wtf "unprotected .exe" ?

[EMPiRE]

UnProtected EXE means that this EXE was taken from a version which does not have any protection and which can be used for a protected version of the game. So it is an unmodified original EXE

As Tippex already stated, they are from budget versions, covers disks or different countries.

Usually they are untested to work for the protected version of the game, this is ussually stated in the text