How can I remove DRM from Kindle books?

18
2013-11
  • Jeremy Banks

    How can I the remove the DRM from books I have purchased for my Kindle?

    A solution that works on Mac OS X and/or Linux would be ideal, but a Windows-only solution is also acceptable.

    • Answers
  • Patches

    There is a set of Python scripts for removing DRM from several different eBook formats, including Kindle's. One of them (called KindleBooks) allows you to remove the DRM without needing Kindle for PC. Instead it just uses the serial number from the Kindle they were purchased for to decode the books. It worked great for books downloaded on my Kindle 2.

    It also has handy plugins for calibre, which is open source software for reading and converting various eBook formats as well as syncing to many different kinds of eBook readers. I highly recommend it.

    The above tools work great on Linux, and should work fine on Mac OS X too as they are all Python-based. In order to run them, you will need to install Python for Windows or Mac (which comes with Python, but apparently has older versions), or make sure you have packages for Python and its Tk binding installed on your Linux system.

  • Ryan Bolger

    Recently, I de-drm'd our family's collection of purchased Kindle e-books using skindle. The link is to a blog post giving step-by-step instructions for using it. It's Windows only and relies on having an installed version of Kindle for PC.

    Here is an abbreviated summary of the instructions:

    • Download and extract the skindle package
    • Download, install, and register Kindle for PC
    • Use Kindle for PC to download a local copy of a book from your library
    • Run skindle against the file with the appropriate arguments
    • Backup the resulting file however you want. If you need to put it back on your kindle in the future, just drop it into the Documents folder on the device.
  • random

    The article Ebook Formats, DRM and You — A Guide for the Perplexed, describes how to remove DRM from Kindle books, using several methods :

    1. The simplest way is to use Calibre, as described in the article.
    2. Mac OS X 10.5, 10.6, and 10.7 users who don’t want to use calibre should use the DeDRM AppleScript, as described in the post, DeDRM AppleScript for Mac OS X 10.5, 10.6, and 10.7.
    3. Windows users who don’t want to use calibre will need to install Python and PyCrypto and use either the DeDRM_WinApp tool or the stand-alone tools, as described in the post, Windows, Python, Ebooks and DRM.
    4. Linux users may also use the Windows versions of the tools under the very latest 1.3.22 or later versions of Wine.

    If you encounter problems, see also the Frequently Asked Questions about the DRM removal tools.


    • Related Question

    technology - How can I explain why DRM cannot work?
  • Questioner

    I am looking for the shortest comprehensive way to explain to people that are trying to use DRM as a technology to prevent users from using their data in some fashion deemed undesirable, why their solution cannot work by definition.

    Ideally I'd like something that:

    • Covers why technically it is impossible to have people access local data, but only in such-and-such a way
    • Imparts an understanding of why this is, to avoid follow-on "But what if" rebuttals
    • Is intuitive enough and short enough that even a politician (j/k) could grasp it

    When faced with this situation I try to be clear and concise, but I usually end up failing at least on one of these points. I'd really like to have a 'stock' answer that I can use in the future.


    • Related Answers
  • alt text

    The fundamental problem with DRM is that you're giving somebody a locked box and the key used to open it. You're distributing a copy of the key with the lock. Every person that possesses a protected Blu-Ray, DVD, software package, and protected CD also possesses the key that will unprotect it.

    The people who design the DRM systems can try as they might to hide the key such that only those in the know (i.e. authorized decryptors/players/users) can find it, but there are a lot of curious people in the world, and all it takes is one person (or group of people) to be smarter than the ones who hid the key, and the box is open forever. As soon as one unprotected copy of the content exists it can be distributed everywhere, making the protection on the other copies irrelevant.

  • contact us

    DRM is like poisoned food, that is tuned to feed you, but kill everybody else. So you can't share food with somebody who is starving. DRM puts you in a situation when YOU are the guilty one, if somebody dies from your poisoned food, because formally, it's YOUR food.

    Replace "food" with "information" and here you go.