LOCKSMITH PC v1.0 - *SHAREWARE VERSION* (c) 1994 REM Software, All Rights Reserved. Programming: Roger Ray Deprotection: Matthew Linsemier *** NOTICE *** THIS VERSION OF LOCKSMITH PC IS *SHAREWARE*. You have a 30 day trial period in which to evaluate this product. After 30 days you are required to purchase the commercial product or cease all use of this *SHAREWARE* version. To purchase Locksmith PC, Contact: REM Software 1359 Frank Drive Monroe, MI 48161 (313) 457-1161 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Requirements: IBM XT/AT/386/486/Pentium and 100% compatible 512k RAM DOS 3.3 or higher Hard Disk Recommended: Microsoft Mouse and 100% compatible MEDIA INFORMATION Locksmith PC is shipped on one (1) 3.5" Diskette. If necessary, you may obtain Locksmith PC on a 5.25" diskette directly from REM Software. COPY PROTECTION The diskette upon which Locksmith PC is distributed is not copy protected. We recommend that you make one archival backup of you original diskette. Illegal distribution of this product in any way will result is prosecution to the fullest extent of the law. DISCLAIMER This program is sold as is, without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, with respect to the use or functionality of this program, including, but not limited to implied warranties for the program's quality, performance, merchantability, or fitness for and particular purpose. Neither REM Software nor its dealers or distributors shall be liable to the purchaser or any other person or entity with respect to any liability, loss, or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this program. INTRODUCTION What is Locksmith PC? Locksmith PC is a program developed to lift the burden of copy protection from those users who purchase commercial software products. After running Locksmith PC on the appropriate title, it will alleviate the copy protection process. No longer will you have to fumble through your 300 page manual to find the correct word, align a triple level code wheel, or worry about grinding you floppy disk heads on a keydisk. Locksmith PC makes your software easily accessible, which means you spend more time on the game, not the copy protection. What is the purpose behind Locksmith PC? REM Software does not condone the illegal distribution of copyrighted material. Locksmith PC is created as an alternative to the aggravation caused by copy protection. It is intended to be used only by legitimate owners that have purchased the software product they are deprotecting. Use of this product to remove copy protection from illegally owned software is in violation of federal copyright laws and subject to prosecution to the fullest extent of the law. HISTORY OF COPY PROTECTION Originally, and still many times today, people hear the words "copy protection" and assume that the disk is protected in a way so that it could not be copied. The term "copy protection" may be applied in many cases. Copy protection can be broken down into four basic types: keydisk, password, code wheel, and hardlock. Keydisk protection was the first form of copy protection developed on many of the computer platforms. The idea behind the keydisk was that the software publishers produced a specially formatted track or tracks that could not be copied through normal means using DOS. When you ran the software package it would require you to place the original diskette in the appropriate drive to operate correctly. The term "original" meant that you must use the original diskette and because this was your only copy it could cause many problems. If the disk was in anyway damaged you would have to get a hold of the publisher and pay money to have it replaced, only if you were lucky enough that the software company was still in business. This type of copy protection proves useful to software publishers, although most avoid using it due to the user's inconvenience. Password protection was created following the keydisk era. This is the most commonly used copy protection on the market today. The term "password" has many meanings. Basically you must supply the currently running program with a word, code, or other form of text from printed material supplied with the game. This is preferred over keydisk copy protection because you can make archival backups of your original diskettes. Although password protection is preferred by most software companies, it is still a pain sorting through that 200 page manual, or finding a code on a piece of brick red paper that must by held at the correct angle in the light to read anything legible. Code Wheel protection surfaced about the same time as password protection. The theory behind the code wheel was that you had to align the wheel according to information displayed on the screen of the currently running program. At first there were two level code wheels which asked you to align two objects, text, etc. to obtain the correct text or numbers to start gameplay. I am assuming that this was too easy for pirates to duplicate, so software publishers went to the three level code wheel which added an additional object, text, etc. to start gameplay. Hardlock protection, known also as Dongle, Keylock, and many other names, was not as much of a problem as other forms of copy protection, but offered greater risks. Mostly hardlock protection appears on high end business packages such as CAD/CAM, Statistical, and many others. This protection comes in the form of a hardware plug that must be attached to your computers parallel or serial port for the program to run correctly. For the home user this caused little problem, but for the business person losing a Hardlock due to a malfunction or theft could cause the loss of time and money. GETTING STARTED Installation: Use the following procedure to install the Locksmith PC. 1. To install Locksmith PC place the original diskette in any floppy disk drive. Type the letter for that drive followed by a colon (:) and press [ENTER]. 2. Type the following to install Locksmith PC. INSTALL [ENTER] 3. The installation program will display three options. A. Install files to hard disk. When this option is selected, the program will ask you to supply the word located on a specified page and line from the manual. After typing the correct word and pressing [ENTER], the program will ask you to supply the path to use for installing Locksmith PC. The default path is C:\LOCKSMTH. If you prefer to use a different path, use the back space key to delete the default path and then type in the path you wish to use. Press [ENTER]. B. Display README.TXT file. This option will allow you to view the README.TXT file, if any which contains documentation on any last minute changes made to Locksmith PC. C. Exit to DOS This option will return you to DOS RUNNING LOCKSMITH PC To run Locksmith PC change to the drive and directory where you have installed the program. Type the following to run Locksmith PC: LOCK_SW [ENTER] USING LOCKSMITH PC Menu Command Bar: Parameter: Selecting this option from the menu control bar activates the parameter menu in which you can chose a software title in the list to remove the copy protection from. This is the default selection upon running Locksmith PC. Copy/Format: Selecting this option from the menu control bar activates the copy and format menu. From here you can format and duplicate disks. Keydisk: Selecting this option from the menu control bar activates the keydisk eliminator. From here you can scan disks which appear to have keydisk copy protection to see if the type can be recognized and then removed if there is not a specific parameter for the software package. Hex Editor: Selecting this option from the menu control bar activates the hex editor. This will allow you to edit text or other data in binary files. Quit: Selecting this option from the menu control bar exits from Locksmith PC. Pull Down Menus: File: 1. Shell to DOS Selecting this option will allow you temporarily return to DOS. Type 'EXIT' to return to Locksmith PC. 2. About Selecting this option from the pull down menu displays the information about Locksmith PC including version, copyright notice, and authors. 3. Quit Selecting this option from pull down menu exits Locksmith PC. Utilities: 1. Parameter Selecting this option from the menu control bar activates the parameter menu in which you can chose a software title in the list to remove the copy protection from. This is the default selection upon running Locksmith PC. 2. Copy/Format Selecting this option from the menu control bar activates the copy and format menu. From here you can format and duplicate disks. 3. Keydisk Selecting this option from the menu control bar activates the keydisk eliminator. From here you can scan disks which appear to have keydisk copy protection to see if the type can be recognized and then removed if there is not a specific parameter for the software package. 4. Hex Editor Selecting this option from the menu control bar activates the hex editor. This will allow you to edit text or other data in binary files. Options: 1. Search Method A. Auto Search When this option is selected all hard drives (C-Z) will be automatically searched when attempting to deprotect a software title from the parameter list. B. Manual Search When this option is selected Locksmith PC will ask you to supply a drive and path when attempting to deprotect a software title from the parameter list. USING PARAMETERS Deprotecting a Software Title: Use the arrow keys or mouse to highlight the name of the software titles you wish to deprotect. If you are using the manual search option, you will be asked to supply a path for the program you have selected for Deprotection. If you are using the Auto Search option then Locksmith PC will begin searching all available hard drives for the program you have selected. Once the CANCEL button appears, you may cancel the search by clicking this button. When Locksmith PC finds a possible match it will ask you to confirm the path. You may click the YES, NO, or CANCEL buttons to confirm, deny, or abort respectively. If you confirm the path, Locksmith PC will attempt to deprotect the software. A message box will confirm the whether or the Deprotection was successful or unsuccessful. Search: Clicking the search button will activate the search window in which you can specify a particular software title in which to scan the list of parameters for. Pressing '+' will advance to the next occurrence, while '-' will retreat to the previous occurrence. USING THE FAST COPY AND FAST FORMAT This option is not available in the *SHAREWARE* version of Locksmith PC. Contact REM Software to purchase the commercial version which contains this feature. USING KEYDISK ELIMINATOR This option is not available in the *SHAREWARE* version of Locksmith PC. Contact REM Software to purchase the commercial version which contains this feature. USING THE HEX EDITOR This option is not available in the *SHAREWARE* version of Locksmith PC. Contact REM Software to purchase the commercial version which contains this feature.