Re: Compute Name , Is it a good idea to use it for copy protection?

Computer names can be changed very easily. Simply right-click on My
Computer, select Properties from the context menu, select the Computer Name
tab and click on the Change button.


I think a far better approach is to limit how much data they can put into
the main table, rather than limit it by time.

--
Doug Steele, Microsoft Access MVP
http://I.Am/DougSteele
(no e-mails, please!)



<GiladP1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1125748746.111199.224100@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Hi,
> I want to copy protect my application. I want to limit its use for a
> given period of time, say 30 days, after which a license key will be
> needed.
>
> There are various issues to consider here like:
>
> 1)
> How to keep the installation date on the user's computer so that a
> simple uninstall and a complete deletion of the application's directory
> and then a re-install won't bypass the protection.
>
> So my question here is: is there a way to locate the system folder from
> code and to plant a hidden text file there? Is it a good idea or are
> there pitfalls? I can then check for the existence of this file.
>
> 2)
> Another issue is trying to prevent the user from copying the directory
> that contains the application to another computer. If the user will
> already have a password, then just copying it to another computer will
> enable pirated copies.
>
> I am looking for machine specific information. I plan on having the
> application provide the user with the Computer name (by clicking a
> button for example), and then asking the user to send their Computer
> Name to me. I will use it to generate a code which I will then return
> to the user. The user will use this code to unblock the application
> after 30 days.
>
> So my question here is: Is the Computer Name a good idea for this
> purpose? Can it be changed? Can different computers have an identical
> computer name? I have seen a post about retrieving information about
> the hard drive serial number, but another post in the same topic said
> this doesn't work and it only gets information about volume and not
> about the drive. Can anybody make some order in this issue for me
> please?
>
> Thanks greatly
>


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