Frequently Asked Questions about the DRM removal tools

Q: Where can I find out more about eBook Formats and DRM Removal Tools?
* This post explains about the various eBook formats, DRM and you – a guide for the perplexed.
* This post talks about Windows specific tools and issues surrounding eBook DRM removal.
* This post talks about a nice drag and drop all-in-one Mac OS X specific tool.
* This post has links to downloading a zip archive of **all** of the tools, as well as a comments area for getting your problems/questions answered.

Q: I’ve got the tools archive but I can’t install the tools and/or the DRM removal doesn’t work
* Read the rest of the FAQs here, and see if any apply to your situation.
* Read the ReadMe_First.txt file in the top level of the tools archive
* Read the ReadMe file in the folder of the tools you want to use.
* If you still can’t remove the DRM, ask in the comments on the first post in this blog, reporting the error as precisely as you can, what platform you use, what tool you have tried, what errors you get, and what versions you are using.

Q: I’ve fully unzipped the tools archive, but I can’t find the calibre plugins when I try to add them to calibre. I use Windows.
You should select the zip files that are in the Calibre_Plugins folder, not any files inside the plugins. Make sure you’re selecting files from the tools folder that you created when you right clicked and selected “Extract All” on the tools zip archive and not using the still-zipped tools archive.

One problem is that Windows will allow apps to browse inside of zip archives without needing to unpack them first. If inside of a zip there are other zip archives, it will show them as unzipped as well. So what happens is people will unzip the tools_vX.X.zip to create the tools_vX.X folder but inside of Calibre they will actually navigate to the still zipped file by mistake and can not tell they have done so because they do not have file extensions showing. So to the unwary Windows user, it appears that the zip archive was unzipped and that everything inside it was unzipped as well so there is no way to install the plugins.

This is why we strongly recommend renaming the tools_vX.X.zip archive (after extracting its contents) to tools_backup.zip. If people do that, they are less likely to navigate to the wrong location from inside of Calibre.

Q: I’ve got the tools installed, but the DRM doesn’t get removed. The log messages seem to say that the key wasn’t found.
You must use the exact file that’s used by your ebook reading software or hardware. See the question below on where to find your ebook files. Don’t use an old copy you have that you can no longer read.

Q: Where are my ebooks?
Your ebooks are stored on your computer or on your ebook reader. You need to find them to be able to remove the DRM. If they are on your reader, you should be able to locate them easily. On your computer it’s not so obvious. Here are the default locations.

Macintosh
Navigating from your home folder,
Kindle books are in either Library/Application Support/Kindle/My Kindle Content or Documents/My Kindle Content, depending on your version of Kindle for Mac.
Adobe Digital Editions ebooks are in Documents/Digital Editions

Windows
Navigating from your My Documents folder
Kindle books are in My Kindle Content
Adobe Digital Editions ebooks are in My Digital Editions
Mobipocket Reader ebooks are in My eBooks

Q: I just upgraded Kindle for Mac and now the tools don’t work
You now have more than one kindle-info file, because Amazon has moved the location of the file. The easiest thing is to delete both and let it get created again. Got to (Home Folder)/Library/Application Support/ and delete the “Kindle” folder and the “Amazon” folder. Now start Kindle for Macintosh. You’ll need to register it to your account again, and possibly download your books again, but after that the scripts will work again.

Q: Kindle Topaz ebooks? HTMLZ? SVG?
Most Amazon Kindle ebooks are Mobipocket format ebooks. However, some are in a format known as Topaz. The Topaz format is unique. It is unlike other ebook format. A Topaz ebook is literally a collections of glyphs and their positions on each page tagged with some additional information from that page including OCRtext (Optical Character Recognition generated Text) to allow searching, and some additional layout information. Each page of a Topaz ebook is effectively a description of an image of that page. To convert a Topaz ebook to another format is not easy as there is not a one-to-one mapping between glyphs and characters/fonts. To account for this, two different formats are generated by the DRM removal software. The first is an html description built from the OCRtext and images stored in the Topaz file (HTMLZ). This format is easily reflowed but may suffer from typical OCRtext errors including typos, garbled text, missing italics, missing bolds, etc. The second format uses the glyph and position information to create an accurate scalable vector graphics (SVG) image of each page of the book that can be viewed in web browsers that support svg images (Safari, Firefox 4 or later, etc). Additional conversion software can be used to convert these SVG images to an image only PDF file. The DeDRM and KindleBooks tools from this site provide both versions of the Topaz ebook so that the user can choose which one to use. The K4MobiDeDRM plugin only produces the html version of the ebook. The html version can be manually cleaned up and spell checked and then converted using Sigil/Calibre to epubs, mobi ebooks, and etc.

Q: Kindle Fire ebooks?
The Kindle Fire is Android based unlike any of the earlier standalone Kindles and the current tools will not work with ebooks from Kindle Fire devices. Because a Kindle Fire is only available in the US and because we would need access to a Kindle Fire that is jailbroken with the correct decompiling tools and lots of time, do not hold your breath for any solution coming soon from us. Your only workaround is to install Kindle for PC or Kindle for Mac and download that ebook from your Archive.

Q: Apple iBooks epubs?
The Apple iBooks ePubs use a variant of Apple’s Fairplay DRM and therefore the tools will *NOT* work with these ebooks. The only tools known to work for these ebooks is Requiem version 3.3 or later by Brahms. This software is currently not part of the tools package. You will need to find it yourself as we have no direct link. Be warned, Apple changes iTunes regularly to prevent Requiem from working so any solution may be short lived.

Q: I’ve bought Mobipocket ebooks from an on-line retailer without having to enter the PID of my copy of Mobipocket Reader, and I can read them in Mobipocket Reader. But when I try to convert them to another format, calibre says that they have DRM, but the tools say they don’t contain a PIDs, and I should open them in Mobipocket Reader. What’s going wrong?
The books are downloaded without a PID, but still encrypted. Opening them in Mobipocket Reader causes Mobipocket Reader to create a copy of the ebook that contains with the Mobipocket Reader’s PID. This copy is stored in the My eBooks folder in your My Documents folder. It’s this copy that you must use with the DRM removal tools.

Q: Is it open source? How can I be sure it’s safe and not a trojan horse?
All the DRM removal tools hosted here are scripts of one kind or another: Python, Applescript or Windows Batch files. So they are inherently open source, and open to inspection by everyone who downloads them. The source for any compiled pieces are provided right inside the tools themselves.

Q: The download links don’t work or just give me .php files, not .zip files. What’s wrong?
You’re using some kind of “fast download” plugin with your browser. Turn it off and the downloads will work properly.

Q: I have an old encrypted PDF file that won’t open in Adobe Digital Editions, how can I remove the DRM?
If your PDF ebooks cannot be read in Adobe Digital Editions, the tools here cannot help. They are probably encrypted using the Content Server 3 (or earlier) methods which Adobe no longer support, not even to allow conversion to Content Server 4 (AKA Adobe Digital Editions).

See http://www.adobe.com/products/contentserver/migrate.html for more details.

Adobe only allowed a nine month window (March-December 2009) for migration to Adobe Digital Editions after the Content Server 3 servers were discontinued.

You might be able to find tools to remove the DRM from other sites, but there are several different old encryption schemes for PDF files, and I’m unfamiliar with them. Tetrachroma’s blog might be a good starting point for Windows users, as he’s done a lot of work on some PDF DRM scheme called “File Open”.

Q: What ebooks do theses script work on?
There are six main ebook formats.
1. PDF
2. EPUB
3. eReader
4. Mobipocket
5. Topaz
6. LIT

There are seven main DRM schemes currently in use.
1. Adobe Adept
2. Barnes & Noble
3. Amazon Mobipocket
4. Amazon Topaz
5. Microsoft
6. eReader
7. Apple Fairplay

The scripts linked from this blog remove DRM from PDF, EPUB, eReader, Mobipocket and Topaz format ebooks using Adobe Adept, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and eReader DRM schemes.

Note these tools do NOT “crack” the DRM. They simply allow the book’s owner (and only the book’s owner) to use the encryption key information already stored someplace on their computer or device to decrypt the ebook in the same manner the official ebook reading software uses.

Microsoft LIT format ebooks using Microsoft’s DRM scheme can have the DRM removed using ConvertLit.

Requiem 3.3 (or later) by Brahms (no link available) is currently the only way to remove DRM from ebooks using Apple’s Fairplay DRM scheme, used on most ebooks bought at Apple’s iBooks ebook store.

Q: Who wrote these scripts?
The authors tend to identify themselves only by pseudonyms:

* The Adobe Adept and Barnes & Noble scripts were created by I♥Cabbages

* The Amazon Mobipocket and eReader scripts were created by The Dark Reverser

* The Amazon K4PC DRM/format was further decoded by Bart Simpson aka Skindle

* The Amazon Topaz DRM removal script was created by CMBDTC

* The Amazon Topaz format conversion was created by some_updates, clarknova, and with help from Bart Simpson

* The DeDRM AppleScript was created by Apprentice Alf

* The K4 Mobi tool and Calibre plugins were created by DiapDealer

* The Microsoft code was by drs

Since the original versions of the script and programs were released, various people have helped to maintain and improve them, mainly some_updates, DiapDealer and me (Apprentice Alf).

Windows, Python, Ebooks and DRM

The simplest way for Windows users to remove the DRM from their ebooks is to use calibre and the dedrm calibre plugins, as described in my post Ebook Formats, DRM and You — A Guide for the Perplexed.

If you don’t want to use calibre, for whatever reason, there are other ways to use the dedrm tools to remove DRM from your ebooks, including an all-in-one DeDRM Drag and Drop tool. However, all of them require you to install Python first, as Windows does not come with Python built-in. You will also need to install some encryption software that works with Python: PyCrypto.

Installing Python on Windows
I strongly recommend installing ActiveState’s Active Python, Community Edition for Windows (x86) 32 bits. This is a free, full version of the Python. (The version from python.org does not include all of the typical/required pieces and does not properly update the system PATH environment variable.)

1. Download ActivePython 2.7.2 for Windows (x86) (or later 2.7 version for Windows (x86) ) from http://www.activestate.com/activepython/downloads. Do *not* download the ActivePython 2.7.2 for Windows (64-bit, x64) version, even if you are running 64-bit Windows.
2. When it has finished downloading, run the installer. Accept the default options.

Installing PyCrypto on Windows
PyCrypto is a set of encryption/decryption routines that work with Python. The sources are freely available, and compiled versions are available from several sources. You must install a version that is for 32-bit Windows and Python 2.7. I recommend the installer linked from Michael Foord’s blog.

1. Download PyCrypto 2.1 for 32bit Windows and Python 2.7 from http://www.voidspace.org.uk/python/modules.shtml#pycrypto
2. When it has finished downloading, unzip it. This will produce a file “pycrypto-2.1.0.win32-py2.7.exe”.
3. Double-click “pycrypto-2.1.0.win32-py2.7.exe” to run it. Accept the default options.

You now have Python and PyCrypto installed on your computer, and you can use the Python scripts contained in the large zip file of dedrm tools linked from the first post in this blog.

Download the tools zip file, unzip it (by right-clicking and selecting “Extract All…”), and follow the instructions in the readme files in the appropriate folder. Nearly all the tools are in the form of python scripts that will run with a user interface when you double-click them (.pyw files). There is no need to open a command window.

DeDRM_v5.0_WinApp.zip
DeDRM_WinApp is is an easy to use all in one Drag and Drop tool written in python that has the same functionality as the DeDRM Mac OS X tool described in another post. It can be found along with a ReadMe file inside the tools archive in the DeDRM_Applications folder. The ReadMe file explains how to install and use this tool.

Kindle and Mobipocket ebooks
Use the KindleBooks tool in the KindleBooks_Tools folder. This will remove the DRM from ebooks downloaded to Kindle ereaders, Kindle for PC, and also older Mobipocket ebooks.

ePub and PDF ebooks downloaded to Adobe Digital Editions
1. Use the ineptkey tool first. This is found in both Adobe_ePub_Tools and Adobe_PDF_Tools. You only need to run it once, and it creates an adeptkey.der file that you will need to use with the other tools.
2. If an ePub, run it through the ePubFixer tool to fix any local versus central name issues, missing or incorrect mimetype files, etc.
3a. Use the ineptepub tool from the Adobe_ePub_Tools folder to remove the DRM from ePubs downloaded to Adobe Digital Editions.
3b. Use the ineptpdf tool from the Adobe_PDF_Tools folder to remove the DRM from PDFs downloaded to Adobe Digital Editions.

ePub ebooks from Barnes & Noble (for nook)
1. Use the ignoblekeygen tool from the Barnes_and_Noble_ePub_Tools folder. You only need to run it one, and it creates a bnepubkey.b64 file that you will need to use with the other tool. If you run into trouble, log in to your B&N account and check out Account Settings->Personal Information and note exactly what they think your name and credit card number are.
2. Use the ePubFixer tool to fix any local versus central name issues, missing or incorrect mimetype files, etc
3. Use the ignobleepub tool from the Barnes_and_Noble_ePub_Tools folder to remove the DRM from ePubs from Barnes and Noble

eReader ebooks from Barnes and Noble and elsewhere (e.g. fictionwise)
1. Use the eReaderPDB2PML tool from the eReader_PDB_Tools folder to remove the DRM from eReader ebooks, generating a PML file (& a folder of images)
2. Get DropBook for Windows from eReader.com
3. Use DropBook to compile the PML file (& folder of images) back into an eReader file or use Calibre to convert it to whatever format you want.

Microsoft LIT Ebooks
1. Use the ConvertLit application (not a python script) from http://www.convertlit.com/

Ebook Formats, DRM and You — A Guide for the Perplexed

DRM: What it is and why you should care about it.
DRM is used by publishers to restrict what you can do with your ebooks. DRM controls which devices you can use to read your ebook, and stops you converting your ebooks from one format to another.

DRM makes buying and using ebooks harder. When you first start using ebooks, you might not notice the restrictions very much. But the restrictions are there.

There are several different DRM schemes. Ebooks with one DRM scheme can’t be read on a device that uses a different DRM scheme. Some DRM schemes limit ebooks to one device only, so if you want to read that ebook on a different device, it’s necessary to download the ebook again. Others require new devices to be authorised by a central server on the Internet.

When you want to use a different ebook reader, or if the supplier stops supporting the ebooks you’ve bought, you may lose access to your DRMed ebooks.

So to be able to read your ebooks on all the devices you have now, and to be sure that you will still be able to read your ebooks in the future, you will want to remove the DRM.

Ethics of DRM Removal
It shouldn’t really be necessary to say this, but just to be clear:

None of the developers and maintainers of these tools or this site are in favour of ebooks being ‘pirated’. We expect people to use these tools only to gain full access to ebooks they have bought themselves. Dedrmed ebooks should not be uploaded to open servers, torrents, or other methods of mass distribution. No help will be given to people doing such things, and no links to such books should be posted here. Authors, Publishers and Ebook retailers all need to earn money to be able to carry on making great ebooks available.

 

Calibre Plugins: The simplest option for removing DRM

0. You must already be able read your ebooks, either on your computer or on your ebook reader. (Kindle, nook, etc.) If you cannot read your ebooks on your computer or on your ebook reader, you won’t be able to remove the DRM. Contact your ebook retailer and sort out any problems reading your ebooks before trying to remove the DRM.
1. Download and install the latest calibre for your Operating System.
2. Download the latest combined tools package, and unzip it. (On Windows, right-click and “Extract All…”; After extracting all, rename the tools_vX.X.zip to backup_tools.zip to prevent later confusion)
3. Run calibre. Click Preferences. Do NOT click “Get plugins to enhance calibre”, that option is reserved for “official” calibre plugins. Instead select “Change calibre behavior” Then under Advanced click on Plugins. (looks like a puzzle piece)
4. Click on the large “Load plugin from File” button
5. Navigate to the tools folder unzipped in step 2
6. Open the “Calibre_Plugins” folder
7. Select one of the zip files in that folder
8. Click on Add (or the button may say “Open”)
9. Click on the “Yes” button in the warning dialog that appears. A Confirmation dialog appears that the plug-in has been installed.
10. Repeat steps 4 to 9 for every zip file in the Calibre_Plugins folder (five at present).
11. You must now configure the plugins. Which plugins need configuring, and the information you need to enter depends on what kind of ebooks you have. If your ebooks don’t match the description at the start of any of the following items, ignore it and move on to the next.

To configure a plugin, you must find it in the list of plugins. All the DRM removal plugins are in the “File Type plugins” section of the Plugins section of the calibre prefereces. Click on the plugin in the list to select it, and then click on the Customize plugin button. In the dialog that then pops up, enter the required information, detailed below.

a. If you have Mobipocket ebooks, where you either entered a PID on the retailer’s web site, or you must read them in Mobipocket Reader, you must enter the PID you entered on the retailer’s web site, or the PID of your installation of Mobipocket Reader into the customisation field of the K4MobiDeDRM plugin. The PID will be ten numbers and letters, with * or $ as the eighth character. If you have more than one PID, enter them separated by commas,
b. If you have Amazon Kindle ebooks that were downloaded to your Kindle, you must enter your Kindle’s serial number into the customisation field of the K4MobiDeDRM plugin. If you have already entered a PID there, add the Kindle serial number as well, separating it from the PID with a comma. Please note: all PIDs and Kindle Serial Numbers are **case-sensitive**.
c. If you have Amazon Kindle ebooks that were downloaded to the copy of Kindle for Mac or Kindle for PC that was installed on this computer, you do not need to add anything extra into the customisation fields.
d. If you have ePub ebooks that can be read in Adobe Digital Editions, you do not need to add anything extra into the customisation fields.
e. If you have PDF ebooks that can be read in Adobe Digital Editions, you do not need to add anything extra into the customisation fields.
f. If you have ePub ebooks from Barnes and Noble (e.g. for nook), you must enter your name (NOT YOUR E_MAIL ADDRESS) and full credit card number into the customisation field of the Ignoble Epub DeDRM plugin. The name and credit card number should be the ones set as part of the Credit Card unlock code on your Nook Library page. Separate the name from the number with a comma and do not put any spaces in the card number or around the comma.
g. If you have eReader ebooks from Barnes and Noble, or from, say, Fictionwise, your must enter your name and the last 8 digits of your credit card number into the customisation field of the eReader PDB 2 PML plugin. Again, the name and credit card number must be the ones entered at your ebook retailer’s website as the DRM key/Unlock code.
h. If you have ebooks bought at the Apple iBooks store, you need to find and use Requiem 3.3 or later by Brahms. It is NOT part of the tools package.
i. If you have Microsoft LIT ebooks, there is no Calibre plugin that can remove the DRM.

12. Now click on the Apply button, and then close the preferences.

You’re now ready to remove the DRM from your ebooks. Just import them into calibre, and the DRM will be removed. The plugins ONLY remove the DRM when the ebooks are imported. If you have already imported your ebooks into calibre, your will need to remove them and import them again.

Converting to other formats
Calibre will convert your ebooks for you, once they have had the DRM removed.

Other Ways to Remove DRM
Other tools for removing DRM are addressed in other posts in this blog.

Mac OS X 10.5, 10.6, and 10.7 users who don’t want to use calibre should use the DeDRM AppleScript, as described in my post, DeDRM AppleScript for Mac OS X 10.5, 10.6, and 10.7.

Windows users who don’t want to use calibre will need to install Python and PyCrypto and use either the DeDRM_WinApp tool or the stand-alone tools, as described in my post, Windows, Python, Ebooks and DRM.

Linux users are sure to be able to work things out for themselves from the Read Me files included in the tools. The Windows versions of the tools do work under the very latest 1.3.22 or laters versions of Wine on Linux

— Alf.