Daemon Tools

Software for virtual drives From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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DAEMON Tools is a virtual drive and optical disc authoring program for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS.[9]

Quick Facts Developer(s), Stable release ...
DAEMON Tools
Developer(s)Disc Soft Ltd.[1]
Stable release
  • Ultra 6: 6.2.0 / 16 March 2023; 21 months ago (2023-03-16)[2]
  • Lite 12: 12.0.0 / 27 September 2023; 14 months ago (2023-09-27)[3][4]
  • for Mac 8: 8.5.0 / 17 October 2022; 2 years ago (2022-10-17)[5]
  • Pro 8: 8.3.1 / 17 August 2021; 3 years ago (2021-08-17)[5]
  • Net 6: 6.0.0 / 17 February 2017; 7 years ago (2017-02-17)[5]
  • USB 2: 2.0 / 29 November 2012; 12 years ago (2012-11-29)[5]
Operating systemWindows 98, Windows 2000 and later; OS X 10.6 or later (DT for Mac 2)[6]
Available in38 Languages with additional translation packs[7]
TypeVirtual drive
LicenseShareware
Websitewww.daemon-tools.cc
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Quick Facts File Types, b5t ...
Supported file types
File TypesDetails
b5tBlindWrite
b6tBlindWrite
bwtBlindRead
ccdCloneCD
cdiDiscJuggler
cue/binCue Sheet
isoStandard ISO
iszCompressed ISO
mds/mdfMedia Descriptor File
mdxMedia Data eXtended
nrgNero Burning ROM disc image
ape/cueAPE images
flacFree Lossless Audio Codec images
As of August 2014[8]
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Overview

DAEMON tools was originally a successor of Generic SafeDisc emulator and incorporated all of its features.[10] The program claims to be able to defeat most copy protection schemes such as SafeDisc and SecuROM.[11] It is currently compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10. DAEMON Tools has a special mode for proper operation of copies of discs with advanced protection (SafeDisc, SecuRom and LaserLock, CDCOPS, StarForce and Protect CD), which are used on some discs with games.[12]

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Editions

Six editions of the product exist: Ultra, Lite, Pro Standard, Pro Advanced, Net and DT for Mac. A feature comparison is given below.[13] Also, the company provides two additional solutions for the data storage organization: DAEMON Tools USB 2[14] that allows sharing different types of USB devices between remote workstations and DAEMON Tools iSCSI Target 2[15] – a cross-platform solution that enables creating an iSCSI storage server and provides access to virtual or physical devices, along with VHD images, within home or corporate network.

More information Feature, Lite 5 ...
FeatureLite 5Pro Standard 5Pro Advanced 5Net 5Ultra 2for Mac 2
License typeAdwareA / SharewareBSharewareSharewareSharewareSharewareShareware
Maximum number of DT and SCSI virtual devices416323232Unlimited
Maximum number of IDE virtual devices004440
Command-line interfaceYesYesYesYesYesNo
Image compressionYesYesYesYesYesNo
Image password protectionCYesYesYesYesYesNo
Image creationDExtraction only; no preset profilesYesYesYesYesNo
Burning imagesNeeds AstroburnYesYesYesYesNo
Image collection's managementNoYesYesYesYesYes
Image editingNoYesYesYesYesNo
Image splittingENoYesYesYesYesNo
Shell extensionsNoYesYesYesNoYes
Virtual device property monitoringNoYesYesYesYesNo
Volume Mount PointsFNoYesYesYesYesNo
Burning RMPS data on discsNoNoYesYesYesNo
Image conversionDNoNoYesYesYesNo
Mounting virtual hard disks (VHD)NoNoNoNoYesYes
Installation over the networkNoNoNoYesNoNo
Image Catalog sharingNoNoNoYesNoNo
iSCSI ServerNoNoNoUp to 16 targetsNoNo
iSCSI InitiatorNoNoNoYesYesYes
Mounting images on remote computersNoNoNoYesYesNo
Sharing disc drives on the networkNoNoNoYesNoNo
Bootable USB creationNoNoNoNoYesNo
RAM Disk creationNoNoNoNoYesNo
TrueCrypt image creationNoNoNoNoYesNo
Mounting ZIP filesNoNoNoNoYesNo
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Notes
A. ^ Free for non-commercial use without technical support. Technical support and the right to use commercially may be purchased.[16][17]
B. ^ In Korea, Freemium license is not available since ver. 4.45.1.[18][19]
C. ^ Applies on to .mds and .mdx images.
D. ^ Supported output formats include .iso, .mds/.mdf and .mdx
E. ^ The ability to split an image files into multiple files of fxed maximum sizes. Not supported by DAEMON Tools Lite, as of 22 February 2012.[20]
F. ^ The ability to mount an image into a folder on an NTFS drive
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File format

The default file format of DAEMON Tools is Media Data eXtended (MDX). MDX is a disc image file format similar to MDS/MDF images. It supports all of MDS/MDF format features except that all data is in one monolithic file only. The files of these types bear the filename extension of .mdx.[21]

MDX file contains metadata of original media – specifically the main physical parameters of disc, such as layer breaks, sessions, tracks and other. It could be described as being an archive file containing all data from a CD/DVD. It also supports data compression. MDX file includes the magic number "MEDIA DESCRIPTOR" at the beginning of the file.

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Controversy

On 13 February 2012, one of DAEMON Tools' components known as MountSpace became a subject of privacy concerns. MountSpace, a service-oriented component gathers and sends information about disc images used in DAEMON Tools to mountspace.com along with users' IP addresses. Although MountSpace can be disabled during installation, it is criticized for transmitting information despite being disabled and lacking a privacy policy.[22][23][24][25] The initial discovery of the concerning issue is attributed to Rafael Rivera of Within Windows blog.[22][24][25]

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Y.A.S.U.

Quick Facts Developer(s), Stable release ...
Y.A.S.U.
Developer(s)sYk0
Stable release
1.6.9040 / 4 February 2009; 15 years ago (2009-02-04)
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows
Available inEnglish
LicenseFreeware
Websiteforum.daemon-tools.cc/f40/
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YASU (Yet Another SecuROM Utility) is a very small tool that works as a SCSI-drive protector. It was created by sYk0 and can be used to hide emulated drives from SecuROM 7 and SafeDisc 4. YASU is a companion program for Daemon Tools and currently being hosted, supported and maintained by the Daemon Tools team. On March 4 of 2009, sYk0 announced development of Omen which is to succeed development of YASU.[26] As of January 2010, development of Omen has been abandoned.[27]

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See also

References

Further reading

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