201 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
201 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
------------------------------------------------
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Season7 -- MS-DOS Videocrypt smart card emulator
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1994-06-19 -- Markus Kuhn
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This software allows you to connect your PC to a Videocrypt pay-TV
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decoder. Season7 can both listen to the data traffic between a card and
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a decoder and act like a card. This software also implements the hash
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function and the secret key that was used in the 07 series card used by
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British Sky Broadcasting on the Astra satellites in 1993 and early
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1994. In that time, it was possible to watch these channels without a
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Sky card using Season7 (someone also called it OMIGOD), but with the
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introduction of the 09 card series, the secret key has been changed. So
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you can't use this software easily to watch Sky any more, but it still
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descrambles recorded program from before 1994-05-18. Season7 can
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basically also decrypt the Adult Channel (the same hash algorithm is
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used), but for legal reasons, the secret key of the Adult Channel has
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been removed from this version, because it is still in use.
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In order to use this software, you will need a Videocrypt decoder with
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a card slot (costs about 400 DM), an IBM AT compatible PC with at least
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a 12 MHz i286 processor, a serial RS-232 port and DOS 3.3 or higher and
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you will have to build a small interface circuit as described in the
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file ADAPTER.TXT. This interface may be operated in three modes:
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a) A PC listens to data traffic between a card an a decoder
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b) A PC talks to a decoder without a card and acts like a card
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c) A PC talks to a card without a decoder and acts like a decoder
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Season7 only supports mode a) and b), but the file ADAPTER.TXT also
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describes the additional circuitry (clock generator) necessary for mode
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c) operation.
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You can use Season7 to record the data traffic between a card and a
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decoder for a certain program. If you make this recording available to
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someone else, then it is possible for this person to replay the data to
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the decoder with Season7 and to descramble the same program later if it
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has been recorded in encrypted from on a VCR. The VCL Videocrypt
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logfile format supported by Season7 is especially designed for this
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purpose, because it only contains the part of the exchanged data needed
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to descramble the image. Other exchanged data like the card serial
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number is not stored in a VCL file. Technical details of the Videocrypt
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card protocol and the VCL file format are explained in the file
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DETAILS.TXT.
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IMPORTANT: It is illegal to watch pay-TV programs without a subscription
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in the countries in which a regular subscription is available
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(for the Sky channels, these are currently Great Britain and
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Northern Ireland). The legal situation in other countries
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is unclear, but as it is currently tolerated that e.g. in
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Germany and Sweden so-called pirate or clone cards are sold,
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using this software in other countries should be no problem
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at the moment. There is perhaps also no problem if you have
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already a regular subscription for the channels and want
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to use this software only for educational purposes. THE AUTHOR
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OF THIS SOFTWARE TAKES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE LEGALITY OF
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USING AND DISTRIBUTING THIS SOFTWARE. As far as the author is
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concerned, this software may be used and redistributed freely.
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How do you use Season7
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----------------------
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You have to build an electrical interface between the decoder's card
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slot and a serial port of your PC. The file ADAPTER.TXT that comes with
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this package gives you more technical information about how to do this.
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Then start SEASON7.EXE and give as a command line argument the port
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number to which you connected your interface (default is COM2 if you
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don't give a number).
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E.g. enter
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SEASON7 1
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if your interface is connected to COM1. If the text 'RESET' or
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'Decoding ...' doesn't appear after a few seconds or if your decoder
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displays 'YOUR CARD IS INVALID', then please switch to an unscrambled
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channel for at least 3 seconds in order to cause a card reset in the
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decoder. This software has currently only been tested with a PACE VC100
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decoder, but it is expected to work with all other decoders, too.
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Without further options, Season7 tries to emulate a Sky series 07 card.
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You can leave the program by pressing either q, x or ESC and you can
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activate and deactivate a debugging mode by pressing d. In the
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debugging mode, all data packets exchanged between the card and the
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decoder are listed. By pressing l you can write the last (up to 400)
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crypto messages to file VCLOG. As the log file time stamps are in
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universal time (UTC, formerly known as Greenwich Mean Time), you should
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define your local time zone in environment variable TZ. E.g. put 'set
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TZ=MET-1DST' in your AUTOEXEC.BAT if you live in the Middle European
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Timezone in summer (2 hours ahead of universal time) and use 'MET-1' in
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winter (1 hour ahead of Greenwich). On startup, Season7 shows you the
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current universal time. Please check whether it is correct, especially
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if you want to provide VCL files for other peoples.
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On slow computers (e.g. an i286 processor with 12 MHz is slow enough),
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the time needed for the debugging output might already be too long and
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the decoder will get a timeout and send a RESET signal. As the protocol
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is quite time critical, try to use only simple DOS (no DOS
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compatibility box in another operating system) and if you still have
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problems, remove unnecessary TSR programms that might steal time and
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interrupts from Season7 and try the e option.
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Season7 understands several command line options:
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d This activates the debugging mode which will
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print all data exchanged with the decoder on
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screen. Debugging mode can also be (de-)activated
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by pressing d while the program runs.
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p In the passive mode, Season 7 doesn't send any
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bytes, but listens only to the data traffic
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between a decoder and a real card. E.g. use
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'season7 pd >logfile' in order to record to
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a file what's happening between a card and
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a decoder.
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o<filename> Write a VCL file that allows other peoples later
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to descramble the same program from a VCR.
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The file name is optional (e.g. 'season7 otest.vcl'),
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and if you don't specify one, Season7 generates
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one using date, time (hour rounded up by 5 minutes),
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satellite name and transponder number (VCmmddhh.stt).
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Season7 will ask you about the satellite, the
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transponder number and what you are recording
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and stores this information together with the
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time in the VCL file header. The 'o' option
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automatically activates the passive mode, so
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you'll have to connect a real card to the adapter
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(mode a), because Season7 only listens. Make sure
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you have set the system clock and environment
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variable TZ correctly.
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i<filename> Instead of emulating a Sky 07 card, use the
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specified VCL file in order to answer the queries
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of the decoder and descramble a program (mode b).
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Useful only for video cassette recorded program.
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e In the economy mode, no time consuming screen
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output and data log activities take place in the
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main loop. This allows to use Season7 on some very
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slow systems. You might want to try this option
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together with options wb0 and wa0.
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m This option suppresses the on-screen message
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with the Season7 version number, the time and the
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channel name.
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wa<number> Allows you to specify the number of microseconds
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wait time between a reset impulse from the decoder
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and Season7's answer to reset (default: 30000 =
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30 ms).
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wb<number> Allows you to specify the number of microseconds
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wait time between the bytes sent to the decoder
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(default: 500). This value can be modified while
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Season7 runs by pressing + and -.
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The optimum wa and wb values haven't been determined yet for all
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possible processors and decoders, so please play around with wa in case
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of reset problems and with wb in case of unstable operation after a
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successful reset.
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While decrypting, Season7 shows you three hexadecimal numbers from the
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decoder's data packets. The second one is used to select the secret key
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in the card, so if this one changes, perhaps new codes have been
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activated. The third number identifies the channel and strange numbers
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there have been used by Sky in the past to confuse hacker cards. In VCL
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replay mode (option i), you'll only see at which position in the VCL
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file the current answer for the decoder query has been found. If the
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numbers bore you, better switch off the PC monitor in order to save
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power while watching TV.
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I wrote Season7 just for fun as a hobby project and I have no
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commercial intentions. Many other Videocrypt hobby experts and I
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periodically read the USENET group alt.satellite.tv.europe, so please
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post there a message if you have problems, questions, etc. regarding
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this software. Please don't contact me directly unless you have new
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technical information, and please understand that I don't have the time
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to give technical support to unexperienced Season7 users. I wish to
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thank the members of the tv-crypt mailing list for their valuable help.
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Season7 uses a public domain interrupt driven serial port assembler
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routine which has been published by David Kessner <dkessner@vigra.com>
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some time ago. Ask him if you are interested in the latest version of
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this serial code.
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This software was primarily written for European Star Trek fans outside
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Great Britain who don't have a chance to get a regular Sky subscription
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and have no other way of watching the undubbed version of their
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favourite SF series. I don't want to cause any harm to Sky and I even
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asked them for a regular subscription some time ago, but they refused
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to sell one to Germany. So they have to live with the consequences of
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attracting the interest of high tech freaks to the technical details of
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their access control system. :-)
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I developped this software and made it available to you at no cost and
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so I expect of course that if you improve, update or port this software
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to other systems, you will also make your work freely available to
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others.
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