How does a key generator work?

[slugger]

I've often heard of swz called key generators (my attempt at being naive and innocent) that can generate the reistration keys of shareware swz.
Can aNYBODY PLZ TELL ME HOW THEY FUNCTION (that is their working)?

[alib_i]

keep your fingers crossed for this thread !
i hope it isnt locked

coming back ..
taking in simple language ..
the software (shareware) checks the keys for certain traits
say, its digit total or total of 1st,3rd,5th.. digits or some CRC or decrypted data, etc
it checks if the key confirms to those standards programmed in the software.
usually softwares encrypt your "email addr" or some "activation code" they give you or sometimes a combination of both into the key ..
and when you enter the key, it checks if the data still corresponds to wht you've earlier entered !

our friendly hackers study the software using various tools to understand which parameters are being checked by the software to validate the key.
once you have that info ... even you can create a keygen.

how to do this ... is something not worth discussing (atleast here )

btw, just for info ... i have no idea how to crack a soft

-----
alibi

[siriusb]

Keygens are developed by crackers who crack the target software's code by reverse-engineering to find the algorithm that does the key verification.
Once the algorithm is known, the crackers write their own program that runs this algorithm in "reverse" (not literally, ofcourse ) to generate valid codes.

This algorithm may be changed in the next version of the target software so this explains why u may need another keygen for this version.

Edit: alib_i, I 'ppose we posted together.

[~Phenom~]

hey , can anyone tell me what is reverse engineering?
please also provide some links for detailed knowledge

[pimpom]

Originally Posted by ~Phenom~

hey , can anyone tell me what is reverse engineering?

It means examining someone else's product to see how it works and why it's designed in that particular way.

These days, many computer enthusiasts seem to think the term applies only to computer products, and mainly to software at that. But the term was coined long before computers came into general use and was/is applied to all branches of technology.

The purpose of reverse engineering may be
- to crack a code
- to make a counterfeit product
- to study a competitor's product
- to analyse its good and bad points
- to repair a damaged product when the manufacturer's manual is not available
and so on.

[siriusb]

To engineer is to have an goal and then build a mechanism to acheive that goal.
To rev-engineer is to analyse a mechanism to understand the goal of that mechanism.