Cracks; Illegal Saviours



You've all probably installed some kind of software (such as a game). And you've all probably had that alert pop-up, saying that you need to register your product before using it. But did you know that as soon as you've filled your name and address in, the information, along with some information about your computer, is sent straight to the producer, and saved in a long list?

You never hear anything about it again. That is, until something unexpected happens. Your computer could have been destroyed by a virus, and you buy a new one. Or maybe your computer is simply to old, and you replace it with a newer one. Or you only want to add a piece of hardware (such as another disk drive, or maybe only a graphic card). Suddenly, the details that your program saved don't match those of its surroundings anymore. It immediately shuts itself down, and tells you to activate it by calling a free hotline. You call, only to be put on wait. After ten minutes, a friendly voice suddenly asks you to give her your details. She checks these against those you entered upon registration. If they appear correct, she demands an explanation of why you're using another computer, or why your computer has changed. If your answer is reasonable enough, you will get your product back to use.

A ten minute phone call to activate your program may not sound too bad. Providing your details match, that is. See, here is the flaw to the idea. Imagine you buy a brand new book. You may not like it, and decide to sell it at a garage sale. Your friend comes and buys it, and takes it home to read. However, in order to read the book, he has to phone a hotline, and ask permission to read the book. He gives his details, and they don't match those of the friend he bought the book off. The lady on the phone forbids him to keep reading. You may be wondering how this relates to your program. Imagine that book is your program. You spent a lot of money on it, but find that you don't like it. So, what do you do? Obviously, you'd try to get a part of your money back, and sell it on. However, as soon as anybody else buys it, they can't use it anymore.

This is where the cracks come in. People with extensive knowledge of computers decided that they want to use their program without having to make a phone call around the world. So they developed little add-ons to the .exe file of the programs. These add-ons (also known as cracks), disable to activation process of a program. Long story short, they make the program usable anywhere they like, without having to re-activate it. A lot of crackers (people that make cracks) put their cracks on illegal sites on the internet, for others to use. Although cracks are highly illegal (if you are ever caught even downloading one, your will be immediately charged as a software pirate), for some people, they are the only way out of their problem. If you bought the program off somebody, and the person on the hotline refuses to believe it, your program is unusable. Most people, rather than just laying their program aside, will refer to cracks. They simply download them, and voila! Their program is up and running again.

Even if you legally purchased a program off somebody, and feel entitled to legally use it, the second cracks are involved, your program turns illegal. So to anyone wanting to use cracks as a way out, beware!

You may be wondering where people get these cracks from. Unfortunately, illegal cracks, along with pirated software and illegal serials, these programs can be found around every corner on the net. I know how to find them on the internet easily, and most of you do as well but I am unauthorized to say. However, to everyone who thinks cracks are that easy to come by, think again. Although they appear easy to get, the sites that offer them are usually packed full with viruses, Trojans, key loggers, and lots of other nasty things. Also, many of them are being watched by the government, and you can have the police on your case before you know it. So even if cracks seem to be your last option, think twice!

Written by: iluvatar
Proofread by: dr henry
Coded by: Frogger