New version of DRM removal tools ("DeDRM")

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If Adobe moved to a new DRM, they would piss off a lot of people who are using old versions of ADE that will never be upgraded and never support a new DRM. So that's a very bad business decision if they were to force a new DRM on us.

Adobe has already released a new DRM system. I believe that it is currently up to individual book sellers whether it is enabled or not. They have little incentive to do so given the customer support problems that would result from it. That could change if they are pushed into it by publishers.

If and when it happens it won't be the end of the world for DRM removal. It's likely that lack of necessity has resulted in no one seriously working on defeating it so far.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

I don't know how it is where you are, or where JSWolf is, but in the Netherlands it's indeed almost impossible these days to have internet, and not have Wifi. Every internet modem provided since the last 10 years or so that I have seen, has Wifi and a router built in.

In the US there are entire swaths of the country that rely on dialup; rural and very small towns. (Low population density.)

And no, not every internet service provider offers wi-fi cable modems. Which is why standalone router and powerline networking hardware is available all over and continually under development. There are hundreds of ISPs and they offer a wide range of products. If anything, WiFiRouter/modems are typically extra charge and given their limited range, it makes sense to go WiFi-less on the modem and run gigabit wireless around the house. Especially if you run a home media server.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

In the US there are entire swaths of the country that rely on dialup; rural and very small towns.

And no, not every internet service provider offers wi-fi cable modems. Which is why standalone router and powerline networking hardware is available all over and continually under development.

When Comcast swapped out the telephone modem and Internet modem for one of the all-in-one modems with WiFi, I had Comcast turn off the WiFi because I preferred to use my WiFi router that has much better security.

I had a look in the settings of Comcast's router and it wasn't nearly as secure. I had their router connected to mine and I wasn't using theirs. But they were able to disable the WiFi remotely.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by jhowell

Adobe has already released a new DRM system. I believe that it is currently up to individual book sellers whether it is enabled or not. They have little incentive to do so given the customer support problems that would result from it. That could change if they are pushed into it by publishers.

If and when it happens it won't be the end of the world for DRM removal. It's likely that lack of necessity has resulted in no one seriously working on defeating it so far.

This is why I will stick with ADE 2.0.1 because I refuse to risk downloading eBooks I cannot use. I do not read eBooks on my laptop or desktop. I prefer to read on the device of my choice.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

When Comcast swapped out the telephone modem and Internet modem for one of the all-in-one modems with WiFi, I had Comcast turn off the WiFi because I preferred to use my WiFi router that has much better security.

I had a look in the settings of Comcast's router and it wasn't nearly as secure. I had their router connected to mine and I wasn't using theirs. But they were able to disable the WiFi remotely.

Where I'm at Comcast routers only have 2.4 ghz, and they charge rental fees for it. We use mostly 5 ghz now and don't have as many problems. I can use the microwave and WiFi at the same time now, and all the neighbors have 2.4 so there's no interference there.

[barryem]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

In the US there are entire swaths of the country that rely on dialup; rural and very small towns. (Low population density.)

I'm in a town of 3500 in Rural Arkansas that isn't near any big towns. In fact we're the county seat and the largest town around. I do have DSL because I live in town but my sister lives 6 miles from the center of town and she can't get DSL. I think the limit for DSL is 2.5 miles from the center of town, or it was the last I heard.

Also there's no cable TV available in this area at all. It's satellite or nothing.

My sister uses satellite internet which has a fairly low cap. She can only watch a few Netflix TV shows or movies before maxing out so she doesn't do that at all. Even just using it for email, music, books and browsing she sometimes maxes out.

I just don't think anyone living anywhere can assume anything about anyone living somewhere else based on what they have. It's different all over.

Barry

[barryem]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

I hope there will be some way to un-DRM KFX and EPUB's downloaded with ADE 3.x and 4.x. I'd love to help in cracking the DRM, but I'm not a cryptographer. I doubt I have the required knowledge to even get started.

I'm pretty sure that cryptography isn't one of the skills needed to deal with DRM removal realistically. I think the DRM is handled by the provided viewer, Kindle for PC, and that removal software just has to intercept the output from that.

I'm doing a lot of guessing here, I admit. This isn't something I've dealt with as a programmer. But I do know that DRM is mighty hard to crack and that removal programs for various media require a player provided by the vendor.

Barry

[ApK]

Originally Posted by barryem

I'm pretty sure that cryptography isn't one of the skills needed to deal with DRM removal realistically. I think the DRM is handled by the provided viewer, Kindle for PC, and that removal software just has to intercept the output from that.

I'm doing a lot of guessing here, I admit. This isn't something I've dealt with as a programmer. But I do know that DRM is mighty hard to crack and that removal programs for various media require a player provided by the vendor.

Barry

I would guess that some knowledge of cryptography is helpful, to recognize keys, hashes and such, to be able to find the key and know how to apply it, but cryptanalysis--breaking encryption without knowing the key--is not needed.

ApK

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by barryem

I'm pretty sure that cryptography isn't one of the skills needed to deal with DRM removal realistically. I think the DRM is handled by the provided viewer, Kindle for PC, and that removal software just has to intercept the output from that.

I'm doing a lot of guessing here, I admit. This isn't something I've dealt with as a programmer. But I do know that DRM is mighty hard to crack and that removal programs for various media require a player provided by the vendor.

Most of the time, DRM isn't cracked. It's removed, by capturing the decryption key. Currently the encryption keys are captured from logged-in programs: ADE 1.x and 2.x, K4PC, and Kobo Desktop.

If you have the key, you can open the file, and then write it back again without the encryption.

[lkmiller]

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

I think this has been hinted at by some of those who have posted already, but I'd say the difference is that the US telecom industry is more interested in nickle-and-diming its customers to death.

So they offer us the privilege (*coughcough*) of being able to rent a separate wireless router from them and make a point to imply gloom-and-doom to those who chose to buy their own ("When you rent your wireless router from us, you'll have access to our customer service expertise when you have problems with your wifi service." Actually, it's more likely to be phrased as a negative - "We won't be able to help you if you have problems").

I stopped renting a modem from Comcast when I found out their modem was incompatible with the internet speed that I was suppose to be receiving. The modem I bought was specifically marketed to be used with Comcast. And thankfully they gave me no problems about getting things set up on their end to communicate with it. I did have to get one month extra rental change removed from my next bill. I've always had my own wi-fi routers, but I hardwire everything capable of it. And use 5 GHz band for everything capable of that.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

Where I'm at Comcast routers only have 2.4 ghz, and they charge rental fees for it. We use mostly 5 ghz now and don't have as many problems. I can use the microwave and WiFi at the same time now, and all the neighbors have 2.4 so there's no interference there.

That's actually incorrect. Comcast routers have both 2.4 & 5 ghz. By default, the 5ghz is turned off. My mother had her 5ghz turned off of the router she's using and I had Comcast turn it on.

[sadievan]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Alissa's MobiHandler will show you the titles. It still works even with Windows 10.

Thanks for that update. I was just wondering if it still worked

[ratinox]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Most of the time, DRM isn't cracked. It's removed, by capturing the decryption key. Currently the encryption keys are captured from logged-in programs: ADE 1.x and 2.x, K4PC, and Kobo Desktop.

If you have the key, you can open the file, and then write it back again without the encryption.

Yup. The weakest point in well-designed cryptosystems usually is key management. If you can compromise the key management mechanism then it doesn't matter how good the rest of the system might be.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by ratinox

Yup. The weakest point in well-designed cryptosystems usually is key management. If you can compromise the key management mechanism then it doesn't matter how good the rest of the system might be.

With any DRM system, the end user (or the end user's equipment) must be given the decryption key.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

With any DRM system, the end user (or the end user's equipment) must be given the decryption key.

AFAIK, the only thing you can do is to scramble the key before saving it; but hashing is already impossible, because you can't reverse that. You need to be able to reverse the scramble to get the key back to read the books.