JP2004295388A - Method for installing and protecting software - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide technology to eliminate the inconveniences that it is necessary to always keep a CD or the like inserted into a drive in order to protect software when using a protected CD or the like and that its protection with activation is not easy, and to provide the technology to conveniently realize installation and execution as long as it is properly used and to exclude any illegal installation or copy. <P>SOLUTION: When software is installed by using a protected media, key information specific to equipment is recorded in a registry or a predetermined file or the like, and the key is confirmed when a program is started so that the execution of the program can be protected. When the key information is lost due to any reason, the media (which is protected) used for the installation is confirmed so that the key can be reissued. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a technology for protecting software so that only a user having appropriate authority can install and use the software.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, the following are known as software protection techniques.
[0003]
First, there is known software which can use a regular function by inputting a predetermined serial number. For example, there is a device that requires a serial number to be input at the time of installation and prevents installation if the serial number is not proper. In such a case, as long as the serial number is obtained, the legitimate function can be used on any number of computers, so that a further protection using a dongle has been considered for further protection. Dongles are hardware keys used to prevent piracy of software. It is known that a software checks whether a dongle is connected to a parallel port, a USB port, or the like, and operates the software normally only when a proper dongle is connected.
[0004]
Also, there is known a storage medium that is protected from being illegally copied or used. For example, as a method for protecting a CD, there is a technique of incorporating a unique ring that can be visually confirmed on a recording surface of a CD-ROM at the time of a pressing process, and implementing protection by the ring and a protection check routine. Further, the DVD is provided with a protection mechanism from the beginning.
[0005]
Here, the protected CD is used as follows. First, it is impossible to copy a CD using ordinary CD-R writing software and a CD-R drive. This is because a special ring is incorporated in the recording surface. The recorded programs and data themselves can be freely copied, but a subroutine for confirming the original CD is supplied, which can be protected.
[0006]
For example, in order to protect at the time of installation, when the installer stored in the CD is activated, it is checked whether or not the CD is the original CD by using the above protection check routine. Do not run. For example, when protecting a program at the time of execution, when an instruction to start the program installed on the hard disk is issued, the protection check routine is used to detect whether or not the original CD is inserted in the CD drive, and to detect whether or not the original CD is inserted. If not, do not start the program.
[0007]
Furthermore, protection by activation via a network has recently been performed. This is, for example, when the software is first started after installation of the software, the software is operable by connecting to a server via a network and receiving a key from the server. There are several types of activation. One is that the server sends a predetermined key independent of the machine on which it is installed. In this case, if the software of the installed machine is copied along with the key to another machine, the software can be executed on another machine. On the other hand, the server receives information specific to the machine from the installed machine, transmits a key corresponding to the information, and copies it to another machine together with the key so that it cannot be executed on the other machine. There is something that I did.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, in a protected CD, the execution of the program can be protected by using the CD instead of the dongle. However, it is often inconvenient to always insert a CD into the drive.
[0009]
The above activation is not easy, but it is the best in terms of software protection. However, you must connect to the network to receive the key from the server. Even if a connection to the network can be established, key reception may fail due to improper settings or a poor communication environment of the network.
[0010]
In addition, the first activation cannot be omitted because of the user registration.However, if the key is lost due to an operation error, hardware failure, or runaway due to a bug, the user will be reactivated. I want to avoid demanding.
[0011]
In view of the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, the present invention eliminates the inconvenience that a CD or the like must always be inserted into a drive with protection by a protected CD or the like, and that it is not easy to protect by activation. It is an object of the present invention to provide a technology that eliminates inconvenience and can be easily installed and executed as long as it is properly used, while eliminating illegal installation and copying.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a program which records device-specific key information in a registry or a predetermined file at the time of installation using a protected medium and confirms the key at the time of starting the program. Is protected.
[0013]
If the key information is lost for some reason, the media (protected) used for the installation is confirmed and the key can be reissued. Note that the first key may be issued or the key may not be issued on the same medium.
[0014]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0015]
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a computer system to which the protection method of the present invention is applied. A personal computer 100 for installing and executing software and a predetermined server 130 are connected to a network 120. The personal computer 100 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 101, a read-only memory (ROM) 102, a random access memory (RAM) 103, a hard disk 104, a drive device 105, a timer 107, a network interface 108, a MIDI interface 109, and a display 110. , A keyboard & mouse 111, a waveform interface 112, and the like. These components are interconnected by a predetermined bus line. A removable disk 106 (CD-ROM, DVD, etc.) is inserted into the drive device 105.
[0016]
The personal computer 100 is a general-purpose personal computer or the like that can execute the installed software on the operating system by installing a predetermined operating system as basic software and installing various software. The software is installed by inserting the removable disk 106 storing the software into the drive device 105 and executing a predetermined installation program (for example, the one recorded on the removable disk 106). The installed program is stored in the hard disk 104, and the program can be started and executed by a predetermined operation. The removable disk 106 used for installation is described here as a copy-protected CD, but may be another copy-protected medium. For the CD or the medium, it can be checked whether or not it is a legitimate CD using a predetermined check routine.
[0017]
FIG. 2 shows a procedure of a setup routine when software is installed. In step 201, initial settings are made, and in step 202, it is determined whether or not the disc is a regular CD. If it is not a legitimate CD in step 203, a message indicating that it is not a legitimate CD is displayed on the display 110 in step 204, and the process is terminated. If the CD is a legitimate CD, the user is prompted to confirm various settings relating to the installation in step 205, and the program read from the CD is installed in the hard disk 104 in step 206. More specifically, various files such as an execution file, a subroutine file, and a setting file constituting the program are copied to a folder designated as an installation destination, a predetermined subroutine folder of an operating system, and the like, and, if necessary, It performs registration in the registry (management database) of the operating system, creation of shortcuts, various initial settings, and the like. Further, in step 207, unique information based on the hardware of the PC 100 is acquired, and key information is generated from the unique information (for example, a predetermined arithmetic expression is used). In step 208, various information including the key information is set in a predetermined area of the registry of the operating system, and the process ends. The storage area for storing the key information is not a predetermined area of the registry but another storage area outside the installation destination folder (for example, a subroutine file of the program stored in the subroutine folder, a setting file, etc.). Partial area).
[0018]
FIG. 3 shows a procedure when an instruction to start the software installed as described above is issued. Note that portions indicated by dotted lines in the drawing are portions applied to the second embodiment described below, and here, the description will be made assuming that there is no such dotted line portion.
[0019]
In step 301, initial settings are made. In step 302, key information (set in the registry) and hardware specific information are obtained. Next, in step 304, it is determined whether or not the unique information and the key information correspond to each other. This determination is made by checking whether the key information generated from the acquired unique information matches the key information set in the registry. If the unique information and the key information correspond to each other, it is assumed that the instruction is a start instruction on a properly installed machine, and the main body of the software is activated in step 305. As a result, when the software is installed on a regular CD, it can be normally started even if the CD is not inserted.
[0020]
If there is no correspondence between the unique information and the key information in step 304, it is checked in step 311 whether a regular CD is inserted. If it is inserted in step 312, the key information is extracted from the unique information in step 315. In step 316, the key information is set in the registry of the OS, and the flow advances to step 305. If a regular CD has not been inserted, the process proceeds from step 312 to step 313, in which it is confirmed whether or not to cancel the process. After that, a regular CD is requested in step 314, and the process returns to step 311.
[0021]
By performing the above processing, it is possible to eliminate execution on a machine on which an illegal copy has been made by checking whether the unique information and the key information of the machine are appropriate. This is because when the installed software is copied to another machine, the unique information of the machine is different, and the unique information and the key information do not correspond to each other.
[0022]
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, steps 303, 321 to 324 are added to the process of FIG. 3 of the above-described first embodiment. In addition, it is assumed that the processing of steps 207 and 208 is not performed in FIG. Others are the same as the first embodiment.
[0023]
In the added processing, first, in step 303, it is determined whether or not it is the first activation. If it is the first activation, in step 321 the user is requested to input personal information including the serial number, and in step 322 the personal information and the personal information input by the user are transmitted to the server 130. The server 130 determines whether or not the activation is proper based on the unique information and the personal information. If the activation is proper, the server 130 registers the personal information and the unique information in a database in the server (user registration) and The permission information is transmitted, and if it is not appropriate, the reject information is transmitted. The determination in this case is the same as in the conventional activation, and is a determination as to whether or not the registration is the first with the serial number and whether or not the device information is appropriate. At step 323, the permission information or the rejection information transmitted in this manner is received. If it is the permission information in step 324, the process proceeds to step 315. If it is not the permission information, the process returns to step 321 again.
[0024]
With the above processing, the activation check is performed in steps 321 to 324 only when the program is first activated, and in the second and subsequent activations, the processing proceeds to steps 303 to 304, and if the software has been properly installed and the activation has been permitted. In this case, normal startup can be performed even if a regular CD is not inserted. If the key information is broken or lost due to an operation error, a hardware failure, or a runaway due to a bug, etc., the process is not the first boot, so the process proceeds from step 303 to step 304. Without connecting to the regular CD, key information can be generated from the regular CD and normal startup can be performed.
[0025]
If the software that has been activated and the key information is normally generated is copied to another machine, when the software is activated on the copy destination machine, it is not the first activation, so the process proceeds from step 303 to 304, and the Since the unique information and the key information do not correspond to each other, the process proceeds from step 304 to step 311. If there is no authorized CD, the software itself cannot be started. Furthermore, if the software that has not been activated even once before activation is copied to another machine, it will be the first activation when it is activated on the copy destination machine. Is performed. On the other hand, since the activation check is also performed at the first start-up of the copy source machine, if the serial number of the software is checked (that is, information for identifying the software is input in step 321). (Managed on the server side), so that only the machine that performed the activation check first can be given permission.
[0026]
The determination as to whether or not the program is to be started for the first time is made, for example, by executing a predetermined storage area (for example, a file such as an execution file of the program, a subroutine file, or a setting file) in the installation folder when executing the step 305. It is sufficient to store the activated information indicating the execution in the (partial area in the middle), and determine whether or not the execution has been performed based on the activated information. Alternatively, if it is determined in step 324 that the information is “permission information”, the activated information may be stored.
[0027]
In this case, if the program is copied to another computer system after being started once, the started information remains in the copied program. Therefore, when the copied program is started, In step 303, it is determined that this is not the first activation. However, in the subsequent step 304, since the key information is not stored in the registry of the other computer system, it is determined that the key information does not correspond, and a legitimate CD is requested. That is, a program copied to another computer system can be executed only by a user who has an authorized CD.
[0028]
Note that the protection of the present invention may be applied not to an application but to software such as a plug-in used by the application, a game or a drawing subroutine, or a driver for controlling a device. In particular, plug-in software is often realized with only one or several files to be placed in a predetermined folder prepared by an application, and is extremely easy to copy to another PC. Is very useful for protecting plug-in software.
[0029]
Further, in the second embodiment, the activation is performed at the time of the first activation, but instead, the first key information may be generated in the computer at the time of the first activation. That is, after requesting the input of the personal information in step 321, it is determined whether or not the serial number in the input personal information is appropriate. If the serial number is appropriate, the processing after step 311 is executed. For example, the processing may be immediately stopped.
[0030]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, key information unique to the installation destination computer can be issued only in the case of regular media. At this time, it is not necessary to connect to an external server for activation. When the installed program is copied to another computer and executed, the distribution of the program over a network can be prevented by requesting the medium used for the installation.
[0031]
Further, even if the activation is performed at the time of the first activation and the key information obtained by the activation is lost, the key can be reissued by the medium used at the time of installation, so that it is not necessary to connect to the server each time.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a computer system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a setup routine. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a program starting routine.
100 personal computer, 120 network, 130 server, 101 central processing unit (CPU), 102 read-only memory (ROM), 103 random access memory (RAM), 104 hard disk, 105 drive device, 107 ... Timer, 108 ... Network interface, 109 ... MIDI interface, 110 ... Display, 111 ... Keyboard & mouse, 112 ... Waveform interface.

Claims (3)

A method of installing software on a computer by executing an installation program stored on protected media,
Generating unique information that is different for each computer based on at least a part of hardware of the computer;
Prior to installation, verifying the presence of protected media storing the installation program;
If the presence of the medium is confirmed, execute the software installation, generate key information based on the unique information, and store the key information in a predetermined nonvolatile storage unit of the computer;
Controlling the software installation not to be executed if the presence of the medium cannot be confirmed. A method of protecting the execution of software installed on a computer,
Generating unique information that is different for each computer based on at least a part of hardware of the computer;
A step of determining whether or not key information corresponding to the unique information is stored in a predetermined nonvolatile storage unit of the computer in response to a start instruction of the installed software;
Activating the software if it is determined to be stored;
If it is determined that the media has not been stored, requesting the user for the protected media used to install the software, and confirming the presence of the media,
Generating a new key information based on the unique information and storing the new key information in a predetermined non-volatile storage means of the computer if the medium is confirmed. A method of protecting the execution of software installed on a computer,
Generating unique information that is different for each computer based on at least a part of hardware of the computer;
Detecting the first launch of the installed software;
At the time of the first activation, it connects to a predetermined server, transmits the user's personal information and the unique information to the server, and from the information, obtains permission information or rejection information relating to use of the software determined by the server. Receiving,
When receiving the permission information, generating key information based on the unique information and storing the key information in a predetermined nonvolatile storage unit of the computer;
When not starting for the first time, determining whether or not key information corresponding to the unique information is stored in predetermined nonvolatile storage means of the computer;
Activating the software if it is determined to be stored;
If it is determined that the media has not been stored, requesting the user for the protected media used to install the software, and confirming the presence of the media,
Generating a new key information based on the unique information and storing the new key information in a predetermined non-volatile storage means of the computer if the medium is confirmed.

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