editing program already compiled

[lelejau]

well, i play in a game, where they edited the game.exe such a way that the game only execute when itsd "called" like this: game.exe -PLAYER

the game is in C , and no one have the source, but they could do that.

how can i make this? anyone knows? or, how i make the game run ONLY with a launcher designed by me?


thanks

[deathfxu]

Lemme see if I get what you are asking... Are you trying to make it so that you can play the game no matter what it's named? Or are you trying to write a program to make it so that people must click on your launcher program in order to run the game?

Or both?

[RobDog888]

The exe is accepting a command line argument. See the Classic VB FAQ page for an example of using the Command array.

[Jimq]

hey lelaju
you need vbdecompiler used to decompile exe , i have that thing but have never used......
but i think it is exe so i cant attach it here.....
go to this site http://www.vb-decompiler.org/
here you will find one
bye
do reply

[lelejau]

Lemme see if I get what you are asking... Are you trying to make it so that you can play the game no matter what it's named? Or are you trying to write a program to make it so that people must click on your launcher program in order to run the game?

Or both?

i'm trying to write a program to make it so that people must click on your launcher program in order to run the game.

[RobDog888]

So write the game exe to receive a commandline argument that your launcher exe will pass when executing it.

[lelejau]

So write the game exe to receive a commandline argument that your launcher exe will pass when executing it.

how can i do that if the game.exe its compiled already?

[RobDog888]

Oh I got the impression it was your game.

Well since you dont have the source code then only editing the exe file but its probably against its license rules if you alter it and since we dont support game hacking of any kind its not likely that you will get much help on this at least on this site

[lelejau]

so you can't help me?

[bloodsside14]

We can't help you! Because this forum only helping those people with good intention...
Like me! JOke!

[lelejau]

We can't help you! Because this forum only helping those people with good intention...
Like me! JOke!

i am not with bad intention, its just a ant hacker for my game, the hacke will need the command for the game execute, and only the launcher will know it, understand?

[Lord Orwell]

sounds reasonable but any moron could replace your game exe with one that simply pops up command line arguments. They could simply then create a shortcut that launches it directly using what the other program popped up. This is not the way to do this, nor should you. I have a few games i paid good money for that i simply won't play anymore because you can't bypass all the BS videos, etc at the beginning. By the time the game launches, i am too frustrated to play it.

If you are writing a program, and you absolutely need the launching program to, for example, generate random maps etc before loading the main module, there are other ways to test for it, such as detecting the calling exe's file name (don't ask me how) or perhaps creating an environmental variable. There's also the option of leaving the launcher running and checking to make sure it is running from the other program;.

[deathfxu]

You can store the exe in your program, in it's entirety, and when people double click on your program it would write the exe back onto the disk and execute it. Then when the exe is done running your program would delete it from the hard drive.

I believe that is the most secure you can get, and it doesn't involve hacking at all.

[Lord Orwell]

so what's stopping me from killing the launcher with taskman after it writes the program to disk?

[lelejau]

You can store the exe in your program, in it's entirety, and when people double click on your program it would write the exe back onto the disk and execute it. Then when the exe is done running your program would delete it from the hard drive.

I believe that is the most secure you can get, and it doesn't involve hacking at all.

yes! and if after the launcher writes the exe i kill the launcher process... anyone give me an ideia of how to do this a server used the metod of that "command line", the exe only execute when its called like that:

shell app.path & "\game.exe -play"

how the hacker will know the command the game need to execute?

the hacker injects a dll into the game.exe, i mean, you open the hacker select the game.exe and the hacker dll and click "Inject", then the game.exe opens. if the game need a command, it will not be executed by the hacker, only by the launcher.

[Lord Orwell]

that isn't secure at all. You have to leave your launcher running at all times so it knows to delete the .exe when the other program closes. If someone uses task manager to kill the program early, there's the .exe still on the hard drive. You would have less grief and more security simply changing the filename extension.

The only way that this can be done and be even halfway secure is to store all or part of the program inside your launcher, and then launch it from memory.

Don't start a new thread on this topic. One already exists.

[lelejau]

The only way that this can be done and be even halfway secure is to store all or part of the program inside your launcher, and then launch it from memory.

you mean, remove some parts of the exe and record them into my launcher, and then join both when i click "start" by the memory?

[Lord Orwell]

something like this is probably what you want:
http://www.vbforums.com/showthread.p...run+exe+memory

[lelejau]

how can i use it?

[lelejau]

when i press F5, i click in the button and i have: subscript out of rannge

[Lord Orwell]

if you can't get that one to work, use a different one. I said "something like that". You might have better luck with a search of your own.

[jemidiah]

Yeah, executing from memory is probably the best way to go. To be frank your question is complex, and you'll need to be able to figure a lot of it out on your own to have a hope of implementing a decently secure solution.

Of course, depending on the skill level of your users, you might have a large enough fraction who wouldn't be able to get past the easy "launcher writes exe and runs it; deletes after running" method.

[lelejau]

i have searched already some forums, but it only were unresolved topics. then, i came here to ask.

if it is not possible to execute a program frm memory without saving in HD, then, thaanks for the help =D

[Lord Orwell]

i have searched already some forums, but it only were unresolved topics. then, i came here to ask.

if it is not possible to execute a program frm memory without saving in HD, then, thaanks for the help =D

the steps involved are simple in theory. You include the program to run as a resource in your exe. Then you use addressof operator (? or something similar) to find the location of the included program in memory. then you execute it.

[SuperDre]

If someone uses task manager to kill the program early, there's the .exe still on the hard drive.

If they End your launcher using taskmanager then your launcher receives a QueryUnload event on your main form.. And it's not even that difficult to make sure you know if the program you started is terminated...

Ofcourse none of these methods work against a hacker who knows even a bit about hacking games/programs... there just isn't an easy/cheap way to prevent it.. all solutions only prevent scriptkiddies from hacking your game..

BUT I also wonder why you even want to make your launcher like that, what is the reason why you want the whole game only be able to be started by your launcher...

[lelejau]

beecause to use the hack, you must select the game, and then the hacker inject dll into the game, if it only open with my launcher, how would the launcher open the game, and how would i log in?

[jemidiah]

beecause to use the hack, you must select the game, and then the hacker inject dll into the game, if it only open with my launcher, how would the launcher open the game, and how would i log in?

While I don't quite know what you're saying here, I think it's pretty clear you're hacking a game and not just writing some sort of innocuous launcher. As such, I think we should let this thread die.

[lelejau]

lol, just because u dont understand, this does not mean i am a hacker

[SuperDre]

beecause to use the hack, you must select the game, and then the hacker inject dll into the game, if it only open with my launcher, how would the launcher open the game, and how would i log in?

So what I gather is you want to use your launcher to prevent hackers from 'injecting' their dll into the game? Then let me burst your dream, it won't work, it's so simple to circumvent your launcher.
And if it's your game, then why don't you have the source of the game so you can 'fix' anything in there instead of trying to fiddle with a launcher (especially in VB6)..

[Lord Orwell]

If they End your launcher using taskmanager then your launcher receives a QueryUnload event on your main form.. And it's not even that difficult to make sure you know if the program you started is terminated...

Ofcourse none of these methods work against a hacker who knows even a bit about hacking games/programs... there just isn't an easy/cheap way to prevent it.. all solutions only prevent scriptkiddies from hacking your game..

BUT I also wonder why you even want to make your launcher like that, what is the reason why you want the whole game only be able to be started by your launcher...

taskman kills tasks without waiting for niceties such as queryunloads. Ever close IE with it? It will give an error on next launch "...was shut down unexpectedly". But for that matter, all you would have to do is hit the "reset" button on your system.

I also really don't see the point of this whole exercise if it's his game either. What exactly is the purpose of the launcher? All i have gotten from this so far is it's some sort of splash screen.

[lelejau]

i only want that my game open ONLY with the launcher!

[SuperDre]

i only want that my game open ONLY with the launcher!

Well, as we explained earlier, there is no way to make sure your game can be opened ONLY with your launcher, the only way is to make a connection between the two programs (which means you really have to be able to recompile the game, but gathering your replies you can't recompile, so there isn't a way)..

So to make it short: YOU CAN'T....

[Billy Conner]

Dll injection works when the Game is RUNNING. it doesnt matter how you store the game, once the game is running the hacker will inject the dll into the games memory space(attaching itself to the game in memory via thread or however), this has nothing to do with your hard drive or the exe file itself.

[Lord Orwell]

Dll injection works when the Game is RUNNING. it doesnt matter how you store the game, once the game is running the hacker will inject the dll into the games memory space(attaching itself to the game in memory via thread or however), this has nothing to do with your hard drive or the exe file itself.

he is correct. patching programs look for running processes.

[asymetrix]

I think the best way is to create a self extracting archive or compressed executable

you can try these links for more info on custum executables and installers:

http://www.wincert.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=1978
http://7zsfx.solta.ru/en/

[ThEiMp]

You can program an update program that is able to write to the exe files or even the other data files, etc. That make up the program and then you will be able to make an update. Just like AVG Anti-vrius, is able to do so as well.

Question: Are you going to make an update server on the Internet, or your local LAN web?