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Anonymous Coward writes:
"Dan Luu, in his blog, suggests that editing binaries is something that we should consider from time to time. From that blog:
Editing binaries is a trick that comes in handy a few times a year. You don't often need to, but when you do, there's no alternative. When I mention patching binaries, I get one of two reactions: complete shock or no reaction at all. As far as I can tell, this is because most people have one of these two models of the world:
- There exists source code. Compilers do something to source code to make it runnable. If you change the source code, different things happen.
- There exists a processor. The processor takes some bits and decodes them to make things happen. If you change the bits, different things happen.
If you have the first view, breaking out a hex editor to modify a program is the action of a deranged lunatic. If you have the second view, editing binaries is the most natural thing in the world. Why wouldn't you just edit the binary?"
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Editing Binaries: Easier Than It Sounds
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I'm not a robot like you. I don't like having disks crammed into me... unless they're Oreos, and then only in the mouth.
-- Fry
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Beukenbosje on Monday March 24 2014, @05:14PM
Oh please, this sounds as a retro-discovery. Binary editing is as old as can be. Most useful nowadays:
- modify the regkeys in cmd.exe to be able to run it on a 'managed' winstation.
- change a product id / vendor id to make stuff compatible
- change strings to make usb-string matching stuff compatible with OEM-variants
Years ago I changed binaries on my Z80 by hex-sight only. IDA and companions made it easier.
Now, get off my lawn.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Monday March 24 2014, @10:49PM
DOOM and DEHacked. ;)
I've assaulted a binary with a hex editor a few times myself. I'm not a coder but sometimes it's not rocket science to figure out what part you want to change or do away with. I recall a BBS utility that insisted on calling a bunch of crappy external .COMs that were actually an early form of adware, and the util would bitch and moan if they weren't there. I rooted around in it til I found the filenames, killed all the strings, and the problem went away.
And I made my copy of Blue Wave call itself variously Cold Wave and CrimeWave. :)
Then again, I think it's perfectly normal to view binaries with Vern Buerg's LIST.
(Score: 2) by Blackmoore on Tuesday March 25 2014, @09:50AM
And some of us were doing this on the old 8-bit systems in the 80's. It is a rather lost art.
i dont even think you can buy an assembly program for an Intel/win setup since Borland dropped that product; not to discount any open source solutions (that i havent bothered with since i have no need to play with assembly or disassembers since we left the 80s)
I was chatting about just this with a friend who's just out of college; and he never had to work with his arms that deep into the system - and it makes me wonder both what we are losing, and what mischief that the commercial compilers are doing to our software where nobody is looking.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Tuesday March 25 2014, @10:50AM
NASM [www.nasm.us] is available in the Linux package repos, if that helps at all.
The textbook they taught me assembly out of is available online [drpaulcarter.com] as a PDF, too, which I would recommend for those already acquainted with programming but not assembly.
A Discordian is Prohibited of Believing what he reads.