A patch is a small computer program that modifies the machine code of another program.

A keygen is a handmade product serial number generator that often offers the ability to generate working serial numbers in your own name. Some of these tools are called keygen, patch, loader, or no-disc crack. Software cracking contributes to the rise of online piracy where pirated software is distributed to end-users through filesharing sites like BitTorrent, One click hosting (OCH), or via Usenet downloads, or by downloading bundles of the original software with cracks or keygens. Examples of cracks are: applying a patch or by creating reverse-engineered serial number generators known as keygens, thus bypassing software registration and payments or converting a trial/demo version of the software into fully-functioning software without paying for it. These methods can include modifying code directly through disassembling and bit editing, sharing stolen product keys, or developing software to generate activation keys. Cracking software generally involves circumventing licensing and usage restrictions on commercial software by illegal methods. A crack can mean any tool that enables breaking software protection, a stolen product key, or guessed password. Copy protection can be removed by applying a specific crack. Software cracking (known as 'breaking' mostly in the 1980s ) is an act of removing copy protection from a software. ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) JSTOR ( September 2013) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message).Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.įind sources: 'Software cracking' – news Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. This article needs additional citations for verification.

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