[QUESTION] Help with using DeDRM to decrypt a basic Kindle book?

[JoshuaH-072017]

Hello, this is Joshua C. Hawthorne. I'm new to the "ebook decryption" subject, and (if possible) I'd like some pointers on it. Just for the purposes of testing out DeDRM, I would've ordered a decade-old, zero-cost ebook of Plato's Republic from the Kindle store and installed Kindle for PC (the latest version, as of this writing) on a virtual Windows 11 OS (alongside the latest versions of Calibre and DeDRM, as of now). While the .azw file that the Kindle book is stored as on the virtual OS is successfully imported into the software, whenever I try to convert it into another format, Calibre simply fails and notifies me of the fact that the book has DRM---as far as I know, the plugin doesn't even TRY to work. Could someone give me some tips? Thanks!

P.S.: This is an ebook of a public-domain translation of Plato's "Republic" and NOT a more modern translation such as might be found from publishers like Penguin.

[ElleKayEm]

To decrypt a book from the current Kindle for PC 2.8.0, you'll need the key extractor included with DeDRM 10.0.15 and the KFX Input plugin.

Tutorial here: https://techy-notes.com/remove-drm-from-kindle-ebooks/

[ElleKayEm]

Yes, it opens the book.

[masteoo]

@ElleKayEm ok thanks. Just discovered that I have to read less that 7% of the ebook to return it. Do you know if this method browser the ebook or just open it?

[ElleKayEm]

Just opens.

[JoshuaH-072017]

Sorry for wasting everyone's time in hindsight--after doing some research early this morning, I figured out how to make the Calibre plugin work. I have to add a key-file generated by DeDRM's key-extracting utility as placed in Kindle for PC's AppData/Local directory. I've read that one of the plugin's limitations is that it can't successfully decrypt digital textbooks, at least those from the large publishers (such as McGraw-Hill and Pearson). However, could/would there be exceptions to this limitation (say the textbook was published on Amazon not too recently)? Considering how popular textbook piracy is (primarily due to the exorbitant prices, I imagine), it actually makes financial sense why Amazon would focus its strongest digital protection on textbooks.

[ElleKayEm]

Those textbooks cannot be downloaded to Kindle for PC. They are only available to apps where they cannot be decrypted.

[JoshuaH-072017]

Eh, it has a likely chance of being circumvented in some way sooner or later. Of course, those apps will inevitably be buttressed with better security, but the fact still stands.

[ElleKayEm]

The ability to download the textbooks (and other "harder" drm books) to Kindle for PC stopped shortly after the method for decrypting them was discovered.

[masteoo]

@ElleKayEm sorry, do u know a way to download kindle ebooks only with android S tab? I don't have pc :(

[ElleKayEm]

@masteoo
For just reading, download with the Kindle for Android app. For decrypting you need a PC (or possibly virtual Windows). Or an E-ink Kindle (with firmware prior to 5.18.5) and a computer to run calibre (PC, Mac, or Linux).

[JoshuaH-072017]

While I don't mind ebooks in principle (as they're just bytes of text and images instead of words and images printed on physical paper), situations like this is why I'd say that physical media is superior to digital, at least in principle. Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't understand how it'd hurt Amazon's bottom line to simply allow buyers to download DRM-free ePub or PDF copies (akin to publishers like Springer, Wily Blackwell, or Taylor Francis) instead of essentially locking access behind a proprietary server. If piracy's a concern, then with all due respect, Amazon should realize that (due to human nature) people are going to pirate regardless of the presence or lack of restrictive DRM. I can understand making it harder for potential threat actors to have their way, but it should be done so in a way that's fair to the consumer. (As a matter of fact, people pirate physical copies of books, too! Just diligently scan the pages and upload it to one of those PDF sites!)

[ElleKayEm]

DRM just hurts legitmate buyers. Nothing stops piracy. Tor Books reported that there was no change in the amount of piracy of their books a year after they went DRM-free.

Amazon is going to start allowing downloads of epubs and pdfs for books that publishers set as DRM-free.

[JoshuaH-072017]

Good to know. Still, it kind of stinks that there's no principle equivalent of "MakeMKV" for ebooks, though. I'm no expert on media ripping, but it might have something to do with the fact that unlike ebooks, optical discs are wholly physical media that stores digital content. Purchasers even have an easier time with decrypting Audible audiobooks, since not only does Amazon now allow them to download local (though encrypted) copies, the encryption for the audio files can be easily removed (and the files themselves subsequently converted into another format) as long as they can find their account's activation bytes.

[ElleKayEm]

There is DeKindled, a Chrome Extension that makes an epub from Kindle Cloud Reader. Never tried it myself.

[JoshuaH-072017]

There's also yihong0618's Kindle_download_helper, but some of the requirements are esoteric to me, since the program requires a csrf token and a particular website cookie, neither of which I know how to reliably obtain. The documentation associated with it claims that I can get both through opening the Web Developer Tools and searching its Network tab (at least on Firefox), but it doesn't elaborate further. I can only assume that the program works with an earlier, no-longer-extant version of Amazon's Content Library page, based on one's account.