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  1. #1
    TioAdjie is offline Novice
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    Security in MDE Database

    Dear Access Master,


    I have MDE database, but I don't know how to overcome from being cracked by other people, because there is MDE Unlocker is available now. Is anybody know how to overcome it ?

    Thanks,
    Tio

  2. #2
    Xipooo's Avatar
    Xipooo is offline Sr. Database Developer
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    Trust me.... I've had to try and crack an MDE file because a product was no longer being supported by it's developer and the source mdb file was lost. It's not as simple as that.

    The code is still missing and can only be reconstructed. It will never be the original code that was written.

  3. #3
    June7's Avatar
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    Does MDE Unlocker live up to it's claims? No idea, never heard of it before. So I searched web. http://www.everythingaccess.com/mdeunlocker.htm says the product is no longer for sale to new customers.
    How to attach file: http://www.accessforums.net/showthread.php?t=70301 To provide db: copy, remove confidential data, run compact & repair, zip w/Windows Compression.

  4. #4
    Xipooo's Avatar
    Xipooo is offline Sr. Database Developer
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    Quote Originally Posted by June7 View Post
    Does MDE Unlocker live up to it's claims? No idea, never heard of it before. So I searched web. http://www.everythingaccess.com/mdeunlocker.htm says the product is no longer for sale to new customers.
    You can still download an old version but you cannot retrieve the code modules. So you get forms, queries, tables, and reports.. but the code behind them is all gone. However, he DOES have a website that you can submit your mde file to him and he will reconstruct your code for you at a price. He charges quite steeply for it too as you could imagine.

  5. #5
    ItsMe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Xipooo View Post
    ...So you get forms, queries, tables, and reports...
    You should not depend on an executible to secure these objects anyway. The only thing publishing as an executible really does is get rid of the VBA.

  6. #6
    Xipooo's Avatar
    Xipooo is offline Sr. Database Developer
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    Quote Originally Posted by ItsMe View Post
    You should not depend on an executible to secure these objects anyway. The only thing publishing as an executible really does is get rid of the VBA.
    Yeah I ended up extracting those from the MDE file and then modifying some 5 year old code from an earlier version to fit the newer version. Luckily they even had that small bit of code that I could copy from but it needed some heavy modifying.

    The thrust of my point is to the OP's question. MDE's are pretty much un-crackable. There may be a way to decompile it which I have never seen anyone do, but there is no largely distributed software which will decompile an MDE and produce the code.

  7. #7
    orange's Avatar
    orange is offline Moderator
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    I agree and would add that often when people post re decompiling an mde, it's usually followed by "I no longer have/can not find the original mdb".

  8. #8
    Xipooo's Avatar
    Xipooo is offline Sr. Database Developer
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    Quote Originally Posted by orange View Post
    I agree and would add that often when people post re decompiling an mde, it's usually followed by "I no longer have/can not find the original mdb".

    LOL, as you can see with every Google search ever done on the subject.

  9. #9
    ItsMe's Avatar
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    @ Xipooo

    I was merely making a non-critical statement that executable files don't have VBA modules and that is the major distinction between them and accdb files. Without additional security measures, accde or mde files do not offer much by themselves, unless you are worried about someone getting a hold of your intellectual property like a class or something.

  10. #10
    Xipooo's Avatar
    Xipooo is offline Sr. Database Developer
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    Quote Originally Posted by ItsMe View Post
    @ Xipooo

    I was merely making a non-critical statement that executable files don't have VBA modules and that is the major distinction between them and accdb files. Without additional security measures, accde or mde files do not offer much by themselves, unless you are worried about someone getting a hold of your intellectual property like a class or something.
    I completely got that man. I didn't think you were saying anything critical at all. You're completely right too. They don't secure much of anything other than get rid of the code modules and turns it into compiled code which to the lehman is unreadable. Maybe someone with some machine language understanding could figure out a way to decompile it, but none that I have seen.

    Chances are they'd get sued off their azz by MS if they did manage it.

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