What does "crack" or "cracks included" mean?
 

I am d/l a program and in the title it states "cracks" or "cracks included". What does that mean and is it good or bad? Thanxxx.

Depends.

A cracked version means that it's a version of the application you are looking for that "someone" (ahem) has managed, succesfully or not (I'll come back to that later), to release any protections (or something) the original author and/or distributor people may have put in in order to prevent it's unauthorised distribution.
In other words, someone else bought the application, fiddled a little with it so as to be able to share it with others for free (in this case).
Now, as for the succesful, some cracks work perfectly and others don't. Actually, most of them don't, or that's the general idea that I have.
Most of them come with instructions that will tell you how to install the application and some of them include the necessary steps that you have to make in order to be able to use the applicatio without it trying to go to the internet for registration and stuff (since the original copy of the app is probably already registered) or for other purposes.
It's almost the same as, say, someone distributing copied CDs for free (or not).
Now, again sme cracked versions don't work, so if you really want the application, you have to keep dlding until you find one that works well.

Some cracks do let you use the program for free, but others can make malicious changes to your registry and/or your pc.

Ivan
In the dark we make a brighter light