Hello Fravia+,
Here is my review list of essays published on your site. The
first attempt included 62 essays, but when I find some time I'll
be updating this html, and sending it to you, please keep it up
to date. I made a template thingy for other 'essay reviewers', so
we can overview the reviews pretty easy. I havent filled in the
'level' thing yet, cause I don't know which levels there are
(adv, beginner, essent. etc). In this format everything is a bit
more visible than in the txt-version I sent you some time ago.
Knotty Dread
file: Program cracked Topic: Level : +/- Notes:
| aescul6.htm | keyfileprotections | + | Simply, a very good essay. | ||
| altf4cjw.htm | Javaworkshop | + | Good essay; both cracking and getting a serial out of a java program. Java will be important in the future; read it. | ||
| animadei.htm | cd emulator | + | ASM listing of a cd emulator. Nice as ASM training. As for the program, obsolete since everyone has a cdwriter. | ||
| as65pp1.htm | timelock | - | program/version specific. No news things that a good learner can't come up with by hisself. | ||
| bandane2.htm | netware debugger | - | Not intresting as a cracking essay, but it might be usefull for a netware user. | ||
| chown.htm | OpenNT 2 | Unix Cracking | + | learned much. Unix cracking is advanced, and will be important in a few units of time. | |
| crushed1.htm | Symantec Visual Cafe | Listing Reading | + | Very important skill for a Reverse Engineer. | |
| datapi1.htm | dongle | - | too simple | ||
| datapi2.htm | SI, unlocker | - | very basic, bad protection btw. | ||
| dphman1.htm | WinGroove 0.9 | odd call | + | Good essay, allways check for odd calls. | |
| flipne2.htm | VB cracking | + | VB cracking remains difficult sometimes, even after Razzia's essay. | ||
| flippe3.htm | Sendmail 2 | - | Obvious protection, good essay though. | ||
| footste.htm | Norton Speeddisk | Vector BPX | + | The time trial isnt intresting, but the part about vector breakpoints is. | |
| footste2.htm | '' | '' | + | Some extra info on the above | |
| frarull1.htm | Screenruler | 'keyfile'? | + | Nice example of +ORCs teachings. (no slime, I mean it) | |
| fraruler.htm | Screenruler | screenruler | + | True reverse engineering... I'd love to be as good in ASM as Frog's Print, if I only got some spare time... | |
| ft4tom.htm | CDROM updates | + | Is a good DOS thing, and important if you want to defeat a CDprotection, caused by an update. | ||
| heres004.htm | PIQ | - | Everyone has a Pentium or better, so it's obsolete | ||
| jcrweb1.htm | web protections | +/- | Not very usefull, but it might be usefull for the new Web Protections Lab. | ||
| jimbob.htm | PDF protections | - | Some nice PDF extraction notes on protected files, but the essay is no good. | ||
| jonencr.htm | encryption | + | Very good, since encrypting is a thing everyone of us will meet some day. | ||
| hs3.htm | Homesite 3 | + | A very overprotected program, the stipping of it nicely explained by the author of this piece, using a lot of snippets. Many could be usefull for the Protectionists Corner. | ||
| jonne1.htm | encryption | + | see jonencr.htm | ||
| kenpatch.htm | warez downloading | - | When I started reading this essay, I didnt want to continue, since it's not something that should be here. The trick is nice, but I think no one will read it in the near future, most lamers will get their stuff from sites like www.t50.com (where, too, a lot of usefull tools for hacking and cracking can be found, I'm not a hacker, but some tools can be nicely reversed, like Revelation, a tool which shows 'hidden' **** windows passwords, I can't reverse it yet, maybe one of the readers can) | ||
| lan003.htm | Unix Prgrms | 'generic patcher' | - | The crack itself is useless, but the question about a 'generic patcher' is intresting. | |
| noose1.htm | - | neonsignprotection essay | |||
| opr0001M.htm | tekfvt95 | - | Do I feel some simalarities with your 'cracking for dummies' essay? | ||
| opr00015.htm | - | unnagging etc, not intresting | |||
| opr0001G.htm | winREXX | multiprot prog | - | too simple | |
| opr0001K.htm | Netscape | RE! | + | How could I ever throw a Mammons essay away? I cant. This essay is a great example of Reverse Engineering a target. | |
| popja2.htm | vbx | + | VB cracking still needs attention, since Razzia (come back!) wrote his VB essay, not enough attention is paid, and protectors are becoming more inventive (can that be?) | ||
| opr0001M.htm | nsce.exe | keygens | + | Though I know you dont like keygens, this essay is very good. It tells us how to feel code, and how a program makes codes. | |
| quine1.htm | advanced | + | Nothing has to be said about this one.... | ||
| quine_21.htm | advanced | + | '' | ||
| ragical1.htm | + | PDF cracking, nice essay | |||
| rcgcd.htm | cdrom | + | It's a bit obsolete, with all of our cdrs, but still learnfull. | ||
| rcglotus.htm | Lotus SmartSuite | - | RCG does have a point in damaging M$, but the essay isnt much. | ||
| riddcd1.htm | warlords 3 | cdrom | + | Again a good update cdrom protection essay | |
| riddcd2.htm | mechwarriors | '' | + | '' | |
| rundus2.htm | Review | reg sniffing | - | Not informative for the bit advanced under us. | |
| rundus4.htm | Arjshell | disabled function | - | Sorry Rundus, too simplified | |
| shadow1.htm | Boundschecker c++ | keygen | - | nothing real revolutionary is introduced. | |
| siulin1.htm | Linux cracking | + | I havent had the need to read the whole essay to say that's this is very good, Unix is unexplored ground.... | ||
| snatch | smartcheck | + | a good explanation about cracking smartcheck, a usefull tool as you already mentioned | ||
| sourcer7.htm | Sourcer 7 | doscracking | + | I didnt knew much about doscracking, very intresting. Maybe, you could make a dos corner in the RE/protection cracking lab... | |
| sth1.htm | VB cracking | + | a good addition to the Razzia VB essay | ||
| syncche.htm | Hyperchem | time/key | + | I don't know whether I should keep this, or should delete it... The things told in the essay arent so special, but the essay is crisp, and the intro is also very good.. Let's keep it... | |
| twdms98.htm | Frontpage 98 | M$ | + | You won't like to discard a anti-M$ essay would you? | |
| twdrcg.htm | +RCGs crackme | nag/s# | - | 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 | textsaving funct | + | nice protection, nicely cracked | |
| underje.htm | protexe | protectionists | + | dos cracking, explanation that protectionist are not so smart, good essay... | |
| undtron.htm | Tron | disabled functs | + | 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 | dll cracking | + | The protection itself isn't that difficult and can be cracked mny ways, so this essay is one of those 'I did this, good huh' essys nice crack, though | |
| x86dd2.htm | realplayer | adding functs | + | good essay, better together with: | |
| x86new1.htm | '' | '' | + | ||
| yoshinet.htm | Netscape | java/netscape | + | nice essay | |
| zeeida1.htm | Directcd | ida | + | a good 'moving to IDA' essay, I learned IDA myself using this essay. | |
| zeropdf.htm | + | good analysys zero_rcg.htm rcg #4 crackme + good essay, good protection. | |||
| zeepdf.htm | pdfwriter | Installshield cracking | + | nice way to crack a installshield prog, but maybe it is made obsolete by another installshield essay, lost track of the name... | |
| mks.htm | Mks Toolkit | de-nagging | + | bb uses a true Reversers entry point here. Let the exe that nags you do the dirty job, and so you won't have to patch all 150 files... | |
| bbnag1.htm | de-nagging | Intermediate | + | Again using the routine that was build to nag you, to our pleasure. Good essay. | |
| cynapp1.htm | - | A good example of the dumbness of programmers, but no cracker will learn somehting of this. They already know. | |||
| crunchi?.htm | crunching | programmer | + | This is a complete series of essays about crunching. though not very intresting for a cracker, a programmer would love it. Good written essays. | |
| gtbankil.txt | web banner killer | + | A piece of htmling by +gthorne, a page which eats the programmed banners such as Tripod's. | ||
| hut*.htm | assembling | programmer | + | The papers made by SLH are as fravia+ told us going to be the DEFINITIVE HCU MANUAL INTRODUCING WINDOWS (DIS)ASSEMBLING. I can't argue with him on that. These are masterpieces. | |
| iebug2.htm | M$IE | html cracking | Intermediate | + | The essay tells us what we know: the badness of M$IE. A very good piece, onces you've read it very easy, but before that; you're blind. |
| malamirc.htm | mIRC 5.* | Keygens | Intermediate | + | +Malattia explains clearly how one can build a keygenerator for a program. Not the subject fravia+ likes most, but very intresting. |
| monitor.htm | Monitor/RA 1.8 | Keyfiles | beginner | - | Keyfiles are good protection for stopping not so advanced crackers. This essay is good example of such a protection, though the author of the program didn't make the file complex... btw greetz to MisterE |
| mmstory.htm | M$/anonimity | + | A good example of M$s hidden activities. Who's claiming that he's anomimous? | ||
| neto_01.htm | Dreadweaver | timelock | beginner | - | the essay is well written, but I prefer essays which describe protections using multiple examples... |
| neto_03.htm | HTMLpad | nag+S# | beginner | + | The essay descibes well how a not-so-advanced cracker can crack a program that's got some not-so-advanced protections. |
| ozyma1.htm | Opera 3.21 | S# | beginner | + | Opera is a great browser, and a nice cracktest for beginners. The essay is well written, and describes very well the thinking of someone who wants to crack it, instead of a 'I cracked this, good huh?' essay. Fravia+, please keep us informed about this Opera protecting stuff... |
I think I've had a very 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
I hope you are glad with my work, anyway I've learned some new
things, and having another meg of essays for my personal library.
Cool Runnings!
Knotty Dread - The Rasta Reverser