Bad and good essays on fravia's site

Part 1 (a first stab) by Knotty Dread
21 October 1998

THERE's NOW A NEW VERSION: knotyn1.htm! (12 November 1998)



You'r a good reverser? You want to help us 'clean' the +HCU Database? You want to help other readers, help form future generations of GOOD reversers? Read the essays (even those you did not read yet) and send your conclusion. Follow Knotty Dread path, use more or less the same approach. Don't (suggest to) throw away essays because they are "easy" or "for beginners"... the point is not that they are more or less difficult, the point is that they do teach something valuable... ah, listen, just read Knowtty Dread's attempt, I'm sure you'll yourself go download a couple of essays you would otherwise have forgotten. Thanks Knotty, and thanks to all those among you that will contribute!

I've read 62 essays for you, and decided which should be preserved, and
which not. Here is a paste of the textfile in which I noted which essay,
which program, what type, keep/discard, notes.

file:  program to crack(type):  keep it?:(+/-)  Type(listing, tutorial 
about.., new facts etc: Note:

aescul6.htm keyfile protections  + Simply, a very good essay.

ALTF4CJW HTM Javaworkshop   + Good essay, both cracking the program,
and a serial, out of Java. which will be very important in the near future.

animadei.htm   cd emulator + ASM listing of an cd-emulator. both nice
as ASM training as a step-up for your own cd emulator. pure intresting for the
code, not for the use since everyone has a cdr nowadays

as65pp1.htm timelock   - program/version specific, no new things that a
good learner can't come up by his self.

bandane2.htm   netware debugger - Not intresting as an cracking essay,
but might be useful for netware users... First they should learn how to
Engineer, then this essay is obsolete.

chown.htm OpenNT 2 Unix cracking + Learned much, unix cracking is
advanced and should be important in a few units of time..

crushed1.htm Sym Visual Cafe Listing Reading + Very important ability

datapi1.htm   Dongles  - too simple

datapi2.htm   SI, unlocker - very basic, bad protection btw

dphman1.htm WinGRoove .9 odd call + Good essay

flipne2.htm   VB cracking + VB cracking remains difficult or many,
including me.

flippe3.htm sendmail 2   - Obvious calls, nice essay though.

footste.htm norton speedisk vector bpx + The timetrial isnt intresting,
but the part about

footste2.htm '' and b c++ 5   + part two of above, needed to make things
clear

frarul1.htm screenruler 'keyfile?' + Nice example of ORCs teachings,
nice essay (no slime, I mean it)

fraruler.htm Screenruler screenruler + True Reverse Engineering, I'd
really love to be as good in ASM as FrogPrint is... got a lot to read...

ft4tom.htm CDrom gamez updates  + Is a good DOS thing, and important to
read if you want to defeat an CD protection

heres004.htm   PIQ  - everyone has a pentium+ to work, so its obsolete

hs3.htm  homesite3   + A very overprotected scheme, nicely explained by
the author, with indeed a lot of snippets. Many could be useful for the
prot's corner.

jcrweb1.htm   web protects +/- not very usefull, very basic, but it
could be useful for your new 'web protections' lab

jimbob.htm   pdf prot - some nice pdf extraction notes on protected
pdfs, but not a good essay

jonencr.htm   encryption + very good, encryption is very intresting for
us.

jonne1.htm   ''  + ''

kenpatch.htm    warez downing - When I started reading this essay, I
didnt even want to continue, but I did, for you <gr>, not an essay you'd like
on your page since you don't like warez and stuff. The trick and info about
packets is nice, but I think that noone will read it in the near future,
most lamers will get their warez from www.t50.com (though a lot of
usefull hack/crack tools can be found on the sites listed there, be sure to
turn of pics, too much porno, viewing a page takes minutes, or you if you like
those stupid banners, go ahead <gr>(about the hack stuff; I'm not an hacker,
but some tools could be used very nicely, and if reversed you've got a
program by it's balls. Now I'm talking about this; I've downloaded this nice
program, Revelation or something like it. It reveals windows passwords
masked by ****etc, very nice, if you use it well, no hacking!sir. I
can't reveng it yet, so maybe you'd like to try it. the exe file is about
80kb so mailing is possible...)

lan003.htm unixproggies 'genericpatcher'- The crack itself is useless,
but the question for a generic patcher is usefull.

noose1.htm neon sign type essay   -

opr0001M.htm tekfct95   - Do I seem to feel some simalarites to your
dummie1 essay?

opr00015.htm doesnt matter   - unnagging and removing crc check,
nothing new learned (essay is about refs to PC members)

opr0001G.htm winREXX  multiprot prog - too simple

opr0001K.htm Netscape RE!  + How could I ever throw away a Mammon
essay? I can't this essay is a great example of RE, and I love RE.

popja2.htm   vbx  + VB cracking and RE does need some good attention,
since Razzia (god man, come back...) wrote his VB essay, not enough attention
to VB is paid

opr0001m.htm nsce.exe keygens  + Though I know that you dont like
keygens, this essay is very good. It learns how to feel code, how it makes a code
etc.

quine_21.htm see \/ quine1.htm nothing has to be said about this, does there?

ragica1.htm sorry, I didnt read the whole essay. the point is made clear
though: pdf hacking is nice, and so I think that if I've read the whole
article I would say +

rcgcd.htm   cdrom  + it's a bit obsolete with all of our cdr's, but
still very learnfull (does that word exist, anyway, you know what I mean0

rcglotus.htm lotus smarts   - rcg has a point in damaging M$, but still
the essay doesnt let us learn much

riddcd1.htm warlords3 cdrom  + cdrom, and more important 'update'
cracking is a nice thing to read about

riddcd2.htm mechwarriors see /\  + see /\

rundus2.htm review  reg sniffing - not quite informative, for a bit
advanced person

rundus4.htm arjshell disabled func - sorry Rundus, too simplified

shadow1.htm boundcheckerc++ keygen  - nothing real revolutionary is
introduced

siulin1.htm   Linux cracking + I havent had th e need to read the whole
essay to say that's this is very good, Unix is unexplored ground....

snatch1.htm smartcheck   + a good explanation about cracking
smartcheck, a usefull tool as you already mentioned

sourcer7.htm sourcer7 doscracking + I didnt knew much about doscracking,
very intresting. Maybe, you could make a dos corner in the RE/protection
cracking lab...

sth1.htm   vb cracking + a good addition to the Razzia vb essay

syncche.htm hyperchem time/key + I don't know whether I should keep
this, or should delete it... The things told in the essay arent so special, but
the essay is crisp, and the intro is also very good.. Let's keep it...

twdms98.htm frontpage98 ms  + you won't like to discard a ms essay would
you?

twdrcg.htm +rcg's crackme nag/nr  - I haven't read the essay by RCG, or
seen the 'crackme' where this essay is talking about but the cracks explained
could be done by my little sister...

twdwdas.htm wdasm 8.7 textsavingfunc + nice protection, nicely cracked

underje.htm protexe  protectionists + dos cracking, explanation that
protectionist are not so smart, good essay...

undtron1.htm tron  dis-functions + dos cracking, I love it though I'm
not good in it. I'm learing much with all these dos related essays... The
essay itself isnt worldshocking, but the int21/4c00 thing is new for me, and
will be for most non-dos Reversers.

vizion1.htm some vbthingy vb5  - First, your remark at the start should
be thought of by every serious Reverser, otherwise read Razzia's essay (I
really find it a shame he's not in the scene anymore)

x86_1.htm xing/rsagn32 dll prot + The protection itself isn't that
difficult and can be cracked meny ways, so this essay is one of those 'I did this,
good huh' essys

x86dd2.htm realplayer adding functionality + good essay, better in
conjunction of:

x86new1.htm realplayer /\  +

yoshinet.htm netscape java/netscape  + nice essay

zeeida1.htm directcd ida  + a good 'moving to' essay, I learned IDA
myself with this one...

zeropdf.htm pdf  pdf  + good analysys

zero_rcg.htm rcg #4  crackme  + good essay, good protection.

zeepdf.htm pdfwriter installcracking + nice way to crack a installshield
prog, but maybe it is made obsolete by another installshield essay, lost
track of the name...

this looked nice in notepad... sorry.

I think I've had a good part of the good essays in the library because I
havent discarded many.

The main problem is, that I havent got a perfect view about the total. 
I think you should make a selection of selected essays (the +'es) of
everyone that read a part of the lib, and then make a selection of files 
using keywords I gave you, and others hopefully will. keygenerators, by
example (just mentioning something <gr>) then get someone read all 
those essays about this subject, and then select the usefull ones. 
I'd be happy to cooperate with this, ofcourse.
I hope you are glad with my work, anyway I've learned some new things,
and have another meg of essays for my personal library.

Cool Runnings!

    Knotty Dread - The Rasta Reverser

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