I know some one who claims to have hacked the PIC protection many times right the way up through the various protection methods. It still can be done just requires an electron micro scope and a few other things I really should not mention. >Is this still the case, or has these issues been fixed? The reason why I'm asking is to be sure code protection will actually protect the code. I believe the prior publicly identified issues were addressed (16C84 -> 16F84) but that would only be a temporary reprieve. My understanding is that anything can be hacked for enough dollars. I believe the protection time for devices that people really really want to copy is measured in months and that this is considered enough lead time in markets where it matters to make protection worthwhile. We have had people on this list in the past (but not for long :-) * ) offering to hack anything for fees in the thousands of $US. Which doesn't mean they can always do it of course. * The name Starfire Zhu rings some sort of mental bell but it may just be the increasing level of background noise there. Googles ..... Hey! - fancy that - it's a real name. As of 1999 anyway. See below. Maybe you could contact the address given below and ask him if he is in that business and if so how much to "inspect" a PICxxx of your choice. That would give you some idea. Of course, this may be an entirely different Starfire Zhu than the one I remember :-) Russell McMahon Best reguards! ----------------------------------------------- Yours Truly, 8-) TEL: 86-756-2236157 2115540 FAX: 2115541 Starfire Zhu 8-) Email: zhuxh@cheerful.com ICQ#:7037093 ----------------------------------------------- & Re: ??VOLTAGE FOLLOWER(?????),?????????????Starfire Zhu - 12? 29? -- http://www.piclist.com hint: PICList Posts must start with ONE topic: [PIC]:,[SX]:,[AVR]: ->uP ONLY! [EE]:,[OT]: ->Other [BUY]:,[AD]: ->Ads -- http://www.piclist.com hint: PICList Posts must start with ONE topic: [PIC]:,[SX]:,[AVR]: ->uP ONLY! [EE]:,[OT]: ->Other [BUY]:,[AD]: ->Ads