Dear hacker friends, it has been brought to our attention that physical bootleg copies of Locksport are in circulation. While imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, bootleg copies are a near 1:1 copy without any additions or changes. This is uninspiring freeloading.
At the moment of writing, two official versions of Locksport by No Starch Press are in circulation, the Defcon version which doubles as the uncorrected proof with 367 pages, and the release version with 383 pages. Several pre-print versions of selected chapters were shared as PDF for preordered books directly from No Starch Press. Similarly, a DRM-free copy is included with the purchase of physical copies.
After thorough investigation — by placing the copies next to the original work and comparing the differences — we have determined several key differences. Please take your copy from the shelf and compare it to the pictures below.
The book on the left of the image is the version released by No Starch Press. This book measures 177 mm in width and 235 mm in height. 7″ by 9.25″. The bootleg copy measures a centimeter (50/127″) smaller in the width. This resulted in the image depicting the authors with their favorite tools seemingly squished, and two more black lines on the bottom are added, The No Starch Press logo is slightly more oval as well. You may also note the slightly more orange tint of yellow used in the bootleg copy.
The book on the bottom of the image is the version released by No Starch Press. The differences are quite clear, where the original has the full name written out, the bootleg has the title and subtitle on the edge. The names on the No Starch Press version are the last names of the authors, and the bootleg version has the full names as shown on the cover.
The last difference we want to share is the glaring lack of color in the pages of the bootleg copy. The authors of Locksport and No Starch Press take pride in the full color images in the original book. This makes this book a bit more expensive, but the results are totally worth it.
Thanks, Jos, for lending me the bootleg copy of the book and the pictures for this blog. I’m glad you can laugh about it.
All No Starch Press copies have several key indicators to make counterfeit books practically impossible. Before accepting a Locksport book, please check if the book is legitimate. Furthermore, if you ask the authors to sign your counterfeit book, it’ll be ceremoniously thrown through the room, and you are expected to be uninvited to all Locksport authors birthday parties.
We will keep monitoring the situation and keep the hacker community up to date when new discoveries are made. Thanks for your continued support!
CCBY4.0 Jan-Willem Markus. Toool Blackbag