DVD43

Pros

• Tiny and resource light
• Works on most DVDs over a few years old

Cons

• Not keeping up with advanced encryption technology
• Doesn't work on 64-bit systems

DVD43 is one of the classic DVD decrypters available on the Internet. For several years, it has been the go-to decrypter to remove copy protection on DVDs that you had purchased to either rip them to digital formats or make different copies of them for any number of reasons. It remains one of the most useful programs currently available, though there are some major changes that have happened that have reduced its functionality.

The first thing to understand about DVD43 is that it is very, very small. This is a file of only a couple of megs to install, and it runs mostly in the background, taking up very few resources. It is a program that does one thing and only one thing: removing the CSS protection from DVDs that are inserted into the computer so that you can copy them without that getting in the way. It does not even have an interface to speak of, no buttons that you have to press. It works automatically when you have it installed. Therefore, you do not have to worry about it bogging down your system in order to continue to unlock that DVD.

Another great thing about this particular program is that it is largely automatic. Once you install the program, you can set it to start up with your computer and just have it running constantly in the background so that whenever you put a DVD in your drive, you can just start working with it without any problems. Other than a small icon, you will not even notice that it is on, copying will just work. At least it will in most cases.

The two major problems with this application stem from the same basic issue that is that a free utility like this does not have the support to stay ahead of the game, so it's slowly but surely being made obsolete. The first way that this is the case is that DVD encryption is starting to protect itself from the methods of decryption that DVD43 uses, meaning that it's working on fewer and fewer DVDs. While it will certainly work on older ones, the newer the DVD, the less likely it is that this particular application will be able to crack it.

Further, DVD43 does not work in 64-bit systems. These are the newest, best looking and working systems out there, so it is a bit strange that the program would not keep up with things. That said, it probably relates to it being a tiny, independent application with no studio support.

This free download will take less than a minute on most connections, so you lose nothing by having a copy on your computer to help you make backups of DVDs that you own. If you have a 64-bit system, do not bother, but otherwise keep a copy around for the DVDs it will work on.

Pros

• Tiny and resource light
• Works on most DVDs over a few years old

Cons

• Not keeping up with advanced encryption technology
• Doesn't work on 64-bit systems