Non-intrusive file-based licensing

[t0m]

@ibisum

// Simple XOR encryption/decryption (NOT SECURE for production)

If you’re concerned about security you should use PACE’s tools. There is no alternative “secure” algorithm you could swap in here, as part of an offline, file-based system, that will resist being being cracked.

There are quite a few forum threads about this:

Demo version and piracy protection

Hi there, I would like to offer a demo version for my next plugin, with sporadic noise or silence (eg 5 sec every minute or so). The question is how to do such a thing without having something too easy to hack like a counter and an if statement in the process block. Any idea or experience you could share on the matter would be much welcome

Simple licensing solution?

Hi all! For quite a long time now, I have been trying to search for a simple licensing solution for my first commercial plugin. However, the more I learn about the subject, the more questions I have. I know that everything worthwhile will get cracked someday by someone, so I wouldn’t want to spend too much time trying to come up with a perfect copy protection solution. I’ve found few threads about the subject, but they are all more or less discussing the pros and cons of each approach. I will …

Copy protection (anti-debugger and best practices)

Hi there! Last plugin I released was cracked within the same day, which completely sucks. I’ve always had in mind that fighting against piracy is a bit meaningless since everything will eventually be cracked. However, having it cracked within the same day was a bit too much, so I’m thinking of ways to make the hacker’s job a bit harder. For my next plugin I will release two installers: the demo one and the full one, which can be authorized entering your username and serial number. That way, t…

Best/safest way to make a demo

Hi everyone! I’ve been thinking about how to create a demo version of my plugin that offers limited functionality without requiring a license. One idea is to incorporate a periodic burst of noise into the output signal to serve as a restriction. While the most straightforward approach would involve distributing a single plugin and utilizing a license checker to eliminate the added noise upon successful license verification, I’ve observed that many plugin manufacturers opt for an alternative me…

Secure licensing

Good morning all, Unfortunately, I had to find out today that the license manager KEYZY we use is absolutely insecure. There are already key generators that bypass the licensing. This is of course a disaster for us… I wanted to ask which license manager you use or if you can recommend something. Thanks a lot

Copy protection doubts

Hi folks! I’m working on a simple copy protection solution for my plugins. I read some posts on the forum but couldn’t find answers to some of my doubts. I really like the approach used by Valhalla DSP with no internet connection and server required for the process. The idea is to generate a unique XML key file at checkout (if that’s even possible on Shopify) using the user data and a serial key that follows some criteria. The unique key is then encrypted using a RSA public key and is provide…