APPLE II CRACK SCREENS
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It's still up in the air when this phenomenon began to happen (1981 is as good a guess as any), but Apple II pirates, not content to merely get commercial software copied and the protection removed, started giving themselves group names ("Midwest Pirates' Guild", "Black Bag", "High Society") and began to release these pirated programs as products in themselves.
Initially, the goal was to take a program and quickly knock it down to an easily downloadable file. When this was done, the accompanying documentation might tell you who took the time to unprotect/crack the original, or a name of the cracker might be in the beginning of the program. But then it started to spiral upwards.
Within a short time, these groups started using the "splash screens" of these programs to announce their favorite bulletin boards, to take credit for unprotecting the software, or in some cases to thumb their nose at either the software publisher or other pirates. If a group was feeling particularly energetic or ambitious, they might actually create a self-sufficient animated or fast-loading splash screen just for the pirates involved. As time went on, these screens became more and more elaborate, eventually taking on an almost crowded feel as they would shoehorn in the names of the group, the cracker who cracked the game, the friends who the pirates knew (also known as "greets") and an advertisement for the board or boards the pirates hung out on.
This directory is a collection of those splash screens, taken from an emulator and cropped to exactly duplicate the original screens as they appeared on Apple IIs, both with color and monochrome versions if possible. They give a fascinating insight into what may very well be the roots of the "artscenes" of later years, including the demo and music scenes that came to dominate the late 1980s and 1990s.
There is also a thumbnail gallery of these images available. However, this is currently a very large set of images and the gallery takes a very long time to load.
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221b.gif 246779 | The Digital Gang Presents Datasoft's 221B Baker Street, Brought to you by the Triton, Special Thanks to Mr. Wave and Innocent Bystander, Thanks to Sherlock Apple and Sec17
| 451.gif | 246779 | Fahrenheit 451, Cracked by Nocturnal Gnome, Thanks to Systems Overlord, Distributed by The Lightning and Systems Overlord
| 6502crew.gif | 246779 | 6502 Crew Logo: Cracked/Converted by DataWiz
| aaec.gif | 246779 | A.E. by Jun Wada and Makoto Horai, Cracked by Arobas (1982)
| aaem.gif | 246779 | A.E. by Jun Wada and Makoto Horai, Cracked by Arobas (1982) (Monochrome)
| aassassin.gif | 246779 | Axis Assassin, by John Field, Cracked by the Disk Jockey
| aassassinm.gif | 246779 | Axis Assassin, by John Field, Cracked by the Disk Jockey (Monochrome)
| abootc.gif | 246779 | Arcade Boot Camp by John Besnard, Cracked by The Penguin and the Intern of Black Bag
| abootm.gif | 246779 | Arcade Boot Camp by John Besnard, Cracked by The Penguin and the Intern of Black Bag (Monochrome)
| achallenge.gif | 246779 | First Class Presents The American Challenge: A Sailing Simulation, Cracked by Gadget Master and The Outlaw, Thanx to The Andrex and Unknown Hacker
| achallengem.gif | 246779 | First Class Presents The American Challenge: A Sailing Simulation, Cracked by Gadget Master and The Outlaw, Thanx to The Andrex and Unknown Hacker (Monochrome)
| acutegame.gif | 246779 | Extension 1200/Circle K Present a Cute Game by Activision, Broken by Lord Rama and The Gonif
| adeptc.gif | 246779 | The Racketeers Present Adept, Liberated by Hot Rod and the Warezird, Thanks to the Time Lord
| adeptm.gif | 246779 | The Racketeers Present Adept, Liberated by Hot Rod and the Warezird, Thanks to the Time Lord (Monochrome)
| advwritec.gif | 246779 | Adventure Writer, Kraked by the Disk Jockey of the Atlantic Pirates Guild
| advwritem.gif | 246779 | Adventure Writer, Kraked by the Disk Jockey of the Atlantic Pirates Guild (Monochrome)
| ae3.gif | 246779 | Black Bag Presents Broderbund Software's AE, Cracked by the Intern (1982)
| aec.gif | 246779 | A.E. by Jun Wada and Makoto Horai, Cracked by the Krac-Man (1982)
| aem.gif | 246779 | A.E. by Jun Wada and Makoto Horai, Cracked by the Krac-Man (1982) (Monochrome)
| aencounter.gif | 246779 | The Alpine Encounter, Kracked by Mr. Krac-Man
| aencounterm.gif | 246779 | The Alpine Encounter, Kracked by Mr. Krac-Man (Monochrome)
| afoxc.gif | 246779 | First Class Presents Arctic Fox, brought to you by The Hitman and The Necromancer
| afoxm.gif | 246779 | First Class Presents Arctic Fox, brought to you by The Hitman and The Necromancer (Monochrome)
| agentusa.gif | 246779 | The Secret Service Presents Agent USA, Cracked by One Eye and The Atom, A Secret Service/Black Bag Ware, Disktributed by Camel Jockey and The Fox, Thanx to The Gonif and The Micron (1984)
| aheart.gif | 246779 | Air Heart by Broderbund, Cracked by The Evil Sock, Thanks to the Bit Biter and Mr. Nobody
| ahill.gif | 246779 | Avalon Hill Games: Distributed by the C.O.P.
| ahillm.gif | 246779 | Avalon Hill Games: Distributed by the C.O.P. (Monochrome)
| alcac.gif | 246779 | Activision Presents Alcazar: The Forgotten Fortress, Kraked by The Disk Jocky, Thanks to the Connection (1985)
| alcam.gif | 246779 | Activision Presents Alcazar: The Forgotten Fortress, Kraked by The Disk Jocky, Thanks to the Connection (1985) (Monochrome)
| alibaba.gif | 246779 | Ali Baba and The Forty Thieves, by Stuart Smith, Broken by Long-John Silver (1982)
| alibabam.gif | 246779 | Ali Baba and The Forty Thieves, by Stuart Smith, Broken by Long-John Silver (1982) (Monochrome)
| amaf.gif | 246779 | The Apple Mafia Rules! Cracked by High Technology and Creative Cracker, Thanks to Silicon Scorpion and Sherlock Apple
| amafia.gif | 246779 | Cracked by High Technology and Creative Cracker, Apple Mafia Members: Creative Cracker, High Technology, The Godfather, Big Brother, Jacque Lafitte, Data Dragon, The Phantom, The Magnet, Silicon Scorpion, Sherlock Apple, and Lord Digital (Monochrome)
| amafiac.gif | 246779 | Cracked by High Technology and Creative Cracker, Apple Mafia Members: Creative Cracker, High Technology, The Godfather, Big Brother, Jacque Lafitte, Data Dragon, The Phantom, The Magnet, Silicon Scorpion, Sherlock Apple, and Lord Digital
| amafm.gif | 246779 | The Apple Mafia Rules! Cracked by High Technology and Creative Cracker, Thanks to Silicon Scorpion and Sherlock Apple (Monochrome)
| amazon.gif | 246779 | Amazon, Cracked by Disk Master and Micron
| amunchies.gif | 246779 | Alien Munchies: Re-Kraked by the Disk Jockey. Learn to Krak Right, Freeze.
| amunchiesm.gif | 246779 | Alien Munchies: Re-Kraked by the Disk Jockey. Learn to Krak Right, Freeze. (Monochrome)
| angel1.gif | 246779 | Angel-1 Version 0.7 by Ray Gary, Single-File by Dr. Encinitas
| angel1m.gif | 246779 | Angel-1 Version 0.7 by Ray Gary, Single-File by Dr. Encinitas (Monochrome)
| ankh.gif | 246779 | Ankh, Kracked by Dr. Who and Merlin the Magician, Distributed by The Demon, the Lich and the Byte Master (Monochrome)
| ankhc.gif | 246779 | Ankh, Kracked by Dr. Who and Merlin the Magician, Distributed by The Demon, the Lich and the Byte Master
| apanic.gif | 246779 | Apple Panic by Ben Serki of Broderbund Software, Smashed by the Smiling Sledgehammer
| apg.gif | 246779 | APG, Security Removed by the Disk Jockey (Monochrome)
| apgc.gif | 246779 | APG, Security Removed by the Disk Jockey
| applemaf.gif | 246779 | High Technology and Creative Cracker: The Apple Mafia Strikes
| appleman.gif | 246779 | Beneath Apple Manor Special Edition, Cracked by Mr. Krac-Man! (Monochrome)
| applemanc.gif | 246779 | Beneath Apple Manor Special Edition, Cracked by Mr. Krac-Man!
| aquatronc.gif | 246779 | Aquatron by Justin Gray, Cracked by The Freeze, thanks to The Man in Black, the Penguin and the Bumb (1983)
| aquatronm.gif | 246779 | Aquatron by Justin Gray, Cracked by The Freeze, thanks to The Man in Black, the Penguin and the Bumb (1983) (Monochrome)
| archonc.gif | 246779 | Archon, Cracked by The Burglar, Thanks to Apple Bandit, The Syndicate, and Hardware Heister (1984)
| archonm.gif | 246779 | Archon, Cracked by The Burglar, Thanks to Apple Bandit, The Syndicate, and Hardware
| areality.gif | 246779 | Circle K Presents Alternate Reality: The City, Cracked by The Gonif and the Wombat, Members: The Wombat, the Fuzul, The Gonif, the Chief Surgeon, Maxwell Smart
| arealitym.gif | 246779 | Circle K Presents Alternate Reality: The City, Cracked by The Gonif and the Wombat, Members: The Wombat, the Fuzul, The Gonif, the Chief Surgeon, Maxwell Smart (Monochrome)
| argosc.gif | 246779 | Datamost (And Buffalo Bill) presents Argos (1983)
| argosm.gif | 246779 | Datamost (And Buffalo Bill) presents Argos (1983) (Monochrome)
| ark22.gif | 246779 | Dox Screen to Arkanoid 2 by Rat and The Kid (Visual Eyes)
| ark2c.gif | 246779 | Arkanoid 2: Ze Right Hand Killer, cracked by The Kid and the Rat (Visual Eyes)
| ark2m.gif | 246779 | Arkanoid 2: Ze Right Hand Killer, cracked by The Kid and the Rat (Visual Eyes) (Monochrome)
| atavern.gif | 246779 | Call the Adventurer's Tavern
| awacs.gif | 246779 | AWACS: Broken by the Micro-Muncher
| awesome.gif | 246779 | Prepare Yourself: Kracked by Mr. Krac-Man
| awonder.gif | 246779 | Alice in Wonderland, by Windham Classics, Cracked by Gadget Master, Thanks to The Miner, Distributed by The Spaz, Commander Crak, and Dos Demon
| bandits.gif | 246779 | Bandits, cracked by Nameless Cracker, Pirate Trek and Krakowicz
| banzai.gif | 246779 | Buckaroo Banzai, Cracked by Unseen Entity, Green Hornet, G-Man, Crazy Cat, and Masked Adventurer (Garden State Pirates) (GSP)
| barrels.gif | 246779 | Distributed by The Formater of Baud Bandits
| bbelfry.gif | 246779 | The Connection and the Interrupt Present: Bats in the Belfry, by Samuel Moore, Kraked by the Disk Jockey (Monochrome)
| bbelfryc.gif | 246779 | The Connection and the Interrupt Present: Bats in the Belfry, by Samuel Moore, Kraked by the Disk Jockey
| bblazer.gif | 246779 | Ball Blazer: A Black Bag Crack by Hot Rod, Thanks to The Exploter and Gadget Master
| bchess.gif | 246779 | Battle Chess: Cracked by La Sing! Reprotected by Ia
| bdash2.gif | 246779 | Boulder Dash II: Greetings from Neger and Pauly
| bdash2m.gif | 246779 | Boulder Dash II: Greetings from Neger and Pauly (Monochrome)
| belhopm.gif | 246779 | Bellhop, by Garry Kitchen and John Van Ryzin, Imaginative Systems Software, Shortened by Mr. Crac-Man, Part of Krac-Ware, Inc. and The Untouchables, All Rights are Gone, Call the Bay (Monochrome)
| bellhop.gif | 246779 | Bellhop, by Garry Kitchen and John Van Ryzin, Imaginative Systems Software, Shortened by Mr. Crac-Man, Part of Krac-Ware, Inc. and The Untouchables, All Rights are Gone, Call the Bay
| berzapc.gif | 246779 | Berzap!, released by Krackle and Magic Merlin and Captain Infinity (1984)
| berzapm.gif | 246779 | Berzap!, released by Krackle and Magic Merlin and Captain Infinity (1984) (Monochrome)
| bezman.gif | 246779 | Bezman, Broken by XYZZY, But Banned by Atari (1981) (Monochrome)
| bezmanc.gif | 246779 | Bezman, Broken by XYZZY, But Banned by Atari (1981)
| bezmx.gif | 246779 | Bez MX Cracked by Mr. Krac-Man (Monochrome)
| bezmxc.gif | 246779 | Bez MX Cracked by Mr. Krac-Man
| bfloppyc.gif | 246779 | The Great Lake Alliance Presents Beyond Floppy, Cracked by The Mystic and The Psycho
| bfloppym.gif | 246779 | The Great Lake Alliance Presents Beyond Floppy, Cracked by The Mystic and The Psycho (Monochome)
| bheadc.gif | 246779 | Beach-Head II by Peter Adams, Kraked by the Disk Jockey, Atlantic Pirates Guild, Thanks to the Sheik
| bheadm.gif | 246779 | |