OS. Windows executables are by far the most easy files to crack...
BTW Jules is right when he says that the word 'hacker' is not a dirty word and I hate it when the stupid media uses this word in the wrong context.... The word/name 'cracker' as it pertains to computer programming is a person who's life long ambition is to steal someone else's wares by any means needed. Most crackers think that their hard work should be rewarded. They usually have a God like personality but what is strange is that they would not dare walk into a retail store and shoplift the very same program???
I prob. spend more time trying to figure out how to stop cracking programs than I do writting my own programs. Also when I stop a cracking program with one of my own programs I always introduse a side effect on the persons PC that is using the cracker crappy programs. Be it a memory leak or something to bring their PC to it's knees. So crackers beware Twisted Evil

hehehehehehehe Also Script kiddies are another good name I like to call them because they did not have to do any work to steal their knowledge.