EzSecure License Management System

EzSecure was designed to provide software publishers a secure method of implementing and managing software trials, while minimizing the impact on the publisher's development resources. The goal of this system is to allow a publisher's prospective customers to experience the publisher's fully functional software for a limited time, then offer the prospect the chance to buy the product. Here are some of EzSecure's key features:

• Flexible options for setting trial limits

The publisher can choose to limit trials based on a number of uses, a number of days, or both.

• Customizable messages

The publisher can script all messages displayed to the prospect during the trial process.

• Publisher-controlled trial options and messages

The publisher has complete control over the trial limit settings and messages. IDEX Software's support is not needed for the publisher to make adjustments. More information about setting the options and messages is contained in the EzSecure Options section below.

• Disabled at time of purchase

At the time of purchase, the customer receives a purchase code, which disables the trial manager and allows normal, unlimited usage of the software. IDEX Software provides the publisher with a Windows-based application to generate the purchase code during the purchase transaction.

• Easy to implement

The publisher's engineers perform three tasks: 1) set the trial limits and messages, 2) add a single line of code to the beginning of the trial product's executable file, and 3) install the EzSecure DLL, the messages file, and the purchase icon and associated executable during product installation.

• "copy protects" software

When a customer purchases the trial application and receives the unlock code, the code only works on a single system.

• Doesn't hog disk space

In most cases, the addition of EzSecure won't impact the number of diskettes required to contain the trial product. EzSecure uses about 50 k of disk space, uncompressed.

• Multi-lingual support

EzSecure's DLL supports the dynamic display of messages in any language.

How EzSecure Works

EzSecure places monitor files on the customer's system. These keep track of the number of times the customer has launched the program, the number of days that have passed since the program was first launched, and the last day the customer used the program. The publisher can choose the number of monitor files to be used—the more files used, the harder it is for the would-be hacker to find them all.

Each time the customer launches the program protected by EzSecure, the trial manager checks each of the monitor files. If the number of uses or the number of days contained in the files equals the established limit, the program will terminate the launch sequence and display a message. (Actually, the publisher can choose what action is to occur when the trial limit is reached.)

If a user decides to purchase the product after the trial period expires, he clicks on the Purchase icon, which was installed into the program group during the initial setup. This opens a dialog box displaying a Customer Code and a blank field where the user enters his Purchase Code. (The Customer Code is a random number, generated by EzSecure the first time the customer launched the trial program. This number is based on a random number plus system information and is unique to the customer's system.) The customer reads his Customer Code to the operator and receives a Purchase Code when the transaction is complete. (The operator enters the Customer Code into a similar dialog box where the Purchase Code is generated.) Once the customer enters the Purchase Code, EzSecure is disabled on that system, and the customer has unlimited access to the software.

Why It's Secure

EzSecure's monitor files are hidden, read-only files whose tracking information is encrypted. Each time the program is launched, the trial manager checks the contents of all monitor files. The program execution is only allowed if the information in the files matches. If a customer finds and tampers with or deletes one of these files, EzSecure terminates execution of the program. Also, for trials based on a number of days, the trial manager compares the current system date to the "last used" date stored in the monitor files; if the current date is less than the "last used" date, program execution is terminated.

If a customer purchases the product and receives the Purchase Code allowing unlimited access to the software, that code is good only on the computer that generated the Customer Code. This means that EzSecure also offers copy protection, in addition to trial management security.