IcePatch

Tracking down issues in the execution of various programs requires some specialized utilities, like debuggers, but there are some applications that are able to detect the such tools and will not start or crash as soon as the debugger's presence is identified.

To help those who have to carry out such tasks and need to avoid this type of issues software solutions like IcePatch have been developed. This is a really small utility that can prove quite handy in providing a means of hiding the presence of a debugger on a PC.

What this tool actually does is allow some key values and names to be altered in such a way that they become unrecognizable for the detection engines built-in most apps that do not support debugging techniques.

Since the WinIce /SoftICE service cannot be left running as such without risking a system halt, IcePatch can take care of this problem. Thus, it targets some names and values like INT3/FGJM, INT3/BCHK, INT68/4300/F386 or INT41/004F/F386. The first two are backdoor interfaces and the third one is the system debugger installation check.

Device driver (VxD) IDs and module names can be altered as well with IcePatch and these parameters are better known as 0202, 7A5F, SIWVID, SICE, SIWDEBUG and WINICE.

A great thing about this utility is the fact that it does have the ability to create safety or backup copies of the files it modifies. This means that in case the user needs to restart the operation it is possible to restore the original data, reboot the system and give it another try.

Since there are numerous ways in which the presence of WinICE can be detected onto a PC, this application cannot cover all the angles, but its capabilities can certainly be of good use and deserve a try.