When coding anti-piracy prevention measures, your goal should be to keep honest users honest.
It is important to make the user experience pleasing and simple for your paid customers.
While in an ideal world, people would buy everything legally, reality is very different.
Most people, if tempted with an easy free way to get your app, will pirate even […]

Registration Schemes: Asymmetrical Cryptography

One challenge that most developers face when nearing release of their first application is how to implement registration and piracy protection. This three-part article will describe three common types of registration schemes: Serial Numbers, Asymmetrical Cryptographic Keys and Product Activation.

Part Two: Asymmetrical Cryptography
Asymmetrical Cryptographic Keys are a great way to secure you app, because the code used […]

Registration Schemes: Serial Numbers

One challenge that most developers face when nearing release of their first application is how to implement registration and piracy protection. This three-part article will describe three common types of registration schemes: Serial Numbers, Asymmetrical Cryptographic Keys and Product Activation.

Part One: Serial Numbers
Serial numbers are the simplest, most practical option. However, they are also the least secure. […]

Hacking mac apps: Direct Mail

In this post, I will describe how to hack a mac shareware app.

The reason for this is to push the developers to create stronger protection, and to show common weaknesses in licensing code.
Before each hack is published, I get the concerned developer’s approval, and send them a note describing the hack, and suggesting ways to improve […]