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Registration issues and piracy
Author
From your experience if a code is leacked or a key-gen/crack created to you update your key-gen/reg code and then re-release? I was thinking about this last night, wouldn''t it annoy users to have a new code sent to them every week so that they could update their software to the newest version?
I think you just have to suck it up until you''ve got new features to add. No one''s going to install an update that only fixes your broken reg codes!
Besides, the cracked version of your software is already in the wild. Producing a new version won''t recall the old one. You just need to add enough valuable features that the pirates will upgrade and pay to get them.
Besides, the cracked version of your software is already in the wild. Producing a new version won''t recall the old one. You just need to add enough valuable features that the pirates will upgrade and pay to get them.
Author
quote: Original post by CheeseGrater
I think you just have to suck it up until you''ve got new features to add. No one''s going to install an update that only fixes your broken reg codes!
Besides, the cracked version of your software is already in the wild. Producing a new version won''t recall the old one. You just need to add enough valuable features that the pirates will upgrade and pay to get them.
Sure they won''t update it just for me, but I plan on having control of my download locations (sites I submit etc), so I could quickly update the distribution, leave the version etc the same, therefore the crack wont work. If there was a key-gen would have to update the reg process, therefore people would need a new key, this is what I wanted to know, do people mind getting a new key every month when its cracked
The ones that will buy the game will do so, the ones that are going to try and crack the game will probably never do so. For the most part if you force the user to download something every week/month/whatever you are annoying your paying customer. What you would have to weigh is the amount of pirated copies you are keeping off the market compared to the amount of paying customers you annoy and are never going to buy your product again. I would rather have a few pirated copies floating around than to lose possible repeat business.
Author
quote: Original post by Skibum
The ones that will buy the game will do so, the ones that are going to try and crack the game will probably never do so. For the most part if you force the user to download something every week/month/whatever you are annoying your paying customer. What you would have to weigh is the amount of pirated copies you are keeping off the market compared to the amount of paying customers you annoy and are never going to buy your product again. I would rather have a few pirated copies floating around than to lose possible repeat business.
Well,sending them an email isnt really forcing anything on them,but I get your point. Anybody got any more experience with this issue?
No they wouldn''t mind because they wouldn''t even know. You are talking about releasing a game for download, it gets hacked, you then send a new (key gen resistant version) to the download sites so that anyone else downloading it gets this new version.
The people who downloaded the original are already registered. They wont be bothered cos they don''t need to update (the new version is still tagged as the same release number).
The people who used the keygen likewise wont notice the new version.
Anyone downloading the new version has to register cos then can gen a key for it (or they must wait for a hack update).
Anyone who dls the old version but registers once new version is out should get a message that there is a new version that they should download.
The people who downloaded the original are already registered. They wont be bothered cos they don''t need to update (the new version is still tagged as the same release number).
The people who used the keygen likewise wont notice the new version.
Anyone downloading the new version has to register cos then can gen a key for it (or they must wait for a hack update).
Anyone who dls the old version but registers once new version is out should get a message that there is a new version that they should download.
No they wouldn''t mind because they wouldn''t even know. You are talking about releasing a game for download, it gets hacked, you then send a new (key gen resistant version) to the download sites so that anyone else downloading it gets this new version.
The people who downloaded the original are already registered. They wont be bothered cos they don''t need to update (the new version is still tagged as the same release number).
The people who used the keygen likewise wont notice the new version.
Anyone downloading the new version has to register cos then can gen a key for it (or they must wait for a hack update).
Anyone who dls the old version but registers once new version is out should get a message that there is a new version that they should download.
Dan Marchant
Obscure Productions
The people who downloaded the original are already registered. They wont be bothered cos they don''t need to update (the new version is still tagged as the same release number).
The people who used the keygen likewise wont notice the new version.
Anyone downloading the new version has to register cos then can gen a key for it (or they must wait for a hack update).
Anyone who dls the old version but registers once new version is out should get a message that there is a new version that they should download.
Dan Marchant
Obscure Productions
quote: Original post by Obscure
Anyone who dls the old version but registers once new version is out should get a message that there is a new version that they should download.
But how do you even know which version they have?
Ron Frazier
Kronos Software
www.kronos-software.com
Miko & Molly - Coming July 2002
I think the best defense is to have an authentication scheme built into your program. Basically it contacts a server everytime they run the program and checks to see if the registration code is valid. If you see some registration code being used from alot of different IP''s, you can disable it and email the original owner of the code a new valid code or just tell him he is out of luck for sharing his code. To minimize on traffic to your athentication server I would only check every few executions and its your choice whether to allow execution if they can''t connect. I personally opt for the behind the scenes they don''t even know its happening and if it fails just let the program run. Making it less visible will hide it from hackers pulling out the registration check code.
Mp3 Trivia
http://mp3trivia.serveftp.net
Mp3 Trivia
http://mp3trivia.serveftp.net
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