bypassing GonsoLicense using Shadowcopy

taikeru

precursor

non-extensive guide for bypassing GonsoLicense
requires:

a working Windows shadowcopy service (with some knowledge of it, preferably)
- to check if shadowcopy service exists, open an admin command prompt and enter vssadmin list providers - it should respond with info about the vssadmin service
a valid GonsoLicense key
not-blacklisted vrchat account tied to said key

optional:

if you would like to create a file monitor[3]: some basic programming knowledge

read the footnotes!
it might be intimidating, but it is very simple when you get used to it

step-by-step

load affected unitypackage into Unity, import any avatar requirements
log into the vrchat SDK panel
open GonsoLicense verifier, enter key and unlock avatar
initiate an avatar upload, as normal, and while it compiles shaders and shader variants:
4a. call Windows' shadowcopy (or use a script[1]) on the drive where the project exists
navigate to the location where your shadowcopy is saved and browse to the copied project directory
copy decrypted avatar files (fx, menu, parameters) from Packages\com.vrchat.avatars\Samples\Dynamics\Robot Avatar\Animators and the Meshes.asset from the GonsoLicense folder inside Assets[2]
6a. these will have psuedo-randomized names, copy everything if you need to
6b. copy these files, trying to move them will not work
either cancel the ongoing upload or let it finish, you at this point have the decrypted files to do what you want with

when importing the Meshes, you will most likely have to manually fix each SkinnedMeshRenderer and point it to the correct mesh - refer to this post for more info on how to do that
GoGo might also be broken - refer to this post for more info on using GoGoLoco from the VCC

footnotes

[1]

we found using an administrator PowerShell script to directly call the shadowcopy service works best - here's a script you can use to do the same

$s1 = (Get-WmiObject -List Win32_ShadowCopy).Create("C:\\", "ClientAccessible")
$s2 = Get-WmiObject Win32_ShadowCopy | Where-Object { $_.ID -eq $s1.ShadowID }
$d  = $s2.DeviceObject + "\\"

cmd /c mklink /d C:\shadowcopy "$d"

Write-Host -NoNewLine 'Press any key to finish and delete the shadowcopy...';
$null = $Host.UI.RawUI.ReadKey('NoEcho,IncludeKeyDown');

$s2.Delete()

important: on line 1, change C:\\ to the letter of the drive that your targeted project exists on - e.g. for the D drive change it to D:\\

you can save this to a file with a .ps1 extension - e.g. shadowcopy.ps1 and launch it from an administrator powershell in the same directory using .\name-of-file.ps1

when launched, this will create a "snapshot" of the targeted drive, essentially freezing it, and everything in it, in time
it will then mount the shadowcopy that was just made in C:\shadowcopy (you may have to delete this directory if it already exists), where you can browse all of the files from the snapshot
it will then wait for any user input, and delete the shadowcopy when input is given

[2]

the location that GonsoLicense stores files in is variable and prone to change, as it can technically store files anywhere on the system

[3]

for the more technically inclined, a file monitor can be written to immediately update the user when files are changed - this can make it easier to signify when the shadowcopy service or script should be launched, as it is time sensitive

how does this actually work

unity and encrypted files

Unity does a lot of things right, but it cannot read encrypted files; this means that the SDK cannot just create an avatar from files that it can't read
at some point during the upload process, GonsoLicense needs to decrypt the encrypted files and store them out of sight while it builds the SDK-uploadable package
all the user needs to do, then, is access those files while this is being done

unity and file locking

while any file operation is happening, Unity locks the project directory, effectively preventing any external edits to the files while Unity works with them
this means the user cannot directly access the decrypted files while it is building, so there's one other way to get around that

shadowcopy

shadowcopy is a Windows service targeted towards server machines that allows server managers to create backups of entire drives, on the fly
the strength of this service is that it does not directly copy files, it creates a virtual "snapshot" of sorts that freezes the drive in time and saves the drive's virtual data at that very moment; this leads it to be unaffected by any file locks put in place by Unity or other programs
the user can then simply mount the snapshot as a directory and browse the saved files freely, copying anything directly from that virtual drive to their actual storage

ending notes

if you don't trust yourself performing this, it's better to ask someone who does (@halcyon has done quite a few by now and has been instrumental in finding a safer way to perform this method)

consider not supporting creators who use this on their models - it's sleazy at best and while Gonso has pure intentions at heart, this system's (and his) reputation is based on the reputation of the creators that use it
unfortunately, many of them are what we call "bad apples" in this community
i don't have anything directly against Gonso, but a handful of his partnered creators have histories of being generally unpleasant human beings

if the creator uses payhip's antileak as well as GonsoLicense, payhip antileak can still identify the file and user who purchased it; i've come up with some experimental bypasses for payhip's system but they require more testing to confirm stability

this method may get patched, but this takes advantage of a technically un-fixable flaw within Unity; more updates if and when that happens

this method was found and refined by a small group of software developers including myself (though i mostly did translation work)
feel free to ask any questions you have

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