Poll: What kind of copy protection do you prefer?

[lachrimae]

Your work in this thread so far: begging the question, and personal attacks.

If that's how you see it then I'm sorry for you.

[MFXxx]

Never had a problem with NI C/R although my preferred method is definately ilok. Never had any personal issue, needed support once which was related to another user and resolved (major result for the other party from what I saw on my account).

Serial is too simple. u-he will tell you themselves (as they have before on the forums) as soon as an unofficial release is out it has a mjor impact on their sales, but I do appreciate their methods and I understand the are open in supporting other developers with their methodology.

Nothing is perfect for any party. I do wish Korg would go back to dongle, their c/r on every time change and daw install is a pain in the ass.

As everything in life, A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

Personally I support the dev's by buying a license.

[original flipper]

Hi


Serial or keyfile in 90% of cases - I have Komplete which uses a form of C/R (which I find a drag).

I can't quite understand the stance that users of ILok (and similar protection) have around the idea of their dongle giving them the freedom to go anywhere and use their software on any computer- with serial/keyfile protection you can buy a thumb drive, put the software and serial/keyfile on it and use the software anywhere you please.

You can also back that same software up in a few other places and should you loose your dongle (with the software serials/keyfiles) you will not have to worry yourself about how you are going to get up and running again - unlike some of the stories I have heard here about dongled protection/software.

[Numanoid]

So wrapping up the poll, 52 out of 73 users prefer the serial/key file option.

That is ca 71%. As the total population of KVR is 309763, 73 respondents means a margin of error of about +/- 20%

So should be able to read results as that over 50% of the KVR members prefer serial/key file.

So if so many do, why don't more devs use it?

[chk071]

So wrapping up the poll, 52 out of 73 users prefer the serial/key file option.

Wrong... 72% of the people participating in this poll prefer the serial/key option. 74 people participated in this poll so far. I would say the average of people buying a plugin totals to about a couple of thousands. With really popular plugins some ten or twenty thousand. So make up your own mind about how meaningful such a poll is. Not even many KVR members vote in the poll. KVR has some hundred thousands members i believe. 90% of those are nominal members of course, and about 2 or 3% will post regularly. Which should still be loads.

The best indicator of what the people really want, and the quality of the copy protection are basically 2 factors, 1. the amount of warezed copies on file sharing sites and 2. the amount of sold copies of the plugin. What you'll get from a poll like this is solely the opinion of 1. people who really care about the copy protection, most people won't IMO, 2. the opinion of a selection of a selection of a selection of actual users of the plugins. It might be interesting for the KVR microcosm, but does it give you a bigger picture? No, not at all.

[Numanoid]

Wrong... 72% of the people participating in this poll prefer the serial/key option. 74 people participated in this poll so far.

Wrong again, now it is 75

I fell asleep during statistics at school, so don't blame me

[aciddose]

1. the amount of warezed copies on file sharing sites

You mean the number of installed copies in unauthorized use. At best.

In fact such a number doesn't reflect anything about the copy protection at all. It is at best controlled by a boolean: Can the copy protection be bypassed?

If the answer is no, the result is zero.

If the answer is yes, the result depends entirely upon other factors not at all related to the copy protection.

[jancivil]

Forget a dongle in the pocket, and one machine wash later, your license is gone. I mean if the dongle gets damaged, you have basically lost the licenses, isn't that so?

Actually I broke a dongle with my Cubase license and almost all of my VSL licenses on it. I had to register it at My Steinberg and at VSL and send VSL in LA the dongle. It cost me nothing to replace all the licenses. I spent 30 bucks or so for a 'Vienna Key' at guitar center in the meantime which gave me carte blanche for 180 starts while they processed it. Happened late afternoon the eve of a holiday. Steinberg support saw me through it, verifying it immediately through email. They weren't answering phones, too late. I prefer dongles, I'm not going out and carrying one though. I finally gave up on Acustica Nebula behind that key failing one too many times.

[arkmabat]

Nintendo uses weird hardware as dongles.

[Bombadil]

None, but I went with serial #.

[Robmobius]

I like the way U-he works.

[piel]

I get what you are saying. However, the locks and security systems on your house and car add cost to those items too.

Those things add also value not just costs, because they protect MY property not the sellers.

Stores spend money on loss prevention. That adds to the cost of items purchased in stores.

Yes, but if they spend too much and add too much i might go elsewhere.

Retailers like Guitar Center or Best Buy lose a shocking amount of money per location due to crime. That adds to the cost of items purchased in stores, meaning you pay more.

I take that statement as true and have to agree, but if they introduce policies that i find intrusive, offensive, irritating and/or demeaning i DEFINITELY go elsewhere. Like when from my money they hire an army of huge and angry security guards who follow me around or call me a thief. They introduce anal cavity search after you pay. Or even worse they are very secretive about (borderline lying) their policies and while you are at the cashier girl the security shows up in plastic gloves... Oh no, i am in one of THOSE stores again.

In addition, a developer who spends months writing a copy protection system will most certainly raise the price of their plugins to recoup that extra work.

Yes that is justifyable to a certain extent but if you overprotect the product it will cost too much.

It's a hidden, yet very real cost.

Probably the biggest problem with the dongles that they are not hidden at all but sometimes before you try to buy the product.

Crime costs everyone. Sucks, but it's a fact of life.

While i agree to a certain extent let's not just elevate warezing to the level of murder, rape and selling crack to children.

[NystagmusE]

I like the types of systems that don't require an active internet connection to my DAW. Sometimes I build DAWs that are kept offline for safety and efficiency reasons and sometimes I don't even have internet access at home. So the programs where I can download the keyfile or serial and store it on a flashdriver are nice. What I don't like is very long serial numbers when I have to enter them in manually. I've had some instances where they failed. And it's just annoying. It reminds me of Windows product registration which is also annoying.

I like the keyfiles because I just plop it in the right directory and I'm done and I can save it within the archive/back of my programs. I think keyfiles save time if you change/modify systems and have saved the keyfile right with the program. You don't have to manually type in a bunch of gibberish every time.

I also like how some companies were able to email me my keyfile after I lost it and was reinstalling. I just had to prove to them who I was and that I purchased the software. That's actually pretty suave.