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Path: utzoo!utcs!webber
From: webber@utcs.UUCP (R. D. Webber)
Newsgroups: net.micro.pc
Subject: Re: software protection - dongles
Message-ID: <810@utcs.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 6-Aug-85 17:30:25 EDT
Article-I.D.: utcs.810
Posted: Tue Aug  6 17:30:25 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 6-Aug-85 18:41:26 EDT
References: <566@alberta.UUCP> <10800011@uiucdcsp> <792@aluxe.UUCP>
Reply-To: webber@utcs.UUCP (R. D. Webber)
Organization: University of Toronto - General Purpose UNIX
Lines: 37
Summary: 

In article <792@aluxe.UUCP> wrbull@aluxe.UUCP (bullman) writes:
>
>I'm sorry but anybody with a $100 logic analyzer could scarff up anything and
>everything written to and read from the dongle. You don't have to duplicate
>the dongle, you just have to mimic it.
     One exception to this is the case where a proprietary or unusual 
algorithm is involved, as in some scientific programs.  In this case, writing
the code to replace the dongle would, presumably, be involved enough that it
would be almost as easy to rewrite the whole thing. 
     Of course, in that case the dongle becomes a special-purpose (high-speed,
one hopes) attached processor, which is a slightly different deal.  I feel a
little uncertain about arguing that anything simple to write "should" be low
priced enough not to be worth copying, but it seems intuitively reasonable.
>
>The CD ROM is still a possible solution(not now, but soon). The ultimate
>solution is to have the software price cheap enough to make it not worth
>the trouble. Borland has the right idea. I don't want to see programming
>sweatshops anymore than the next person because I program for a living.
>
>		William R. Bullman
>		AT&T Bell Laboratories
>		Allentown, PA
>
>		...!aluxe!wrbull
>
>/* Usual Disclaimer */

     I like Borland's approach myself.  I loaned my brother my copy of
Turbo Pascal for a week when I wasn't using it, which convinced him that
it was suited to his needs.  He bought a copy.  He's also trying to buy
a word processing package, has become immensely frustrated because he's
not able to take them home from the store to try out, and is currently
making do with freeware WPP's until he can find one he can live with.
He's bought three or four cheap WPP's, thus enriching their authors; 
only one expensive WP manufacturer is going to get money from him.
		Bob Webber