[REBOL] Re: Dongles and program security
From: chris:starforge:demon at: 14-Nov-2002 10:22
On Thu, 14 Nov 2002 10:14:30 +1100
Ashley Truter <[atruter--labyrinth--net--au]> wrote:
> Anyone played with Dongles and / or programattic ways of securing
> their code to prevent unauthorised use and / or distribution?
> Resources like http://linux20368.dn.net/crackz/Tutorials/Protect.htm
> make it clear that implementing something effective in a high-level
> language like REBOL is not easy.
Dongles don't work. Ever. No, I don't care what the marketroids claim,
they don't. Even the really whiz-bang jobs with hardware keys and
even routines in the dongle are as effective as an umberalla in an
avalance. There are always ways around them - ranging from simply
nop-ing out checks in the easy cases right through to reimplementing
the routine that was in the dongle and redirecting the calls in the
code. And once one cracker has removed your dongle code, *that*
cracked version is the one that is used anyway. They are a waste of
time, effort and money in addition to being insulting your customers
("you're all filthy pirates so you need to use this dongle"). IMO the
money, time and effort is far better spent on making a product people
are actually willing to pay for.
Chris
