From: dean@ksr.com (Dean Anderson)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: Help : Copy protection
Date: 13 Oct 92 18:08:53 EDT
Organization: Kendall Square Research

In article <Bw1JxK.2p4@ansoft.com> elliot@ansoft.com (mike elliot) writes:
>In article <16793@ksr.com> dean@ksr.com (Dean Anderson) writes:
>>Forget it.  Any copy protection scheme can be overcome with a little effort
>>and knowledge (and a debugger).
>>
>
>True. A good criminal can get through the deadbolt on my door too, but
>I still lock it. It is just plain foolishness to leave your door wide
>open.

Sorry the analogies don't mix.  Deadbolts and car alarms, etc
keep out (or slow down) the amatuer theives.  If your house is broken 
into or your car stolen, you lose real assets.  If an amatuer pirate 
distributes a few free copies to his friends, you may lose potential sales.  
In fact, you may gain sales as a result, when the friends decide they 
like the software and want the latest version or the manuals or need 
support.  You most likely don't lose anything because the friends 
probably wouldn't have purchased for your software anyway.  

The professional pirate sells your software (say in taiwan, korea, europe
etc).  These are the people who really hurt sales. They resell the software 
and take sales you should have made, for only the cost of advertising. 
They are not going to be stopped by copyprotection schemes.  Spend your 
time finding and prosecuting these folks.
 
>>Those likely to pirate your software will have the knowledge and will make
>>the effort.  Your efforts to copyprotect (and the money to implement them) 
>>have been wasted.
>
>This is not true. Most software pirates are just everyday users who
>don't consider making a copy of a program stealing. While no copy-
>protection scheme can keep out everyone, if I can keep out 80 percent
>of the thieves I have done my job.

Do you mean the individual is "unknowingly" stealing by giving
away a copy to someone?  I think everyone (even the most casual user) 
knows this is stealing.  If you don't think so, put in a message to 
that effect on startup. (It's called a copyright ;-) This puts them in
the same class as the amateur pirate.  As I said before, you may even
gain from this activity.  

More likely (at least in my experience), the user who makes a copy and 
"doesn't know" he's stealing is usually not stealing.  They are usually 
just trying to make a backup, or re-install the software on their new 
computer (the old one having made it to the dump).  You stand to lose
nothing from this activity. This is where you annoy your loyal users.
You lose their business when a competitor offers a product which is
easier in install, re-install, and backup.

As for doing your job, if you do anything, you have done your job.  My
point is that its your job (that is copy protection ;-) that is the waste 
of money.

Users are beginning to catch on, as are software companies who are competing
without using copy protection.

>In addition to protecting our software, this gives us a chance to help
>the customer with any problems/questions he has initially. Just the kind
>of thing I want to do to my most loyal customers. That's why they are so
>loyal.

This is nice.  Do you have a weekend/24 hour number?  Is it really 
necessary?  I have had experience with this kind of protection. I
came in on the weekend to install it, only to find they weren't
open on the weekend to give out the code.  I admit, I should have 
read the fine print before coming in on the weekend, but it still 
was a pain in my ass.
I would prefer a help line number that I could call only when I really
needed help.

>>Dean Anderson			dean@ksr.com  |  I'm not voting because the
>>KSR Computing Facilities                      |  lack of a candidate has
>>Kendall Square Research                       |  co-opted me out of the process
>
>As to your statement about not voting: If you don't like the system
>change it. Hiding from it won't get you anywhere.

You missed my point here to.  Perhaps I am just not being clear.  Without
a candidate to change it, it cannot be changed.  Remember the jokes about
the USSR?  It was always a democracy.  It was just that there was only one
candidate and one party. ;-) We have (had) two, but they stand for bigger 
government and more spending. (I've watched them long enough to deduce
this despite contrary rhetoric)  I want to get problems solved, not 
turned into porkbarrels.  Participation is a crucial indicator to 
distinguish government by the people from elitist totalitarian 
government.

Anyway, check out my new sig!
--
Dean Anderson			dean@ksr.com  |  Ok, maybe I'll vote now.
KSR Computing Facilities                      |  But I'll be real mad if The
Kendall Square Research                       |  Winner doesn't fix everything