I used to reverse engineer and crack CrackMes and CTF Challenges, and while those are fun and teaches important concepts it’s not close enough for real world cracking. I’m looking for softwares to practice on. This will probably help other people so maybe we should make a list. I thought on something like:
Easy peasy software to crack (Closet thing to CrackMe but real).
Keygen.
Dll patching.
Manipulating server payloads.
Anti-debug bypass.
If you know any softwares that are suitable for this is great. If you have something to add or you think the order should be different then please update me.
First I learned how to program in c (recently I learned c++).
Then I learned how to read assembly, how pc memory works, what is dynamic and static linking, what are vtables, and for debugging I learned how to use tools like ghidra, Detect It Easy, xdbg, etc…
Learned about compression, un/packing, dll injection, anti-debug methods.
Also did some simple game hacking, nothing fancy.
It’s not all but I can’t write everything here… I don’t know any good RE courses (maybe someone else here can share).
I also read a lot of writeups on reddit from r/ReverseEngineering and r/REGames
Have you done mobile, Android/apk cracking? Oftentimes these games have lower security, but I’m guessing it will be very different to Windows programs.
If you need a game when you get to it, a game I’ve had in my sights is AC: Pirates. It’s a small mobile AC game inspired by AC4: Black Flag. There are plenty of mods for it, but there isn’t a “free purchases” mod that would allow you to purchase the best ship in the game. I’ve looked. So if you need a project in the mobile space, that’s one you can go for.
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Not what you asked, but what resources did you use to get into this space? Was it just CrackMe or were there others?
First I learned how to program in c (recently I learned c++). Then I learned how to read assembly, how pc memory works, what is dynamic and static linking, what are vtables, and for debugging I learned how to use tools like ghidra, Detect It Easy, xdbg, etc…
Learned about compression, un/packing, dll injection, anti-debug methods.
Also did some simple game hacking, nothing fancy.
It’s not all but I can’t write everything here… I don’t know any good RE courses (maybe someone else here can share).
I also read a lot of writeups on reddit from r/ReverseEngineering and r/REGames
Have you done mobile, Android/apk cracking? Oftentimes these games have lower security, but I’m guessing it will be very different to Windows programs.
Not yet, it’s on my list though.
If you need a game when you get to it, a game I’ve had in my sights is AC: Pirates. It’s a small mobile AC game inspired by AC4: Black Flag. There are plenty of mods for it, but there isn’t a “free purchases” mod that would allow you to purchase the best ship in the game. I’ve looked. So if you need a project in the mobile space, that’s one you can go for.
Thanks.
It’ll be a frustrating experience. 3/10 can’t recommend. Eats your time and sanity for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Have a look at https://www.picoctf.org/
They have a lot of challenges and resources to get you started.