Decode .exe file

Well I don't really need to extract the date. I just want the program recreated to run on my website.

The .exe doesn't access any web files, so the data is in the program.

nice information thans

Misleading. Just because the same programming language happens to be used for both desktop and the web, doesn't make it "embeddable". Did you know that desktop applications (.exe, etc) can be made with PHP? That doesn't mean the resulting application can then be put onto the web without being completely rewritten. Completely different libraries are used when developing desktop vs web. Sure, a few low-level snippets could be reused, but that isn't very helpful, you might as well just rewrite the whole thing from the start.

That makes a little more sense. It definitely might be possible, especially if it keeps the information in an external format of some sort, which is pretty typical. I would take a look at it, but I don't usually use my Windows machine any more.

It sounds like it's probably using a database of some sort, it doesn't make sense to keep a huge amount of information compiled together in an .exe like that, it wouldn't be very efficient. In the file system, is there any other file kept along with the .exe?

Any programmer that would put a large chunk of that into a program is just an IDIOT! It is harder to do, harder to maintain, harder to internationalize, can't be modified, etc... And you would need to make your program larger, etc... It is just NOT a good idea. Look at accounting programs, for example. Even the chart of ACCOUNTS is ELSEWHERE! Many programs today even store SMALLER things, like error messages and screen messages, to another file. WHY? It is easier to expand, and internationalize.

Although that can be done in the program, databases almost ALWAYS have that facility on most reports or even raw data.

It could take no time at all!

Heck, I'm probably more experienced than most, generally, on this. I HAVE analyzed data in programs. I have to tell you that it was to get COMMANDS, OPTIONS, SCREEN DATA, and ERROR MESSAGES, ****NOT**** the main data. I mean WHO stores that data in a program?

As for the demand that people MUST be experienced, and must not learn on YOUR time. I assume that means you are paying? It shouldn't take long for a programmer to find strings you are looking for. HECK, I write programs to do that sort of thing ALL THE TIME. For one customer, I wrote a program to go into a program and find all the debug switch options it had because we were tired of calling support and after 2 days or WEEKS finding that the solution was to use such an option. They REFUSED to give us a list.

If the data is stored in ASCII, in MOST cases, it is relatively easy to get. If it follows an inherent pattern, or you can find one from the programmer or compiler, it is relatively easy to clean. From what you are saying, it probably IS ASCII. EBCDIC is rare for a PC program, and it would be unlikely they encrypted or compressed it, because of it being as open as you indicate, etc... If they DID encrypt or compress it,finding things will be MUCH harder. Outside of a debugger, you would have to spot a pattern, or know more about how the compiler works.

MY bet is that it pulls this data from the web, stores it in the registry, or stores it in another file/database. Have you even tried to run the program ALONE on a separate system(Do NOT install, merely copy the executable)? If we are right, unless it gets data from the web, it will probably NOT work! If YOU are right, there is a chance it will. Try THAT! ALSO, if you have an editor that can read everything to the end of the file, try going into the editor, and look for something you expect. You MAY even be able to have the EDITOR search. If it works, you're right! If it doesn't, we likely are. NOTE, many editors WILL only read PART of the file.

Steve

Have someone look at the files from the application folder, it might not be that hard to write a program that could use the files or atleast the data in them and present it on a web page.