Xref: utzoo comp.sys.mac.programmer:21045 comp.protocols.appletalk:5155
Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!linac!uwm.edu!cs.utexas.edu!asuvax!tosh!starta
From: starta@tosh.UUCP (John Starta)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer,comp.protocols.appletalk
Subject: Re: Idea for painless copy protection
Message-ID: <2e5Fw1w163w@tosh.UUCP>
Date: 27 Jan 91 18:41:00 GMT
References: <1991Jan27.144523.20674@phri.nyu.edu>
Reply-To: tosh!starta@asuvax.eas.asu.edu (John Starta)
Distribution: na
Organization: Before Computing Inc., Phoenix, AZ
Lines: 23

roy@alanine.phri.nyu.edu (Roy Smith) writes:

> [...]
> 	When the program starts up, it installs something which listens for
> broadcast packets to a specific port (my knowledge of appletalk is sketchy,
> but this is easy to do in IP and I'm assuming AT has some similar
> mechanism).  The program then sends out a broadcast packet to that port and
> listens for any responses.  The responses it would get back would contain
> the serial number of other copies of the program installed elsewhere on the
> same AT network.  If any S/N matched that of this copy, it would refuse to
> run.
> [...]

Similar methods are already in use by several companies and it works 
painlessly. I certainly believe that if protection is necessary, this is
the way to do it.

John

--
John A. Starta        Internet: tosh!starta@asuvax.eas.asu.edu
Software Visionary        UUCP: ncar!noao!asuvax!tosh!starta
                           AOL: AFA John; CompuServe: 71520,3556