Hacker bypasses the Android license

License applications already cracked ?

Presented by Google a few weeks ago, the verification tool license applications pay developed by Google employees is already been bypassed by a hacker.

The system has just begun and is already hacked. The latest anti-copy protection system launched by Google a few weeks ago only will not last long. The License Verification Library supposed to check if an application fee for an Android phone has indeed been set and not pirated, has been turned around – quite easily, by a hacker.

In a long article on the Android Font, author, “very much opposed to piracy and favorable to Google,” wanted to show how easy it was for a hacker to break the protection implemented by Google. The system was inaugurated in order to reassure a community of programmers increasingly worried by the high rate of piracy on the Android Market.

To easy to hack ?

For this, he chose to install two pay applications and protected by the Google service: Tasker and Star Hunt. He then explained the procedure he followed to use a free application fee yet. Complex for the simple guy, the procedure is rather simple for those familiar with Java and Android development tools.

Our hacker has used a software application-specific disassembling of the Android OS from Google. Then, by analyzing the program code, he discovered the section reserved for the software validation tool licenses. He simply changed the behavior of the application so that it continues to function normally when it receives a negative reply from the Google server.

Just few lines of code changed…

It was enough to change some characters in a line of code… Too easy? Apparently! Our hacker predicted in any case that hackers are easily able to provide versions “patched” applications, however, protected by DRM Google. “Licensing service from Google is still, in my opinion, the best option for protection against copying. However, we really need a better solution”, is the hacker opinion.