RE: [sqr-users] Copy-Protecting SQRs again...

["Alexander, Steve" <Steve.Alexander@ci.sj.ca.us>]

Many organizations instruct their system administrators to fight software
piracy, and even go overboard on it.  When I was a consultant, I often had
difficulty getting permission to install software for which I had a personal
license (i.e. an editor) because the system administrators wanted no risk of
stolen software on their systems.  Can anyone comment on how widespread that
attitude would be?

It seems to me that a minority of software consultants might pose the
greatest risk.  I've known a few to carry programs they wrote for one client
with them to the next client.  And I've known a few cheapskates who wouldn't
pay for their shareware software tools.  But I don't remember any of them
actually taking purchased software from one client to another.  As anyone
observed that?

-----Original Message-----
From: Ray Ontko [mailto:rayo@ontko.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2003 5:59 AM
To: sqr-users@sqrug.org
Subject: Re: [sqr-users] Copy-Protecting SQRs again...


Eric,

Code mangling may not be workable, as you suggest.  If your code 
makes use of PS #include files, then it will be very difficult
to mangle only those variables and procedure names that are not
referenced or defined in external files.  

Another approach to code mangling would be to mangle your own code 
and produce a table that cross-references your global names to their
mangled names.  Then your installer would take a copy of the PS 
include files and mangle them to the extent required by your 
mangled program.

Another problem with SQTs is that if you distribute them, you 
will be distributing a compiled copy of the PS include files.
This may get you into legal trouble, and will limit the ability
of your SQT to survive an upgrade of PS.

I'm not sure how Gopal's installer works, but if you distribute
something that contains your code that then builds the SQT, the
unscrupulous user could also distribute that instead of the bare
code.  Even if you require a license key, they can distribute the
license key.

Ray

On Wed, Jun 11, 2003 at 02:25:55PM -0400, EricRection@aol.com wrote:
> Profound thanks to all who have replied so far. If there are any more 
> suggestions, I'm all ears.
> 
> The kind of copying I'm worried about is people giving the programs to
their 
> associates in other organisations, which I've seen happen, so a site
licence 
> wouldn't help. I wouldn't expect management to even know it was going on. 
> They'd be too busy doing Gantt charts and attending meetings and stuff.
> 
> If anyone's heard of an SQR code mangler I'd be delighted to hear about
it. I 
> can imagine the SQRs still not working through Process Scheduler in this 
> case, so noone would see the run control panel that took me a whole week,
but I 
> can live with that.
> 
> I like the sound of Gopal's SQT installation thingy and I'd be very 
> interested to hear more about it and perhaps even buy the thing. Hope it's
freeware. 
> SQTs don't work with PeopleTool v8-ish to 8.18, but it would be a lot
better 
> than nothing.
> 
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ray Ontko   rayo@ontko.com   Phone 1.765.935.4283   Fax 1.765.962.9788
Ray Ontko & Co.   Software Consulting Services   http://www.ontko.com/

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