Hacking DVD/Videogame Physical Security by slyfox117
*WARNING*
I warn against the use of this instructable for illegal activity. I have provided this information for learning and entertainment use only. I take no legal or moral responsibilty for your actions.

Now that that is out of the way, some backstory. I started this project when my Dad bought dvd's from a Hollywood Video that was about an hour away, brought them home, and found that the cashier had left in the security bar that keeps you from opening the box. After tearing apart one box, utterly destroying it, i figured out a better way.

This is my first instructable. I will be trying to improve my skills as i continue to produce further articles.
 
Remove these adsRemove these ads by Signing Up

Step 1: Gather Your Materials

First off, gather your materials. They are:

A movie with the red thing inside it (image two)

An incredibly strong magnet

A smaller but still strong magnet

The incredibly strong magnet was hard to come by for me. I tried making an electromagnet, but i couldn't get it strong enough. I don't have the money to go out or order from one of those retailers, so i spent two afternoons drilling through an old 3 gig hard drive (i told you it was old). The magnets inside harddrives are amazingly strong, so strong they can chip and break if you let them snap together, so be careful. The smaller magnets i bought at a Storables. Just look for any office supply store and look around the whiteboards.
1-40 of 96Next »
hornbadoing says: Aug 6, 2008. 7:13 PM
with a magnet
Redgerr says: Jul 8, 2010. 12:15 PM
yes
RocketManDave says: Jul 27, 2009. 1:08 PM
I made a tiny tear on my Bourne Ultimatum box and then looked for advice, lo and behold an instructable on this very subject ;) I only needed two dinky little magnets, the type you use to attach a flashing badge bought at a concert/gig. Really amazed it was that simple to disable a disk lock - Cheers!
matstermind says: May 14, 2008. 10:19 AM
putting the magnets that close to a CD/DVD could erase the data sored on that disk.
matstermind says: Mar 27, 2009. 7:10 AM
I meant stored, typo
electriczap4 says: Jul 2, 2009. 7:51 AM
Possibly, but you must consider the way data is stored on a CD. It is "burnt" in with a laser, and the grooves it cause are read by another laser. Hard drives use magnetism to store data (hence the higher amount of data possible), making them vulnerable to a magnet. I'm gonna have to take an old DVD and magnetize it to see if I still have that data. Will update you with it.
slyfox117 (author) says: May 14, 2008. 7:24 PM
they won't. CD's aren't like the old floppy disks, and won't be erased by magnetics. They do mess with hard drives because hard drives use magnetics to move the disc-reader head around.
nathan42100 says: May 25, 2008. 2:12 PM
it could if you run it very fast back and forth over it, but this won't. Just like a hard drive.
hintss says: Jun 27, 2009. 10:38 AM
no, optical disks (CD, DVD, MagnetoFloptical, BluRay, HD DVD, and holographic disks) are affected by magnets, ever. The drives may be affected, but the disks won't.
matstermind says: May 15, 2008. 6:20 AM
Ok thanks for making that clear
slyfox117 (author) says: May 15, 2008. 10:45 PM
no problem! hope you found it useful
hornbadoing says: Aug 6, 2008. 6:44 PM
haha shoot ink thats so funny lol
hintss says: Jun 27, 2009. 10:40 AM
Yes, now be serious
Gage987 says: Jul 9, 2008. 2:28 AM
hey next somewon should make an instrucatable on how to take those tan lump things on clothes like at goodys because ive been told by my mom that screwing with them makes them shoot ink
abadfart says: Sep 15, 2008. 7:52 PM
well if you can get it out of the store you put it in the freezer overnight then cut it off with sharp scisers
hintss says: Jun 27, 2009. 10:39 AM
Or wire cutters.
Gage987 says: Oct 1, 2008. 1:42 PM
good idea
junits15 says: Dec 9, 2008. 2:00 PM
actully those can be opened with magnets also, they do indeed spurt ink, kindof thike the thngs that they up in money, anyway put the two strong magnets on either side of the smaller peice, keep moving the magnets until it slide out do it gently though, so you dont break the ink tubes.
tron9000 says: May 8, 2009. 5:26 AM
I bought a DVD in super market and went through the self service checkout. got home and found out there was one of these tags on it. If, I'd have know this is how to remove them, I would still have my DVD which is now lost amoungst all the others as it has no case now, due to me and a pair of tin snips!
Ominous says: Apr 6, 2008. 4:17 AM
Bought a dvd from Zavvi (virgin) the other day and had to rip the box open :( [The shop is 40mins away and a £6.50 train ticket ] This Instructable has just as much right to be here as any other. I wish i had read it earlier.
Coraki says: Dec 8, 2007. 8:08 PM
My bf bought me an early christmas present and the cashier at Hollywood vid. forgot to take off the security lock. After tearing it partially apart and still not being able to get the dvd out, I decided to look for a better way. This was the first site I found posted about it. Though I didn't have two magnets I used a magent that is used to pick-up screws and nuts that fall on the ground. I placed it on the lock and heard a "pop" and while still holding the magnet on the back, I pulled the lock out surprisingly easily. I had already tore it open and cut part of the plastic off the back, so next I'll just try the magnet alone and see if I get the same result. Thanks for the info.
tylermenezes says: Sep 13, 2007. 5:30 PM
mrmath: I can think of one non-thievery use right now. A while ago I rented a movie from a certain movie store. When I got it home, it had an antitheft devive on it. If I had known how to do this and had some magnets nearby I would have saved myself a 15 minute trip back to the store. This is implausible to do in a store anyways.If they didn't notice you then they're idiots.
mrmath says: Dec 16, 2006. 7:49 AM
(removed by author or community request)
CaffeineHouse says: Jul 27, 2007. 7:41 PM
did you even read the instructable at ALL? he specifically said that he bought the DVD's, sure, you could say he's lying, but just because something could be used to break the law doesn't mean it has "no educational value".
adamazing says: May 6, 2007. 10:17 AM
"...how to do something that has no ues except to steal..."

You are wrong. On at least two occasions I've bought DVDs and had to deal with these stupid things. I did the same thing he did, the first one was wrenched and pried, the second was removed with the aid of a magnet and a little more finesse. I just wish that I'd written an instructable to help other people who had the misfortune to be served by a hungover teen at HMV.

Criminals already know how to do all this and more! By not sharing this information, the only people you harm are non-criminals.

Now, if he were teaching people how to line a bag with aluminium foil to prevent the security induction loops at the door of "Hollywood Video" from detecting that you'd filled it with DVDs...that would be another matter!
infernoii says: Apr 21, 2007. 2:35 PM
Just in case you are still out there listening. Your position would promote what is known as "censorship." So the government thinks it is dangerous for you know about opening a DVD that you are not supposed to today. Maybe they think that you shouldn't see a particular TV program tomorrow. We have already gone through a period of censorship when all of the supposed "communists" in our country were put on trial because they were "dangerous" to our society. If information is to be censored, who censors the censors? Promoting ignorance is not a good position to take. I am sure with your passion you could find something less trivial to complain about. On a personal note, I came home from Hollywood video today with a red tag still in the box. I tried the above magnet scheme to no avail. I suppose that I will now be forced to pollute the environment and drive back to Hollywood Video to get the red tag removed. : )
mrmath says: Apr 21, 2007. 6:36 PM
As I understand it, and I've been known to be wrong on occation, censorship is when the goverment doesn't allow certain topics to be discussed. Not being allowed to talk bad about the government in Cuba would be censorship.

Even then, there are exceptions. For example, you can't talk about making bombs in an airport. The goverment will stop you. That's not censorship (IMO), because of the safty concerns.

Some might say that censorship is also anyone in power stopping talk about a topic they don't like. For example British Airways recently blurred out the logo of Virgin Atlantic in the version of a Bond movie they are showing on their flights.

Again, there are exceptions to this. Removing a post on a website that is clearly about something illegal in order to protect themselves, and their users, is not censorship.

Again, I'm not trying to reopen the debate on the legal or illegal uses of the information in this post. Let's say, for arguments sake, someone posted an instructable about how to get an ATM to give you extra money without taking it out of your account. That activity would clearly be illegal. It wouldn't be censorship for the powers that be here at instructables to remove it. It would be protecting themselves.

On the other hand, removing a post because it involves K'Nex would be censorship. I don't like the posts about K'Nex, and if I posted at the bottom of a comment on a K'Nex thread "I hate K'Nex posts. I hope this gets deleted" that would be an attempt at censorship, or at least requesting/endorsing it.

All that said, what is it with Hollywood Video that they can't remember to take these things off. I mean, they sell DVD's all day long, right? It must cost them money to replace the ones the forget to take off. Not to mention the customers they lose over it. It's not that hard, people.
A6TonHampster says: Apr 7, 2007. 3:45 PM
One Phrase "Freedom Of Information Act" That's not to say though that your knowledge of some things wont have repercussioins. You can get on govornment wedsites, and learn the US military way of bombs, but you'll be "black-listed" w/ the FBI, CIA, and the IBA. Anything happens in your area, they're commin' to your door, but you still have the freedom to access the information.
slyfox117 (author) says: Apr 8, 2007. 12:03 AM
Are you seriously comparing my instructable to a website that teaches you how to make an explosive? This isn't the Anarchist's Handbook.
mrmath says: Apr 7, 2007. 7:03 PM
I'm not out to rekindle the argument I started before with this post, but I have to say this. The Freedom of Information Act is a law that has a very specific use. That use is to get certain pieces of information from the government. Since this information is not from the government, or about the government, it does not have anything to do with the Freedom of Information Act.

Again, this has nothing to do with my previous or current opinions about this particular instructable, and I don't want to start that all over again. I'm just out to point out what the Freedom of Information act actually is all about.
Roflolommo says: Apr 1, 2007. 8:12 PM
i think that even if something only has completly illegal purposes it should still be allowed i mean what if one day the world is taken over by aliens and they steal all dvd case openers and we have to open them ourselves. its kinda like knowing how to build a nuclear bomb i mean when am i ever gonna need the knowledge about building a nuclear bomb but look it up on wikipedia and its there and i dont see any fbi raiding them (it might be becuase they have a nuke though)
land_of_kansas says: Dec 19, 2006. 1:34 PM
I totally disagree with you!! I purchased several movies from a video rental store and the minimum wage employee missed a few of them. I took the first one in with a receipt, and another employee wouldn't remove the security lock without the managers approval. I asked when the manager would be in and she didn't know. Okay, I removed the lock myself and it wasn't pretty. I had to get a new case for my movie. My wife has purchased clothing before and the ink tag was left on it. If you take it back, there is a good chance they'll accuse you of shoplifting. Have faith in your fellow humans, we're not all bad!!
nemroff says: Dec 19, 2006. 12:30 AM
dude, its ok, he did it because he bought it and the cashier left the thing on. if that happens to you (which it has happened to me over and over and OVER), it's ok as long as you own it. then it's not against the law. IT IS NOT TO STEAL, the disclaimer states that this was not it's purpose. Even if this scenario has not happened to you specifically, some people are in the position where they have to remove the protector and it is LEGAL. grow up.
TheJollyLlama875 says: Dec 17, 2006. 1:32 PM
Dude, Hollywood Video is a giant soulless corporation. We thrive on fine print and incredibly unfair late fee policies. Nothing wrong with a little... balancing out the system.
Aeshir says: Jan 28, 2007. 4:34 PM
Exactly the way I feel about Microsoft and other corporate crap.
mrmath says: Dec 17, 2006. 3:50 PM
Except, of course, that it's against the law.
brian1234 says: Dec 17, 2006. 10:29 AM
1. There is educational value because it is teaching people to do something. 2. His statement at the beginning shows that the only purpose is not for stealing. He has no responsibility for other peoples' actions whether or not he puts a disclaimer. Each person is responsible for their own actions.
R2DEVO says: Dec 16, 2006. 1:15 PM
"There is no educational value to this instructable. It's only purpuse is to teach people how to steal. I hope it gets deleted."
mrmath says: Dec 17, 2006. 3:51 PM
Point taken.
g0pher says: Dec 16, 2006. 9:05 AM
mrmath - you cant assume either that just by reading this everyone is going out to steal. chill out this instructable is plenty educational. this is one of those "i wonder how that works" inventions out there that if it weren't for this, we would never know what it was like.
1-40 of 96Next »
Pro

Get More Out of Instructables

Already have an Account?

close

PDF Downloads
As a Pro member, you will gain access to download any Instructable in the PDF format. You also have the ability to customize your PDF download.

Upgrade to Pro today!