Key2Audio explained and should we fear it ?

Author

DoMiN8ToR
Management
Article posted 16 Nov 01 16:30

How to bypass it

 

Of course this protection is not flawless and the easiest way to bypass this protection is to record the audio stream to a wave file and burn it to a CD, this is however not the preffered method as you do a digital to analogue conversion.

First of all I want to make clear that we here @ CD Freaks do not want to break any laws and we want to do our visitors to do the same, therefor we don’t post about cracks or other methods that would modify the data so it could be called cracking, we call it simple bypassing. Just like how some smart people pay less taxes on a legal way, we just want to outsmart them.

CloneCD to the rescue!

With Key2Audio it seems that you don’t have to be that smart to be able to rip the CD or copy it. There is a big list of reports that CloneCD works.

Here are the settings for CloneCD:

Read:

  • Read subchannel data from data tracks: on
  • Read subchannel data from audio tracks: on
  • Intelligent Bad Sector scan: on
  • Maximum read speed: 4x

    Write:

  • Perform Laser Power Calibration: on
  • Always close last Session: on
  • Don’t repair Subchannel Data: on
  • Maximum write speed: 6x

  • Another tool that seems to do the trick is ExactAudioCopy that is mostly reffered as EAC on the internet. EAC should be able to rip the CD’s without any problem.

    Another option we are currently looking into is the use of really old CD-ROM drives that do not support Multi session, you might be able to get a hold on them for a small fee, and they will probaby have no problem with ripping these CD’s. There is a report that this works, but this is not yet a proofed method.

    If you have found another way to bypass this protection then we always like to hear from you !

    So is Key2Audio a sophisticated protection that we should fear ?

    26 Comments

    Djoox
    Posts: 8
    Posted on: 17 Nov 01 01:37
    As mentioned in the article it just plays without any problems on my old cd-rom player :4
    jorrit
    Posts: 2
    Posted on: 24 Nov 01 18:49
    The programms that are mentioned don't work when you have a new CD player. Does anyone know how to solve it anyway?
    guest
    Posts: 15284
    Posted on: 10 Dec 01 12:09
    I can also confirm that with a non multisession read capable cd-rom player (Philips PCA408CD) I have absolutely no problems reading Sony protected cd's opposite to my newer cd-rom players.
    Deathstalker
    Posts: 10
    Posted on: 04 Apr 02 12:58
    Not sure if it will work but other protection schemes that use multi-sessions and fake/corrupted TOCs can be bypassed using a util called IsoBuster, which can read the individual sessions on a CD.
    Mouse
    Posts: 23
    Posted on: 05 Apr 02 03:50
    It seems quite ironic that Sony would release a form of digital-copy protection, while at the same time market their own portable mp3 players (which somewhat encourage ripping and encoding for "personal" use only)
    guest
    Posts: 15284
    Posted on: 20 Apr 02 18:14
    :4 I was playing around with Audiocatalyst 1.5, with my 52x Actima CDROM, and have sucessfully ripped the Celine Dion cd to mp3. This was possible by bypassing the data track in the list to rip. The last track, next to the data, doesn't rip though
    Martijn
    Posts: 1
    Posted on: 29 Apr 02 17:10
    Hello I got a 24X speed and a 32X speed CDROM Are they old enough to rip CD's with key2audio?
    guest
    Posts: 15284
    Posted on: 24 May 02 13:36
    a simple way, use a soft black pen, and fill the first source..thats all ♦
    guest
    Posts: 15284
    Posted on: 24 May 02 22:48
    the last post is totally true. just take a sharpie and draw on the outside edge of the cd. it covers up the data that makes your computer reject the disc. now put it in your drive and burn/rip away.
    guest
    Posts: 15284
    Posted on: 28 May 02 15:21
    What part exacly and how far do you have to color black?
    guest
    Posts: 15284
    Posted on: 13 Jun 02 09:39
    Celine Dion was OK with my RealJukeBoxPlus . In trouble with Lauryn Hill as previous settings do not work. I have an image with CloneCD but this will cost 2CD to bypass the protection: so no direct MP3 for me now. Can anyone suggest how to have a Virtual CD Rom on my PC to burn the IMAGE.CCD without loosing a CD?
    guest
    Posts: 15284
    Posted on: 06 Jul 02 19:47
    works even fine with an Alps DC544 (4 disc changer)
    guest
    Posts: 15284
    Posted on: 08 Jul 02 15:23
    1. I would like to try BlindRead/BlindWrite Suite but don't have a true protected CD yet! 2. We can wait for Daemon Tools updates on this CD protection (emulation)Hi! Hi!
    guest
    Posts: 15284
    Posted on: 18 Jul 02 03:09
    On a protected CD you should notice a thin shiny band about 2mm thick. This signifies the start of the 2nd or perhaps 3rd session or just to keep it simple, the data track that so inconsiderately messes with your CD ROM drive. If you mark through this ever so carefully with a felt tipped pen in about 4 places equally spaced out around the band, your CD ROM should not be able to read the data and therefore instead of getting lost in the data track, skip straight to the audio. The only CD I have tried this on is Dave Matthews Band's new CD Busted Stuff. And my basic reaction to this protection is...why? I don't use original cd's. Pretty much the only place I listen to CD's is in my car and since my car got broken into, I don't keep anything in there but burned copies. At any rate, this pen trick will allow you to rip and back up your CD for your own personal use. I personally recommend using a dry erase marker...it is a little less permanent if you screw up, and well, nobody is perfect. I had to erase mine about 4 times before I finally got it right, because I kept getting a little bit on track 11 and it wouldn't rip. So be careful, be legal, and most of all...back up your CD's...there's no reason they should be able to take that away from you.
    k1ller_cuts
    Posts: 2
    Posted on: 30 Jul 02 03:16
    People seem to assume thats only the old drives are affected. This is not really the case I fell foul of the copy protection. Copying the CD with nero is possible but the cd jitters when played back unless its copied in raw mode using something like clone cd or golden hawk. What the extra data does is to stop programs like musicmatch recoginizing that you have a cd reader so you cannot rip the audio into mp3. My new machine no longer rips cds. I normally copy all my cds on the computer and listen to them in winamp. If anyone knows how to get the cd working again please help. Ive tried Aspi but to no avail.
    guest
    Posts: 15284
    Posted on: 13 Oct 02 23:03
    I have a LG CDROM drive model number CRD-8320B, and can confirm that Key2audio protected CDS play using any standard CD player.
    guest
    Posts: 15284
    Posted on: 30 Nov 02 16:07
    I can say that Key2Audio was no problem when i used my Samsung 48x SC-148. I noticed that, and i can see i'm not the only one , that th9is type of protection is useless when using old cd-roms! BTW, if it helps, I used AudioCatalyst...
    guest
    Posts: 15284
    Posted on: 30 Nov 02 16:14
    HEY! its me again Everything went well, except for the last track of the cd! Probably coz its the one next to the data track surrounding the cd... oh well...
    guest
    Posts: 15284
    Posted on: 30 Nov 02 19:36
    I have the Anastacia "Freak Of Nature" album protected with Key2audio and it plays perfectly on my LG CED-8120B CD-RW drive. However I did read from one source that the later version of Key2audio will allow playback on PCs yet the method is unknown. :7
    guest
    Posts: 15284
    Posted on: 30 Nov 02 23:35
    Hey its me again Sorry some things I missed out Have you seen the Key2audio website? They describe the bogus data track as a "special hidden signature?" :+ In that same site they proudly boast "Key2audio prevents playback on PC/MAC and therefore prevents ripping..." don't they realise most people JUST LISTEN to CDs on their PC WITHOUT track ripping? hope someone will give that site a damn good hacking :7 www.key2audio.com
    guest
    Posts: 15284
    Posted on: 30 Jan 03 02:38
    Hello there, Believe it or not I did manage in minutes to copy Audio2Key protected CD on My computer. :4 It is slightly the same trick as the pen one. But this time you don't have to write on your original CD. My trick uses paper and scissors : The trick is to cut into paper a circle that has the dimensions of a cd and then at the inside of this "paper disc" cut a hole as 'thick' as the track would go from the center of the CD from before the exterior edge. You will end just by cuting again this holed disc paper in for quarts. Place one of those quarts inside the cd-rom tray where there is the big hole for the lens. This way the paper will hide a part of the last track and this annoying 'bogus data'. :r Don't forget to assure the paper with scotch tape. This way I did made my personnal backup copy of Shakira-Laundry Service COMPLETE (till the end of 13rd and last track). Beautiful isn't it ? I did notice few circular scratches but nothing major. Maybe we can use a material a little bit smoother and harder than paper... !!For archival purpose only!!
    guest
    Posts: 15284
    Posted on: 12 Dec 07 14:16
    fabeskins62
    Posts: 1
    Posted on: 01 Sep 08 22:00
    I did not enjoy this program. One I did enjoy was Total Video2DVD, dowloadable at effectmatrix.com
    guest
    Posts: 15284
    Posted on: 03 Sep 08 01:54
    try something decent like Jesterware http://www.jesterware.co.uk
    guest
    Posts: 15284
    Posted on: 16 Jan 09 23:09
    it was nice but I wanted to add audio to the movie it self but I couldn't figure out how to do that :c do you know of a program that does or how to do it?
    venkatramreddy
    Posts: 1
    Posted on: 25 May 09 13:57
    I want to burn 3 movies in one dvd to ply in normal dvd player.how can I burn?

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