portability

SmithTech · Post by **SmithTech** » 2007 Jun 04, 18:20

My suggestion would be to change the current registration setup.
Either for a "portable" version or for all versions in general.

Store the following in a text file
User Name
User Email
Registration code
Drive Serial (the drive xplorer2 is installed on when registered)
A GUID known only to the author of xplorer2

encrypt the entire text file with 128 bit encryption (supposedly uncrackable without some absurd amount of processing power and time)

When xplorer2 starts it will check the information in the encrypted file and verify it is running from the drive it was registered on.

If the drive is lost or stolen, not that big a deal as it is useless to copy it as the new drive would have a different serial number so at most only the person finding the drive would be able to use it. The only way to re-register on a new drive would be to have the registration code from a registered user, yes this could be shared, but it could be shared for a standard install to so your not loosing anything as far as registration security.

No custom builds would be necessary and upgrades wouldn't be a problem.

My knowledge of registration setups is limited, but I believe this setup should be as secure as what ever is currently being used.
With 128 bit encryption and comparing the drive serial and a secret GUID, I don't think it would be possible to hack the registration. Although the exe itself could be hacked but I believe that could be done to the current exe as well.

wasker · Post by **wasker** » 2007 Jun 05, 00:00

SmithTech wrote:Store the following in a text file
User Name
User Email
Registration code
Drive Serial (the drive xplorer2 is installed on when registered)
A GUID known only to the author of xplorer2

encrypt the entire text file with 128 bit encryption (supposedly uncrackable without some absurd amount of processing power and time)

I guess you need not encrypt personal data in this file to make user think twice before publishing this information.

Speaking of drive id in cojunction with USB drives: does this id persist after reformatting the stick?

snakebyte · Post by **snakebyte** » 2007 Jun 05, 00:49

What about program updates? Will you be mailing customized xplorer2 to every registered user after each release? What about alpha and beta releases?

Post by **nikos** » 2007 Jun 05, 05:22

snake* i talked about this earlier; it may be that you only get so many updates (e.g. X) with each $10 and after that you renew

jazzcat · Post by **jazzcat** » 2007 Jun 05, 10:05

verify it is running from the drive it was registered on

i'm not sure if tying registration to the drive serial is really in the spirit of portability - i think that would rather defeat the purpose... but nonetheless i think the other ideas are good ones, if they remove the need for special builds and more importantly our hard earned cash...

i don't really approve of charging legitimate users extra for limitations imposed by licensing systems...

Post by **nikos** » 2007 Jun 05, 10:37

this is not a tax i'm trying to impose here, i'm trying to help you but since it will involve some manual labor on my part for each build, a small fee will be in order

in general xplorer2 licence is much more liberal than other tools that e.g. link a licence to a particular machine! And if you think about it, you don't need the extra $10 build, you can use the existing trial to any number of PCs.

if for your convenience, you require an unlocked version, you can make a decision, whether it is worth the price for you or not.

jazzcat · Post by **jazzcat** » 2007 Jun 05, 13:30

lucky for me i can do this by myself... :)

Post by **nikos** » 2007 Jun 05, 16:05

help, hackers!

another security measure i'm going to introduce against misuse of this unlocked version is that it will refuse to work unless it detects it is running from removable media like a USB stick, floppy (!) or cdrom. That shouldn't be a problem for the intended portability, no?

ps i mean any removable media, it won't be locked in a particular usb drive

snakebyte · Post by **snakebyte** » 2007 Jun 05, 17:01

nikos wrote: another security measure i'm going to introduce against misuse of this unlocked version is that it will refuse to work unless it detects it is running from removable media like a USB stick, floppy (!) or cdrom. That shouldn't be a problem for the intended portability, no?

I think that this would be a problem for me.
1) I would not like to keep two versions, one for removable media and another for my regular PC use
2) At work, I use multiple PCs on my network. I need to reformat these machines every few weeks. I was thinking of keeping xplorer2 copy on a shared network folder accessible only by me. This way I don't have to enter registeration details every time on every new machine that I use.

Post by **nikos** » 2007 Jun 05, 17:18

so how are you going to ensure that other network users cannot access xplorer2? we're getting into deep waters here ... i don't want to shoot my own foot!

SmithTech · Post by **SmithTech** » 2007 Jun 05, 17:27

As far as tying the reg to the drives serial number,
How often are you really going to copy it to a new drive?
It would only have to be registered once on any drive you chose to put it on.
Just because you registered it on one drive today doesn't mean you couldn't register it on another drive next week. The point is that if someone got a copy and wanted to use it, they would have to have a valid registration number to register it on the drive they copied it to.

Formatting may change the serial number, or so I have heard.
But again how often are you really going to reformat your usb drive?
Just reenter the registration information, no different than if you formatted your system drive and had to re-enter the registration on a new install.

Also no need for separate versions if this was implemented in the existing version.

Encrypting the users info isn't to hide it, it would still show in the about box under registered user. It would be used as an additional comparison when verifying the reg. Besides why create an additional file to store it.

wasker · Post by **wasker** » 2007 Jun 05, 17:27

nikos wrote:another security measure i'm going to introduce against misuse of this unlocked version is that it will refuse to work unless it detects it is running from removable media like a USB stick, floppy (!) or cdrom. That shouldn't be a problem for the intended portability, no?

I think it's not a bad idea, though it will not suit everyone. But you don't have to.

snakebyte · Post by **snakebyte** » 2007 Jun 05, 18:33

nikos wrote:so how are you going to ensure that other network users cannot access xplorer2? we're getting into deep waters here ... i don't want to shoot my own foot!

Using NTFS file permissons. Only I can access my shared folder on my network.

Mr.Pleasant · Post by **Mr.Pleasant** » 2007 Jun 05, 19:00

That shouldn't be a problem for the intended portability, no?

I think it's a clever, though unusual way of adding some security. I don't see any problems for most/regular users, but I'm sure there will be questions from people who want the portable version on a non-removable drive. I'm curious about Snakebytes point on this, I don't understand his case entirely.

1) I would not like to keep two versions

Why not? I mean, you're going to have two instances of the app anyway, what the problem with two versions?

2) I was thinking of keeping xplorer2 copy on a shared network folder accessible only by me.

Can't you just make an USB stick a shared network folder? (well, of course password protected against freeriders on the network, and also fysically secured against, er, the freetakers among your collegues

)

longfellow · Post by **longfellow** » 2007 Jun 05, 20:27

nikos wrote:another security measure i'm going to introduce against misuse of this unlocked version is that it will refuse to work unless it detects it is running from removable media like a USB stick, floppy (!) or cdrom.

Just curious... does "removable media" include external hard drives?

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Modify the registration setup

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