Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ncrlnk!ncr-mpd!Chuck.Phillips From: Chuck.Phillips@FtCollins.NCR.COM (Chuck.Phillips) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Pirates and swapware Message-ID: Date: 27 Jun 90 09:44:41 GMT References: <1990Jun22.183227.2638@cbnewsl.att.com> <1990Jun24.075559.13459@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG> <90176.155439ESDYKE@MTUS5.BITNET> Sender: uucp@ncr-mpd.FtCollins Organization: NCR Microelectronics, Ft. Collins, CO Lines: 81 In-reply-to: ESDYKE@MTUS5.BITNET's message of 25 Jun 90 20:54:39 GMT >>>>> On 25 Jun 90 20:54:39 GMT, ESDYKE@MTUS5.BITNET (Erick Dyke) said: Erick> Kent, as far as your 'perfect' security system goes, answer yet one more Erick> question. Just a tad sarcaustic, eh? :-) I don't recal Kent referring to ID based protection as "perfect". Erick> I have two Amigas networked together sharing the same harddrive and printer. Erick> What would I have to do, with the serial number solution, to have this Erick> system work. I do not want two copies of a program on my harddrive, I do Erick> not want to have to pay extra for a non-protected solution, ... Good question. I posted a description of an example ID PROM implementation on 6/25. To that, add a check whether the host machine or a machine connected to the host machine is authorized to use the software. This would require writing an interface for the software to query a remote machine's ID PROM. (NOTE: A "net" isn't necessary. A simple serial port to serial port connection would be sufficient.) If you want to get fancy, one could set up a license server that allows X number of copies of the program to execute simultaneously. Both Apollo and Sun provide this for their workstations, so it _can_ be done. Erick> ...and most of all I want to be able to demonstrate my software on Erick> other peoples machines. Then ID PROM based protection is probably not the best choice for you. If your customers' machines could dial up your home machine with a modem, it would be possible to use the ID PROM method, but I'm not about to claim that this would be the best choice for you. (At least not with a straight face. :-) I don't recommend the ID PROM method for games for the reasons you outlined. I do recommend it for high ticket productivity software. The advantage of ID PROM based protection is the _combination_ of the following: 1. Fast and painless access. You (or your retailer) only set it up once, after that you don't have to type in any keywords or rearrange conflicting dongles to use the software. 2. No key disk is required. This is a _big deal_ for people like me, who may have a lot of money riding on being able to use an expensive program. (e.g. MIDI sequencing in a recording studio with a "pro" sequencing package) Disks wear out, and the disk grinding with this method can't prolong the life of the disk. I consider this form of copy protection the least appropriate of all forms of copy protection for "productivity" software. (e.g. finance, accounting, word processing, MIDI sequencing, etc.) 3. Difficult and/or expensive to break the copy protection. (See my previous posting.) The (dis)advantage is that you can't run the software on an unauthorized machine, or at least a machine that isn't connected somehow to an authorized machine. Erick> Dont take this as a flame, but I dont think that you are looking at some of Erick> the many flaws in this system. The ID based method has some definite advantages. I also like the "name and address" method, but some software vendors (understandably) don't care for it. Neither the ID or any other method of copy protection is going to suit everyone, and I don't think Kent claimed otherwise. Making the ID method available dosn't preclude using the other forms. What I'm suggesting is that the ID method be made _available_, not _mandantory_. Erick> I feel in some ways it hurts the user Erick> more than any other protection. Excluding non-passthru dongles, and Erick> drive thrashers. At least with 'type in the word' protection I can take Erick> the manual with me. And it 'type in the word" _can_ be copied. Software vendors have the right to protect their works from unauthorized users, as users have the right not to buy copy protected software. For productivity software, I believe an ID based method would provide the robustness the users require combined with the protection many vendors demand. Erick> Erick -- ESDYKE AT MTUS5 -- Chuck Phillips MS440 NCR Microelectronics Chuck.Phillips%FtCollins.NCR.com Ft. Collins, CO. 80525 uunet!ncrlnk!ncr-mpd!bach!chuckp