Hi !
i'd like to know how to protect the plugin i've done before releasing it.
1 - For a commercial purpose, to sell it.
2 - For a freeware release.
anyone knows about that? thanks.
Protecting you plugin
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- KVRian
- 1379 posts since 26 Apr, 2004 from UK
we'll, for 2, I would consider no protections, for 1, a simple protection with a serial number.
Or ask Aleksey Vaneev direclty.
Or ask Aleksey Vaneev direclty.
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- KVRAF
- 3723 posts since 17 Apr, 2002 from Scotland
the thing to watch out for on commercial protection is that some users will not buy if your copy protection is some sort of challenge/response system.
the reason is that they don't want their purchase to be useless if your company goes bust.
so, yes, a simple serial no. or similar is probably the way to go. let's face it - if it's good and it costs money , it'll get cracked anyway
sad , demoralising, but that's the reality of the situation.
any threads with discussion on copy protection in here always end up with these conclusions.
(1) It's practically impossible to stop your app being hacked. You can, however, make it more or less difficult.
(2) If you make it more difficult, you might restrict your user base (see my first point above)
(3) The best way to go forward is to release quality updates and to listen to your user base and implement their ideas, where practical.
That's my take on it .
Any more for any more?
the reason is that they don't want their purchase to be useless if your company goes bust.
so, yes, a simple serial no. or similar is probably the way to go. let's face it - if it's good and it costs money , it'll get cracked anyway
sad , demoralising, but that's the reality of the situation.any threads with discussion on copy protection in here always end up with these conclusions.
(1) It's practically impossible to stop your app being hacked. You can, however, make it more or less difficult.
(2) If you make it more difficult, you might restrict your user base (see my first point above)
(3) The best way to go forward is to release quality updates and to listen to your user base and implement their ideas, where practical.
That's my take on it .
Any more for any more?
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- KVRAF
- 2582 posts since 24 Apr, 2003 from Canada
Yes, release lots of updates so if people don't want to wait for the warez version they have to purchase the legit copy. imo thats the only possible way to counteract piracy. everything else is a total waste of time.
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- KVRer
- 6 posts since 20 Jan, 2004
I started a long topic on this very subject on the VST mailing list a while back (should be i the archive).
The long and short of it was that most people agree that going without copy protection of some sort is a bad idea. However, it was also agreed that making the copy protection overly complex or troublesome for the user is a bad thing and will put many people off.
The system that we are looking at now is to write our own copy protection that generates a code based on their hardware that they then email to us. We email them back a code, they put this in and it works.
But.... The biggest point made is that no matter how good you CP it WILL be cracked. So instead of punishing people who bought your plugin (by making it more expensive or making the CP really difficult for them) its better to provide people who register with extra facilities. For example if they register you can give them life time updates, free presets and addons, technical support etc etc. That way they feel they got a lot extra for their dollar.
Good luck in your venture
Paul
The long and short of it was that most people agree that going without copy protection of some sort is a bad idea. However, it was also agreed that making the copy protection overly complex or troublesome for the user is a bad thing and will put many people off.
The system that we are looking at now is to write our own copy protection that generates a code based on their hardware that they then email to us. We email them back a code, they put this in and it works.
But.... The biggest point made is that no matter how good you CP it WILL be cracked. So instead of punishing people who bought your plugin (by making it more expensive or making the CP really difficult for them) its better to provide people who register with extra facilities. For example if they register you can give them life time updates, free presets and addons, technical support etc etc. That way they feel they got a lot extra for their dollar.
Good luck in your venture
Paul
get free software at www.expdigital.co.uk
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 86 posts since 23 Apr, 2004
all is very interesting here and willl be usefull for me, but my original question, which was bad posted, was about licensing and law protection. Do we have to depose our plugin? and where? and whatabout extraterritorial licensing?
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- KVRAF
- 2458 posts since 3 Oct, 2002 from SF CA USA NA Earth
Are you talking about copyright registration? In countries which are bound by the Berne convention on copyright, your plugin is automatically copyrighted when you release it, no effort needed on your part. Put "Copyright 2004 your-name-here" somewhere in the docs or about-box, and you're done. You'll need to check to see if your nation is a Berne signatory, and if not, you may want to investigate further what you need to do to register.
Don't do it my way.
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- KVRAF
- 4641 posts since 20 Feb, 2004 from Gothenburg, Sweden
I really dislike those kinds of copy protections, since I'd either have to go through that process for all the machines I intend to use the software on, or only am allowed to install the software once on one set of hardware. Which also sucksThe system that we are looking at now is to write our own copy protection that generates a code based on their hardware that they then email to us. We email them back a code, they put this in and it works.
Besides, I don't see how your method is better (protection-wise) than normal serial number protection, unless you "manually generate" the numbers. But that would work for normal SN as well.
Stefan H Singer
Musician, coder and co-founder of We made you look Web agency
Musician, coder and co-founder of We made you look Web agency
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- KVRian
- 1379 posts since 26 Apr, 2004 from UK
I agree with this point. Besdies, if your code has only one default, it can make the protection go wrong.
One good example is the piece of software I use in my training job. I installed it, it gave me the HostID, I gave the serial number, and a while after, I received the validation code... that didn't work!! and the problem was that in the license, the hostID was DEMO, and not what it claimed it was. I still didn't find a solution, changing the hostID made the license invalid...
One good example is the piece of software I use in my training job. I installed it, it gave me the HostID, I gave the serial number, and a while after, I received the validation code... that didn't work!! and the problem was that in the license, the hostID was DEMO, and not what it claimed it was. I still didn't find a solution, changing the hostID made the license invalid...
