| From: | Bart King |
| Date: | 16 Aug 2000 at 20:42:35 |
| Subject: | Re: Amiga Piracy |
At 16-Aug-00 00:55:20, Andrew Crowe <andrewcrowe@enterprise.net> wrote:
> Although, patches to stop games needing to read the CD are easily
> available.
Indeed. It is impossible to protect software by using software. It
needs to be hardware protection to be of any use (and then the software
must not rely on the hardware since then the checking could be just
hacked out).
[that CD protection stuff]
> Anyway I can't see how that could be possible anyway. What would
> stop the cd being read only in parts for a certain time?
I've no idea - I just read what it said on the stand :) The dudes
behind the stand all had impressive suits so I kept my distance.
At a guess, it would be some magic formula that deflected the drives
laser after a certain temperature on the disc. That opens up all sorts
of storylines for science fiction though.
> Well, one of the good ways is to have serial numbers, then if you
> find any serial numbers that are pirated, release an 'update' on the
> internet that when confronted with those numbers, is set to wipe
> their hd at a certain date.
The problem with serial numbers, keyfiles, etc. is that adding the
known pirate numbers to an internal database in the program means the
database can be just hacked out. An example of this is AmIRC.
On your suggestion of "wiping their hard disk", that wouldn't stand up
in court if a lawsuit came to it. And a standard "no warranty"
disclaimer at the start of your program means nothing as you have
purposely destroyed users data :)
> Or you could just screw it, and make it easier to use (no having to
> have the CD or enter black numbers from a black book) to try and get
> more people to buy a copy :)
White numbers on white paper. Shine the code book into a 200W
lightbulb and use supplied eye protectors to see the code after
standing on one leg.
Now there's an idea...
Quote carefully and read all ADMIN:README mails