subject: Software Protection - How Developers Protect Their Intellectual Properties [print this page] Software protection refers to the ways that the manufacturer tries to prevent unauthorized people from copying the material enclosed on the medium, ordinarily a compact disc (CD) or a digital video disc (DVD). It's copyrighting the information that's present of the CD or DVD so that the manufacturer is able to create money from it, and so that people can not copy it without purchasing it as well.
There are actually numerous ways that manufacturers try to circumvent people from copying material that they are not authorized to copy. This is comes with providing a registration key, that is a group of numbers and letters that ought to be input within the required area in order to access the material. In addition, the key is only available to someone after purchasing the material.
Software protection is also offered by devices called dongles. Dongles are hardware pieces that contain special codes. These devices must be plugged into the laptop or desktop computer which will be in use before running the program. Because they're expensive, dongles are mainly used for programs which are for higher end users and that are expensive.
Encryption code, and bus encryption, is a hardware platform that's used to encrypt, or scramble, important data during the transmission of that data from the point of origin to the point of reception. Popular at on-line sites that feature shopping carts, banks, and other websites that need to enable consumers to transfer important financial data in a safe manner, the technology is also found in locations such as automated teller machines (ATM).
A keyfile is another software protection device that's designed protect some sort of important information. Before the program could be used, a keyfile that is within the same directory as the program must be inputted. Phone activation codes are becoming more popular as well. For this kind of device, the user must call a certain number, and provide the requested information to register the materials before receiving the required serial number.
Much like a phone activation code, an internet product activation code requires that the user access the internet to provide identifying information in order to register the product and be given the required code, or serial number, that is needed to use the materials.
The next generation of software protection is referred to as code morphing. Code morphing is when the code needed to access the material is constructed up of, or morphed into, special nonsense symbols that are difficult to copy. All of these devices identify which computer or laptop has the materials downloaded on it by placing a special file or symbol in a special, hidden place on the laptop or the computer.
As the people that copy material get more stylish, software protection efforts must become more stylish in an attempt to stay one step ahead of them. Almost like a game of cat and mouse, the makers of software protection also must try to anticipate which weak points those individuals will try to exploit when they next get a chance.
