C!T ROM 5/ctrom5b.zip/ctrom5b/PROGRAM/DIVERSEN/PREXCM55/WHATSNEW.DOC

Text File | 1995-03-22 | 10KB | 247 lines

            Protect! EXE/COM v.5.0
             (C) 1993,1994 Jeremy Lilley
              All Rights Reserved

    ***************** Bug Fixes/Updates ****************


Protect! EXE/COM v5.5

March 22, 1995

This release adds integrated compression for both COM and EXE
files, and the resulting Protected file will be much more random
(and uncompressible) due to a better encryption algorithm.

* The integrated compression may be disabled with the -N command
  line switch. Protect doesn't compress nearly as tightly for some
  files as with some compression-only programs, so you may want still
  want to run other compression programs on your file before using
  Protect.

* UNP 4.10 and other deprotection programs (some of which worked
  and some of which only claimed to work) don't work on newly
  Protected files.

* An embarassing bug that could cause the system clock to lose
  13-14 seconds each time a Protected file was run (sorry people!)
  is now taken care of.

* For OS/2 users, an instruction that prevented files from loading
  properly in the background has been eliminated.

* If you do try to debug through the Protected files, it should be
  much harder with a much more random security envelope and some
  new anti-debugging mechanisms.

* The entire security envelope (minus a hundred bytes or so) is now
  Protected from modification instead of just the file's contents.

* A few sequences that caused virus scanners to label Protected
  files as virus-contaminated have been rooted out. If you do have
  any problems of this sort, please contact me right away, but
  usually, if you re-Protect the original file, the problem will
  go away.

* A bug that caused some EXE files to gain up to 8-16k has been
  fixed.

* You now may layer copies of Protect on top of each other, but it
  will start to slow down loading quickly this way.



Protect! EXE/COM v.5.0

2/12/94

I released v.4.0 a little too soon, and I wasn't careful enough to
catch all of the bugs in v.4.0 (intermittently, Protected files
would not work after being Protected, which could be a major
inconvenience to deal with). I finally trashed the v.4.0 headers
and rebuilt v.5.0 headers from scratch, dumped and replaced the
old mutation engine that was used, and tightened up security a bit:

* Now files DO NOT need to be compressed with a compressor before
  being Protected, eliminating reliance on external protectors.
  However, Protect! still does not compress the files itself.
  Furthermore, it is still highly RECOMMENDED that you DO use a
  compressor to speed up loading and to decrease storage size; it
  just isn't required anymore.

* You can still layer multiple levels of Protect! on top of a file,
  but don't go crazy doing it, because the new security envelopes
  are a bit slower with the longer keys - if you have 100 layers of
  Protect! on top of a file (yes, it is possible...), you'll notice
  the slowdown in load time.

* Since the mutation engine that I wrote for v.5.0 is no longer the
  hit-and-miss one that was included in v.4.0, you should notice that
  Protect! v.5.0 works much more consistently than previous versions.

* Finally, in rewriting the headers, I sacrificed a little speed for
  security and, even more importantly, compatibility. I have not had
  any compatibility problems in beta testing, and it should be
  significantly more difficult to crack Protect! v.5.0 programs.

* I've made many smaller changes and made Protect more aware of
  Windows/OS/2 files that it can't Protect. Hopefully, Protect! 5.0
  should run smoother and more securely than ever before.

* I've also bundled MarkEXE v.2.0 with Protect. See MarkEXE.Doc for
  details.

* Finally, I've moved. (I could have released v.5.0 a month earlier,
  but the moving has delayed quite a few things, including Protect!)
  I'm hoping that not that much will be lost in the confusion, but
  here's my new address:

        Jeremy Lilley
        Re: Protect! EXE/COM
        2711 Oakview Circle
        Medford, OR 97504
        (email is still the same: 75060,2074)



Protect! EXE/COM v.4.0+

10/30/93

This is the *ultimate* (and hopefully final) upgrade for Protect! - Here
are some of the new features:

* Added a polymorphic mutation engine to Protect! - In other words, the
  security envelope is MUTATED so that it changes for each file you
  protect. This was done to combat master unprotect programs (such as
  UNP) from being made, making your Protected programs much more secure.

* Rewrote loader in assembly language and completely rewrote security
  envelope. Thus, the new protected files load more than 4 TIMES FASTER.
  Also, because everything was written in assembly language, PROTEXCM.EXE
  encrypts much faster (especially for PKLITE programs) and is less than
  half as big in disk size.

* Allows multiple Protecting of EXE files, so that you can optionally have
  many layers of "ice" to make a hacker's job harder.

* Now supports many types OVERLAYS, and it is much more technically stable
  than any previous version.

* Automatically searches for a file called "CRC.MSG" as your default CRC
  error message file. You can still specify other CRC error message
  filenames, but you don't have to. If no CRC error message file is
  specified and CRC.MSG doesn't exist, a CRC.MSG will be created.
  Note: This concerns REGISTERED USERS ONLY.

* The encryption screen in PROTEXCM.EXE has been streamlined, and in interest
  of speed, everything happens in 4k rather than 256 byte blocks, which may
  make the status bar more jagged.

* A few things were taken out of Protect:

    * Starting Messages are no longer used or allowed - they were
      found to be mostly useless and even then too confusing to use.

    * The directory listing menus (interactive mode) were not included
      in this version of Protect! because they were clumsy, and really
      only suited for preliminary and testing uses of Protect.



Protect! EXE/COM v.3.1

8/26/93

This was written mainly as a bug fix and a smaller step up, but here
is some of what I fixed:

* Took out the font enhanced screens of v.3.0. They caused way too many
  problems and for some people, caused their systems to crash or screwed
  up their screen modes (*sorry*!).

* Added support for Diet executable file compression.

* You no longer have to type the extension of the file to be protected.

* Made Protect! more compatible with some PKLITE files.

* Slightly optimized for better performance in the security envelopes
  at the cost of slower initial protection. (The files in this package
  are also smaller).

If things have been going well for you with v.3.0, you really don't
need to worry too much about this upgrade.



Protect! EXE/COM v.3.0

7/22/93

Here are some of the new features for version 3.0:

* The security envelopes have been entirely redone and rewritten
  and have had new anti-debugging techniques added to them. (haven't
  you heard this before?)

* UNP ver.3.11 cannot deprotect Protect! EXE/COM v.3.0.

* OVERLAYS are more tolerated and some types that could be compressed with
  PKLITE can now be protected (sorry, but still not every overlay).

* REGISTERED users can CUSTOMIZE THE CRC ERROR MESSAGES and optionally
  add a message to output when loading.

* No password is required (or asked for).

* The interface has been improved (especially for EGA monitors).

* A DOS ERRORCODE of 250 is returned on a CRC abort.

* You can now not have any parameters and SELECT THE FILE FROM A DIRECTORY
  LISTING, having Protect! automatically compress the file with a file
  compressor or just run things from the command line (BAT and MAK files
  in particular).

Protect! EXE/COM 2.0

5/31/93

    This copy has many security additions added to it. Loader code
and data is encrypted along with the regular encrypted program code.
Earlier versions have had a few vulnerable spots in them but are for
the most part safe. Both the COM and EXE loaders have been revamped and
there is more than one specific model for each loader. A few changes were
made so that the files will load a little faster also. Also, a few cosmetic
changes have been made to the actual program, but for the most part, the
changes were focused upon the loader's speed and security. This version
is much improved over previous versions partially due to letters and
comments from a few hackers and programmers. Weaknesses (particularly in
the COM files) were pointed out and greatly improved upon, so thanks
to everybody who wrote about Protect! EXE/COM!!! On the side note, you
may now have spaces in your password (you don't need underscores anymore)!


Protect! EXE/COM 1.1

4/26/93

    This copy has been released to fix a bug that occurs on some
earlier XT computers when run. There is one instruction in the header
that is not recognized by the "genuine" 8088's and 8086's, but is only
recognized by the NEC V20, NEC V30, as well as the 286 and above. Since
the XT that I tested this on used the NEC V20 (8088 compatible chip with
a few enhancements) instead of the true 8088, it did not catch that error
as a true 8088 would have. Thanks to an alert user in Virginia, the error
was quickly caught and remedied (it took less than a half hour to fix),
and now Protect! EXE/COM v.1.1 will work on all XT-class computers.



Protect! EXE/COM 1.0

4/15/93

        First release!