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From: che@ptsfb.UUCP (Mitch Che)
Newsgroups: net.micro.pc
Subject: Re: Re: software protection - dongles
Message-ID: <204@ptsfb.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 27-Jul-85 00:54:53 EDT
Article-I.D.: ptsfb.204
Posted: Sat Jul 27 00:54:53 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 29-Jul-85 06:43:41 EDT
References: <566@alberta.UUCP> <10800011@uiucdcsp> <176@entropy.UUCP> <922@mtgzz.UUCP> <200@sesame.UUCP>
Reply-To: che@ptsfb.UUCP (Mitch Che)
Organization: Pacific Bell, San Francisco
Lines: 42
Summary: new "black box" business

In article <200@sesame.UUCP> slerner@sesame.UUCP (Simcha-Yitzchak Lerner) writes:
>As the Principal Engineer of ADAPSO's "Software Authorization
>System (SAS) Proposal", I would like to make a few BRIEF comments
>in response to your remarks.
>  ........
>
>2.   "Any programmer with debug will be able to defeat this type
>     of system."  This is NOT correct.  While a poorly designed
>     software lock could be defeated this way, most manufacturers
>     that I have talked to are putting in a few features that
>     will make this very difficult if not impossible:
>
>     A.   The program generates a random "question" which is
>          sent to the key.  The key returns an answer which is
>          verified by the host.
>
>     B.   A part of the program code and/or structure is stored
>          in the key for downloading.  Some more adventurous
>          firms are actually having several critical routines (of
>          an inobvious nature) execute WITHIN the key.
>
Unfortunately, the same drop in price ($) of silicon technology (e.g. 
ROM, etc) that make dongles economical is going to make intelligent
"peripherals" which passively monitor the RS-232/dongle link and learn 
the "protocol" relatively cheap (compared to the software+dongle).
(I can see it now, CopyXVI PPC!! Think about the problems trying
to stop the sale of these on the grounds they're used for pirating--
"Yes, your honor, we're just selling advanced datascopes.  We can't
control how they're used... Yes, they are beauties, why you can even
upload/download instructions to them...") 

Hmm, now if you can figure out a way to sell the software to the user
but not let him/her have it at all, you may have something.  (After
all, users are just such vile, bothersome creatures.)

-- 
Mitch Che
Pacific Bell
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