Zodiac
06-07-2012, 05:31 AM
I was recently asked how one was able to remove account information from iTunes purchased material. I realized that account info being visible is a major reason as to why some members on here hold back from posting certain soundtracks or scores that are released early on iTunes or that are iTunes exclusives. Members don't want their account information to be spread all over the grid, and that's understandable. I also noticed that this is another reason why some members convert their iTunes purchased music into 320kbps MP3, which believe it or not leads to quality loss. But now, this can all be changed!
In order to do this, you'll need a hex editor. I use Hex Editor Neo, so I am not sure if this will work 100% with other hex editing tools, but I don't see why it shouldn't. Hex Editor Neo is free to download, so I recommend using this program if you don't already have a hex editor.
Step 1 - Upload the files you want to edit.
Step 2 - Click on the find/search tool (on Hex Editor Neo, it is a magnifying glass near the right side of the toolbar).
Step 3 - Under the line that says "Find what:" enter the account holder's name exactly as it is on the file. You do not need to enter the entire name, only enough of it so that the editor knows what you're talking about. It is case sensitive.
Example: If on the "Purchased by:" section is shows up as David Fincher, you could only search for David.
- Make sure that "search whole file" and "search down" are checked.
Step 4 - Once you enter the first part of it, click "find". This should then lead you to the name on the "Purchased by:" section. Don't touch or delete anything at this point. On the right side, make sure the first letter in the name is highlighted. On the left side, the number/number + letter should also be highlighted, but it should have a thin black box surrounding it (this indicates that it will be re-written in the next step).
Step 5 - From here, you will fill in each letter in the name with a blank space (which will appear as if you've deleted the name in the final result). To do this, all you have to do is type "20" for each letter (this is the code for a blank space). Do this until every letter in the name is blank, by which point a period (.) should then be highlighted. This is your indication to stop.
- If you mess up and you accidentally get periods or anything else instead of blank spaces where the letters used to be, do not delete/backspace. Instead, use the "undo/back" tool. If you delete/backspace, this will delete bits from the file, and it may become unplayable.
Step 6 - Now we move on towards deleting the email address. To do this, you click the magnifying glass again (find/search), and this time you will type in the first few letters of the email address as it appears on the file. Again, this is case sensitive.
Step 7 - Repeat steps 4 and 5.
- For music videos and movies, you will have to remove the account name twice. I am 99% sure you don't have to do it for the email though.
Step 8 - Once you've deleted the account holder's name and the email, all you have to do now is click "save". If you want, you can choose to "save as". This will leave you with the original file and a separate file with no account info (given that you don't save the changes on the original file when you exit out).
This method assures that no account info is left on the file even though the letters were simply re-written as spaces. If all you had to do was 'delete' the info, it most likely would have produced a corrupted file. Hopefully this tutorial was clear enough, but if something confuses you or doesn't make much sense, please say so and I will do my best to help you.
And hopefully this also opens up a few new floodgates that will allow users to share their iTunes purchased soundtracks/scores. :)
http://i47.tinypic.com/aw6hxi.gif
In order to do this, you'll need a hex editor. I use Hex Editor Neo, so I am not sure if this will work 100% with other hex editing tools, but I don't see why it shouldn't. Hex Editor Neo is free to download, so I recommend using this program if you don't already have a hex editor.
Step 1 - Upload the files you want to edit.
Step 2 - Click on the find/search tool (on Hex Editor Neo, it is a magnifying glass near the right side of the toolbar).
Step 3 - Under the line that says "Find what:" enter the account holder's name exactly as it is on the file. You do not need to enter the entire name, only enough of it so that the editor knows what you're talking about. It is case sensitive.
Example: If on the "Purchased by:" section is shows up as David Fincher, you could only search for David.
- Make sure that "search whole file" and "search down" are checked.
Step 4 - Once you enter the first part of it, click "find". This should then lead you to the name on the "Purchased by:" section. Don't touch or delete anything at this point. On the right side, make sure the first letter in the name is highlighted. On the left side, the number/number + letter should also be highlighted, but it should have a thin black box surrounding it (this indicates that it will be re-written in the next step).
Step 5 - From here, you will fill in each letter in the name with a blank space (which will appear as if you've deleted the name in the final result). To do this, all you have to do is type "20" for each letter (this is the code for a blank space). Do this until every letter in the name is blank, by which point a period (.) should then be highlighted. This is your indication to stop.
- If you mess up and you accidentally get periods or anything else instead of blank spaces where the letters used to be, do not delete/backspace. Instead, use the "undo/back" tool. If you delete/backspace, this will delete bits from the file, and it may become unplayable.
Step 6 - Now we move on towards deleting the email address. To do this, you click the magnifying glass again (find/search), and this time you will type in the first few letters of the email address as it appears on the file. Again, this is case sensitive.
Step 7 - Repeat steps 4 and 5.
- For music videos and movies, you will have to remove the account name twice. I am 99% sure you don't have to do it for the email though.
Step 8 - Once you've deleted the account holder's name and the email, all you have to do now is click "save". If you want, you can choose to "save as". This will leave you with the original file and a separate file with no account info (given that you don't save the changes on the original file when you exit out).
This method assures that no account info is left on the file even though the letters were simply re-written as spaces. If all you had to do was 'delete' the info, it most likely would have produced a corrupted file. Hopefully this tutorial was clear enough, but if something confuses you or doesn't make much sense, please say so and I will do my best to help you.
And hopefully this also opens up a few new floodgates that will allow users to share their iTunes purchased soundtracks/scores. :)
http://i47.tinypic.com/aw6hxi.gif
