If I manage to do this, would you guys want a writeup or something? (the hacking/re instances are pretty much dead...)
this post was submitted on 29 Oct 2023
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Yes please
I'd be interested to read your process.
Not what you asked, but what resources did you use to get into this space? Was it just CrackMe or were there others?
First I learned how to program in c (recently I learned c++). Then I learned how to read assembly, how pc memory works, what is dynamic and static linking, what are vtables, and for debugging I learned how to use tools like ghidra, Detect It Easy, xdbg, etc...
Learned about compression, un/packing, dll injection, anti-debug methods.
Also did some simple game hacking, nothing fancy.
It's not all but I can't write everything here... I don't know any good RE courses (maybe someone else here can share).
I also read a lot of writeups on reddit from r/ReverseEngineering and r/REGames
Have you done mobile, Android/apk cracking? Oftentimes these games have lower security, but I'm guessing it will be very different to Windows programs.
Not yet, it's on my list though.
If you need a game when you get to it, a game I've had in my sights is AC: Pirates. It's a small mobile AC game inspired by AC4: Black Flag. There are plenty of mods for it, but there isn't a "free purchases" mod that would allow you to purchase the best ship in the game. I've looked. So if you need a project in the mobile space, that's one you can go for.
Thanks.
Have a look at https://www.picoctf.org/
They have a lot of challenges and resources to get you started.
It'll be a frustrating experience. 3/10 can't recommend. Eats your time and sanity for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
There's an infodump on cracking Denuvo by MKDEV on their discord channel. It's something only they and EMPRESS have done so far.
I think cracking denuvo is a long and arduous task but you can try the newer Football Manager (they only cracked those games) as it won't be much different and they already answer queries on their discord regarding cracking.
Thanks for replying. I want to start with something easier.
Cracking services is pretty dope for many people, but I don't know if that's what you are looking for.
I'm thinking of YouTube Revanced, but for Netflix, Spotify, all that. I don't know if you call that cracking, but it's definitely useful, and probably challenging.
Interesting idea but that's not what they're asking for and would be much harder requiring proxy infrastructure etc... many services are going online (service) only in large part because of piracy... you have to have a valid login and a way to access it without them being able to access the "crack" because then they'd just shut the linked (paid for) accounts down. OP is asking for a list of legitimate windows software that's licensed and has varying degrees of skill required to crack it.
OP, I would start with older software first. Like 2000's (2000-2010) releases from torrent sites that are already cracked... download a bunch of old programs and look whether they require a crack or keygen, run strings on the cracks/patches and you'll start to find certain indicators that something was easy to patch or hard, like strings indicating debugger check or http/s possibly indicating needing to intercept a server check. Anything that by its nature dealt with rootkit-type stuff like antiviruses, "spouse/kid monitor" software (legal keylogger/Trojans) will be more advanced and harder to patch. Small 1-3 dev org programs will probably be easiest but you'd be surprised.
Thanks.