Protection
There have been many copy protection, or Digital Rights Management (DRM), techniques available previously for CD-R, but most are easily bypassed by anyone with reasonable computer knowledge. Newer technologies offered by CD-ROM services are far more secure.
It is possible to bypass most copy protection using special programs available on the Net. There is a contest between the developers of copy protection systems and "crackers", much like the virus protectors and virus writers. The most likely method of breaking the copy protection is to examine the file using a disassembler, which requires considerable programming knowledge, and then to post the "crack" on the Internet. The advantage of applying copy protection to duplicated discs as compared to replicated media is that we can change the software on a daily basis, making it very difficult to publish a generic hack on the Internet.
Good protection should do the following:
- The disc should play and operate as expected in the vast majority of CD players and computers.
- The software, files or tracks should not be able to be easily copied to another disc or hard drive.
- The protection technology should be quickly adaptable to change.
- The disc should indicate that it is copy protected, but it does not need to indicate the method used.
CD-ROM Services Pty Ltd offers Hexalock, Star Force, Fortium/Patronius, Truscont and Fortium protection technologies which can be updated as required, ensuring that your protected material will not be copied within a reasonable time. Software is live and the protection system can change if crackers find ways to bypass protection in the future. There are also several layers of copy protection in these technologies, making it very difficult to bypass the protection to make un-authorised copies. CD-ROM services have been leaders in offering protection technologies, and our director Bernhard Kirschner has chaired several conferences on the subject internationally. We can offer techniques to protect pdf, exe, audio and video files, for both CD and DVD.
All audio can always be copied by playing over speakers or through a sound card and then re-recording in real time. However the copy will not be a perfect digital copy, and the process is time consuming.
