29 replies to this topic

[nouser]

Hi! I found some info in this forum about patching a program but not a complete guide.. Lets say i have 1.exe .This exe contains some textboxes.. i want to create a second exe (2.exe) which will be able to patch all or one value of textbox in the 1.exe.

As i said i found in this forum info about creating the 2.exe BUT in an exe which was build with microsoft studio 2010(vb.net or c# etc..) i cannot find strings using w32dasm.. My plan was to open w32dasm and find the address of the string that i want to replace and then patch the address with 2.exe...

So HOW to find the address of a string/textbox.text(value) of an exe?

i can find the strings of an exe which was build by vb6 but not from an exe which was build by vb.net 2010..

Please help me..

Thanks!

[xorangekiller]

I believe what you are referring to is program disassembly, not patching. Generally, a patch is generated using 'diff' and applied using 'patch', a process commonly known as patching. The assumption with patch is usually that you have access to the full source code of the program, which it sounds like you do not. It does not actually help you modify the program in any way.

As for disassembly, it sounds like you don't quite have a firm grasp on the basic concepts yet. I recommend that you read this primer on x86 program disassembly. While it won't specifically answer your question, it should at least give you a better understanding of how programs work and how to find program elements in assembly.

Finally, I believe that your specific problem may have something to do with the utility you are using. While w32dasm has been an excellent win32 disassembler for many years, it is no longer supported (since the last release in 2003) and has a few limitations. The most prominent of which are that it cannot disassemble 64-bit executables and does not work with managed languages, such as .NET and Java. Most likely the reason you can disassemble VB6 executables but not VB.NET 2010 is because after Visual Basic 6, Microsoft transitioned it to use the .NET Framework, hence the name.

[nouser]

Hi. I do have the source code my friend. I just want to create 2 exe files. 1 exe the default application and the 2.exe to change the value of a textbox of 1.exe.. thanks

[+articuno1au]

Why not just recompile the application with the changes you want?

[nouser]

articuno1au, on 22 September 2012 - 20:06, said:

Why not just recompile the application with the changes you want?

because i want the user to be able to do it.. i make a project for someone.. he wants to "generate" an exe with his own specifications..
so the 1.exe will be the program with NULL values in textboxes.. and the 2.exe will be "patcher"..it will update the textboxe's values of 1.exe.. then he can use the 1.exe with these values.. you understand me? Thanks!

[+articuno1au]

Perhaps consider changing the source files rather than the exe?

Generate an exe to read your source files, find the specific classes, open them in a stream reader and replace the text you need changed.
eg: Textbox1.Text = Null; -> Textbox1.Text = "Whatever";

Then the user himself merely has to recompile.

I don't know that what you want done is possible in .net. It might be, but I don't know of a way..

[xorangekiller]

nouser, on 22 September 2012 - 20:09, said:

because i want the user to be able to do it.. i make a project for someone.. he wants to "generate" an exe with his own specifications..
so the 1.exe will be the program with NULL values in textboxes.. and the 2.exe will be "patcher"..it will update the textboxe's values of 1.exe.. then he can use the 1.exe with these values.. you understand me? Thanks!

Are you telling me that you want your user to learn how to use a disassembler?! I suspect not, but I'm having a little trouble figuring out exactly what you are planning on using the disassembler for now.

If you want the user to be able to generate a customized executable so that it can be distributed with user-defined settings and no external configuration file, you are probably going about it the wrong way. It would probably be easiest to generate a configuration file (such as XML or INI) when the user saves his settings. It would be easiest to have the user simply distribute this file with the executable so his defaults can easily be loaded. If everything must be contained in a single executable, the easiest option is to use an installer, such as NSIS, to package both together and extract them when executed. Another option, which I have looked into but never actually implemented, would be to embed the configuration file into a copy of your executable as a resource, then instruct the program to look for the resource every time it is run.

[n_K]

www.clickteam.com
Use install creator or patch maker, loads of companies use them to make game patches and it does what you're after (differential patching)

[nouser]

Let me explain you.first of all thanks everyone!!

I work to someone online and make a program for him. He will sell the program to MANY people.. Someone will HAVE to buy 2 programs because the guy im working to, do not want to compile the project all the time and he wants his customers to be able to MAKE THEIR EXE WITH THEIR VALUES
so someone will buy these 2 programs.
1.exe is the standard program with NULL VALUES
2.exe is a program which will run and have 3 textboxes. Customer will add in first textfiled his Phone,second textfield his Email and third textfield his address. The he will click CREATE EXE button and the 1.exe will get these values to HIS 3 textfields..now everytime someone openes 1.exe it will contain these values and it will not be null..

[xorangekiller]

n_K, on 22 September 2012 - 20:13, said:

www.clickteam.com
Use install creator or patch maker, loads of companies use them to make game patches and it does what you're after (differential patching)

That is AWESOME! I have never seen something like that before, but I really like it.

I'm not sure it solves the problem at hand though. On second thought, maybe it could be used for this purpose, I'm just not sure exactly how yet.

[+articuno1au]

nouser, on 22 September 2012 - 20:27, said:

Let me explain you.first of all thanks everyone!!

I work to someone online and make a program for him. He will sell the program to MANY people.. Someone will HAVE to buy 2 programs because the guy im working to, do not want to compile the project all the time and he wants his customers to be able to MAKE THEIR EXE WITH THEIR VALUES
so someone will buy these 2 programs.
1.exe is the standard program with NULL VALUES
2.exe is a program which will run and have 3 textboxes. Customer will add in first textfiled his Phone,second textfield his Email and third textfield his address. The he will click CREATE EXE button and the 1.exe will get these values to HIS 3 textfields..now everytime someone openes 1.exe it will contain these values and it will not be null..

How are the values saved by 1.exe?


Can you just create an XML config file with your settings in it?

Sorry, this just seems like reinventing the wheel to me >.<

[n_K]

Yeah just use XML or INI or SQL or anything like that, you can even embed it into the EXE (if needed) and just extract it when the program runs (have a header like #####SECRETHEADER) to look for and get the data after that.

[nouser]

i wanted to use ini but the guy im working for, he wants standalone exe!! is there any way to make an ini and embed it? i guess no..thanks

[xorangekiller]

n_K, on 22 September 2012 - 20:40, said:

Yeah just use XML or INI or SQL or anything like that, you can even embed it into the EXE (if needed) and just extract it when the program runs (have a header like #####SECRETHEADER) to look for and get the data after that.

Exactly what I was going to suggest next. You beat me to it. Needless to say, I agree.

[+articuno1au]

You can definitely embed resources into the exe.

The issue is that the guy compiling it would have to create the config file each time he compiled it.

You could even use internal variables and just have the guy edit them in.. Probably easier if you are taking that approach..