The vital private archive

Steve Schear schear at lvcm.com
Tue Jan 15 09:47:41 PST 2002


At 11:15 AM 1/15/2002 -0500, you wrote:
> > F. Marc de Piolenc[SMTP:piolenc at mozcom.com] wrote:
> >
> >
> > Dear Michael,
> >
> > Michael Motyka wrote:
> > >
> > >  Hack CD burners to add a SetBurnerIDCode command.
> >
> > Sorry. Could you expand on the significance of this for non-programmers?
> > What does this command accomplish? Is it in firmware?
> >
>CD burners place a unique BurnerIDCode onto each CD-R that they
>write. Thus, a CD-R can be associated with the machine that made
>it, much as color copiers place their serial numbers on copies they
>make.
>
>Of course, this serves no useful purpose for the average user, but
>narcs out software pirates or samizdat publishers.
>
>"You may not speak anonymously on CD-R".
>
>I don't know what level of work would be required to modify it.

There are probably two major hurdles: reverse engineering the firmware and 
getting the new code into the device.

The second is probably the hardest.  Because of high volume production 
techniques the processor-memory chips are probably not field 
programmable.  Even if they were or field programmable equivalents were 
available they are likely mounted using BGA (Ball Grid Array) 
techniques.  Very difficult to remove and re-insert without expensive 
equipment.

steve





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