30 day trial

[Colanth]

MS gave up on all the normal protection methods, because anything that resides solely on the user's computer can be broken. Authenticate on your own server (your program has to be able to 'phone home') and it can't be broken unless someone breaks into your server. Add hardware fingerprinting (that's the way Windows authenticates - hardware fingerprinting and on MS's server) and the user can't give a friend his authentication code to use.

[Darwinian]

I've created a system whereby when a customer purchases a licence key that key is created by a php script and then stored on my server. When they then enter that licence key to register Hypercube, it connects with the server to check that the key was actually issued. If it was then the programme is registered, if not the process fails.

Once the programme is registered that info is updated to the server along with the key. If the key is registered more than once I am sent an email and if I think it's being registered an unusual amount of times, i.e. more than one would expect if someone were simply re-installing on a new P.C. for example, then I can simply delete the key from the server rendering it useless and unusable by anyone else.

Not 100% but was fun creating the code and should give me some sort of control over my stuff

[Jackalope]

Edit: How would you envisage that working. At the moment I'm thinking that you make all your preferences with the file that's playing and then simply apply all those setting to all the other files in the same directory and/or playlist.

Disclaimer: While I am a pro software developer, I am not a UI guy, so am not current on best practices and such. These concepts may suck filthy bong water.

I thought of a few potential use cases for this sort of feature, which could be activated either from a file preferences dialog or a context menu (e.g. right click the file within your app, or perhaps by adding to the Explorer context menu):

1. Save a file's playback preferences to a Hypercube playback template that once saved could be applied to a file, multiple selected files, or all files in a directory. (perhaps implement this in such a way that changes to the template are inherited to all files using that template).

2. Copy the file's playback preferences, and allow pasting them into multiple selected files.

3. Apply the selected file's preferences to all files in the directory (with optional recursion).

4. Allow selecting one or more files and editing preferences attributes for all (similar to how iTunes does this for attributes).

[Autumnlicious]

Anyone want to take bets on how long it takes to simply cover the opcodes with a jump and trigger premium mode for epic victory?

[Tiberius]

Once the programme is registered that info is updated to the server along with the key. If the key is registered more than once I am sent an email and if I think it's being registered an unusual amount of times, i.e. more than one would expect if someone were simply re-installing on a new P.C. for example, then I can simply delete the key from the server rendering it useless and unusable by anyone else.

With your permission I'd like to try and break it. I already have a few ideas. None of them involve directly attacking your server btw.

[Darwinian]

@CD Yes, these are all good ideas. I already saves most of the info to such a file and applying that to a collection of files should be no problem.

@TB Be my guest

@MS Again, you've lost me :S But being an unconventional programmer will require of you an unconventional solution

[Tiberius]

Cool. If you can give me a copy of the program and a few test licenses that would be great.

Heck, you could even recompile the program so only the licensing part works.