FAQ



WinRar / WinZip
RAR is the native format of WinRAR archiver.
Like other archives, RAR files are data containers,
they store one or several files in the compressed form.
After you downloaded RAR file from Internet,
you need to unpack its contents in order to use it.

CrackMe & KeygenMe
A crackme (often abbreviated by cm) is a small
program designed to test a programmers reverse
engineering skills.
They are programmed by other reversers to
have a legal way to "crack" software.
Crackmes, Reversemes and Keygenmes
have similar protection schemes and algorithms
to those found in commercial protections.
Also some crackmes are even harder than
their commercial counterparts.
A Keygenme specifically is designed for the
reverser to not only find the algorithm used in
the application, but also write a small
Keygen in the programming language of their choice.
Often anti-debugging and anti-disassemble
routines are used to confuse debuggers or make the
disassembly useless. Code-obfuscation is also
used to make the reversing even harder.
But most crackmes are hard by design,
not by long obfuscated code. Because most reversers
solve crackmes for fun!
That's the reason why most reversers define rules for their crackmes.

Chiptune
A chiptune, or chip music, is music written in sound
formats where all the sounds are synthesized in real
time by a computer or video game console sound chip,
instead of using sample-based synthesis
(confusingly, another popular definition of
a chiptune is a module using small, looped samples
to emulate the sound of the aforementioned sound chips).

Packer
Packers do simply as their name suggests,
they 'pack' or 'compress' a program much
the same way a compressor like Pkzip
does, packers
then attach their own decryption /
loading stub which 'unpacks' the program before resuming
execution normally at the programs original entry
point. Packed files have
several main advantages, firstly the physical file
size is usually smaller, of some benefit if
you are marketing your product via Internet download,
the second benefit (perhaps the one we are more concerned with)
is that packed files are resistant to the casual
JNZ-->JMP type of cracker since a target must be
unpacked or rebuilt before it can be patched.
Naturally these advantages come at a price,
both run-time and commercially.

Patch
This is a little program that reverse the protection of
the target software. Patches are often named:
"crack.exe", "patch.exe", "softwarename_patch.exe"
or "teamname.exe".
The patch aims to the main *.EXE of the target
software or to a *.DLL. You should know that the
patch have to be applied to the exact software
version it have been created for.
The patch, generally will force you
to apply it to the file it aims.

Tutorial
A tutorial is one method of transferring knowledge and may be used as a part of learning.
More interactive and specific than a book or a lecture;
a tutorial seeks to teach by example and supply the information to complete a certain task.

Sources
They are very useful for beginner crackers, who don't know how to write their first crack or keygen.
Crack generators make big exe files, so better way is to learn programming
and create own small programs.