Microsoft Reader Format Cracked 516
Anonymous Coward writes "Pocket PC Addict has a cool story about how some guy named Dan Jackson is distributing an unfortunately named program that will remove the security from Microsoft Reader ebooks. Once the security is removed, it then allows the book to be converted to html, text or any other format."
Familiar (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Familiar (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: Familiar (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm not sure about that. Although he claims to have (re)written parts of the code,
IMHO this program originated in the US, was exported to the UK, changed, and (re)published.
P.S.: Of what .ZIP on the web do you want to make
a backup copy today? ;-)
V. Probably illegal (Score:3, Informative)
And seeing as the UK has no provision for fair use with regards to space shifting copyrighted material, then this guy could be pretty boned if he's sued.
Re:Familiar (Score:2)
It sure does.
It seems that this software can be used to copy or extract secured data. Which might or could be a little somewhat illegal. But hey, you can use a computer to crack software... So I guess they should lock me up because I own a computer.
There is something I do not understand: if a vast majority of the public believes it is OK to copy software or electronic content, how can it be there exist laws to prohibit copying? I mean most of us live in democratic countries, don't we?
Re:Familiar (Score:4, Insightful)
Hell, on grounds of copyright, patent law and the odd belief that we should be able to do what we want with something when we've bought it (unless it happens to kill the neighbour or his cat), I think there's not a country on earth which has laws which enforce what the mayority thinks is right...wlecome to the real world, where justice is only blind to the laws being bought.
Re:Familiar (Score:5, Insightful)
If absolutely every law was put to referendum, we'd essentially have mob rule. What "the majority" want and what's actually *good* for us/the country are not always the same thing. If it were, all you'd have to do in the UK is point at someone, shout "paedophile," and it would be legal to string them up from the nearest lamppost.
The problem with the DMCA, etc, etc, is that it tries to solve a problem by brute force. A bit like trying to bomb other countries to get them to do what you want *ahem*
The problem is not that the majority want it but it's not happening. The problem is that there's nothing in place in corporate America (or most anywhere else) that makes people have a social conscience over screwing the companies (and hence, indirectly, those who depend on the companies' profits) around. Now there's a whole other debate about how we can change that, which I'm not going to get into here because I think 10 other people are going to do it further down...
Re:Familiar (Score:5, Interesting)
The Athenian democratic system allowed all citizens to vote on all laws - granted, their cities were smaller then & their definition of a citizen was basically a free, able-bodied male who would fight for the city if it was attacked, but these days we have the technology to enable the much larger numbers of citizens in our cities to all vote. Remember also that the ability to vote doesn't neccessarily mean the voter will vote either - they'll tend to vote only on matters that concern them directly, much as US Senators and UK MPs do now, but at least then we'd have proper democracy - rule of the people by the people, instead of rule/(mis)representation of the people by a privileged minority.
Re:Familiar (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Familiar (Score:3, Interesting)
Ooh! Ooh! I've got another one! Imagine a mountainous island nation, with limited farmland, an inhospitable climate, and primitive agricultural technology. The only way to survive is by forming small communities, and preserving the copmmon good at all costs. Failure to sacrifice individual freedoms for communal welfare results in death--not just for the individual, but for the community that supports that individual in spite of such uncooperativeness. Anyone who doesn't put the community ahead of themselves is exiled, and almost certainly doomed to die during the next harsh winter (and all the winters are harsh, on this island). This makes perfect sense, since everyone has the liberty to live like an individual. The only restriction is that they also get to die like an individual. The communities, meanwhile, thrive and grow, and technology advances, and one day the community can afford the luxury of individual liberties. This is, of course, after many generations of eschewing those liberties in favor of communal well-being.
Are these people giving up their liberties because they're delusional, or because they're clear-headed pragmatists? Is the extreme individualist truly any more laudable than the extreme conformist?
Edmund Burke's statement is absolute (note the use of the word "never"), and therefore logically unsound. It is also, I think, provably untrue.
Re:Familiar (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Familiar (Score:3, Insightful)
They didn't have tabloid media getting people in to a frenzy over, for example, paedophiles, where it even goes so far that people go and attack a paediatrician. This could happen with (almost) anything the red-tops decide to sink their teeth in to.
It is true that what people want doesn't always equal what's good for the nation as a whole (and in the long-term individual citizens as well). If people were able to vote in anything they wanted, we'd have zero taxes and free money, but it wouldn't really work well for very long, or I at least wouldn't want to try.
It is also true that the current system is not functioning as it should, it is still functioning and does a pretty good job of it and it's pretty much the best we have.
A Few Corrections RE: Familiar (Score:4, Interesting)
Additionally, the definitian of an Athenian citizen was not as altruistic as merly being loyal and able to fight for Athens, rather, to be a citizen elegible to take part in the governance of the city-state, one must have both of their parents be Athenian citizens.
The more accurate consideration when examining democracy of today would be to look to Rousseau or Locke, both philosophers of the 17th century. Under Rousseau's model, upon which much of the US system today was based, the body politic is ruled by the desire of the collective body not for individual gain but rather the good of the people as a whole. This is substantially different from mob rule in which each individual acts rashly for their own benifit.
Re:Familiar (Score:5, Insightful)
If there were TRUE Democracy, things would be very different.
For instance: Look what "the people" have chosen in the past several years in the commercial marketplace. These are the kinds of decisions "the rabble" would choose - apply the same thinking to politics, and it yeilds a hideously frightening prospect:
Microsoft Windows, 95% Marketshare.
Titanic - Best movie of all time.
Backstreet Boyz - #1 musical group of the 20th century.
Harry Potter - #1 work of literature of the 20th(21st?) century.
Coke or Pepsi - your choice.
Ford Escort - #1 selling car in America.
GWBush - 88% Approval rating, Oct 2001.
I came to accept this fact long ago. People are frickin idiots. True Democracy would be a very scary world.
Re:Familiar (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm not so sure. Anyone who makes a habit of reading the Guardian has pretty much abandoned any claim they might have had on independent, rational thought - but fortunately, so has anyone who makes a habit of reading the Daily Mail, and the two groups should hopefully cancel each other out. But two equal and opposite groups of idiots don't equal one larger group of sensible decision-makers.
Parliament has bungled so many times, they cannot truly be regarded as experts in rule. What, then, is the value in handing the controls over your life to a group of people who will only ask your opinion on things every few years, and whose interests rarely coincide with yours? Surely that's as unstable as running things yourself directly?
I'm basically a libertarian, with a bit of plutocrat and a bit of timocrat. My basic political belief is in the absolute minimum of government, and that decisions about spending public money should be made by the people who paid the money, not those who receive it. I consider New Labour, the Conservatives and the Lib Dems to be no different from one another - they differ only on the details, all three are about government controlling every aspect of a citizen's life, supported by heavy taxation.
There need to be hard limits on what a government can and cannot regulate, but as we have seen in the US, a Constitution isn't all that it's cracked up to be. The British House of Lords is a good thing, IMHO, because those people plan in terms of their grandchildren, not in terms of the next election. Anyone desiring to become a professional politican has automatically disqualified themselves.
What we really need are a small group of civil servants to administer the country, but with no direct political power, and the political power to rest in the hands of people who are already accomplished in their own professions, and who can only serve one term. Perhaps politicians should be randomly chosen from a pool of people who have taken courses in history, economics, etc. The current system, i.e. "I'm voting the way I've always done" or "I'll vote for that Tony Blair, he's got a nice smile" is fundamentally broken, and will collapse under its own weight if it isn't destroyed by the libertarian-plutocrats beforehand.
Re:Familiar (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Familiar (Score:4, Insightful)
of the public believes it is OK to copy software or electronic
content, how can it be there exist laws to prohibit copying?
I mean most of us live in democratic countries, don't we?
The vast majority of the public would like to see taxes abolished as well, but the tax laws are not likely to be repealed any time soon.
In a way, democracy (as it is currently implemented) simply gives us the right to elect people to act in our collective best interest. We hire them to research topics, develop informed opinions (well beyond the depths that most of us are willing to plumb), and write laws to point society in the right direction.
You and many others may disagree, but it is believed by nearly all governments that copyright laws are important society overall, and to the economy. They are no more likely to disappear than taxes. Or speed limits.
You may not like them, but they are good for us in the long run.
P.S. I also disagree with your original premise, that "a vast majority of the public believes it is OK to copy software or electronic content". Well over half of the public doesn't even understand the question and its full implications. Half of those that do, don't care one way or the other.
I'll agree that a majority of those under 25 probably feel that way, because of Napster and its descendents. But in the 60's that group wanted to abolish war. And when they grew up they realized that You Don't Always Get What You Want. But if you try sometimes...
Re:Familiar (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Familiar (Score:3, Insightful)
The Implications (Score:5, Funny)
Re:The Implications (Score:2)
+1, And It's Probably True, Too!
Re:The Implications (Score:3, Informative)
Re:The Implications (Score:3, Funny)
Curious, I just looked at Weasel. Nice screenshots. Are you sure Weasel is for PalmOS? It looks like Commodore-64 to me. Nice fonts. Weasel has a powerful new kind of DRM built in. You go blind after your first book.
Re:The Implications (Score:3, Informative)
The only problem comes with converting ASCII Text only Project Gutenburg files to HTML.
But now with Clit.exe all of the Univ. of Virginia MS Reader books can be quickly converted to HTML! [virginia.edu]
uhm... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:uhm... (Score:5, Informative)
He also lives in England, so "antiamerican" laws are of limited application.
Re:uhm... (Score:2, Interesting)
Hummm... Sklyarov lived in Russia, and "antiamerican" laws seem to have caught up with him pretty nicely (literally, even).
Unless, of course, you count arrest and prosecution as "limited appications".
Re:uhm... (Score:2)
The Name (Score:5, Funny)
Seriously, Microsoft will go after him, just like Adobe tried with Dmitri.
Re:The Name (Score:2)
Obligatory Jay and Silent Bob Quote (Score:4, Funny)
Jay: I am the CLIT Commander! I AM THE CLIT CAMANDER!! WHEREVER YOU SEE A CLIT YOULL SEE THIS FACE! I am master of the CLIT!
Willenholly: We don't want to rub the C.L.I.T. the wrong way!
Willenholly: The C.L.I.T. is an offshoot of the L.A.B.I.A.
Reg Hartner: Oh, you mean the Liberate Apes Before Imprisoning Apes movement?
Re:The Name (Score:5, Informative)
Re:The Name (Score:3, Informative)
Re:The Name (Score:2, Insightful)
Article:
You mean to suggest there's a Microsoft Reader port to Linux?In vino veritas (Score:2)
Then again, using a non-free (but distributable) program to break a non-free format is not such a bad deal after all...
It IS open source (Score:3, Informative)
What a brave man! (Score:3, Funny)
This guy has violated both DMCA and CIPA at the same time! Now, that's the spirit!
Re:What a brave man! (Score:2)
Re:What a brave man! (Score:2)
Wiem [slashdot.org]. ;)
What's in a name? (Score:4, Funny)
(Insert joke about "rolling off the tongue" here)
The DMCS takedown (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:The DMCS takedown (Score:2)
Re:The DMCS takedown (Score:2)
If Microsoft gave a crap about Slashdot, that might apply.
Copying e-books (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Copying e-books (Score:2)
That's great... (Score:5, Funny)
Code can be downloaded here (Score:5, Informative)
And obviously his homepage is: http://members.lycos.co.uk/hostintheshell [lycos.co.uk]
Re:Code can be downloaded here (Score:2)
Thanks, I had real trouble finding it for a minute there.
Re:Code can be downloaded here (Score:2, Insightful)
Lycos, of course, being famous for their efforts to defend free speech on hosted websites.
Anyone have a list of mirrors?
Sites starting to get lagged.. (Score:3, Informative)
Microsoft Reader format CRACKED!
Date: Monday, December 30 @ 22:19:50 EST
Topic: Breaking News!
Frustrated by the tight security and lack of interoperability of Microsoft Reader eBooks, a programmer named Dan Jackson obtained the source code for a command-line program called Convert Lit and made it available to the public. Convert Lit or "Clit.exe" is a command line utility that can downgrade the DRM5 security to DRM1. From there, the formerly encrypted Lit book can be converted to HTML, text, or any other format.
In a blatently open move, Mr. Jackson announced via his website a willingness to improve upon the original code of his program (that is reportedly less than 1 month old), in addition to providing more capabilities to the program itself. "I wish to provide an all-in-one solution for the recovery of data in the MS Reader
Other Internet hackers have already captured this code and provided a Windows 9x front-end that illiminates the need to know and understand command-line functions. This addition is called cuntlits.exe and contains nude buttons and offensive language.
Pocket PC Addict obtained independent verification that these utilities do in fact remove the encryption and security from Microsoft Reader books.
It remains to be seen what kind of impact an already hesitant eBook market. By removing the security of the Reader books, formerly encrypted eBooks can be traded and downloaded free of charge on the Internet.
lit was cracked a long time ago (Score:5, Informative)
mod parent up (Score:2)
Re:lit was cracked a long time ago (Score:3, Informative)
yes, it's always accessible. but they'll hope to make it hard to copy -- for example, don't use functions that allow copy-pasting (just draw to a canvas, such that you have to do the screenshot thing) then modify the text so ocr software can't make it out (antialias a bit, change the colors randomly
it's actually much easier for them to render text readable to the human eye but not to software than for them to make music that can be even remotely enjoyed whilst not being recordable
Re:lit was cracked a long time ago (Score:2)
Of course "readable to the human eye" is not the same as "pleasantly readable to the human eye" - you could just buy a print book if the ebook becomes too annoyingly full of wobbly characters.
And also, researchers, spurred on by the challenge of descrambling those obfuscated text things, are already having some success. See
[berkeley.edu]
"Breaking gimpy: Researchers crack Security System Designed to prevent internet Robots"
* LCD Manufacturers: I want a high DPI screen, not a physically huge one. Why the hell can't I get a 15" 1600x1200 DESKTOP LCD Monitor???
Re:lit was cracked a long time ago (Score:2)
Isn't that the damned truth! I've had a Dell Inspiron for 3 years now that has 1600x1200 LCD screen that looks awesome! Why can't I get one on my desktop. 1280x1024 just doesn't cut it for an OS (*cough*Linux*cough*) with decent graphics in the desktop :) Only XP looks good at low resolutions :)
Burn karma Burn!
Re:lit was cracked a long time ago (Score:2)
Re:lit was cracked a long time ago (Score:2, Insightful)
And that's where Microsoft's Palladium will fit in.
If they can encrypt and authenticate the entire path from bootup to what appears on your screen, this will be much less common.
Microsoft's response (Score:5, Funny)
-
source code? (Score:5, Informative)
Please note that right now this is VERY alpha. It's the first release. It also is available only as a binary, for Windows console. I wrote a GUI in ASM, but porting it to WINAPI is a pain in the arse... I won't bang on about it, but it's pathetic that it's easier to code in ASM than C on the Windows platform. The original was written under *NIX --- but I'm not willing to distribute the source just yet, for a variety of reasons.
There WILL be a polished GUI, as well as a source release in the future. I am unable to post here anonymously (and hence using a public library system and some vulnerable machines for this post) so, updates will probably NOT be announced here, unless someone is willing to play proxy for me.
Very Mature (Score:5, Interesting)
Other Internet hackers have already captured this code and provided a Windows 9x front-end that illiminates the need to know and understand command-line functions. This addition is called cuntlits.exe and contains nude buttons and offensive language.
I have no problem with nudity or offensive language, but all in proper context. The above paragraph just makes the whole thing sound like a stupid joke.
Re:Very Mature (Score:3, Interesting)
Well, isn't that. . . (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't mean technically either, I mean in basic concept.
I don't know about you, but I'm simply not going to participate. If I feel the need of an eBook I'll go to Project Gutenberg. I havn't yet read all of Dumas or Dickens, the worst of which is better than any of the crap being shilled by Oprah. Twain, O Henry, GBS, Thoreau, Kipling, Swift, Sir Richard Burton, Melville, Hume, London, Conrad. . . Jesus, the list goes on for miles, all free for the taking, distributing, printing, even selling if you want.
I think it's somewhat ironic that one of the best uses of public domain eTexts is the ease with which specialty and art binders may now get source material.
So be radical. Screw MS and Adobe. Download the entire PG opus and freely *pass it on to your friends.* Print the son of a bitch and hand it out on the street corners.
Otherwise, if these people have their way, we'll have to start memorizing them and whispering them to our children quietly, in the dark, waiting for the "story police" to come and bust us.
KFG
Re:Very Mature (Score:2)
Regardless how hard I'm trying, I can't figure out how a "nude button" would look like? Hmm... A button with no text inside? A button without a frame?
Bold Moves (Score:4, Interesting)
TheoD
Mods:
-10 for complete bullshit
Moot application? (Score:2)
-psy
Re:Moot application? (Score:2)
The arguement can be made that due to the extensive DRM incorporated and incompatible file formats among readers that eBooks are just not as convenient as a regular book.
One thing can be said for sure. Consumers did not see enough value in eBooks to purchase them.
Not a surprise really, given the circumstances.
Lots of fair usages for this (Score:3, Insightful)
be able to index ebook files.
So can we get the source... (Score:2)
He is soliciting suggestions for changes, but isn't giving out the source :-(
I know the change I would like is to make it run on non-Windows operating systems.
No practical protection. (Score:2)
The sheer fluidity of the digital world makes almost anything practical. For instance, even if a security mechanism could be created by which a program or macro could not copy (either text or graphics) the contents of an ebook reader while scrolling through (erect a kind of region protection all the way through to the video card), it's not going to stop anyone.
What about a cam pointed at the monitor? Either from the same computer or another one? Or just videotape separately as the ebook scrolls by, then have some ocr software decode it.
I'm just having a hard time figuring out how ebooks will ever enjoy the same "practical" protection that wood books do.
This explains everything (Score:2)
It does kinda make sense too, being able to translate all those languages so easily, I guess MS Reader isn't that much harder than Egyptian?
(alright, alright... Not funny, I know)
It is a good thing (Score:3, Insightful)
Of course, it doesn't help publishers to place restrictions on content, but we are speaking about reading ebooks, not preserving monopolies.
* installing MR on a computer with a 1024x480 display ends with one page of text about 300 pixels wide: completly unusable.
Maybe Microsoft released its own crack (Score:5, Insightful)
Somehow, I doubt that Microsoft would have done such a thing, but you've got to admit, it's a sound business strategy. It gives a company all the benefits of having an open format, without making the commitment of an open format.
To be built into Longhorn ... (Score:3, Funny)
A library that detects anything Microsoft doesn't like:
welsu_urass.dll
"How perfectly Goddam delightful it all is, to be sure." - Robert Crumb
US (Score:2, Redundant)
another MS acronym (Score:5, Funny)
Too Late - It's on Freenet!! :) (Score:4, Informative)
Greed (Score:3, Insightful)
They will never accept it. (Score:3, Interesting)
One good start would be to NOT alienate customers and make it feel better to pay for the goods. That ofcourse means reasonable prices and good customer relationsships. Social protection is the only thing that helps fighting pirates in the long run.
Start working on getting better PR and treat people nicer. Work with tha customers in getting better products instead of fighting them all tooth and nail. Make it shameful to fool those nice media companies. Then pirates will exist but at a much much lower scale.
NOT SO FAST! (Score:3, Informative)
1) This program will only remove the protection when run from a machine that has license to convert the book. Somebody's got to buy the book first.
2) While the program removes the protection so that others can open it, it does not remove the purchaser information. If you share an unprotected file, you're pointing a finger at the purchaser.
I'm not sure how to feel about the program. Part of me would love to grab and sample more books. I buy a lot of ebooks and I've been burned on a good many which turned out to be pure and utter crap. Being able to sample would probably up my buying just like downloadable MP3s have. But, on the flip side, I don't know that everyone operates the same way.
What the program actually does (yes, I tried it) (Score:3, Informative)
Does CLIT need to break any encryption to do this unpacking? I don't know about that -- anyone with technical info care to step in?
Point being -- the end result is just format shifting from
Microsoft counters with: G.S.P.O.T. (Score:3, Funny)
Security for books is a joke (Score:3, Insightful)
Contrast this with music where it is next to impossible to replicate the work
If you remember the whole thing abt US-europe copyright rules which happened in early 1900s where european books had no protection in the US and vice-versa, it might be actually possible to do this alsmost legally. Just send a mail to somebody in say Tanzania (Just rendomly picked a country in Africa, nothing else) with the relevant document and send him a check. he converts it and sends it to you. He proly breaks the rules, but figures US govt wont put effort in extraditing an ordinary citizen.
Free Dan Jackson! (Score:4, Funny)
Source code is out (Score:3, Informative)
Thanks a million for the link! (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Watch his site get slashdotted in real time! (Score:2)
Re:Watch his site get slashdotted in real time! (Score:2)
Those stats are clearly incorrect. Everyone knows IE has 95% market share, not 80.61% (current stat).
<voice>
Re:where to get ebooks? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:where to get ebooks? (Score:5, Informative)
Over 10,000 online books free to the public.
Re:where to get ebooks? (Score:2)
Sure! Try Baen.com [baen.com]. Baen is a commercial site that has found the free distribution of e-books has improved it's bottom line in sales of its dead-tree versions.
They treat their (potential) customers like honest folk and deserve everyone's support IMO.
Re:Okay, great. But... (Score:5, Informative)
Hey, I know a guy that bought - sorry, I mean licensed - a bunch of eBooks. Then he bought a new handheld, and found out that he couldn't transfer the license, so he'd effectively paid for a bunch of scrambled bits. For those who don't know, that's how eBooks work, they're licensed per machine. If you upgrade devices (or your device breaks), you lose the right to read.
Believe me, he won't be buying - sorry, licensing - any more, even with this thing available.
Re:Okay, great. But... (Score:2)
For those who don't know, that's how eBooks work, they're licensed per machine. If you upgrade devices (or your device breaks), you lose the right to read.
Not necessarily. I have a Rocket e-Book that I pretty much wore out. It still works, but the battery won't hold a charge and there are a bunch of pieces rattling around inside. So, I got a second Rocket a few weeks ago, registered it under my name, and got new copies of all of my purchased books.
Of course, it's still true that I can't lend my books without lending the reader, and that if GemStar ever goes out of business I'm pretty much out of luck. I'm okay with those things mainly because I can buy (license) the books for a discount (though I think the discount ought to be a little larger) and because reading e-Books is more convenient than reading paper.
Re:Hmm... (Score:2)
It smells like... lots of money being burned real fast!
Re:so you're saying fud's too bullame? (Score:2)
"I have no tolerance for bad journalism!" (Score:5, Interesting)
then one would expect that you would read the frucking article and know that the guy says he didn't write it !
"One of the people I met while MUD'ing suggested that since I live in the UK, I could act as an agent for programmers who wish to remain anonymous but still want to release their software. "
Plus no-one's not cracked a program, someone has cracked the file DRM level so that data files can be converted.
It gets better.
"The way the laws are now, it's safer for someone to rape a 5-year-old boy and admit it then to crack a program."
Pure hype. Do you read the Daily Mail by any chance?
Re:very cool (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Gratuitous Jay and Silent Bob Reference: (Score:2)
Re:3ff-533 57y13 w[7 d4 g4ng574 h[7z, f00 (Score:2, Funny)
Wrong Again... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:ports (Score:4, Funny)
But remember, unless sufficiently drunk, stay away from gnome-clit.