RedFox

Last updated

RedFox
FormerlySlysoft
Founded2016;8 years ago (2016)
Defunct22 February 2016  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Website https://www.redfox.bz/

RedFox (formerly SlySoft) is a software development company based in Belize. The company is most prominently known for its software AnyDVD, which can be used to bypass copy protection measures on optical media, including DVD and Blu-ray Disc media, as well as CloneCD, which is used to back up the contents of optical discs.

Contents

The company formerly operated as the St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda-based SlySoft. At some point in February 2016, SlySoft shut down, with its home page replaced by a message citing "recent regulatory requirements". [1] On or around 16 February 2016, AACS LA had requested that the Office of the United States Trade Representative place Antigua and Barbuda on its Priority Watch List of countries that fail to prevent intellectual property violations, with specific reference to SlySoft. [2] However, the company's online forum remained online, and had replaced the brand SlySoft with "RedFox". SlySoft developers also revealed that none of the company's staff was actually based in Antigua, that the company was not involved in legal settlements from AACS LA, and that key staff members still had access to SlySoft's technical infrastructure—including build systems and licensing servers—feasibly allowing development of AnyDVD to continue. [3]

On 2 March 2016, SlySoft reformed as RedFox, under a top-level domain based in Belize, and released a new version of AnyDVD. [4]

Products

AACS and BD+

SlySoft was the first, in February 2007, to offer AACS circumvention that worked for any disc available; previous programs only cracked "compatible" discs using a database of known keys. [8]

On 8 November 2007, SlySoft claimed to have completely cracked BD+. However, this turned out to be incorrect, as subsequent versions of BD+ security code have caused SlySoft to re-design its software. On 3 March 2008, SlySoft updated AnyDVD HD allowing the full decryption of BD+, [9] allowing for not only the viewing of the film itself but also playing and copying disks with third-party software. A third iteration of BD+ was released in November 2008, and was announced to be cracked by SlySoft with the release of AnyDVD HD 6.5.0.2 on 29 December 2008. [10] A fourth version of BD+ security code was discovered with the movie Australia on 17 February 2009, thwarting the effectiveness of SlySoft's software. [11] [12]

However, on 19 March 2009, SlySoft updated AnyDVD HD to version 6.5.3.1 which allowed the decryption of the new version of BD+ used by Australia . [13]

Licensing

On 1 December 2008, SlySoft announced it would for the first time begin charging its customers for updates to its software. [14]

In November 2010, SlySoft initially announced via email [15] and on their forum the discontinuation of the lifetime licensing option, beginning January 2011, encouraging customers to purchase the lifetime option "while it is still possible."

In January 2011, announcements regarding the change were deleted, and a new structured licensing plan was put into place; including the lifetime licensing option for a steeper price. The software can still be used after the support date, but won't be able to be updated.

In 2016, following the collapse of Slysoft, customers were required to purchase a new license to use RedFox software. [16]

Related Research Articles

Copy protection, also known as content protection, copy prevention and copy restriction, is any measure to enforce copyright by preventing the reproduction of software, films, music, and other media.

High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) is a form of digital copy protection developed by Intel Corporation to prevent copying of digital audio and video content as it travels across connections. Types of connections include DisplayPort (DP), Digital Visual Interface (DVI), and High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), as well as less popular or now deprecated protocols like Gigabit Video Interface (GVIF) and Unified Display Interface (UDI).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slyck.com</span> Technology news website (defunct)

Slyck was a website that produced and aggregated file sharing news stories, as well as offering a forum for users.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AnyDVD</span> DVD ripping software

AnyDVD is a device driver for Microsoft Windows which allows decryption of DVDs on the fly, as well as targeted removal of copy preventions and user operation prohibitions (UOPs). With an upgrade, it will also do the same for HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc. The AnyDVD program runs in the background, making discs unrestricted and region-free. In addition to removing digital restrictions, AnyDVD will also defeat Macrovision analog copy prevention. Analog prevention distorts the video signal to prevent high quality copying from the output. AnyDVD is also able to remove copy-prevention from audio CDs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extended Copy Protection</span> Copy protection rootkit by Sony BMG

Extended Copy Protection (XCP) is a software package developed by the British company First 4 Internet and sold as a copy protection or digital rights management (DRM) scheme for Compact Discs. It was used on some CDs distributed by Sony BMG and sparked the 2005 Sony BMG CD copy protection scandal; in that context it is also known as the Sony rootkit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BackupHDDVD</span> AACS decryption software

BackupHDDVD is a small computer software utility program available in command line and GUI versions which aids in the decryption of commercial HD DVD discs protected by the Advanced Access Content System. It is used to back up discs, often to enable playback on hardware configurations without full support for HDCP. The program's source code was posted online, but no licence information was given.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Advanced Access Content System</span> Standard for content distribution and digital rights management

The Advanced Access Content System (AACS) is a standard for content distribution and digital rights management, intended to restrict access to and copying of the post-DVD generation of optical discs. The specification was publicly released in April 2005. The standard has been adopted as the access restriction scheme for HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc (BD). It is developed by AACS Licensing Administrator, LLC, a consortium that includes Disney, Intel, Microsoft, Panasonic, Warner Bros., IBM, Toshiba and Sony. AACS has been operating under an "interim agreement" since the final specification has not yet been finalized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blu-ray</span> Digital optical disc format

Blu-ray is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-definition video. The main application of Blu-ray is as a medium for video material such as feature films and for the physical distribution of video games for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. The name refers to the blue laser used to read the disc, which allows information to be stored at a greater density than is possible with the longer-wavelength red laser used for DVDs.

Doom9 is a website featuring information on digital audio and video manipulation and digital copyrights. It is also the forum username of the author of the page, an Austrian who was a college student at the time of the creation of the site. The site's tagline is "The Definitive DVD Backup Resource".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HD DVD</span> Obsolete optical disc format

HD DVD is an obsolete high-density optical disc format for storing data and playback of high-definition video. Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to the standard DVD format, but lost to Blu-ray, supported by Sony and others.

BD+ is a component of the Blu-ray Disc digital rights management system. It was developed by Cryptography Research Inc. and is based on their Self-Protecting Digital Content concept. Its intent was to prevent unauthorized copies of Blu-ray discs and the playback of Blu-ray media using unauthorized devices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Security of Advanced Access Content System</span>

The security of Advanced Access Content System (AACS) has been a subject of discussion amongst security researchers, high definition video enthusiasts, and consumers at large since its inception. A successor to Content Scramble System (CSS), the digital rights management mechanism used by commercial DVDs, AACS was intended to improve upon the design of CSS by addressing flaws which had led to the total circumvention of CSS in 1999. The AACS system relies on a subset difference tree combined with a certificate revocation mechanism to ensure the security of high definition video content in the event of a compromise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital rights management</span> Technology to control access to copyrighted works and prevent unauthorized copying

Digital rights management (DRM) is the management of legal access to digital content. Various tools or technological protection measures (TPM), such as access control technologies, can restrict the use of proprietary hardware and copyrighted works. DRM technologies govern the use, modification and distribution of copyrighted works and of systems that enforce these policies within devices. DRM technologies include licensing agreements and encryption.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PowerDVD</span> Media player software for Microsoft Windows

PowerDVD is a media player software for Microsoft Windows created by CyberLink, for DVD movie discs, Blu-ray movie discs, and digital video files, photos and music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Media Key Block</span>

The Media Key Block (MKB) is one of the keys included inside the copying protection system (DRM) AACS. This system is used to prevent Blu-ray and HD DVD formats from being copied. The system was developed by companies from the film industry and the electronics industry including IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Matsushita (Panasonic), Sony, Toshiba, The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AACS encryption key controversy</span> Controversy regarding copyright

A controversy surrounding the AACS cryptographic key arose in April 2007 when the Motion Picture Association of America and the Advanced Access Content System Licensing Administrator, LLC began issuing cease and desist letters to websites publishing a 128-bit (16-byte) number, represented in hexadecimal as 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0, a cryptographic key for HD DVDs and Blu-ray Discs. The letters demanded the immediate removal of the key and any links to it, citing the anti-circumvention provisions of the United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinavia</span> Analog watermarking and steganography system

Cinavia, originally called Verance Copy Management System for Audiovisual Content (VCMS/AV), is an analog watermarking and steganography system under development by Verance since 1999, and released in 2010. In conjunction with the existing Advanced Access Content System (AACS) digital rights management (DRM) inclusion of Cinavia watermarking detection support became mandatory for all consumer Blu-ray Disc players from 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CloneCD</span>

CloneCD is proprietary optical disc authoring software that makes exact, 1:1 copies of music and data CDs and DVDs, regardless of any Digital Rights Management (DRM) restrictions. It was originally written by Oliver Kastl and offered by Swiss company Elaborate Bytes, but due to changes in European copyright law, they were forced to take it off the market. The last version of CloneCD made by Elaborate Bytes was version 4.2.0.2. The software was subsequently sold by SlySoft, a company located in Antigua and Barbuda, whose legislation does not ban the circumvention of DRM schemes. Since 2016, it is sold by Belize/Latvia based RedFox.

A Blu-ray ripper is a computer program that facilitates copying a Blu-ray disc or HD DVDs to a hard disk drive.

This article lists DVD ripper software capable of ripping and converting DVD discs, ISO image files or DVD folders to computer, mobile handsets and media players supported file formats.

References

  1. ↑ "DRM defeaters defeated? SlySoft ceases operations". Ars Technica. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  2. ↑ Murdoch, Kieron (16 February 2016). "US licensing authority requests A&B be placed on watch list". The Daily Observer. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  3. ↑ "AnyDVD Admins & Developers Mull Comeback". TorrentFreak. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "AnyDVD is Back But Don't Call Us Pirates, Developer Says". TorrentFreak. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "RedFox AnyStream | Download Videos from Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+". www.redfox.bz. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  6. ↑ "Clone DVD mobile". Slysoft.com. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  7. ↑ "Game Jackal Enterprise". Slysoft.com. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  8. ↑ "SlySoft Releases AnyDVD HD, Cracks HD DVD AACS Protection". phys.org. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  9. ↑ "SlySoft Press Release". Forum.slysoft.com. 19 March 2008. Archived from the original on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  10. ↑ "SlySoft defeats Blu-ray's BD+ DRM scheme again". Forum.slysoft.com. 29 December 2008. Archived from the original on 23 December 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  11. ↑ "BD+ discs that may not work properly with AnyDVD HD". Forum.slysoft.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  12. ↑ "BD+ re-secured, SlySoft beaten". Afterdawn.com. 13 December 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  13. ↑ "AnyDVD Version Change Log". Archived from the original on 18 November 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  14. ↑ "Press release: SlySoft announces new update policy". Forum.slysoft.com. 1 December 2008. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  15. ↑ "Original text of the announcement". Mediasmartserver.net. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  16. ↑ "RedFox Licensing & Pricing | RedFox Forum".

Further reading

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