Daemon Tools
| Daemon Tools | |
|---|---|
| Basic data
|
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| developer | DT Soft Ltd. |
| Current version | Lite: 5.0.1 (Windows) April 9, 2015 Lite: 2.1.0 (Mac) Pro: 5.5.0 Ultra: 2.0 Net: 5.1.0 |
| operating system | Windows XP and above; macOS 10.5 and higher |
| category | CD / DVD emulation |
| License |
proprietary ; Freeware (until 3.47; since 4.30.0); Adware (optional, 4.0 - 4.12.4) |
| German speaking | Yes |
| www.daemon-tools.cc/deu/home | |
Daemon Tools (officially called "DAEMON Tools" just as "daemon" or "DT") is a Windows - program to emulate optical drives .
The daemon tools are available in different versions . They can be used free of charge for private users. Commercial use, however, requires a fee-based registration. Daemon Tools is proprietary software .
Technical details
Like other emulators of this type, optical drives (e.g. for CDs or DVDs ) are virtualized by Daemon Tools . So-called memory images of the optical media are created beforehand in order to then play them back from the hard disk in a virtual drive .
The virtual drive is integrated into the operating system in such a way that it appears as if there is an additional drive in the computer used. For the user, it does not differ from physical drives in terms of operation.
application areas
Like other emulators of this type, Daemon Tools saves you having to change data carriers in order to run different programs instead from another (larger) mass storage device or to install them, which also prevents the data carrier from becoming worn (e.g. scratches). The program can also be used to load software that is distributed in the form of an image. In Daemon Tools Lite it is possible to create up to four virtual drives and thus to load several images at the same time. With the help of rootkit technologies, Daemon Tools can bypass many current copy protection methods , such as SafeDisc , SecuROM , Tagès or StarForce . To counteract this, some programs refuse to start on computers with Daemon Tools installed.
Supported formats
- b6t ( blindwrite 6)
- b5t (blindwrite 5)
- bwt (blindwrite, older versions)
- ccd ( CloneCD )
- cdi (Discjuggler)
- cue / bin
- img
- iso
- mds (Media Descriptor File - from version 4.09 also encrypted and compressed)
- mdx (extended media descriptor file)
- nrg ( Nero Burning ROM )
- isz ( UltraISO - encrypted and compressed)
Support for other formats can be added through plugins.
Adware
Daemon Tools Lite contained adware from WhenU.com from version 4 through version 4.12.4 . During the installation, there was an option to choose whether to install the adware, with this option turned on by default. From version 5 adware is again included if you want to use a free license.
Daemon Tools Pro Basic still contains this adware, although the installation is mandatory, not voluntary.
Executions
Lite
| Daemon Tools Lite | |
|---|---|
| Basic data
|
|
| developer | DT Soft Ltd. |
| Current version | 10.5.1 (-) |
| operating system | Windows |
| category | CD / DVD emulation |
| License |
Freeware (up to 3.47; since 4.30.0) Adware (voluntary, 4.0 - 4.12.4) |
| German speaking | Yes |
| www.daemon-tools.cc | |
The Lite version (in German: "light") of the Daemon Tools is free freeware and has a limited range of functions. It can emulate up to four optical drives via an icon in the system tray and its context menu . In addition, various settings can be made in a separate window.
Per
| Daemon Tools Pro | |
|---|---|
| Basic data
|
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| developer | DT Soft Ltd. |
| Current version | 8.11.0666 (-) |
| operating system | Windows |
| category | CD / DVD emulation |
| License | Adware (basic version) (discontinued), proprietary (standard and advanced version) |
| German speaking | Yes |
| www.daemon-tools.cc | |
The flagship of DT Soft Ltd. is Daemon Tools Pro (for "professional", also called "DTPro"). The most striking difference to the Lite version is the extended graphical user interface. With this program it is also possible to create images of any CD and DVD in Media Descriptor Image format. These can be compressed and encrypted with a password.
Daemon Tools Pro can manage up to 32 virtual drives. A prominent feature is the vIDE adapter. This means that not only virtual SCSI drives can be created, as is normally the case, but also up to four virtual IDE drives (also called vIDE ). This eliminates the blacklisting problem through various copy protection procedures for the vSCSI drives.
Another feature is an auxiliary program with which existing images can be converted into MDS format and subsequently encrypted or compressed .
Executions of Daemon Tools Pro
Daemon Tools Pro comes in four different versions: Basic (Adware or Trial), Standard and Advanced . These differ in functionality and price.
| feature | Daemon Tools Pro Standard and Advanced Trial | Daemon Tools Pro Basic | Daemon Tools Pro Standard | Daemon Tools Pro Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Create CD / DVD images | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SCSI adapter emulation | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Maximum number of virtual SCSI drives | 4th | 4th | 16 | 16 |
| IDE adapter emulation | No | No | No | Yes |
| Maximum number of IDE virtual drives | no | no | no | 4th |
| Convert images afterwards | No | No | No | Yes |
| Contain adware | No | yes (mandatory) | No | No |
| Burning function | No | No | No | Yes |
| Price includes one year of free updates | free (20-day demo) Basic + Advance | set | € 16.90 | € 39.90 |
Supported file types
Daemon Tools Pro can mount the same image file types as Daemon Tools Lite. However, the images are always created in the media descriptor file format.
Dealing with copy protection technologies
Daemon Tools Pro is able to create images of a large number of game CDs and DVDs that are protected with the latest copy protection methods. One of the most important innovations is the so-called Tagès dumper , which makes it possible to read out the twin data from Tagès data carriers.
Burning images
With Daemon Tools Pro Advanced it is possible to burn images, which means that there is no need to use an additional burning program.
activation
An internet connection is required to activate Daemon Tools Pro. The license can only be used for a specific hardware configuration, which is recognized by means of a hardware key. In order for the program not to be deactivated, it must have access to the Internet at least once a month. If the user has a new hardware configuration, he must revoke his old license in order to get one for the new system.
criticism
Daemon Tools is criticized for logging user behavior with regard to the images used and evaluating it via third parties. Even if it was explicitly stated during installation that you do not consent to the monitoring of usage behavior and the logging of program activities , all data will still be forwarded to the internal statistics service MountSpace . This statistics service was introduced with version DAEMON Tools Lite 4.40.1, so older versions should not be affected. The collected, personal data contain, for example, the image hash, image file name, data carrier name and the number of integrations that are assigned to the IP addresses of the users. There can be no question of data protection; such log data can also have criminal consequences for the user.
See also
Legal
Similar programs
- Alcohol 120%
- Virtual CD
- SlySoft Virtual CloneDrive
- WinCDEmu (Windows, Open Source)
- CDemu ( Linux , Open Source)
- AcetoneISO (Linux, Open Source)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mark Russinovich : Using Rootkits to Defeat Digital Rights Management (English), February 6, 2006
- ↑ Notice of adware
- ↑ chip.de: Tool spies on its users
- ↑ forum.daemon-tools.cc: Start of the mount space service
Web links
- DAEMON Tools - manufacturer website
- DISC-SOFT - Daemon Tools Pro publisher website