[delphin]

Just a few points -

Yes EPUBs can be checked with a simple text editor, but because epubs are actually zipped archives, you have to rename the .epub to .zip and then look inside the archive folder.

But as already suggested, it's much easier to just download Adobe Digital Editions, FBreader or the EPUBreader plugin for Firefox and use that to do a quick check by actually opening the file.

From the wording of the original question, it sounds like the poster wants a reader (perhaps from some shady country with no regard for copyrights) that will magically ignore DRM [you know like those nifty DVD players that will ignore region coding].

If so, tough luck Charley, there ain't no such thing!

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO REMOVE DRM ON A FILE FOR WHICH YOU DO NOT HAVE THE ORIGINAL REGISTRATION KEY.

If someone were to just grab a DRM protected file from their hard drive and post it on the Internet, it would be useless to everyone who downloaded it, because no one can "crack the DRM" under those conditions, IT SIMPLY CAN'T BE DONE.

DRM uses the same AES encryption that the U.S. government approves for 'Top Secret' government files, so it can't be removed without access to the original Key File.

So it ISN'T DONE. Those who do post previously DRM protected books always remove the DRM first.

So this should be good news for the original poster, because unless he is downloading files posted by idiots, there should already be NO DRM on any of them.

Only the original owner can remove the DRM because they have the original DRM key.

It's conceivable that you might want to remove DRM in order to move a e-book that is legally registered on your system to another device for example, and this can be done, but you can NOT 'crack' someone else's DRM protected files.

So when you hear discussions of DRM here, it centers on how to achieve the most flexibility in dealing with legal DRM content on your own system, not how to "Crack DRM".

Reputable sites that have DRM protected content freely available, like public libraries, will tell you what software you need and how to register (usually Adobe Digital Editions) in order to download their content.

The trick is to get a reader like the Sony, Nook, Kobo, or about a half dozen others, that are compatible with Adobe's ADEPT EPUB DRM. (Actually, with the glaring exception of the Amazon Kindles, pretty much every major e-book reader out there now supports Adobe's DRM)

But once again, unlike those "Region Free" DVD players, or DVD players where they forgot to turn on Macrovision, there isn't any sleazy book reader where "they forgot to turn the DRM on".

Such a thing is not even theoretically possible, so I wouldn't hold my breath.