crack

Cracks are illegal programs that crack and remove the copy protection or serial number management of software. The crack program can then be used to run software that would otherwise have to be paid for, free of charge.

Crack programs separate the program parts relevant to the copy protection and inactivate it. Corresponding programs start with the test software and later reload the missing files from the Internet. They can also manipulate the software and thus prevent permanent program archiving.

Cracks are mainly used for feature films and video games that are stored on optical storage media and are also offered on the Internet. Cracking is punished as copyright infringement; in many cases, action has already been taken against downloading the cracks.