Catch up on stories from the past week (and beyond) at the Slashdot story archive

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×
Encryption Security

Program Hides Secret Messages in Executables 250

DmuZ writes "My friend Rakan has created a new steganographic tool named Hydan which can embed messages into an executable without altering its size. He recently presented this tool to the public for the first time at codecon. This new technique was intriguing enough to get coverage on SecurityFocus.com. The code is available here."
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Program Hides Secret Messages in Executables

Comments Filter:
  • How long... (Score:5, Funny)

    by ymgve ( 457563 ) on Sunday March 02, 2003 @08:17AM (#5418029) Homepage
    ...until somebody embeds "seineeW erA sreenignE epacsteN"?
  • by more fool you ( 549433 ) on Sunday March 02, 2003 @08:22AM (#5418048) Journal
    so how do i add my 6MB ogg to the 526K ls?
  • by more fool you ( 549433 ) on Sunday March 02, 2003 @08:26AM (#5418066) Journal
    sorry to reply to my own message, it's obviously possible using word.exe
  • by Michael Dorfman ( 324722 ) on Sunday March 02, 2003 @08:28AM (#5418070)
    > Second, and most importantly, the size of the file is dependent on the size of the bytes
    > within the file.

    I don't know about you, but where I come from all bytes are pretty much 8 bits in size.

    >Because the bytes in the file have differing values depending on the instructions they
    >encode, altering the data will alter the size unless you're borrowing from one byte to inflate
    >another -- and in this case, again, you run afoul of the first problem.

    Altering the value of a byte changes its size?
    Man, I need to get me some of them new magic size-changing bytes! Down with the tyranny of 8-bit bytes!

  • by Openadvocate ( 573093 ) on Sunday March 02, 2003 @08:31AM (#5418080)
    the size of the file is dependent on the size of the bytes within the file
    :D ..... mkaaay.


    so a byte containing the value 233 will create a larger file than one containing the value 3? interesting. Maybe you should stick to prgramming in c#.
  • by CoderByBirth ( 585951 ) on Sunday March 02, 2003 @09:38AM (#5418190)
    ...but why?
    Why would I want to hide messages in my executable files?
    Because I'm a secret little squirrel who just in general likes to hide stuff, like INSIDE other stuff?
  • by TheLink ( 130905 ) on Sunday March 02, 2003 @09:50AM (#5418228) Journal
    And that's only one reason too ;)
  • by racerx509 ( 204322 ) on Sunday March 02, 2003 @10:27AM (#5418323) Homepage

    I'm not so sure about hiding messages in executables, but there were two interesting messages hidden in the n64 game The new tetris [ign.com]. The messages were hidden in 00B8FF90 of the US ROM. They were also in the PAL rom about 2k further. Anyway, here it goes:


    ****START MARTIST RANT**** I must say, this was a fun time coming down to San Francisco to do The New Tetris. Allthough there were a few problems. First of all being our producer.. D*N, my god.. is this guy useless or what?? I don't hate you D*N.. but you SUCK, and I mean SUCK as a producer. You should go back to testing video games, but I doubt you could even manage that properly. I feel sorry for you. During this project you just sat around and played video games.. starcraft and everquest. Don't even deny that.. when you WERE working, it was making stupid Excel (tm) spreadsheets to try and tell me how many bugs I had left to fix on a graph.. like WTF is that??? who cares.. I have the bug list in front of me, like I need to see it in freaking technicolor. So D*N, I must say this.. hold onto, and fake your job while you can, because once they find out how truely useless you are, you will be out of a job. I cannot think of any skillset you would fit into in this industry, so you better hold on tight. (This guy thought I could save a name in 8.4 BITS.. like umm.. .4 BITS?? WTF is .4 BITS?? its either ON or OFF, not in between... anyhow, Enough about you though. To Nintendo.. It has been nice working with you.. Alot of you are great or were great. Tom 'Snoop Dog' Hertzog - you were great.. one of the nicest people I have ever met at Nintendo. You and your crews bug testing was outstanding and I commend you for the excellent work. Erich Waas - You know we have been friends a long time, but I must say this. After you had accepted the ART form for The New Tetris, and later on your higher ups said it was not UNISEX enough, you slapped the blame on H2O, Chris Bretz in particular. You did not have the balls to accept blame for your mistake, and stuck our entire team under IMMENSE stress and FRENZY. This to save your A$$ from getting in trouble at Nintendo. I still like you Erich, which is more than I can say for the rest of the team that you screwed because of this. But I guess your standing at Nintendo is more important than the friendships you had here. You always knew we had telent and you recognized that. I know you wanted to work with us again one day maybe outside of Nintendo, I think you screwed up those chances though. While I am screaming.. I might as well say this: Niel Voss.. your music is freaking KICK A$$.. you are one really damn talented boy. BUT, you are one of the laziest music guys I think there is You could go far if you wanted to, but you just lack the GO for it. It is a shame. I wish you all the luck and would reccomend you to ANYBODY just because even though everything is last minute, and like pulling teeth, the end result is AMAZING. I am leaving H2O after this project to work at 3DO. I hope this will be a good move for me. I love H2O, As amazingly disorganized of a company it is. I LOVE the people, I have so many good friends there. It will be hard to move on. Of course they will stay my friends. They were more than just co-workers.. they were FRIENDS. They were the people I lived with, spent my days and nights with.. went to bars with, camped with, drank with (alot), did other bad things with (wont elaborate ). They are true great friends, and I love them all and will miss them dearly. Allthough Vancouver is only a 2 hour flight away, I hope I can visit often. My best friends would include. Ross, Max, Scott, Jake, Bretz, Roland, Johnny, Sarah.. these are the people I love the most. And I wish you success. My 4.5 years at H2O were basically, making games.. drinking alot, playing pool alot, going to bars and raves and dancing while really screwed up in the head. THAT HAS TO BE THE MOST FUN I HAVE EVER HAD, and probably ever will. The good old days. These guys are in Vancouver right now because I got stuck finishing this project in San Francisco (Which by all means I LOVE and am staying (hence 3DO)) Well boys and girls, I just thought I would immortalize some thoughts I have at the moment into a rom which will be burned forever. This game sucks. The music is great but the game itself is not how we wanted it unfortunately. I mean, it is a good game, but some things could be polished, as well as sped up. Could use another month to finish this thing off AFTER all the bugs are fixed. oh well, woh is me. I would love to give special loves and kisses to the following. My Girlfriend Amy Bond, My Family (Joy, Allyson, Jon Pridie, Brant Sangster), My really really best old friends Selim Arikan, Cory Haberly, Jason Vasilash, Alfred Huger, Oliver Friedrichs. Goodbye H2O, it was a blast, and I mean that with all my heart. (C) 1999 July 1 David Pridie If you are reading this, you can obviously see this disclaimer. All this material belongs to David Pridie. If you find it and want to post it in ANY media format, you must get my permission or feel my wrath . This text if it is ever read, is intended to be read by hackers whom have dumped the contents of this rom and viewed it. That is ALL it is for. And maybe some of them will remember me from the C64 and PC days, Martial Artist of PE/TDT/RAZOR 1911/INC/FLT/TRN/FBR, I was in them all.. and I made trainers and intros mostly. I thank that scene for teaching me how to program, because without it I don't think I would be where I am today. Well that does it 4.5 years and Two games later (Tetrisphere and New Tetris). Unfortunately I wont be working on Nomans Quest.. but oh well. HAPPY CANADA DAY. ******END MARTIAL ARTIST RANT ******

    *****START LUPIN RANT FOR 50 MOST HATED THINGS*****1] Idiot teens hanging out in front of 7'11s, KFC, McDonalds, Jack In The Box etc... Your life REALLY SUCKS if that's the high point of your day...2] A$$holes who spit on the sidewalk.3] Drivers who don't know how to use a turn signal. I can reach mine with my pinky while driving. It's not that hard.4] Teens with their pants around their a$$.5] People with personalized licence plates.6] BMX bikes.7] People panhandling me. Get a job losers! McDonalds is always hiring!8] Bums with dogs. I'm sure the dog loves eating cheese from old pizza boxes.9] The cheeseheads from asia who take a Honda Civic, slap some stickers on it, put a muffler on it that makes it sound like a riding lawnmower, a ridiculous sized fin on the back and think they have a formula 1 racer. 'Devastating Power!' my a$$!10] The same idiots who then drive their 'hot' civic like they are in the Indy 500 through busy traffic.11] The huge complex hairdos on african american women, 5 layers, 6000 curls, 4 sprouting areas, 200 dangling bits, 6000 beads, air conditioning and enough hairspray in it that it wouldn't move if Hurricane George hit it.12] People with Kleenex, plants, knitted blankets, stuffed animals, or lacey things in their cars rear window. I should be allowed to pull over and shoot them.13] People on the bus who talk so loud your forced to hear about their pointless lives.14] Crappy parkers who park their car REALLY close to the painted line so that you have half a foot to get out.15] Those old cars (ie, Cadillacs, Lincoln Town Cars, etc...)usually white for some strange reason... with the acient driver who always drives WAY under the speed limit.16] People who write a cheque for a $2 bag of nachos at Safeway.17] Corvettes, Comaros and Firebirds. Come on, the 80s are OVER!18] A$$hole tailgaters.19] Idiots who think they can pedal a bike as fast as a car, so they ride in the middle of a traffic lane. You should be allowed to run them over, it looks like natural selection to me.20] Teenagers on television news reports expressing their opinions on something. If your under 18 I don't give a sh1t about what you have to say...21] The singer Brandy, Celine Dion, all the divas....22] Twits who wear a huge parka outside when its sunny and a mild 5-10 C. The same thing goes with the whole scarf thing.23] Muni busses that smell like urine. Which is most of them.24] Corporate Broadcasting logos in the corner of the channel your watching.25] Web pages that pop open other pages and windows and then disable your 'back' button.26] People who walk around with a huge 'portable' stereos blaring, sharing their music with everyone around them. Usually crap rap.27] Junk mail.28] Peice of sh1t cars that spew out huge noxious clouds behind them.29] People that throw out huge items on the curb expecting the garbage people to remove it. Like old dirty matresses. They don't of course, and it sits on the curb for weeks.30] Budweiser beer and the people who drink it. I'd rather suck the piss out of a pig... Its time to poison the bud.31] Drivers who turn onto the road RIGHT in front of you causing you to slam on the brakes, even though there is no one for hundereds of feet behind you.32] People who drive 3/4 in one lane and 1/4 in another... what the hell is that????33] Religous people who push their drivel on you when your walking down the street. Or come knocking on your door.34] Dead web page links and 'Document not found' errors.35] Racisist people and the crap they spew out.36] Those stupid add banners from Geocities on the Internet when you hit someones home page going through them...37] All country music.38] Minivans.39] People who spray paint their names on rocks, signs, trees etc, in national parks. Like I care that Bill graduated in 86.40] Small yappy 'feeder' dogs. Like little Yorkies, poodles, etc...41] People in the fast lane who drive just 2 km/hr faster than the guy in the 'slow' lane, dawdling along.42] Film crews making bad movies most people doent want to see blocking the streets and being annoying.43] Big fat bugs that splat on my windshield.44] Those really tight spandex cycling pants on men, they are usually sooooo tight, you can tell if they are cirumcised.45] Those really tight spandex cycling pants on 90% of the women. Big fat a$$es and *wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide* camel toes.46] Those really annoying commericals from Rogers Cable that tell you all about the 'evils' of satalite tv and how lucky you are to be getting cable for a mere $65 a month.47] Commercials that are SO bad on tv, you have to wonder about the sh1t for brains who thought them up. Like the Old Navy commericals, or the old as hell commercial for Sarah Lee, that is STILL ON THE AIR, 'let them eat cake' and 'But Patrick, I'm to old for life insurance.' Shoot them ALL!48] Losers that listen to totally cheezy radio stations and then slap dozens of their stupid stickers all over thier car.49] Lilith Fair. I say when they are all hugging, listening to the music, sharing tampons, and bitching about how evil men are, toss in a few hundered grenades while recording it on camera. Sell the video as a 'To Hot for TV' tape late at night.50] Cheap a$$ manufacturers of DVDs who list as 'features' chapters, interactive menues, and the time. These arent features. Thats like calling your computers keyboard a 'feature'. Lame a$$ marketing people.51] DVD manufactureres that sell their DVDs for $40 and up, just because they know people will pay for it. DVDs have actually become MORE expensive than when they first came out.52] Nintendo and everything about them.53] Old people who clog up the sidewalk walking super slow when you want to get somewhere.54] Looking at demo-reels at work that are so incredibly bad, that I just want to call them up and tell them to go f*ck their demo reel and to never EVER send another one out to anybody. EVER.55] Spiders. All spiders. Everyone of them.56] How on the Nintendo 64 game machine, half the damn titles for it are called 'miscvidgame 64'. Why not come up with a real name? Why is everyone just slapping a 64 on all the games?**********END LUPIN RANT******** I got these rants from dextrose [dextrose.com]

  • by Sheetrock ( 152993 ) on Sunday March 02, 2003 @10:59AM (#5418419) Homepage Journal
    Wow... no wonder Nintendo went to a disc format. If two more employees decide to bitch they're not going to have any place to put the game.

    It's cool to see a scener in game development, though that's where I figured most of them settled. I'm not surprised with his discontent towards the development process; with the amount of ingenuity and dedication that goes into (went into?) intros/demos it's got to be a shock to hit a corporate environment and have somebody tell you "It's good enough as it is" when you're working on your project and ship it out the door.

  • by Mostly a lurker ( 634878 ) on Sunday March 02, 2003 @11:35AM (#5418532)
    ...the Declaration of Independence in a single copy of Microsoft Word

    Surely, a declaration of independence should be stored in a non Microsoft product.

  • by Reziac ( 43301 ) on Sunday March 02, 2003 @12:10PM (#5418670) Homepage Journal
    "Of course just like in the film 'A Beutiful Mind', you could just end up seeing encrypted data left right and center, whether or not it is really there."

    On second thought, I have another idea: make a huge file that is nothing but stenographic data. Hide an executable in it. ;)

    Actually, for stuff like DeCSS, that may not be so farfetched. :/

  • by Alsee ( 515537 ) on Sunday March 02, 2003 @12:32PM (#5418756) Homepage
    exactly why did you send Mohammed bin Mohammed a picture of your kitten a day before al-Queda hijacked that airliner?

    Because he said something about wanting to get a little pussy before his trip...

    -
  • by zulux ( 112259 ) on Sunday March 02, 2003 @12:40PM (#5418795) Homepage Journal

    I hide all sorts of stuff in my C comments.
    Nobody can detect them in my executables.
    HA! I'm so sneaky!

  • by twitter ( 104583 ) on Sunday March 02, 2003 @01:01PM (#5418878) Homepage Journal
    Ahhh! If my byte moved from 8 bits to 16 bits, did my nibble become 8 bits instead of 4? Did my bit beceome 2 bits? If my bits can double, I'm in trouble! - Head Explodes -
  • by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 02, 2003 @04:15PM (#5419984)
    Does this mean the US goverment will ban the distribution of binary executables and will only allow distribution in sourcecode form?
  • by WzDD ( 23061 ) on Sunday March 02, 2003 @07:02PM (#5420772) Homepage
    RPG values?

    "Bring me my +5 Sword of Information Hiding!"
  • by Skwirl ( 34391 ) on Sunday March 02, 2003 @09:28PM (#5421453) Homepage
    The picture had a caption that said, "Everytime you masturbate, God kills a kitten... and a plane full of infidels."

Our business in life is not to succeed but to continue to fail in high spirits. -- Robert Louis Stevenson

Working...