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Comment by saagarjha | Hacker News Reader

Ever used IDA Pro?

Please elaborate

IDA Pro is an reverse engineering tool sold by Hex Rays, which, for the last decade or two has been the the go-to software for security research, with very few actual competitors in the area (though this has been changing recently, depending on who you ask and what your needs are). It is fairly infamous for its exorbitant price (many thousands of dollars) and the company's extreme willingness to go after "pirates" (a term which is somewhat loose and is quite a bit broader than "people who use IDA Pro without purchasing it") and their inclusion of fairly invasive DRM reminiscent of malware.

Let me just add (in addition to what you wrote, all of which I've experienced) that I literally (using the term correctly here) had to /beg/ them to take my money ($7500, I think).

Very long story, but long story short, I needed the tool urgently (this was pre-Ghidra), like hours & days mattered. I am a small company, they were "skeptical" of me and my intentions, they demanded all sorts of paperwork and IDs, etc. It was seriously as though it was a dark comedy nightmare.

Everything you wrote is true. So many people fellate IDA given the chance; I don't know what they're smoking. The product is clunky and ugly (but it mostly works), but as you said, it's got very little competition. I and a few of my colleagues (and many here on HN) could probably do a better job, but I don't want to live in that world.

Man, I think I got pretty far afield there, but your comment resonated with me. Thank you.

Oh yes, I have heard this too. I know some people who have been “blacklisted” from ever buying IDA because Hex Rays thought they had “associated” with people with pirated copies. They are very selective with who gets the software and how they can use it…

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