Files
Cracktros and intros
Cracktros are mini adverts created by cracking groups to announce their releases to the community. Initially, these programs were inserted and launched whenever the cracked software was in use.
We have over 400 cracktro and crack-intros for Windows individually itemised for download.
Another 3500 of these for MS-DOS are playable in your web browser!
Also, we hold a collection of 450 scene software installers that complimented the cracktros and 200 demoscene productions to juxapose.
NFO files and scene releases
NFO or information text files are generally in every scene release. Often, they are stylised with ASCII text art and arranged in a standard format. In the early days, these texts included detailed group information, but now they focus more on the cracked software.
We hold 6200 NFO and information texts.
Also, we hold a collection of 140 NFO viewers and editors.
The 4100 group release proofs are to verify the use of retail-ready physical media that's supplied for release.
ANSI art
Coloured ANSI text art was commonly used on BBSes for advertising and theming of their sites.
This collection includes over 3000 items used for marketing BBSes, FTP sites, group NFOs and brand logos.
BBS ads
Bulletin Board Systems were a proto-Interweb for online communication and the exchange of files during the 1980s until the mid-1990s.
This is a collection of 14200 files.
With 6600 BBStros mostly for MS-DOS.
Another 2800 ANSI art pieces.
Many images and 1900 text files.
We also have a large collection of FTP ads plus lists of BBS sites and FTP sites are also available.
Magazines
Before the web and social media existed, groups used to exchange ideas and write articles on their communities in the form of digital magazines and newsletters.
The 1050 issues for 210 publications are also listed under their publication titles.
Filepacks
Filepacks are packages of files that share a common theme that people have collected and curated for easy distribution.
Popular pack topics include ANSI art - BBS ads, NFOs and cracktros.
Databases
Scene databases are often once private datasets of cracked software titles, release dates and associated groups. Due to their size, these sets are often incomplete and sometimes inaccurate.
You can also download a live copy of the Defacto2 database used by this website.
Text files and documents
The vast majority of scene releases involve text and documents.
We host 13260 text files.
Of which, 6200 NFO files are held.
Plus the 2920 texts created for the Commodore Amiga.
There are also more modern document formats such as PDFs, HTML websites.
As well as files covering the former Apple ][ and Atari ST scenes.
GitHub repositories
Occasionally, authors of software and applications include the source code of their works. They or we submit these sources to GitHub for easy access and viewability.
There are 40 programs using source code repos. Most of these legacy items are made in x86 Assembly or Pascal for MS-DOS or Windows32.
Mainstream news
- Scans and retypes of computer magazines and newspaper articles that attempt to report on the scene.
Busts and takedowns
- Reports and alerts for software pirate arrests and police raids.
Community standards
- Rules and agreed standards for the various divisions of the scene.
Community drama
- The very competitive scene often has led to online flamewars and occasionally offline conflicts.
Announcements
- Public notices and community farewells.
For sale
- Adverts for commercial goods and online services, that vary in legality.
Group jobs
- Calls for new group memberships or employment and tools for possible applicants. Sometimes a trial crackme is made to test one's abilty.
Restricted
- Internal tools and documents that were never intended to be made public, but give a great insight into the operations of scene groups.
Game hacks
- A small collection of hacks, exploits, cheats and trainers for legacy PC games.
Guides and how-tos
- Texts and guides on how to analyse, patch and crack legacy software.
Computer tools
- Legacy software to analyse, decrypt, patch and crack other programs.
ANSI tools
- Legacy software used to create and edit ANSI art files.
NFO tools
- Legacy software designed to create and edit NFO text files.
Interviews
Discussions with scene members, be prepared for bad speling and typos. There are also countless other interviews contained within the numerous magazines.
Ford Perfect Jan, 1993
Before the "Incident"...
Genesis Oct, 1991
Software Chronicles Digest interview
Bandido 1999
Of Drink or Die and RiSC, Griffiths made global headlines in 2007 after being extradited to the USA despite never visiting the country
Bryn Rogers Aug, 2012
My memories of Lamers of Power
ChinaBlue June, 1998
Retirement and the 'bust or be busted' scene mentality
Marvel July, 1999
An artist for Future Crew, the most influential demogroup on the PC
TGK June, 1998
Scenelink interview about Amnesia
Operating systems
DOS
- Software written for the original x86 operating system and precursor to Microsoft Windows. This platform was popular in North America during the 1980s and for much of the world during the first half of the 1990s.
Windows
- Windows became the inevitable replacement for MS-DOS on the x86 platform. Most Windows software released in the 1990s and would probably target Windows 95 and 98 while later releases would be for Windows XP or 7.
macOS
- Is the software created for Apple's macOS and earlier OS-X line of operating systems.
Linux
- Scene software created for the Linux desktop and server platforms. This software may fail to run on modern distributions
Scripts
- Shell scripts and software created in interpreted programming languages such as PHP, Perl, TCL, Python and Ruby.
Java
- Multi-platform applications written in the Java programming language.