convert mp3 to txt.... useful for hacking?

[chewbacalips]

Has anyone here ever tried opening an mp3 (or any other audio format) with Notepad (.txt files)?

You get a whole bunch of crazy stuff, some of it is readable. In the case of DRM-encrypted content, you can even read some DRM information.

I presume that all the information you see when you open a file this way is computer-code, by which the actual song-file is made up. If this is the case, would this per chance provide a method of decrypting DRM?

This is mostly out of curiosity. I don't know anything about computer programming, but I do find things like this fascinating.

[Guest]

A computer professional would use a binary editor, not Notepad!

Simply seeing the byte values of a program contributes little to understanding it.

[LoRd_MuldeR]

If you open a mp3 file in Notepad, the bytes will be interpreted as ASCII characters.

Maybe there even is some content in the mp3 file that is to be interpreted as ASCII chars, like ID3 tags, but most of the content certainly is not :p

So what you'll see in Notepad mostly is complete nonsense!

Looking at the binary data in a Hex-Editor will be more enlightening, but without the mp3 specifications at hand you won't get far either.

Actually a mp3 file is a sequence of mp3 frames. Each frame starts with frame header. And the frame header starts with sync bits to indicate the start of a new frame.

If this all is new to you, you better get reading:
http://www.mp3-tech.org/programmer/frame_header.html

[chewbacalips]

Hi. Yes, this is all new to me. I appreciate the tips.

So it sounds like a binary editor will provide useful information regarding the code-makeup of a sound file (e.g., mp3 and wma). So, I have a couple of questions, as this seems very interesting.

1. I presume that we are all familiar with the basics behind audio editing. That is, I presume we've all seen how audio can be dispalyed graphically using some software. And those graphs can be manipulated with simple cut-n-paste functions, and so on.

Now, suppose you open an mp3 in a binary editor. From what you replied earlier, it sounds like the audio will be displayed in text-form, rather than graphical form. If that is the case, is it possible to perform audio editing through a binary editor?

NOTE: I'm not asking if this is more practical. I highly doubt it's going to get much easier than the methods currently employed by the industry. But for the sake of computer potential, I'm curious to know if this technique would work.


2. Assuming the answer to (1) is "yes, binary editors can be used to edit audio," then can't they be used to remove DRM encryption? Supposing you opened a mp3 in a binary editor and you saw (a) the audio-code in text-format, and (b) the DRM encryption code, can't you do either of the following: (A) copy ONLY the audio-code portion into a new file and save it as a new mp3, or (B) just delete the DRM code and re-save?


Again, this is all new to me. I'm not familiar with binary editing or computer programming at all. But that shouldn't stop someone from wondering if these general ideas can be applied to advanced techniques and principles.

[Guest]

Your questions are really naive. You know nothing about encryption and you think just by seeing some encrypted data in a binary editor you will be able unencrypt it. Go do some reading before further exposing your cluelessness.

Furthermore, you are silly to think the protection code is in the audio file itself. It's in the player.