Daemon Tools Explained

DAEMON Tools
Developer:Disc Soft Ltd.[1]
Operating System:Windows 98, Windows 2000 and later; OS X 10.6 or later (DT for Mac 2)[2]
Genre:Virtual drive
Language:38 Languages with additional translation packs[3]
License:Shareware
Subheader:

Supported file types

Label1:File Types
Data1:Details
Label2:b5t
Data2:BlindWrite
Label3:b6t
Data3:BlindWrite
Label4:bwt
Data4:BlindRead
Label5:ccd
Data5:CloneCD
Label6:cdi
Data6:DiscJuggler
Label7:cue/bin
Data7:Cue Sheet
Label8:iso
Data8:Standard ISO
Label9:isz
Data9:Compressed ISO
Label10:mds/mdf
Data10:Media Descriptor File
Label11:mdx
Data11:Media Data eXtended
Label12:nrg
Data12:Nero Burning ROM disc image
Label13:ape/cue
Data13:APE images
Label14:flac
Data14:Free Lossless Audio Codec images
Below:As of August 2014[4]

DAEMON Tools is a virtual drive and optical disc authoring program for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS.[5]

Overview

DAEMON tools was originally a successor of Generic SafeDisc emulator and incorporated all of its features.[6] The program claims to be able to defeat most copy protection schemes such as SafeDisc and SecuROM.[7] 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.[8]

Editions

Six editions of the product exist: Ultra, Lite, Pro Standard, Pro Advanced, Net and DT for Mac. A feature comparison is given below.[9] Also, the company provides two additional solutions for the data storage organization: DAEMON Tools USB 2[10] that allows sharing different types of USB devices between remote workstations and DAEMON Tools iSCSI Target 2[11] – 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.

Feature Lite 5 Pro Standard 5 Pro Advanced 5 Net 5 Ultra 2 for Mac 2
License type
Maximum number of DT and SCSI virtual devices 4 16 32 32 32 Unlimited
Maximum number of IDE virtual devices 0 0 4 4 4 0
Command-line interface
Image compression
Image password protection
Image creation
Burning images
Image collection's management
Image editing
Image splitting
Shell extensions
Virtual device property monitoring
Volume Mount Points
Burning RMPS data on discs
Image conversion
Mounting virtual hard disks (VHD)
Installation over the network
Image Catalog sharing
iSCSI Server
iSCSI Initiator
Mounting images on remote computers
Sharing disc drives on the network
Bootable USB creation
RAM Disk creation
TrueCrypt image creation
Mounting ZIP files
Notes:
  • A. Free for non-commercial use without technical support. Technical support and the right to use commercially may be purchased.[12] [13]
  • B. In Korea, Freemium license is not available since ver. 4.45.1.[14] [15]
  • 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.[16]
  • F. The ability to mount an image into a folder on an NTFS drive

    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 .[17]

    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.

    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.[18] [19] [20] [21] The initial discovery of the concerning issue is attributed to Rafael Rivera of Within Windows blog.

    Related programs

    Y.A.S.U.

    Y.A.S.U.
    Developer:sYk0
    Latest Release Version:1.6.9040
    Operating System:Microsoft Windows
    Language:English
    License:Freeware

    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.[22] As of January 2010, development of Omen has been abandoned.[23]

    See also

    Further reading

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: Disc Soft Ltd. . 23 March 2012.
    2. Web site: FAQ . Disc Soft Ltd . What are supported operating systems? . 5 August 2014.
    3. Web site: Translation Packs . 2010-01-20 . 2014-04-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140407092256/http://forum.daemon-tools.cc/f50/ . dead .
    4. Web site: File Associations . DAEMON Tools Help . DAEMON Tools . 23 November 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111113165232/http://daemon-help.com/en/windows_integration_lite/file_associations_lite.html . 13 November 2011 .
    5. Web site: DAEMON Tools Lite for Mac 2.
    6. Web site: New name of the Generic Safedisc Emulator. 15 November 2005.
    7. Web site: Supported games and protections database. 2010-01-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20100306025421/http://forum.daemon-tools.cc/gamedb.php?letter=all. 2010-03-06. dead.
    8. Web site: DAEMON Tools Lite 4.35.5 represents full Windows 7 support . 23 October 2009 . 3 November 2009.
    9. Web site: DAEMON-Tools.cc :: Products :: Compare.
    10. Web site: DAEMON Tools USB.
    11. Web site: DAEMON Tools iSCSI Target.
    12. Web site: FAQ: Is DAEMON Tools software free or not?. daemon-tools.cc. 21 November 2011. DAEMON Tools Lite is free for home and non-business use. In case you want to use DAEMON Tools in any organization, you need to buy a license..
    13. Web site: Installation. DAEMON Tools Lite Help. DAEMON Tools. 21 November 2011. [Inside third screenshot] Support is provided only for Paid License users..
    14. Web site: Daemon tool lite license problem. DAEMON Tools. 24 June 2012. Due to some changes in marketing strategy Korea is no longer among the countries for which a Free version of DAEMON Tools Lite available.. 6 May 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140506145210/http://forum.daemon-tools.cc/f19/daemon-tool-lite-license-problem-28984/. dead.
    15. Web site: DAEMON Tools Lite. DAEMON Tools. 24 June 2012. ko.
    16. Web site: Split Image. 2012-03-23. 2012-02-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20120229050949/http://forum.daemon-tools.cc/f19/split-image-29200/. dead.
    17. Web site: Glossary . DAEMON Tools Pro Help . DAEMON Tools . 12 May 2011 . mdx / mds (Media Data eXtended / Media Descriptor Files) — these formats are developed by DAEMON Tools developers. . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110708220310/http://daemonpro-help.com/en/glossary.html . 8 July 2011 .
    18. News: Kovacs. Eduard. Daemon Tools Collects Image File Details, Even Without Permission. 23 March 2012. Softpedia. 13 February 2012. .
    19. News: Daemon Tools: Tool spioniert seine User aus. 23 March 2012. Chip.de. 13 February 2012. CHIP Xonio Online. de. 16 February 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120216221205/http://www.chip.de/news/Daemon-Tools-Tool-spioniert-seine-User-aus_54571564.html. dead.
    20. News: Tyler. Holman. Daemon Tools knows what you mounted last summer. 23 March 2012. Neowin.net. 13 February 2012.
    21. Web site: Are you using Deamon Tools? They know what images you're mounting.. Software in Action. 23 March 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120229091016/http://software-in-action.com/2012/are-you-using-deamon-tools-they-know-what-images-youre-mounting/. 29 February 2012. dead.
    22. Web site: Omen: The future of Anti-Blacklists is near... – THE DAEMON TOOLS FORUM . 2009-11-10 . 2010-08-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100815083649/http://forum.daemon-tools.cc/f40/omen-future-anti-blacklists-near-23216/ . dead .
    23. Web site: Omen: The future of Anti-Blacklists is near... – Page 4 – THE DAEMON TOOLS FORUM . 2010-07-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100515182933/http://forum.daemon-tools.cc/f40/omen-future-anti-blacklists-near-23216/index4.html#post123255 . 2010-05-15 . dead .

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