UBX - The ultimate Modular System to unlock UNBOX-Files June 1997
1. Installing the UBX-System
2. How to use the UBX-System
3. Major faults running UBX and how to avoid
4. Theory of UNBOX and the UBX-System
5. FAQ (Frequently asked questions)
This Info should help to use the UBX-System in the proper way and to
avoid problems which mostly origin from not knowing the basics. Let's
start with practise. If you are interested in how UNBOX and the UBX-
System works, see chapter 4 "Theory...".
1. Installing the UBX-System
If never used the UBX-System before create an empty directory (folder)
called for example C:\UNBOX or C:\UBX. Copy to this directory the files
- UBXWIN.EXE the main program
- UBx_yz.EXE a collection of various Unlockers
In UBX-Version V 1.8 the following Unlockers exist:
- UB2_11.EXE
- UB2_21.EXE
- UB3_05.EXE
- UB3_06.EXE
- UB3_08.EXE
- UB3_09.EXE
- UB3_10.EXE
- UB3_14.EXE
- UB3_15.EXE
- UB3_16.EXE
- UB3_16A.EXE
- UB3_17.EXE
If you miss one or more Unlockers, don't worry. UBXWIN will work
without problems, but you cannot unlock such files requiring the
missing Unlocker. It is recommended to set all files to READ ONLY
attribute and not to copy any other file to this directory. See
later why...
UBXWIN is written in Visual Basic (VB 3.0) and requires 3 more files
located in your WINDOWS\ or WINDOWS\SYSTEM\ directory:
- VBRUN300.DLL
- CMDIALOG.VBX
- THREED.VBX
If using Win 95 or Win NT place them in the directory used for 16-bit
applications. All 3 files are available free on the WEB. Search for
Visual Basic pages and download. You need these files for all common
VB 3.0 programs.
2. How to use the UBX-System
First you must have downloaded one or more files from UNBOX. Save them
anywhere on your harddisk. Now run UBXWIN. First press the button
"Select File"
and you get a menue to search for the UNBOX-File you want to unlock.
Select and you are back to UBXWIN. On top there are two message boxes
showing
- the Filename you have selected
- the detected Version (FileVersion number)
On the bottom you see a status line telling you what has happened.
Have a look on the button "Start Unlock" and the option field "Unlocker"
on the right hand. They are disabled if no UNBOX-File was selected.
Now having selected a file many different messages are possible. If you
are told "File is not in UNBOX Format !" nothing more happens. The file
cannot be unlocked, of course.
But if a FileVersion was found you are shown which one, and one or more
Unlocker options are enabled. Also the button "Start Unlock" is enabled.
Something special is, if a FileVersion was found, but no appropriate
Unlocker is known. So you are told "upgrade of UBX necessary". Since
UBX-Version V 1.8 a special Test-Function has been added. You will see
a before hidden button "Test" which, if pressed, enables ALL Unlocker
option fields. Sometimes an older Unlocker will work with a new File-
Version... but take care. Mostly it will not work and many errors are
possible. See the FAQ below and read chapter 4 "Theory..." to understand
what can happen if using a not fitting Unlocker to an UNBOX-File !
Now press "Start Unlock". You get a dialog showing the required free
harddisk space and the choice to continue or cancel. If you continue
the next step depends on the FileVersion. Versions below 3.1.6 always
will open the UNBOX menue which you will also get if running the UNBOX
file directly. If so select "Order by phone" and/or "Unlock now". Next
screen aks for a password. Enter anything for the password and press
"Unlock". Now the decrypting starts. Since FileVersion 3.1.6 the UNBOX
dialog is skipped completely and the decrypting starts immediately.
Anyway at the end a decrypted file is stored to the directory where
your UBX-System is located. Sometimes you are asked wether to run the
decrypted prgram now. Sometimes it starts without asking. This depends
of the UNBOX-File and is not part of the UBX-System. Now you may under-
stand why the UBX-System should be the only one stored in your UBX-
directory and should be Read Only. Many errors may happen. But whatever
happens: switch to your UBX-directory and check. And if something did
not work, delete everything besides the UBX-System. If everything worked,
move the decrypted file to another directory and continue to install
the program.
Mostly you will get an SFX-File (a selfexpanding program). But see FAQ
for more info on that.
To end UBXWIN just press "Quit".
3. Major faults running UBX and how to avoid
BETTER SWITCH OFF YOUR MODEM !!!
If you have a modem switched on, delays of more than 60 seconds are
expected before the Unlock Process really starts. This is because all
UNBOX-Programs are designed to work with an Online connection. Running
UBXWIN overrides this function but as soon as a modem is detected the
UNBOX-File tries to connect until time out. So if really need your
modem switched on: be patient !
DO NOT USE THE TEST BUTTON, if you are not familiar with all detailes
of UBX-System. There will nothing happen to damage your hardware or
software, but you may get many errors and must know what to do if such
errors occure. Otherwise a later unlock of the same program may be
impossible. So read chapter 4 "Theory..." and the "FAQ" thorougly.
4. Theory of UNBOX and the UBX-System
UNBOX is a system to encrypt (lock) software. The original software is
encrypted and stored in one single EXE-file. This EXE-files consists of
two parts: the "body" which is the encrypted software and the "header"
which is in fact a program and placed at the beginning of the EXE-file.
So whenever you run the EXE-file the header-program is started, showing
infos about the locked software and a choice of dialogs to unlock the
software. Finally, when done what the header-program wants, what means
basically the registerring by a Credit Card, it starts to decrypt the
locked software of the body and saves it to a new file. This file is no
longer locked and mostly is a selfexpanding file (SFX).
Older UNBOX-Versions only had an ONLINE-Dialog. In newer Versions the
ONLINE dialog is a choice of four different ways to get a password.
In the ONLINE dialog a unique serial number is shown everytime you
start this dialog. Then you are asked to contact UNBOX with your datas
(Name, Credit Card ...) and after verification the same you are given
a unique password according to the serial number shown on the display.
The UBX-System is a tool to unlock 'UNBOX-encrypted' files without a
password and without any patch to the original files. The main program
UBXWIN is to select the file to be unlocked, to detect the version and
to select a suitable Unlocker. The Unlocker itself is the program which
does the real job to open the locked file and unlocks the same.
The complete unlocking process with UBXWIN goes like this:
- create a temporary file 'U' in the UBX-directory
- copy the selected file to the temporary file 'U'
- start the selected Unlocker to decrypt 'U'
IMPORTANT: the filename is only the single byte 'U' without extension,
that means not 'U.EXE' but only 'U'. So if you want to test on your own:
Copy an UNBOX-File like "ABCDE.EXE" to a file called "U" into the same
directory where the Unlockers are. Now run one of the Unlockers. But take
care: if the Unlocker does not fit to the UNBOX-File you may get errors
in the same way as if using the "Test" function of UBXWIN. The temporary
file 'U' is wasting a lot of harddisk space. So when running UBXWIN and
quit the same, the file 'U' always is deleted.
5. FAQ (Frequently asked questions)
Q. I get erromessages like "corrupt file" with any Unlocker.
A. First try to run the UNBOX-File directly. If you get errors,
the UNBOX-File is corrupt or incomplete. Download again.
Q. The Selfexpander (built-in WinZip) does not work
A. This is NOT a problem of UBX but of the UNBOX-File itself. On
expanding problems cancel and use PKUNZIP manually. Recommended
syntax is
PKUNZIP -d FILENAME.EXE
which expands including path infos, if required.
Q. After installing a decrypted file an additional password or
registration is asked for.
A. Complain to UNBOX - this problem you also will have if unlocking
the file with a valid password and having paid for the same.
Q. The unlocked program does not work / showes a message like
"not enough memory" or has zero length.
A. This may result of having used an Unlocker which does not fit to the
FileVersion of the UNBOX-File. Try another Unlocker. In few cases
UNBOX had upgraded the FileVersion without changing the Version
number.
But before complaining check all alternatives.
Q. I get two Unlockers enabled. Which one should I use ?
A. Both will work, use the recommended first.
Q. I got many small TMP-Files like ~xxxxx.tmp
A. Newer Unlockers do so. As always recommended you should have
installed a TMP directory like C:\TMP and set a variable
TMP=C:\TMP to get all such TMP-Files to this directory.
Frequently switch to this directory and delete the TMP-Files.
See your DOS and WINDOWS manual for the subject.
Q. I tried to unlock an UNBOX-File but got the message "Bla bla has
already been unlocked! It can be found in C:\XXX\YYYYYY.EXE"
A. This mainly results from using the "Test" function. You have tried
to unlock but it did not work. Very often a file with the right
name is created and the result is either a corrupted file or a file
of zero length bytes. As long as such a filename is in your UBX-
directory, you cannot unlock again. So switch to your UBX-directory
and clean the same.
Q. After I pressed the button "Start Unlock" nothing happened.
A. You have tried to use an Unlocker which is not in your UBX-directory.
Please note: UBXWIN never checks wether the Unlocker is there. If it
is missing nothing happens - thats all.
Q. Where from can I get older Unlockers / upgrade of UBXWIN ?
A. Check Usenet (alt.cracks, alt.binaries.cracks ...) or post
a kind request to there. Please understand that I cannot post
directly nor mail to anyone. The distributing system with Usenet
is well established. So keep on watching.
Q. I found a new FileVersion and ensured it did not work with any
known Unlocker.
A. Please post to Usenet, subject "UNBOX - new Version". The info
should inform about Filename, Short Description of the prog like
"E-Mail for Kids" and FileVersion detected. Upgrades depend of
your feedback...
Q. The Unlocker UBx_yz worked fine with a few programs, but sometimes
or mostly failed.
A. This is a major problem when developping new Unlockers. I need many
UNBOX-Files to verify that the decrypting algorythm was fully under-
stood and cracked. Sometimes it works with a couple of files but
fails with the rest. As I cannot download the full stuff (and are
not interested at all) it may happen, that a new Unlocker is buggy.
So any feedback is wanted, but is only helpful with detailed info
on Filename and so on.
Q. I used UB3_16A.EXE but did only work sometimes
A. There was one buggy version out (the only one !!!) but 2 days later
the correct one was posted. You cannot see any difference. So try
to get the newer one.
to be continued... 06-26-97
by Pepper... with greetings to my good old friend Saltine