Xfer Records Serum 2 v2.0.23 V.R Patched Plus Plus Plus Like Notepad-TCD

 

The calls to phone home can be patched very easily in a debugger. Just search for "intermodular calls" in the binary
and type in "ws2_", "wininet", "winhttp", "internet" and "shellexec" to find respective calls. Everything with the name
"connect" in the findings can easily be nop'ed (replaced with a 'no operation point' instruction).

Spoiler: example

Last one (shellexec) should be handled with care because it's also used to load/save presets, settings, etc.
In those cases I just patch the call that calls the shellexec call from an URL string or so.

In case of Serum it's a little more hidden. You won't find a 'connect' call like "internetconnect" or "wsaconnect"
but you can find those in the screenshot below and others that execute/open URL's in your browser.



I just don't know why I'm the only one who does this.
When I release a plugin, I always make sure it can't phone home, update itself or check the license.

R2R does it now with their Network Block runtime and that's smart AF because they don't have to patch every call on its own
but in case of Serum2, the runtime doesn't work as it doesn't cover "InternetStatusCallbackW" in the API emulation.

To use the runtime, only the name of respective api dll's has to be patched, made a little patcher for this
so I can test it on the plugins on my machine. If anyone wants this, pm me ;)

 

Sorry, that was my mistake, I meant global.

 

Can you explain a bit what you mean in this comment? Could you make it a bit simpler for someone who doesn't have expertise in security? I mean the first part, the one with the big image.

 

Can't believe I looked in there and studied hard for some time and didn't know I could scroll down in there haha... thanks very much

 

Very curious indeed. In your expert opinion in the case of a mess like Serum2, what percentage of deliberately placed show-stopper bombs/bugs as opposed to just flat out phone calls to the mothership are present in these serum2 releases? Just a ballpark guess - obviously there's no way to know the real numbers on this out of the blue I'm sure...

That is a nifty little tool of yours as well. But per capita, how many apps these days just rely on simply calling the mothership as opposed to requiring applying generated keys, or challenge/response codes etc?

 

Last edited: Nov 9, 2025

So if one patches only the InternetStatusCallbackW calls and then apply your patcher that redirect the rest to R2R's internet blockers the net aspect is done?

Damn, this is so cool I almost wet my underpants...

 

I remember that version. I used that final one for quite a while (and still have it installed) until the newest serum2 "fully" working V.R.-TCD-X .19 release is now the one being used.. All others bombed, timed, "melted", or just crashed mid-project.

I'd be down for helping test on similar deal for the v2 if it's possible to do it... Just let me know when/where and I'm there.

 

It's a patcher that basically just replaces calling the windows API with calling R2R's API if any of this is called in a dll, vst3 or exe file.
That way R2R's Network Block runtime is called when the plugin tries to connect to the net and the result of this is:
the plugin can't phone home anymore and no firewall or hosts editing is required.

But since R2R's network api emulation doesn't cover up the full api, in some plugins/programs it can create errors on loading.
Messages like this can appear then:

As of now I found those errors in Serum2, Ableton, FL Studio and other DAW's
but for most plugins it worked.

When I try to patch something, I now 1st patch it to call R2R's runtime and then start diggin.
Previously I first patched calls like wininet.InternetConnectW, ws2_32.WSAconnect, winhttp.InternetConnect,...
so I can digg in an offline mode and now it's just hitting the patch button.

 

Does that mean that now that we've installed R2R's Network Block runtime, the serum can't have any conect?

Does this mean we will have a patch from you in the future?

 

Last night i started a new project in Cubase and let it sequence a track of Serum Plus Plus Plus version .
I ve been tweaking some fx settings,changing presets..no troubles at all.
Then i let it run for about 3 and a half hour,and again no troubles at all..no demo mode no nuttin..so far it seems to work fine for me at least.

 

I wish. But like @r4e said, R2R's runtime doesn't have all the features the original Windows runtime have.
The thing is when a program/plugin call these dll's it's not enough for them to say "ok! all's good". I mean, that's the gist of it, but internally there're several functions that can be called and they return something more complex. That's the API.
In this case, "InternetSetStatusCallbackW" is a function that serum 2 calls and has not been implemented in R2R's dll, so it would trigger an error.

Besides that, vaccinating a plugin is more than that. Blocking internet calls is only a part, more important every day.

 

Nope, only when Serum gets released from R2R. As I said before, serum2 doesn't even load when patched to call the network block runtime.

 

I found another bug, though I’m not exactly sure if it’s correct or not. IN +++TCD

I remember that in version 2.0.20 of VR, in the CLIP section, you could edit notes you had written using some shortcuts. For example, you could move a note up or down using the up and down arrow keys, or by holding Shift and pressing the up key, you could raise the note by one octave.
But I should also mention that I’m not entirely sure about this, I might have mixed it up with Ableton or maybe it wasn't like that at all. My memory is a bit fuzzy on this.

Some more bugs in the presets

Preset 303 DIRTY MACROS in the Factor + Base + Acid section
The CLIP section has a bug when you click
When you click on the key, they change but don't do the animation
also don't even show the other key notes

I think we should take a look at the CLIP section, I don't know if the bugs are from Steve or TCD.

Guys, please check to see if it's a bug or if it's like this on my system.

 

Last edited: Nov 10, 2025

Okay, let's move on to the Revision4-VR & TCD test

 

Last edited: Nov 16, 2025

After a short test, about half an hour, here's what I noticed:

Revision4-VR & TCD

1. First of all, just like before, it's working fine and there's no issue regarding demo mode.
   
   
2. I feel like in this review 4, the CPU usage has gone a bit higher.
   
   
3. which is an important point, in the clip section, the issues still persist: with the up and down arrow keys, the notes cannot be adjusted or transposed. Even using Shift + up key to raise an octave doesn't work. Also, pressing delete doesn't remove a note or a group of notes.
   
   
4. again in the clip section, it's possible to import MIDI from the DAW or externally into the clip, but it's not possible to drag and drop from the clip into the DAW. Essentially, it doesn't do anything when you try. However, I should mention that none of these actions cause any crashes.
   
   
5. Finally, the icon in the picture I attached is not working either.
   Actually, I tested it earlier in review 3, and it didn't work. The same issue occurs in review 4. I'm not sure about the previous reviews (2,1,...) because I didn't test them.
   
   For now, I'll continue testing and keep it open for a few hours to see if it goes into demo mode or if any issues arise.

 

The Downloads from sister site are gone?! Now i'm curious.

 

The only way to deal with serum v2 is to keygen, emu it or just properly crack the registration process so no bombs ever get triggered.. trying to patch timebombs is a waste of time.

 

Downloads of Serum are always removed via DMCA request very quickly.

Buying it is the only 100% way to know it will not need further revisions. A valid copy even "loses the license" and needs the update version reinstalled over it again. Even up until just a few months before Serum 2 was released, there were new little traps still being added to v1 updates. Someone always fixes it eventually, but maybe the hope is that someday in the future it will be useless when no-one is around to tamper it again. Who knows...

 

Bugs in this version Xfer Records Serum 2 v2.0.24b-V.R,TCD​

1 In the FX section...it doesn't show anything when selected It opens presets that are saved as FX, but it just doesn't show anything in the selection list.

2 You can't drag and drop any wav file into a wavetable

3 Macros can't be linked by drop, and of course, envelopes and lfo can't be linked But we can select and adjust them in the matrix section. In general, it doesn't allow you to assign anything via drag and drop.

4 MIDI files in the clip section can be dragged from within Serum into DAW, but MIDI files can't be dragged from within DAW or outside DAW into the clip section

5 In the clip section, you can't control notes with the computer keyboard, such as up and down keys, or delete or duplicate with the shift key, etc.

6 You can't import samples at all, even in modes other than wavetable, I mean drag and drop, otherwise you can choose from your own factory or user samples and wavetables.

7 And of course, this little one is completely gone.


Thank you my dear VR,TCD please fix these bugs in another review

 

Last edited: Nov 24, 2025 at 8:55 AM