TomTom Cracker Frustrated with TomTom Navigator Software

Thanks to one of the friends of SatNav Shop we managed to interview an active member of the community responsible for the widely available cracked versions of TomTom Navigator 5 and 6. Apparently TTN6 was cracked even before the software was officially released in August 2006. The transcript of our conversation is below ("SNS"=SatNav-Shop "C"= Cracker).

SNS: Hello and thank you for agreeing to talk to us, how should I call you?

C: Hi, you can call me FALLEN

SNS: FALLEN, how long have you been doing this?

C: For about 9 months, although I had always been interested in software reverse engineering, so the above time is only the 1st public release date

SNS: So TTN5 wasn’t your first complete crack?

C: lol hell no I had a lot of releases before TomTom around a hundred I’d say

SNS: That’s a lot in nine months

C: Not really. Just because TomTom is expensive doesn’t mean it would be hard to crack although it is quite well protected since most things are done in a non standard way so to speak

SNS: When you started on TTN5 did you know how TTN3 was cracked?

C: No, not really. I think I looked at a cracked 5.2, but it only worked with a certain flavour of maps, namely 5xx or 6xx maps, and I was asked to fix it up, since my friend couldn’t open a particular map on it

SNS: S you just carried on somebody else's work?

C: Yep, for the 1st 5.21 crack I did then I decided it wasn’t done the right way and started from scratch

SNS: I keep using the term "cracker" and "cracking" - is that how you call yourselves and what you do?

C: Yes

SNS: How long does it take for an experienced s/w engineer to crack TTN6?

C: Let’s put it this way, it took me 30 minutes on my 1st attempt, then 15 minz more to resign the exe, put a pretty looking picture and description and post it. Seeing how not all software engineers end up in the low-level sector, it’s not a properly phrased question. But if you mean an experienced cracker, e.g. a rightful member of a release group, then I would say about the same if not less than me, especially if they cheat and peek at a previous release :)

SNS: I assume that you have contacts with other people doing similar things?

C: Yes

SNS: Are there any special dark corners of the Internet where crackers congregate or just discussion boards "by invitation only"?

C: Not really, the dark places aren’t hidden; they're mostly private forums in public forums etc

SNS: What is a "release group"?

C: lol, have you been living in the woods or something? Release group as in an established group like CORE, TSRh, etc.

SNS: Do these groups benefit financially from their activities?

C: Hell no man, I don’t even know anyone who got a cool job as a comp security guy cos of it

SNS: Do you know any of your “colleagues” socially or is it purely an internet-based society?

C: Net based, although I heard some groups where all members live in the same area, and do meet in real life too

SNS: Are these groups ether bothered by the police? Any cases of "infiltration" or serious prosecution?

C: Nope, it's extremely difficult to prove the crack was done by X. Dunno about undercover copper-crackers, never heard of any. Haven’t heard about any PDA crackers getting fried either. Heard of some pc ones get busted though

SNS: We know that Garmin's maps were reverse-engineered and we can now make our own Garmin maps. Do you think it is possible to do the same with TT's maps format?

C: If somebody needs it will be done

SNS: For you it’s just a bit of fun or hobby if you like, but then the cracked software is being distributed all over the Net. Is there a particular philosophy of the "cracking" community or you just never think about that?

C: Oh please, if I don’t crack it, XYZ will, and either of those would distribute it, or it would eventually leak. Did you ever consider there was a market for cracks with its own supply and demand? It’s not like I’m the only cracker on the public boards

SNS: On one hand you deprive companies of their profits, but on the other hand you let the so-called pirates to profit from your work. What do you feel about the software pirates (as opposed to crackers)?

C: I wouldn’t put it that way. I think TomTom is enjoying a fairly lavish existence, without many close competitors. Cracking and pirated soft simply let people try it, since they don’t make demo versions. If people have enough money and like it, they would buy a legit copy

SNS: It seems to be almost impossible to protect any software these days, is that correct?

C: Given time and demand, or need if you like, your statement is not far from the truth.
Then again, in the long run they would release a new version too, so it may not be a pointless exercise to protect soft.

SNS: Do you think that the software companies suffer any significant revenue losses from the "cracking" activities?

C: No, not really, as I said, there is a breed of people called consumers that pay for soft- e.g. business people in suits who want support and reliability. And poor students and such, that can’t afford it, but wouldn’t mind trying it.

SNS: We know that there are activation code generators for TomTom all-in-one devices
(GO, ONE, Rider), but the actual software has never been cracked. Is it more difficult to crack Linux applications?

C: Never tried it, but it makes pretty much no difference whether you're cracking x86 or arm, it’s probably the fact that people prefer PDAs for navigation.

SNS: You mentioned that you are frustrated with TomTom Navigator….

C: Oh yeah, I would personally like to express my frustration with TomTom Navigator soft neither 5.2 nor 6.0 work on Toshiba e800. I mean it pisses the hell out of me that it doesn’t work with a 500 bux VGA PDA, running windows 2k3se what pisses me off the most that it not only cant connect to the GPS, but also just freezes

SNS: Do you know the reason why it doesn’t work?

C: Toshiba's Bluetooth stack isn’t supported by many programs; I just thought it would work with TomTom, since they charge a small fortune for their soft.

SNS: It’s not really TT's fault, then.

C: I’d say it’s to do with Toshiba being bastards and writing their own Bluetooth stack, and TomTom guys not supporting it

SNS: OK, we’ll let them know your request :)

C: :) lol I want TTN6 to work on Toshiba e800 :(

SNS: Thank you for your time.