Online registration and security

General JUCE discussion
1

Hi all,

I’m totally new in this security field and I would like to know more about it since I don’t really find information.

I will have to make a plugin and I need to add a feature to authenticate users and secure the software.

I’m currently evaluating all solution and it’s hard to really take a decision on it for me. Here are the solutions I found so far:

  1. iLok:
    Pretty robust, safe and some documentation available. I used it once back in time and it was not really painless to add. Also user seems to hate it even if the iLok Cloud exists.

  2. Serial number:
    I found this tutorial https://docs.juce.com/master/tutorial_online_unlock_status.html
    It’s not clear for me how to setup the backend server also it seems that we can delegate it to TracktionMarketplace but I’ve not found any documentation about it so far…

  3. Using a licensing system:
    One forum user ( @midiculous ) talked about LimeLM/WyDay https://wyday.com/limelm/
    Also an other user promote his service called Keyzy

Do you guys have some feedback regarding theses security services?

Thanks for your help

1 Like
2

Since it didn’t seem clear, I edited the original question.
Hope it would be easier for you to understand my issue.
Thanks :slight_smile:

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Not sure the extent of your question, but we use LimeLM. IMHO it’s the next best thing to use. Not too many solutions out there. We chose not to do iLok, because of the pricing at the time (Which we cannot divulge due to NDA).

From a programming standpoint, if you fully follow the guidelines and instructions on how to install, 99% of all users will be able to activate. Most users who can’t activate are because of firewalls, virus protections, and proxies. So far no cracks either.

Major Plus:

  • Pretty good support from the forums and email
  • One serial number can be used to activate addons to the software. We use this a lot. You can activate or unlock a feature within the app and still use the same serial.
  • Offline Activation
  • Great Web API
  • Cost is reasonable
  • Protection is robust, but nothing is as good as iLok
  • Great Admin Portal
  • Easy to Activate…No license manager software, dongles, or other stuff. Just a license number.

Cons:

  • Web API has an IP Address limit to the number of users on your account. So for Shopify type stores, this can be a major problem
  • Rare, but some users just will not be able to activate.
  • Requires a network adapter to create the identity of the machine.

As far as iLok Goes, my development knowlege is limited, but here are a few things to consider:

  • Pricing: You will have to ask them about pricing.
  • Some people just hate iLok and will not even consider your product if you say that is how they must authorize. On the flip side, there are people that absolutely love it and wish all products were on iLok.
  • No Addons/Expansion option
2 Likes
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Thank you so much @midiculous for you detailed answer. You gave me great insights regarding my question.

Yes you’re right regarding the hate/love regarding iLok. But I think iLok cloud made it easier for users (no dongle, only internet connectivity).

So just to be sure that I understood it well since I’m new in this kind of field.

You use LimeLM as a license managemer, when you signin you directly have a dashboard where you can add/delete serial number easily and you use the OnlineUnlockStatus in your JUCE app to communicate with LimeLM. I guess this is what you quoted when you said:

Also, I will have one more question regarding this service. Is the following use case is possible with LimeLM:

  1. an internet connection is required at the first launch
  2. a check is done every 30 days with an internet connection otherwise the app is disabled

I don’t know if this kind of use case is handled but services like LimeLM or OnlineUnlockStatus JUCE module.