How a Laser-Shot Disk Defeats Hackers & Pirates (Coding Secrets)
Why Hacker News recommends it
Cited in anti-piracy discussions as a clear explanation of clever retro copy-protection tricks, though one commenter disputes a claim about Leander.
What it is
An episode of Coding Secrets by Jon Burton on retro copy protection, in particular physically damaging a disk with a laser so copies fail. It explains how this defeated hackers and pirates.
Recommended by 2 HN commenters across 2 different months, 2018 to 2024.
What Hacker News said
Recommends ZenoArrow · 2018-02 · on “Gaming's most fiendish anti-piracy tricks (2010)”
I thought the two methods described in this video were both good: [this video] Also, the method described here, even though it didn't result in a financially successful game, was pretty clever (pirating the game meant your game company would be defeated by pirates): [LINK]
Recommends LaserDiscMan · 2021-10 · on “The Coding Secrets Hidden in “Sonic the Hedgehog” [video]”
For those who don't know, Burton explains this in depth here: [LINK] Another one of my favorite ones describes copy protection via intentionally destroyed floppy sectors: [this video]
Cites mizaru · 2018-02 · on “Gaming's most fiendish anti-piracy tricks (2010)”
According to Jon Burton, something like this was actually done for the Amiga game Leander, although not with the intent to damage hardware: [this video]
Critical amiga386 · 2024-05 · on “The Space Quest II Master Disk Blunder”
I can give you an example of someone claiming there were holes in the disk, Jon Burton, but they're a goddamn liar : [this video] I have the original release of Leander. There are no holes in the disks. The code on the disk doesn't write anything besides hiscores. There is a protection routine exactly where he says there is, however what it does is check for a long track . It waits for the index pin, reads lots of data from the track, then looks to find two sync marks in the data it read, and they're at least a certain distance away from each other. No lasers, no holes, no writing. Standard long track protection. Here's the whole routine: [LINK] Here's a page that more accurately describes floppy