Software Copy Protection

After the installation is complete, you’ll need to authorize the software. Until the software is authorized, it may not run at all, or it may run in a special “demo mode.” In this column we’ll look at what authorization is, how it works, and why it’s necessary.

In the early days of personal computing (the mid-1970s), computer users were a tiny but enthusiastic minority. Local groups met every month to show off programs they had written and trade cool programs with others. All software was stored on floppy disks, and you could give a copy of a program to a new acquaintance simply by copying the contents of your floppy to his or her floppy.

This culture still exists in the Linux community: Most Linux software can be freely copied and shared. But most developers of commercial software feel that allowing users to make copies of programs and give them away would cut too deeply into their ability to earn a living. Free copying also makes it harder for companies to fund the development of more software. Writing useful programs takes lots of time and effort. It requires teams of professionals, most of whom prefer to be paid for their work.

In order to insure that they receive a payment for every copy of a program that’s being used, manufacturers have come up with various methods of copy-protection. When a program is copy-protected, you can still make a copy of it — but the copy won’t run. When you start the program, the first thing it does is check to see whether it’s authorized to run on your computer. If it doesn’t find an authorization, it will run only in demo mode, or not at all.

Two forms of copy-protection are widely used today. The first installs the authorization on your hard drive itself. The second involves an extra piece of hardware, which is attached to the computer (usually to a USB port). This hardware is called a dongle (see Figure 1). Internet access may be required for both forms of protection.

SERIAL NUMBERS & CHALLENGE/RESPONSE

The simplest form of software copy-protection is serial number entry. Somewhere in the physical package that you purchase (either on the CD-ROM case itself or on a card in the box) you’ll find a serial number. During installation, you’ll be prompted to enter the serial number. If the number matches the number encoded into the installer program on the CD, the software is authorized, and no further action is needed.

The simplicity of serial number entry is also its weakness. If you lend the CD to your friend, your friend can also install and authorize the program, and the manufacturer will never be paid for the extra copy. To prevent this, many manufacturers ask you to perform a second step, called challenge/response authorization.

The way this works is, when you install the program (either after you enter the serial number or instead of serial number entry), the installer pops up a window with a challenge. This is a string of letters and/or numbers. They may be nonsense, or the letters may form words. You’re asked to copy the challenge and then go to the manufacturer’s website. Here, you give them the challenge, and the website automatically generates a response, which is another string of letters and/or numbers. When you enter the response into the pop-up box below the challenge, the software will be authorized.

One advantage of challenge/response is that you may be able to use it even if your music computer is not connected to the Internet. Some manufacturers allow challenges to be emailed in (from another computer), and issue the response by email.

Each copy of the program issues a unique challenge code. The code may also make use of a hardware ID number on your computer’s CPU, so the challenge may be unique to your copy of the software and to your computer. Manufacturers keep track of the challenges and responses, so if you later install the software on another computer and send them a new challenge, they’ll know that they’re seeing the same copy of the software that was authorized earlier.

Many manufacturers allow you to authorize their software on two computers. This is a courtesy to professionals who own both desktop and laptop machines, and also allows you to do a second install without hassle if you should buy a new computer (or if your hard drive should crash).

During the challenge/response process, you may be asked to set up a user account. This will give you access to technical support, and perhaps also to the user forums on the manufacturer’s website. Even if you should somehow figure out a way to run an unauthorized copy of a program, you won’t be able to get help from tech support. This is another form of copy-protection.

DONGLES

The earliest form of copy-protection required that a certain floppy disk (called the master disk or key disk) be inserted in the drive each time the program started. The authorization was hidden on a “secret” partition on the key disk, but a clever computer user could figure out how to make a copy of the key disk, so this was not an extremely effective method of copy-protection. Key disk CD-ROMs are still used by a few manufacturers, but many have switched to a form of external copy-protection that’s harder to counterfeit.

A dongle is a small piece of metal and plastic that plugs into a USB port on your computer. Encased in the plastic is a memory chip that contains one or more software authorizations. (These are likely to be encrypted in some way to make them hard to counterfeit.) When your music software launches, it looks for the dongle. If it finds a dongle with the correct authorization, the software runs.

The big advantage of a dongle is that you can use one authorization on several computers. If you habitually work on four different machines, you can install the software on all of them and carry the dongle around on your keychain. The disadvantage is that if you lose the dongle, you’ve lost the software!

A single dongle can contain authorizations for a number of programs. This is convenient (because you only need to use one USB port), but it increases the hassle if you lose the dongle.

Some software comes with a pre-authorized dongle already in the box. All you have to do is install the software, plug in the dongle, and you’re ready to go. (Be sure to read the instructions in the manual on the proper steps to take during the installation process.) But some manufacturers sell the dongle and software separately, on the assumption that you probably already have one dongle and don’t need another. If you already have a compatible dongle, all you need for your new software is a new authorization. So when you purchase a second program from a given manufacturer such as Steinberg or Arturia, they’ll provide a method by which you can download a new authorization over the Internet using challenge/response. Following the procedures listed on their website will install the authorization in your existing dongle.

Two manufacturers, iLok and Syncrosoft, have become important as providers of dongles and authorization download methods. Unfortunately, their systems are not compatible with one another. Many musicians have both an iLok dongle and a Syncrosoft dongle attached to their computer, each containing several authorizations.

Both iLok and Syncrosoft provide methods by which you can transfer an authorization from one dongle to another. If you already have a Syncrosoft dongle and purchase a program whose license is on another Syncrosoft dongle that’s in the box, you can use the Syncrosoft License Control Center software (see Figure 2) to transfer your authorization(s) so that they all reside on the same dongle. Transferring licenses from one iLok to another requires an Internet connection (see Figure 3); transferring Syncrosoft licenses doesn’t. Other than that, the two types are similar.

WHY BOTHER?

Everybody hates copy-protection. It’s a headache for both manufacturers and musicians. But most people feel that the results are worth the hassle. If you’re unalterably opposed to copy-protection, you can produce music in a computer that runs the Linux operating system — but you’ll find that Linux music software tends to be several years behind software for Windows and the MacOS in terms of power and user-friendliness. Copy-protection is the system that buys you that extra power.

Jim Aikin makes strange-sounding music in his PC-based studio, teaches classical cello, and writes for a variety of music technology magazines. Visit him online at www.musicwords.net.