Defeating a 40-year-old copy protection dongle (dmitrybrant.com)

Article summary

The article describes the process of defeating a 40-year-old copy protection dongle used by an old accounting software package. The dongle was required to run the software, which was built using the RPG programming language and used a parallel port to communicate with the computer. The author was able to reverse-engineer the copy protection mechanism and create a patched version of the compiler that does not require the dongle. The patched compiler can now be used to run the software without the need for the hardware dongle.

Main themes

• Copy protection mechanisms
• Reverse engineering
• Legacy software
• RPG programming language
• Software preservation

What commenters say

• The copy protection mechanism used by the software was relatively simple and easy to defeat, suggesting that it was not designed to withstand determined attempts to bypass it.
• The use of copy protection mechanisms can be seen as a way to encourage legitimate users to purchase the software, rather than a foolproof way to prevent piracy.
• Some commenters argue that the simplicity of the copy protection mechanism is a result of the limited resources and expertise available at the time, rather than a deliberate design choice.
• Others suggest that the mechanism may have been intended to be more complex, but was not fully utilized by the software developers.
• The discussion highlights the challenges of preserving legacy software and the importance of understanding the historical context in which it was developed.
• Some commenters share their own experiences with cracking or bypassing copy protection mechanisms in the past, highlighting the cat-and-mouse game between developers and users.