JP5602679B2 - Method for preventing unauthorized use of software and storage device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a storage device such as a CD-ROM, a USB memory, and a compact flash (registered trademark) card in which software is stored, and a method for preventing unauthorized use of the software stored in the storage device.

  In recent years, with the improvement of electronic technology, various storage devices such as CD-ROM, USB memory, and compact flash card have been developed and are widely used. There are cases where products storing software in these storage devices are sold, but there is a problem that the software is illegally copied and used.

  As a method for preventing such unauthorized copying, conventionally, an authentication key generated by a product-specific parameter is stored in a spare area of a storage device, and an authentication key directly generated from a product-specific parameter by a user is There is one in which the software is activated only when it matches with the authentication key stored in the storage device. The spare area corresponds to a memory area that is not normally copied, such as an MBR area or a PBR area.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, an authentication key for encrypting a file stored in a storage device (storage device) is generated in a terminal device by combining a characteristic parameter for the storage device, a characteristic parameter for the file, and the like. The authentication key is stored in a spare area different from the general data area. The characteristic parameter for the storage device is a parameter that can specify the storage device such as the serial number of the storage device, the producer ID, the product name, and the like. The characteristic parameter for the file is the date and time when the file is generated. Information etc.

  In this example, when the user uses the storage device in the terminal device, the file recorded in the storage device and the characteristic parameters for the storage device are restored from the authentication key information recorded in the storage device. If the storage device is authenticated using the characteristic parameters and the authentication is successful, the file can be decrypted and used using the authentication key information.

JP 2009-129461 A

  As described above, in a conventional storage device, an authentication key for preventing unauthorized copying of software is stored in a spare area that is not normally copied. However, in this method, copying is possible by copying the entire storage device, such as sector copying, and if the copying is performed, the manufacturing side becomes a serious loss. On the other hand, in consideration of productivity, it is impractical to prohibit all copying because copying in the manufacturing process must be valid.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and prevents unauthorized use of software after shipment while maintaining product productivity in a storage device storing software as a product. It is an object to provide a method for preventing unauthorized use of software that can be performed.

  It is another object of the present invention to provide a storage device that can prevent unauthorized use of software after shipment while maintaining productivity of software as a product.

  A method for preventing unauthorized use of software according to the present invention is a method for preventing unauthorized use of software in which a software can be started only by specific hardware and cannot be started by other hardware in a storage device in which the software is stored. A first activation determination step of confirming whether or not the storage device connected to the first hardware for activating the software has an activation file, and determining that the software is the first activation when having the activation file; An authentication key generation step of generating an authentication key using at least one unique information of the first hardware and storing it in a storage device when it is determined in the initial activation determination step that the first activation is performed; and an authentication key generation After the authentication key is generated in the step, the startup file deletion step that deletes the startup file And a comparison key generated by the same method as the authentication key generation step using the at least one unique information of the second hardware when the storage device is connected to the second hardware for starting the software, An authentication key determination step that compares the authentication key stored in the storage device and activates the software in the second hardware if they match, and makes the activation impossible if they do not match; Only when it is the same as the first hardware, the software is started in the second hardware.

  The storage device according to the present invention is a storage device that can start stored software only with specific hardware and cannot start with other hardware, and is first hardware for starting the software. When the storage device itself has a startup file, the first startup determination unit that determines that the software is the first startup when the storage device has a startup file, and the first startup determination unit If it is determined that the authentication key is present, an authentication key is generated by using at least one unique information of the first hardware and stored in the storage device itself, and the authentication key is generated by the authentication key generation unit. After that, when connected to the startup file deleting means for deleting the startup file and the second hardware for starting the software, the second hardware The comparison key generated by the same method as the authentication key generation means using at least one unique information of the hardware is compared with the authentication key stored in the storage device itself, and if these match, the second hardware An authentication key determination unit is provided that activates the software and prohibits activation if the two do not match, and the software is activated in the second hardware only when the second hardware is the same as the first hardware. Is.

  According to the method for preventing unauthorized use of software according to the present invention, when the storage device connected to the first hardware has a startup file, it is determined that the software is the first startup, and the unique information of the first hardware Since the authentication file is generated using, and the activation file is deleted after generating the authentication key, the software cannot be activated except for the specific hardware (first hardware) that activated the software for the first time. It is possible to prevent unauthorized use of software while maintaining product productivity.

  Further, according to the storage device according to the present invention, when the storage device connected to the first hardware has a startup file, it is determined that the software is the first activation, and the first activation is determined. Only when the authentication key is generated using the unique information of the first hardware and stored in the storage device itself, and the activation file deleting means for deleting the activation file after the authentication key is generated By providing the software, it is possible to make the software non-bootable except for the specific hardware (first hardware) that was activated for the first time, and to prevent unauthorized use of the software while maintaining product productivity Is possible.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the hardware for starting the software preserve | saved at the memory | storage device which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the flow of a process by the software unauthorized use prevention function of the memory | storage device which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure explaining the flow of a process when the memory | storage device which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention is copied in the manufacture stage. It is a figure explaining the flow of a process when the memory | storage device which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention is illegally copied. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the hardware for starting the software preserve | saved at the memory | storage device which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the flow of a process by the software unauthorized use prevention function of the memory | storage device which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure explaining the flow of a process when the memory | storage device which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention is copied in the manufacture stage.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
Hereinafter, a method of preventing unauthorized use of software and a storage device having a function of preventing unauthorized use of software according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a hardware configuration for starting up software stored in the storage device according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 1, the hardware 100 includes a CPU 1, a RAM 3, a ROM 4, an Ethernet (registered trademark) 6, and a recording medium slot 7 into which a storage device 10 is inserted, and these are connected by a bus 8. Yes.

  The hardware 100 is an example of hardware for activating application software 11 (hereinafter, abbreviated as application 11), which is software stored in the storage device 10. However, the hardware 100 for activating the application 11 is not limited. The configuration is not limited to this.

  In FIG. 1, the internal ROM 2 of the CPU 1 has unique information A151. The RAM 3 temporarily stores data calculated by the CPU 1 or the like. The ROM 4 includes firmware 5 that provides basic functions (for example, various drivers that read and write data) and unique information B152. The Ethernet 6 is, for example, a bus RAN and has unique information C153. Each of the unique information A151, the unique information B152, and the unique information C153 is unique information for specifying the hardware 100, and includes a manufacturer, a serial number, a manufacturing date, a manufacturing location, a MAC address, and the like.

  The storage device 10 connected to the hardware 100 via the recording media slot 7 is, for example, a CD-ROM, a USB memory, a compact flash card, or the like, and stores an application 11 as a product. In addition, the application 11 has a function to prevent unauthorized use of software, which can be activated only by specific (regular) hardware and cannot be activated by other hardware. The software unauthorized use prevention function is arranged in a storage area different from the application 11 of the storage device 10 and includes an initial activation determination unit, an authentication key generation unit, an activation file deletion unit, and an authentication key determination unit.

  The function of preventing unauthorized use of software in the storage device 10 will be briefly described. The first activation determination unit checks whether or not the storage device 10 itself has an activation file in the first hardware for activating the application 11, and determines that the application 11 is activated for the first time if it has an activation file. Only when it is determined that this is the first activation in this determination, the authentication key generation means generates an authentication key using the unique information of the first hardware.

  If the hardware 100 shown in FIG. 1 is the first hardware, the authentication key 130 is generated using the unique information A151, the unique information B152, and the unique information C153 of the hardware 100. However, if there is any one of these pieces of unique information A to C, an authentication key can be generated, and it is not necessary to use all of them. Moreover, you may produce | generate using 3 or more specific information. The generated authentication key 130 is stored in the PBR area 12 of the storage device 10. Thereafter, the startup file is deleted by the startup file deleting means.

  After that, when the storage device 10 is connected to the second hardware for starting the application 11, the authentication key determination unit is generated by the same method as the authentication key generation unit using the unique information of the second hardware. The comparison key is compared with the authentication key, and the application 11 can be activated only when they match. As a result, the first hardware that starts up the application 11 for the first time becomes specific (genuine) hardware, and use with other hardware (including use by unauthorized copying) can be prevented. Since the authentication key 130 is generated when the application 11 is activated for the first time, the authentication key 130 is not stored in the storage device 10 before the first activation.

  A method for preventing unauthorized use of software in the storage device 10 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing by the software unauthorized use prevention function of the storage device 10. In FIG. 2, numbers starting with S indicate processing steps by the software unauthorized use prevention function, step 1 (S1) is the initial activation determination step by the initial activation determination means, and step 2 (S2) is the authentication key generation by the authentication key generation means. Step 3, step 3 (S3) is an activation file deletion step by the activation file deletion means, and step 4 (S4) is an authentication key determination step by the authentication key determination means.

  When the storage device 10 is connected to first hardware for starting up the application 11 (here, the hardware 100 shown in FIG. 1), the processing is started. In S <b> 1, the initial activation determination unit confirms whether or not the storage device 10 itself has an activation file, and determines that the application 11 is an initial activation when having an activation file (initial activation determination step).

  If there is a startup file in S1 (Yes), the process proceeds to S2. In S2, the authentication key generation unit generates an authentication key using at least one unique information of the hardware 100 and stores it in the storage device 10 itself (authentication key generation step).

  After the authentication key is generated in S2, the activation file deleting unit deletes the activation file in S3 (activation file deletion step).

  Thereafter, when the storage device 10 is connected to the second hardware for starting the application 11, in S4, the authentication key determination means uses the at least one unique information of the second hardware to generate an authentication key generation step. A comparison key is generated by the same method as described above, and this comparison key is compared with an authentication key stored in the storage device 10 itself.

  If the authentication key and the comparison key match in S4 (Yes), the process proceeds to step 5 (S5), and the normal function of the application 11 is activated in the second hardware. On the other hand, if the authentication key and the comparison key do not match in S4 (No), the process proceeds to step 6 (S6), and the normal function of the application 11 in the second hardware cannot be activated (authentication key determination step). . If startup is not possible, an illegal copy is displayed and an infinite loop is entered.

  On the other hand, if the storage device 10 does not have an activation file in the initial activation determination step of S1 (No), it is determined that the application 11 is not the initial activation, and the authentication key generation step of S2 and the activation file deletion step of S3 are performed. Omitted, the authentication key determination step of S4 is performed. At this time, in the authentication key determination step of S4, the generated comparison key is compared with the authentication key generated at the first activation and stored in the storage device 10.

  Only when the second hardware is the same as the hardware 100 that is the first hardware at the first activation, the comparison key that matches the authentication key is generated by the above-described processing steps S1 to S6. The application 11 is activated in the second hardware.

  In addition, when at least one of the manufacturer, the serial number, the manufacturing date, the manufacturing location, and the MAC address is used as the unique information of the first hardware and the second hardware for generating the authentication key and the comparison key Good. Moreover, you may process so that a user cannot assume easily by calculating these specific information.

  Next, a flow of processing when the storage device according to the first embodiment is copied at the manufacturing stage and shipped as a product will be described with reference to FIG. In the manufacturing stage, as shown in FIG. 3A, from the storage device (master) 10M as the copy source to the storage device (genuine product) 10A, the application 11, the authentication key generation function activation file 14, which is an activation file, And other data are copied.

  The authentication key generation function activation file 14 corresponds to authentication key generation means and activation file deletion means. The storage device (master) 10M has first-time activation determination means and authentication key determination means (both not shown), which are copied to the storage device (genuine product) 10A.

  FIG. 3B shows operations (authentication key generation step and activation file deletion step) when the storage device (genuine product) 10A shipped as a product is connected to the regular hardware A101 and activated for the first time. Yes. Since the authentication key generation function activation file 14 is present in the storage device (genuine product) 10A at the first activation, the authentication key A131 is generated using the unique information 15A of the hardware A. The authentication key A131 is generated from the unique information A151, the unique information B152, and the unique information C153 that are the unique information 15A of the hardware A, and is stored in the PBR area of the storage device (genuine product) 10A. The authentication key generation function activation file 14 deletes itself after generating the authentication key A131.

  FIG. 3C shows the operation (authentication key determination step) of the storage device (genuine product) 10A connected to the regular hardware A 101 again after the initial activation shown in FIG. 3B. In FIG. 3C, the storage device (genuine product) 10A is connected to the regular hardware A101, and the authentication key is used by using the unique information A151, the unique information B152, and the unique information C153 that are the unique information 15A of the hardware A. A comparison key A161 is generated by the same method as A131.

  In the authentication key determination step, the generated comparison key A161 is compared with the authentication key A131 stored in the storage device (genuine product) 10A. Here, the authentication key A131 and the comparison key A161 coincide with each other because they are generated by the same method using the unique information 15A of the same hardware A in the same regular hardware A101. Thereby, the normal function of the application 11 is started.

  Next, the flow of processing when the storage device (genuine product) 10A in FIG. 3 is illegally copied will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4A, when the storage device (genuine product) 10A shipped as a product is illegally copied, the storage device (unauthorized copy product) 10B includes a storage device (genuine product) together with the application 11. The authentication key A131 generated when 10A is first activated in the regular hardware A101 is copied and stored in the PBR area.

  Further, the storage device (genuine product) 10A that is the copy source in the case of unauthorized copying includes an initial activation determination unit and an authentication key determination unit (both not shown), which are the storage device (unauthorized copy product). ) It is copied to 10B. In the case of unauthorized copying, since the storage device (genuine product) 10A is not activated for the first time, the authentication key generation function activation file 14 (see FIG. 3) does not exist.

  When the storage device (unauthorized copy product) 10B is connected to the hardware B102 different from the regular hardware A101 (FIG. 3) and activated, as shown in FIG. 4B, the storage device ( Since the authentication key generation function activation file 14 does not exist in the unauthorized copy product) 10B, the authentication key generation step and the activation file deletion step are not performed. That is, a new authentication key using the unique information 15B of the hardware B is not generated, and the authentication key A131 copied at the time of illegal copying is saved.

  Thereafter, the storage device (unauthorized copy product) 10B connected to the hardware B102 performs an authentication key determination step. In the authentication key determination step, as shown in FIG. 4C, the comparison key B162 is used in the same manner as the authentication key A131, using the unique information D154, the unique information E155, and the unique information F156 that are the unique information 15B of the hardware B. Is generated and compared with the authentication key A131. Here, since the authentication key A131 is generated using the unique information 15A of the hardware A and the comparison key B162 is generated using the unique information 15B of the hardware B, the authentication key A131 and the comparison key B162 do not match. . Thereby, the normal function of the application 11 is not started.

  As described above, according to the software unauthorized use prevention function of the storage device 10 according to the first embodiment, the storage device 10 connected to the first hardware for starting the application 11 has the startup file. Only when it was started (first time activation), the authentication key was generated using the unique information of the first hardware, and the activation file was deleted after the authentication key was generated. The first hardware is specified (regular) hardware, and the application 11 can not be started other than the regular hardware, and unauthorized use of the application 11 can be prevented.

  In the manufacturing stage, the application 11, the authentication key generation function activation file 14, and other software illegal use prevention functions may be copied from the copy source storage device (master) 10M to the storage device (genuine product) 10A. This is possible and the productivity of the product is maintained, so that the productivity does not decrease.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 5 shows a hardware configuration for starting up software stored in the storage device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, the same reference numerals are given to the same or corresponding parts as in FIG. The hardware 100a shown in FIG. 5 has the same configuration as that of the hardware 100 shown in FIG. 1 except that the general key 170 for comparison is registered in the firmware 51 of the ROM 4. In the storage device 10 according to the second embodiment, the general key 171 (see FIG. 7) is stored in the startup file.

  A method for preventing unauthorized use of software in the storage device 10 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that the flowchart of FIG. 6 shows the flow of processing by the software unauthorized use prevention function of the storage device according to the second embodiment, but between the initial activation determination step of S1 and the authentication key generation step of S2. Since it is the same as FIG. 2 (Embodiment 1) except that it includes the general key determination step of Step 11 (S11), the description will be simplified.

  When the storage device 10 is connected to the first hardware for starting up the application 11 (here, the hardware 100a shown in FIG. 5), the processing is started. After determining that it is the first activation, in S11, the general key stored in the activation file is compared with the general key 170 for comparison registered in advance in the hardware 100a, and it is determined whether or not they match. (General key determination step).

  In S11, when the general key stored in the activation file matches the general key 170 for comparison (Yes), the processing steps after the authentication key generation step in S2 are performed. On the other hand, in S11, when the general key stored in the activation file does not match the comparison general key 170 (No), the authentication key generation step in S2 and the activation file deletion step in S3 are omitted, and in S4. An authentication key determination step is performed.

  In the second embodiment, as a process step necessary for performing the authentication key generation step of S2, in addition to the initial activation determination step of S1, the general key determination step of S11 is performed, and the software unauthorized use prevention function is further improved. It has been strengthened. In order to add the general key determination step, the general key is stored in the startup file of the storage device 10, and the hardware 100a (regular hardware) that starts the application 11 of the storage device 10 for the first time is also stored. It is necessary to register a general key for comparison.

  A processing flow when the storage device according to the second embodiment is copied at the manufacturing stage and shipped as a product will be described with reference to FIG. In the manufacturing stage, as shown in FIG. 7A, the application 11, the authentication key generation function activation file 14, and other data are transferred from the storage device (master) 10M as the copy source to the storage device (genuine) 10A. Is copied. In addition, the storage device (master) 10M has an initial activation determination unit and an authentication key determination unit (both not shown), which are also copied to the storage device (genuine product) 10A. Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the general key 171 is stored in the authentication key generation function activation file 14 and is also copied to the storage device (genuine product) 10A.

  FIG. 7B shows operations (authentication key generation step and activation file deletion step) when the storage device (genuine product) 10A shipped as a product is connected to the regular hardware A101 and activated for the first time. Yes. At the first activation, the storage device (genuine product) 10A has an authentication key generation function activation file 14, and a general key 171 stored in the authentication key generation function activation file 14 is compared with the hardware A101. Therefore, the authentication key A131 is generated using the unique information 15A of the hardware A as shown in FIG. 7B. The authentication key generation function activation file 14 deletes itself after generating the authentication key A131. At this time, the general key 171 is also deleted. Since other operations are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.

  According to the second embodiment, as a processing step necessary for the software unauthorized use prevention function of the storage device 10 to perform the authentication key generation step, the general key determination step is performed in addition to the initial activation determination step. Since the authentication key generation step is performed in the hardware only when the comparison general key registered in advance in the hardware matches the general key of the startup file, the unauthorized use of the application 11 is further improved than in the first embodiment. The prevention effect is increased.

  The present invention can be used for a storage device such as a CD-ROM, a USB memory, and a compact flash card in which software as a product is stored.

1 CPU, 2 internal ROM, 3 RAM, 4 ROM, 5, 51 firmware,
6 Ethernet, 7 recording media slots, 8 buses,
10 storage device, 10A storage device (genuine product),
10B storage device (illegal copy product), 10M storage device (master),
11 application software, 12 PBR domain,
14 Authentication key generation function startup file,
15A specific information of hardware A, 15B specific information of hardware B,
100, 100a hardware, 101 hardware A, 102 hardware B,
130 authentication key, 131 authentication key A,
151 Unique information A, 152 Unique information B, 153 Unique information C, 154 Unique information D, 155 Unique information E, 156 Unique information F,
161 Comparison key A, 162 Comparison key B,
170 General key for comparison, 171 General key.

Claims (8)

In a storage device in which software is stored, the software can be activated only with specific hardware and cannot be activated with other hardware.
First-time activation that checks whether the storage device connected to the first hardware for activating the software has an activation file, and determines that the software is the first activation if it has the activation file Judgment step,
An authentication key generation step of generating an authentication key using at least one unique information of the first hardware and storing the authentication key in the storage device when it is determined in the initial activation determination step that the activation is an initial activation;
An activation file deletion step of deleting the activation file after an authentication key is generated in the authentication key generation step;
When the storage device is connected to the second hardware for starting the software, the comparison key generated by the same method as the authentication key generation step using at least one unique information of the second hardware Including an authentication key determination step of starting the software in the second hardware if they match, and not starting if they do not match,
The method for preventing unauthorized use of software, wherein the software is started on the second hardware only when the second hardware is the same as the first hardware.   In the initial activation determination step, if the storage device does not have the activation file, it is determined that the software is not an initial activation, the authentication key generation step and the activation file deletion step are omitted, and the authentication key determination 2. The software fraud according to claim 1, wherein the authentication key determination step compares the generated comparison key with an authentication key generated at the first activation and stored in the storage device. Usage prevention method.   2. The software according to claim 1, wherein at least one of a manufacturer, a serial number, a manufacturing date, a manufacturing location, and a MAC address is used as the unique information of the first hardware and the second hardware. To prevent unauthorized use.   A general key determination step is included between the initial activation determination step and the authentication key generation step, wherein the general key determination step is a comparison registered in advance with the general key stored in the activation file and the first hardware. 2. The method for preventing unauthorized use of software according to claim 1, wherein the authentication key generation step is performed when the general keys for use are compared and they match. A storage device that can start stored software only on specific hardware and cannot start on other hardware,
When connected to the first hardware for starting the software, the storage device itself checks whether or not it has a startup file, and if it has the startup file, determines that the software is the first startup First-time activation determination means;
An authentication key generating means for generating an authentication key using at least one unique information of the first hardware and storing it in the storage device itself when it is determined by the initial activation determination means to be an initial activation;
An activation file deleting means for deleting the activation file after an authentication key is generated by the authentication key generating means;
A comparison key generated by the same method as the authentication key generation means using at least one unique information of the second hardware when connected to the second hardware for starting the software, the storage device An authentication key determination unit that compares the authentication key stored in itself with the second hardware and activates the software when the two match, and makes the activation impossible when the two do not match; The storage device is characterized in that the software is started in the second hardware only when the hardware is the same as the first hardware.   When the storage device itself does not have the activation file, the first activation determination unit determines that the software is not the first activation, and the authentication key determination unit that has received this determination uses the generated comparison key as the comparison key. 6. The storage device according to claim 5, wherein the storage device is compared with an authentication key generated at the first activation and stored in the storage device itself.   6. The storage according to claim 5, wherein at least one of a manufacturer, a serial number, a manufacturing date, a manufacturing location, and a MAC address is used as the unique information of the first hardware and the second hardware. apparatus.   A general key is stored in the activation file, a comparison general key is registered in advance in the first hardware, and the authentication key generation unit stores the general key stored in the activation file as the first key. The storage device according to claim 5, wherein an authentication key is generated by using at least one unique information of the first hardware when it matches a comparison general key registered in hardware.

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