Dev.SN ♥ developers
Sections
Dev.SN
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?"
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
Editing Binaries: Easier Than It Sounds
|
Log In/Create an Account
| Top
| 1000 moderator points
| 38 comments
| Search Discussion
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
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) by stormwyrm on Tuesday March 25 2014, @01:51AM
When I was around the same age I did that to Ultima III. DEBUG.COM was all I had, and it sufficed to trace into the copy protection code enough that I could patch it to remove it permanently. I later did the same thing to all the Bard's Tales (neutering the code wheel checks on BT3), and I even traced Wasteland skill usage rolls to force them to succeed.
Qu'on me donne six lignes écrites de la main du plus honnête homme, j'y trouverai de quoi le faire pendre.