Application allowed on a single PC
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I hope this is the right category where should I post this, if not, I'm sorry but I really need a solution to this cause I don't know how should I suppose to do it. So, I have a setup file for a C# application. I want to write it on a cd and to run automatically the executable when disk is inserted in pc. So far, so good. But, I want that the cd to be able to run it only on one pc. How can I do that? This is a general question cause I don't have any idea about from where to start for achieving this goal. Any answer is welcomed, thanks!
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I hope this is the right category where should I post this, if not, I'm sorry but I really need a solution to this cause I don't know how should I suppose to do it. So, I have a setup file for a C# application. I want to write it on a cd and to run automatically the executable when disk is inserted in pc. So far, so good. But, I want that the cd to be able to run it only on one pc. How can I do that? This is a general question cause I don't have any idea about from where to start for achieving this goal. Any answer is welcomed, thanks!
DPaul1994 wrote:
I want that the cd to be able to run it only on one pc.
Do you mean by that you want it to run only on one specific PC or it shouldn't be able to run on another PC if it has already run on any PC?
If the brain were so simple we could understand it, we would be so simple we couldn't. — Lyall Watson
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I hope this is the right category where should I post this, if not, I'm sorry but I really need a solution to this cause I don't know how should I suppose to do it. So, I have a setup file for a C# application. I want to write it on a cd and to run automatically the executable when disk is inserted in pc. So far, so good. But, I want that the cd to be able to run it only on one pc. How can I do that? This is a general question cause I don't have any idea about from where to start for achieving this goal. Any answer is welcomed, thanks!
You cannot prevent the setup from being run on multiple PC's. There's simply no reliable way your code can know if it was installed on anther machine already.
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Dave Kreskowiak -
I hope this is the right category where should I post this, if not, I'm sorry but I really need a solution to this cause I don't know how should I suppose to do it. So, I have a setup file for a C# application. I want to write it on a cd and to run automatically the executable when disk is inserted in pc. So far, so good. But, I want that the cd to be able to run it only on one pc. How can I do that? This is a general question cause I don't have any idea about from where to start for achieving this goal. Any answer is welcomed, thanks!
If you really want to limit it to a single installation, you will need to produce a different CD for each PC, which contains a identification code which is part of the resulting app. With an internet connection, you can check if the installation from the CD has already been done and reject it, and check the app is "still allowed" every time it runs as well. But...it's a PITA, both from a logistical POV to produce the disks and from a user POV since these things tend to go wrong at the worst moments. Generally speaking, unless this is a mass market application you will probably spend more protecting your app than you would have lost in actual piracy. And even for the big boys it doesn't always work - look at how fast "cracked" versions of Photoshop appear on torrent site after a new release. Same day sometimes: and Adobe spend a lot of money of copy protection...
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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If you really want to limit it to a single installation, you will need to produce a different CD for each PC, which contains a identification code which is part of the resulting app. With an internet connection, you can check if the installation from the CD has already been done and reject it, and check the app is "still allowed" every time it runs as well. But...it's a PITA, both from a logistical POV to produce the disks and from a user POV since these things tend to go wrong at the worst moments. Generally speaking, unless this is a mass market application you will probably spend more protecting your app than you would have lost in actual piracy. And even for the big boys it doesn't always work - look at how fast "cracked" versions of Photoshop appear on torrent site after a new release. Same day sometimes: and Adobe spend a lot of money of copy protection...
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
