Introduction
Think about the last time you installed software on your computer. At some point during the installation, did it ask you to enter a special code? That code is called a product registration key. The code must be entered to prove who bought the software. If no one had to enter a product registration key, nothing would stop a person from uploading the software onto the internet to allow anyone and everyone to download that software and install it for free. A question that is rarely asked is, “How do the companies come up with all those keys?” There are two primary ways of creating product registration keys: session keys and pre-generated keys.
Session Keys
Session keys are a common technique to generate keys for software that is downloaded from the internet or special ordered. For these types of software, one must register for the software, and the information that was entered during the registration session is used to generate the product registration key. Each piece of information that is entered during the registration session is called a session variable. Those session variables are then entered into a cryptographic hash function. A cryptographic hash function is a one-way mathematical function (meaning from the result it is impossible to determine the input) that takes in a string of characters of any length and puts out a string of characters of a fixed length. Ideally, a cryptographic hash function should always generate the same output given the same input, and two different inputs should never generate the same output. The National Security Agency developed a popular cryptographic hash called SHA-1 that was used by the U.S. Government to encrypt sensitive information. If two user names, regardles...
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...thod can be used for any type of software, but there are certain situations that each one is better suited for. When users must register before receiving the software sessions keys are usually easier to generate, whereas if the user is buying mass produced software from a retail store, pre-generated keys are going to be easier to implement. However product registration keys alone are not enough to ensure that no one steals a copy of software. A fundamental rule in computer security is that security is multi-level. So to truly protect software product registration keys are just a single layer of many.
Works Cited
[1] Functions Online, “SHA1,” [Online] Available: http://www.functions-online.com/sha1.html Accessed January 26, 2010.
[2] Cirticom Corp., “ECC Tutorial,” [Online] Available: http://www.certicom.com/index.php/10-introduction. Accessed January 26, 2010.
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Created by Philip Zimmermann in 1991, this program has been widely used throughout the global computer community to protect the confidentiality and integrity of the users’ data, giving them the privacy of delivering messages and files only to their intended individual or authorized person (Singh, 2012). Not only being useful for individuals as a privacy-ensuring program, it has also been used in many corporations to protect their company’s data from falling into the wrong hands (Rouse, 2005).
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IDEO faces the decision of whether it should shortcut its product development process to meet a client’s time frame, or request a product launch extension so that IDEO has enough time to carry out a complete development process. IDEO’s client, Handspring, has requested that IDEO create a competitor to the Palm V, which IDEO helped to develop. IDEO faces the task of reconfiguring a palm-like product that meets Handspring’s desire to provide a lower-cost palm product with interchangeable cards and an enhanced design aesthetic that will appeal to a larger customer base. Dennis Boyle, former team leader on the Palm V project and soon-to-be leader on the Visor project, must decide whether or not to commit to Handspring’s short development timespan, which would inevitably lead to development shortcuts.
A Worldwide Problem Software piracy is defined as the illegal copying of software for commercial or personal gain. Software companies have tried many methods to prevent piracy, with varying degrees of success. Several agencies like the Software Publishers Association and the Business Software Alliance have been formed to combat both worldwide and domestic piracy. Software piracy is an unresolved, worldwide problem, costing millions of dollars in lost revenue. Software companies have used many different copy protection schemes. The most annoying form of copy protection is the use of a key disk. This type of copy protection requires the user to insert the original disk every time the program is run. It can be quite difficult to keep up with disks that are years old. The most common technique of copy protection requires the user to look up a word or phrase in the program's manual. This method is less annoying than other forms of copy protection, but it can be a nuisance having to locate the manual every time. Software pirates usually have no trouble "cracking" the program, which permanently removes the copy protection. After the invention of CD-ROM, which until lately was uncopyable, most software companies stopped placing copy protection in their programs. Instead, the companies are trying new methods of disc impression. 3M recently developed a new technology of disc impression which allows companies to imprint an image on the read side of a CD-ROM. This technology would not prevent pirates from copying the CD, but it would make a "bootleg" copy differ from the original and make the copy traceable by law enforcement officials (Estes 89). Sometimes, when a person uses a pirated program, there is a "virus" attached to the program. Viruses are self-replicating programs that, when activated, can damage a computer. These viruses are most commonly found on pirated computer games, placed there by some malignant computer programmer. In his January 1993 article, Chris O' Malley points out that if piracy was wiped out viruses would eventually disappear (O' Malley 60). There are ways that a thrifty consumer can save money on software without resorting to piracy. Computer companies often offer discounts on new software if a person has previously purchased an earlier version of the software. Competition between companies also drives prices low and keeps the number of pirated copies down (Morgan 45). People eventually tire or outgrow their software and decide to sell it.
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One of the largest parts of commerce is transaction. Transactions are needed anytime two parties exchange money or information. Since the Information Age has begun, transactions are more common over the Internet, where it is more imperative that transactions are secure (Klein x). Corporations have also become more widespread, which means that cryptography is needed to secu...
Consumer software programs are compiled and translated into machine language before they are sold. Some manufacturers provide source code, but usually only programmers find the source code useful. Thus programs bought off the shelf can be executed, but usually their source code cannot be read or modified.
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A company’s brand is one of its most valuable assets (Green and Smith 2002). Brands owners invest millions of dollars every year in advertising and promotion to raise awareness and create demand for their brands.
and distributing it or installing more than one copy of one piece of software on
In this era when the Internet provides essential communication between tens of millions of people and is being increasingly used as a tool for security becomes a tremendously important issue to deal with, So it is important to deal with it. There are many aspects to security and many applications, ranging from secure commerce and payments to private communications and protecting passwords. One essential aspect for secure communications is that of cryptography. But it is important to note that while cryptography is necessary for secure communications, it is not by itself sufficient. Cryptography is the science of writing in secret code and is an ancient art; In the old age people use to send encoded message which can be understand by the receiver only who know the symbolic and relative meaning of that encoded message .The first documented use of cryptography in writing dates back to circa 1900 B.C. Egyptian scribe used non-standard hieroglyphs in an inscription. After writing was invented cryptography appeared spontaneously with applications ranging from diplomatic missives to war-time battle plans. It is no surprise, then, that new forms of cryptography came soon after the widespread development of computer communications. In telecommunications and data cryptography is necessary when communicating in any untrusted medium, which includes any network, particularly the Internet [1].Within the context of any application-to-application communication, there are some security requirements, including:
Hyperdyne is an established in 1995 the company has flourished into a 1 billion dollar a year company
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