How do you protect your software???
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Cool, I'll protect my software with your life :-D
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Hi there! We are thinking about a way to protect our software for our systems so I just want to know if you protect your software and if so, what do you use and how does it work?? A dongle, software dongle, codes, serials...? I'd be happy to hear what you are doing in that case. Ok, I know, this is not a programming forum but I don't want to see some sourcecode, just in general... ;) Thank you for answers, Olli!
Olli "Ooooooh, they have the internet on computers now!"
Homer Simpson
:beer: + :java: = NULL :=> X|Olli wrote:
protect our software
Through a process of ever increasing rounds of feature creep, our software never gets released thus providing us the ulitmate protection.
Why is common sense not common? Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level where they are an expert. Sometimes it takes a lot of work to be lazy The people in the lounge said I should google for the answer to a programming question but I do not know what search engine to use
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Hi there! We are thinking about a way to protect our software for our systems so I just want to know if you protect your software and if so, what do you use and how does it work?? A dongle, software dongle, codes, serials...? I'd be happy to hear what you are doing in that case. Ok, I know, this is not a programming forum but I don't want to see some sourcecode, just in general... ;) Thank you for answers, Olli!
Olli "Ooooooh, they have the internet on computers now!"
Homer Simpson
:beer: + :java: = NULL :=> X|Don't bother with dongles. As others have said already, dongles are annoying and can still be cracked. The main reason they can still be cracked is that most software that uses dongles still has some piece of code that boils down to something like:
if(dongle not found) { display error message and quit } else { run program or specific feature }All a cracker has to do is change the instruction that does the comparison and s/he is in. Your best protection is against unauthorized use of some functionality is to simply not make it available. For example, if you have a demo version of your application and want to disable certain features, the only way you can be sure they will never be enabled is to not include them in the build. Internet activation can be a good way to go, as it takes the serial calculations out of the cracker's hands. However, it can still fall to the same problem as a dongle (simple good boy/bad boy compare). It also depends on your application and whether or not it may be used on a computer without an internet connection. I feel a good way to follow the idea of "not making the feature available" is wise use of encryption. You mentioned having a modular application with different features. Try encrypting the feature libraries or data files with a strong standard encryption algorithm like RSA or AES. Make the key unique for each customer. Have the customer's serial number(s) be the decription key. Never validate the key itself in your application, only the checksum of the decrypted dll or data. This way a cracker has no way of knowing exactly what the decrypted dll or data should look like. A paying customer can still distribute their copy, but if you watermark the encrypted files, you should be able to tell who's up to no good. -
Hi there! We are thinking about a way to protect our software for our systems so I just want to know if you protect your software and if so, what do you use and how does it work?? A dongle, software dongle, codes, serials...? I'd be happy to hear what you are doing in that case. Ok, I know, this is not a programming forum but I don't want to see some sourcecode, just in general... ;) Thank you for answers, Olli!
Olli "Ooooooh, they have the internet on computers now!"
Homer Simpson
:beer: + :java: = NULL :=> X|Proprietary licensing system consisting of a limited trial version downloaded from the internet which can be unlocked with a license key that we email them. The license key contains is digitally signed xml document and contains their company name and details so they will feel *very* uncomfortable passing it on to friends etc (which is the most common form of piracy, not crackers). And being .net we also obfuscate our binaries and they are all strongly named. I've worried about and studied this issue for over 10 years now and there really is no business case for dongles and excessive methods. No method will keep out the most sophisticated crackers and most will just annoy legitimate users which is not a good business plan. Keep in mind that the most common form of piracy is either multiple copies in use at the same business and / or people passing on their license or serial number to their friends or associates; this is also the easiest form of piracy to combat if you plan for it. Keep it simple, don't worry about it too much and take out time every few weeks to search for keys and cracks of your software posted on warez sites and be prepared to make slight alterations to your source code to combat them and re-release with the next update.
"I don't want more choice. I just want better things!" - Edina Monsoon