               COMPRESSOR/SCRAMBLER CHARACTERISTICS LIST V1.01
                 Copyright 1993-1995 by SmileSoft Productions
                            All Rights Reserved.

This list outlines the major characteristics of pc scramblers or compressors
we got in contact or heard from in the last 2 years.

==========================================================================
9. Removable by TRON universal protected system --------------------+ |
8. Detection/Removeable by TRON  -----8-------------------+ |         |
7. handels EXE Files  ----------------7-------------+ |     |         |
6. handels COM files  ----------------6-----------+ | |     |         |
5. COMPRESSION  ----------------------5---------+ | | |     |         |
4. Encrypting File  ------------------4-------+ | | | |     |         |
3. RUN-TIME Self Encryption  ---------3-----+ | | | | |     |         |
2. POLYMORHPIC mutation  -------------2---+ | | | | | |     |         |
1. ANTI Debugging Techniques  --------1-+ | | | | | | |     |         |
                                          | | | | | | |     |         |
                                          | | | | | | |     |         |
                                          | | | | | | |     |         |
                                          | | | | | | |     |         |
                                          1 2 3 4 5 6 7     8         9
                                          | | | | | | |     |         |
Program             VersIons:             V V V V V V V     V         V
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Compack            4.4, 4.5               . . . . x x x     yes/yes   yes
Compressor         1.1                    x . . x . . x     yes/yes   yes
DeltaPack          0.1                    . . ? ? . ? x     yes/yes   yes
DIET               1.00d, 1.02b, 1.10a    . . . . x x x     yes/yes   yes
                   1.20, 1.44, 1.45f      . . . . x x x     yes/yes   yes
EXPACK (MS)        3.60, 3.64, 3.65       . . . . . . x     yes/yes   yes
                   4.00, 5.31.009         . . . . . . x     yes/yes   yes
                   4.05, 4.06             . . . . . . x     yes/yes   yes
Ice                1.0                    . . x x . x .     yes/yes   yes
LZexe              0.90, 0.91             . . . . x . x     yes/yes   yes
Mr.Lite            2.3                    . . . . x . .     yes/yes   yes
Mr.Hdkiller Prot.  1.0                    . . . x . x .     yes/yes   yes
OPTLink                                   . . . . x ? x     yes/yes   yes
PGMPak             0.13, 0.15             . . . . x x x     yes/yes   yes
PKLITE (PKWARE)    1.00(), 1.03, 1.05    . . . . x x x     yes/yes   yes
                   1.10, 1.12, 1.13       . . . . x x x     yes/yes   yes
PKLITE (PKWARE)    1.14, 1.15, 1.20       x . . . x x x     yes/yes   yes
PROPACKER          2.08                   . . . . x ? x     yes/yes   yes
Protect EXE/COM    1.00                   . . x x . x x     yes/yes   yes
Protect EXE/COM    2.00, 3.00             x . x x . x x     yes/yes   yes
Protect EXE/COM    4.00                   x x x x . x x     yes/yes   yes
Protect EXE/COM    5.00                   x x x x . x x     yes/yes   yes
Protect EXE/COM    5.50                   x x x x x x x     no /no    yes
TinyProg           1.0, 3.3, 3.6          . . x x x x x     yes/yes   yes
TinyProg           3.8, 3,9               x . x x x x x     yes/yes   yes
SEA-AXE            2.0                    . . . . x x x     yes/yes   yes
Stanlite           4.07                   x . x x x x x     yes/yes   ?
WWpack             3.02a, 3.03            . . . . x . x     yes/yes   yes

=============================================================================


1. ANTI-Debugging Techniques
There are several hardware system based techniques avaiable at the moment.
Their main work is to prevent that a MasterUnprotect like TRON or UNP
is able to break through the protection layer. Anti-Debugging instructions
mean that a DEBUGGER or TRACER which follows such a program part will never
execute the instructions as the CPU would do. As a result a program can
shut down an activated debugger, even PROTECTED MODE DEBUGGERS are not
fool proof from such techniques.
Examples are changing instructions after loading into the prefetch queue
or pointing stack into program code.


2. POLYMORHPIC mutation
This means a mutation engine is used to make sure that a scrambled program
never has the same decrypting instructions. A special engine randomly decides
which machine code instructions are used for generating a security
envelope. An unpacker cannot search for a single "string" to recognize
the program which was used to protect the concerned file. This method
was first used in Viruses (Tremor/MTE-Viruses)

3. RUN-TIME Self Encryption
Before a Compressor/Scrambler starts to decrypt the original file it
decrypts program parts of itself.

4. Encrypting File
Processed files get encrypted. There is a big amount of encryption
variations today. It ranges from a simple "first try envelope" to complex
mathematical algorithms.

5. COMPRESSION
Processed files are compressed.

6. handels COM files
Program can handle COM files (easy)

7. handels EXE Files
Program can handle EXE files (not so ....)


SMILESOFT
