Best Protection: ASProtect 2 or Armadillo 4?
 

I'm currently using ASProtect 1.x and I'm getting ready to release a major new version of a program that uses this protection.

One of the things that both ASProtect 2 and Armadillo have of interest for me is the relatively short keys support (so many users don't even know how to copy-paste text and many email servers block emails with .reg files attached, so using the long keys of ASprotect is becoming more and more a headache).

So, how do you guys compare ASProtect 2 against Armadillo 4 in terms of protection?

I currently use some of the techniques recommended by ASProtect and the result is that my software has not been cracked for 10 months now :)

Thanks,
SM

I'll save your time: they are very similar. Their protection idea is the same. Realization is different, but they are very similar. They are based on nti-xxx features and all anti-xxx feature can be defeated by using anti-anti-xxx, bla bla.

If you are able to crack AsProtect then you are able to crack Armadillo. If you are able to crack Armadillo then you are able to crack AsProtect. The same is to other protectors (excluding XProtector and Starforce protection).

Your software has not been cracked for 10 months? Congratulations, but let me bring you to the ground: Starforce or XProtector are much harder than above mentioned protectors and they (Starforce & XProtector) are being cracked in 1-2 weeks. Your software has not been cracked not because of its protection but its necessity (software necessity).

Don't lose your time wondering what is stronger. I'd suggest to think: "what is more suitable and useful for myself".

Regards.

I think armadillo v4 is more hard. Keys cannot be keygenned and if you use nanomites, import table elimination, memorypatching options, strategic code splicing and copymemII, there are only a few crackers that can crack it. Asprotect has been cracked several times but i haven't seen an unpacked working version of the Armadillo 4.00 private, carded some days ago. So from your point of view armadillo is better.
From ours...asprotect is better.
And this only for the hard or easy part.
You should also consider, like dyn!o said that 10 months does not mean "uncrackable" your software hasn't been cracked because it is not so famous or needed to moove a cracker to look at it and reverse it and unprotect it. Maybe someone cracked it, but because the only one that needed that program was him, he didn't release the crack to the public.
You should also consider your money budget. Upgrading from asprotect v1 to v2 is 49$, buying armadillo is 399$ so it's a huge difference.
Good luck and take your program here for us to crack is and make you happy :P

Thanks dyn!o. I've just gave both of them a try and found that Armadillo is way to overkill in terms of features and final packed size.
ASProtect has the essential features and compresses the exe much much better.

For example, in a 2.8 Mb file:
Armadillo with the best compression: 2.44 Mb
ASPprotect 2, best compression: 0.98 Mb

Since I already have everything developed around ASProtect I'll stick with it and upgrade to version 2.

On a related matter, is the Type III signature size (1024 bits RSA) twice as secure as the Type I (512 bits RSA)? I'm trying to decide if I should lower the protection to keep the registration key as short as possible.

Thanks,
Steven

Hello,

Interseting post in this forum...How to protect something from cracking...:)

Well both are ok ...what can you afford it that is the question. There is no such thing as good protection...the are people (with this forum also) than can break anything. I was suprised on how complicated stuff can be easly cracked with so little effort. I am reading this forums and what I seen so far on some post there are definetly talented people visitng this forum.

I've used ASProtect and it is fine. At least it will protect from hacking from newbies in this field.

Do not get me wrong here but if the prog is not hacked for 10 months that could mean that it is not widely used. Everything that you can lock someone can unlock.

Regards to all...asmith

What about Thinstall?
 

Don't know if you are correct about your "current" version (4.96), but I have three different versions of the 4.88 edition with the protection removed sitting on one of my old HDs from a time before I because bored with the exercise. :)

Those were rather trivial, but I lack the time to play with your product at the moment. Someone actually has to work and make a living and feed all those youngins who are going to school or looking for work. :eek:

Regards,

Just because Armadillo hasnt been keygenned yet does'nt mean it still wont be, theyve said many times they got it all fixed up so Im not quite willing to believe its 100% yet.

smartins: Your kinda brave imo posting your software, many people of major cracking groups are here and may release your software just to 'show you'

MrAnonymous: well said. This should end this thread :) (for author's security)

EXECryptor 2.x is more strong protection than AsProtect/Armadillo/other packers. In EXECryptor case we have next statement "protection <> compression", because EXECryptor introduce new concept for code protection - non reversible metamorphing code transformation.
Also EXECryptor include buildin crypto-strong short serial number support (12 chars!)

On this time I don't know any solution for reversing EXECryptor 2.x.

"non reversible metamorphing code transformation"
Hmm.... who invented such a funny naming?

There is no, and can't be for today, "non-reversible" code. It doesn't matter if it is some Startrek virtual machine + XFiles virtual machine + Matrix metamorph transformation because the software always must results in a simple logic which can be reversed and revealed. All you can do is complication. It's like with mathematic (for example) - it's complex at some levels but it always operate on a simple logic. If someone thinks he/she (?) developed "non-reversable" protection then it's a good time to wake up.

"EXECryptor include buildin crypto-strong short serial number support (12 chars!)"
It's not about key length. It can contain 1 terabyte (1099511627776 chars) serial support and the protection will still remain crackable, only because it's not about mathematic. Key length matters only if you want to avoid key-generators.

Hope that helped.

Regards.

user > Relayer

seems is author of that execryptor & in his posts advertises his product.
MODS, maybe is reason to stop him!?

Bullshit... what new concept? Asprotect has it with Polymorph marker features...
Armadillo uses strategic code splicing which is lame but still the concept has always been there...

So is EXECryptor 2.x really better or at least as good as ASProtect 2 or Armadillo protections? I've just searched for it here and there are only two threads that have a reference to it and this one is one of them.

Are you sure your prog. is protected?
*Key Removed
With this key your last version is registered.
You have the answer! :D
do you need that I post the key? :rolleyes:

If with all the techniques recommended by ASProtect you don't use HARDWARE ID...I suggest you a change!!!



Regards.

ASPR vs Armadillo
 

Well ... this is kinda hard to choose.. becuase ASPR is a better protection for bigger PE files and ARM is agood protector for 0day small PE files
so...
wich one is better ?
none i gess... becuase they both can be Unpacked...

*NOTE:
i recall that i saw an app writen in VB that the PE file was 50MB size and protected with Arm... it was runing real slow.. after i unpacked it i tried to see what would happend if it was Packed with ASPR.. it just run like it should be...

So..
From the protection point of view.. Arm is better...
From the User point of view... ASPR is better
From the CRACKER point of view... WHO CARE.. they both can be unpacked

Best to all

LaBBa

Hi,
I'm agree with you , because till now I could not found any serial or patch for EXECryptor ver 2.x till 2.1.8 ... and the question : WHY ??
Their is a serial or patch for ASProtect and for others ... !!
Is it that strong ? or no one know about it ?

Other thing , while searching crackmes.de , I found a post for more than 2 months with no crack !! protected with EXECryptor !!

So, what do you think ??

buy that, share serial & than we will have serial..
in other ways, if there is no serial yet, so maybe no ones buy..

Asprotect > Armadillo
Reasons: it is more stable. Armadillo general idea is bad, ugly and slow.
Execryptor is completely another concept, but it can be reversed, though it is NOT that easy :)

Anything that adds ~430KB to EXE's I would consider ugly anyway ;) ASProtect Overhead seems to be maybe 100K with a better compresion algo.

Thanks for all the replies. Since EXECryptor was mentioned a few times I gave it a good try and ended up purchasing both Armadillo, EXEProtector and the upgrade of ASProtect to v2.

I'll have to run some more tests to decide which one I'll use to protect the new versions of my software.

think of your customers!
 

like a lot of others i will state the same thing: they both can be reversed, cracked, unpacked, and anything else. this goes for any self-decrypting protector. it's just a fact.

i would consider sticking with aspr simply because it will give your customers a more pleasing experience. aspr already offers what you need, mainly inline encryption of specific 'registered only' functions AND more importantly speed & stability. if you use this part correctly, then that's really all you need. sure, someone can card your program and release it, but that can happen with armadillo or any other protector as well.

i am a registered owner of a few apps that went to armadillo and i can't stand to use them now. slow startups, etc. (so i just have to unpack them to make them run better :) ) not to mention that sometimes these apps will just not run with a strange "general extraction error" msg. this may be because of olly running previously or something, but it's still a major inconvenience. just do a google search for ppl trying to run armadillo trial apps and never can.

i also own some aspr packed apps. i never unpack these (except just to peek under the hood). they startup quickly and run without issue.

i guess the point is to also consider the end-user experience before making your decision on anything. and also realise that ANY protection can and will be circumvented if someone with the talent wishes to do so.

ASProtect 2.0 is more difficult to unpack and restore IAT than ARMA.
EXECryptor is very good protector (it's nearly impossible to restore original code) but the apps, protected by this work very slowly.