 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Java Forum / General / March 2007securing my software (unique computer identification number)
Ive created an application, and of course Im coming to the part i know very little about, except that regardless of the protection scheme I use, people will hack the software. I created the software with Java, and hope that this can be considered the appropriate forum for this... What I was thinking, was to use a unique computer identification "whatever format", to generate a string or integer value, encrypt the number with my own code (via server), and give that number or string to the user. When the user enters the string to unlock the application, I will check with my server to see if that number is correct for their unique computer identification "number", and if it matches, then they can use the application. There is only tw questions that come to mind. 1. Is there a unique computer identification number (for PCs) that I can reach with Java? 2. Is there a better approach to use to "secure" my software from the general public? thank you for your responses! > Ive created an application, and of course Im coming to the part i know > very little about, except that regardless of the protection scheme I [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > thank you for your responses! There is a pretty good system that uses a dongle (USB or parallel port key). You buy them and distribute them with the code. You write your code so that without the dongle it won't run.  SignatureKnute Johnson email s/nospam/knute/ On Mar 4, 2:03 pm, Knute Johnson <nos...@rabbitbrush.frazmtn.com> wrote: > > Ive created an application, and of course Im coming to the part i know > > very little about, except that regardless of the protection scheme I [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > > - Show quoted text - Ah, excellent concept... Unfortunately I am a tiny individual, and I am trying to avoid distributing hardware... Any other ideas? > Unfortunately I am a tiny individual, and I am trying to avoid > distributing hardware... > > Any other ideas? I don't know anything about your application - but have you considered making it open source/donationware? It may not make you as much money but I guarantee more people will use it. > > Unfortunately I am a tiny individual, and I am trying to avoid > > distributing hardware... [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > making it open source/donationware? It may not make you as much money > but I guarantee more people will use it. I considered it, but really, how much money have you given to donationware? > I considered it, but really, how much money have you given to > donationware? No, I know, you do make a good point. If your goal is to make money with this software then you're right - donationware isn't the way to go. I just thought I'd mention it, just in case. Because the thing is, no matter how good the copy protection on software is, there will always be talented crackers out there that will either crack it or break your key generation algorithm and make a keygen for it. > Ive created an application, and of course Im coming to the part i know > very little about, except that regardless of the protection scheme I [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > 1. Is there a unique computer identification number (for PCs) that I > can reach with Java? A PC as a whole does not have such a number. Some components of a PC do have unique IDs but these are not readily accessible from Java. Also any of these components could be replaced and the user might reasonably contend that it is still the same PC (and their software should continue to run). Microsoft's activation permits changes provided that not too many of the identified components are changed within a time interval. Components that have IDs include: Hard disks CD/DVD drives network cards Some processors In addition you could record the number and model of installed processors. The size of the installation file system (this is accessible from Java 6). Mark Thornton > Ive created an application, and of course Im coming to the part i know > very little about, except that regardless of the protection scheme I [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > 1. Is there a unique computer identification number (for PCs) that I > can reach with Java? The ethernet address (MAC address) of an Ethernet adapter, most PCs have an ethernet adapter. > 2. Is there a better approach to use to "secure" my software from the > general public? Probably :-) There are various licence manager products for Java, both commercial and open source. Google will find them. >> 1. Is there a unique computer identification number (for PCs) that I >> can reach with Java? > > The ethernet address (MAC address) of an Ethernet adapter, most PCs > have an ethernet adapter. Two points about that: - there could be more than one - the MAC address is settable in software. /gordon Signature[ don't email me support questions or followups ] g o r d o n + n e w s @ b a l d e r 1 3 . s e >>> 1. Is there a unique computer identification number (for PCs) that I >>> can reach with Java? [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > - there could be more than one Having access to more than one unique number isn't exactly a problem. > - the MAC address is settable in software. True, but, as far as I know, there isn't anything closer to a unique serial number that a Java application can extract from a single source in PCs in general. >> - the MAC address is settable in software. > > True, but, as far as I know, there isn't anything closer to a unique > serial number that a Java application can extract from a single > source in PCs in general. My point was that if you're trying to "secure" the software by associating it with a particular MAC address, then someone who wants to "borrow" it can easily do so, with the result that you're really only protecting yourself from people who are honest in the first place. Those who want to rip you off won't be stopped by symbolic security, and you might as well save some trouble and use a splash screen that says "please don't steal my software". /gordon Signature[ don't email me support questions or followups ] g o r d o n + n e w s @ b a l d e r 1 3 . s e Free MagazinesGet these publications absolutely FREE for up to 12 months. There are no hidden fees and no obligation. Simply choose a title, complete the application form and submit it. Read more ...
|
Reply to this Message
|
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2009 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.