JP2007148806A - Application start restriction method and application start restriction program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent illegal use by copying an already installed application. <P>SOLUTION: This application starting restriction method has: a step S11 for deciding whether the application installed to an information processor having a storage part storing information and a communication part having a unique number is started for the first time or not; steps S12, S14 for acquiring the unique number from the communication part when deciding that the application is started for the first time, and storing the acquired unique number into the storage part; steps S17, S18 for acquiring the unique number from the communication part when deciding that the application is not started for the first time, and deciding whether the acquired unique number and the stored unique number accord or not; a step S19 for permitting the start of the application when deciding that the acquired unique number and the stored unique number accord; and a step S20 forbidding the start of the application when deciding that the acquired unique number and the stored unique number do not accord. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an application activation restriction method and an application activation restriction program for restricting application activation.

  Various applications are installed in an information processing apparatus that executes various processes. Since such an application may be used illegally, various methods have been proposed to prevent the unauthorized use.

For example, when installing an application, the user inputs an ID such as a license key, determines whether or not the ID matches a registered ID, and performs a license check, or a license in which information specific to the information processing apparatus is described A method of saving a file in a specific directory and performing a license check based on a license file when an application is started has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-76435 A

  However, in the method of performing a license check by ID, it is possible to use the installed application without restriction after the ID and the registered ID match, so the installed application can be illegally copied to another information processing apparatus. However, the same application can be used in other information processing apparatuses. For this reason, the installed application is copied to another information processing apparatus and used illegally.

  In addition, in the license check method using the license file, since the license file is created in advance and stored in the directory, information for creating the license file (for example, IP address, host name or MAC address) is stored. Must be obtained in advance from the user. For this reason, the user or a third party can know what information is used for the license check, and can illegally create a license file. Therefore, the installed application is copied to another information processing apparatus and used illegally.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide an application activation restriction method and an application activation restriction program that can prevent unauthorized use by copying an installed application.

  A first feature according to an embodiment of the present invention is that, in the application activation restriction method, whether or not an application installed in an information processing apparatus including a communication unit having a unique number and a storage unit that stores information is activated for the first time. If it is determined that the application is the first activation, the unique number is acquired from the communication unit, the acquired unique number is stored in the storage unit, and if the application is not the first activation, When acquiring the unique number from the communication unit, determining whether or not the acquired unique number and the unique number stored in the storage unit match, and the acquired unique number and the unique number stored in the storage unit match If it is determined, the step that allows the application to start and the acquired unique number match the unique number stored in the storage unit. If it is determined that there is no, is that a step of prohibiting the startup of the application.

  A second feature according to the embodiment of the present invention is that the application activation restriction program is installed in the information processing apparatus in a computer included in the information processing apparatus including a communication unit having a unique number and a storage unit that stores information. Determining whether or not the first application is activated, obtaining a unique number from the communication unit when determining that the application is activated for the first time, and storing the obtained unique number in the storage unit; and Is determined not to be the first activation, a step of acquiring a unique number from the communication unit, determining whether or not the acquired unique number matches the unique number stored in the storage unit, and the acquired unique number and the storage unit If it is determined that the unique number stored in the If the ID number stored in the storage unit unique number is determined not to match, it is to execute a step of prohibiting the startup of the application.

  According to the present invention, unauthorized use due to copying of an installed application can be prevented.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a control unit 2 that controls each unit, an input unit 3 that receives an input operation from an operator, a display unit 4 that displays an image, and a recording medium A1. Are connected by a bus 8 to a reading unit 5 that reads information from the communication unit 6, a communication unit 6 that performs communication via the network A2, and a storage unit 7 that stores various types of information (data).

  The control unit 2 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that centrally controls each unit, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores various programs executed by the CPU, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) that functions as a work area of the CPU. ) Etc.

  The CPU of the control unit 2 reads and executes a startup program from the ROM, and further reads and executes the operating system stored in the storage unit 7. In addition, the CPU of the control unit 2 controls each unit based on input signals from the input unit 3, the communication unit 6, and the like, and further loads programs, data, and the like from the ROM, the storage unit 7, etc. to the RAM, A series of processing such as data calculation or processing is executed based on a program command.

  The input unit 3 includes input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse that receive various input operations by an operator. The input unit 3 creates an input signal based on an input operation by the operator, and transmits the created input signal to the control unit 2 via the input / output interface or the bus 8.

  The display unit 4 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display or a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display. The display unit 4 receives data from the control unit 2 and displays, for example, a processing result of the control unit 2 based on the data.

  The reading unit 5 includes an information reading device that reads information recorded on the recording medium A1 from the recording medium A1 such as an optical disk or a flexible disk. The reading unit 5 reads information from the recording medium A1 and transmits it to the control unit 2.

  Here, as the recording medium A1, various types of media such as optical disks such as CD and DVD, magneto-optical disks, and flexible disks are used. An optical disk device, a magneto-optical disk device, an FDD, or the like is used as the reading unit 5 in accordance with the media method. In such a recording medium A1, an application program (application) is recorded. This application program is read by the reading unit 5 and installed in the storage unit 7. The application program is not only read from the recording medium A1 and installed in the storage unit 7, but may be downloaded from the network A2 and installed in the storage unit 7, for example.

  The communication unit 6 includes a communication card such as a LAN (Local Area Network) card. This communication card has a MAC (Media Access Control address) address that is a unique number. This MAC address is an ID number unique to the communication card and functions as a physical address. The communication unit 6 controls communication with an external device connected to a network A2 such as a LAN or the Internet. In addition, the communication unit 6 transmits data received from the external device to the control unit 2 and transmits data from the control unit 2 to the external device.

  The storage unit 7 includes, for example, a magnetic disk device, a semiconductor disk device (for example, a flash memory), and the like. The storage unit 7 stores various programs such as an application activation restriction program, and further installs an application program. The storage unit 7 includes a registry 7a that stores system information and application information, and a license file 7b that stores license information.

  In the registry 7a, as application information, as shown in FIG. 2, a unique key that is a unique value indicating the application is stored for each application. For example, in FIG. 2, the unique key indicating the application A is “32456”, and the unique key indicating the application B is “43879”. Such a unique key is rewritten at the time of the first activation of the application as shown in FIG. 3 after the first activation of the application. For example, in FIG. 3, since application A was first started at 15:12:33, the unique key of application A was rewritten from “32456” to “151233”, and application B was first started at 09:56:25 Therefore, the unique key of application B is rewritten from “43879” to “095625”.

  In the license file 7b, as shown in FIG. 4, the encrypted MAC address is stored for each application as license information. Note that the MAC address is acquired from the communication unit 6, encrypted, and stored in the license file 7b.

  Next, an application activation restriction process (application activation restriction method) of the information processing apparatus 1 having such a configuration, that is, an application installation process and an activation process will be described. The control unit 2 executes application installation processing and activation processing based on the application activation restriction program stored in the storage unit 7.

  First, application installation processing will be described.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5, the control unit 2 installs an application program from the recording medium A1 to the storage unit 7 by the reading unit 5 in accordance with an input operation of the operator with respect to the input unit 3 (step S1). Thereafter, the control unit 2 waits until the installation is completed (NO in step S2). When the installation is completed (YES in step S2), the unique key of the installed application is stored in the registry 7a (step S3). As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the unique key of the application is stored in the registry 7a for each installed application.

  Next, application activation processing will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 2 determines whether or not the application is activated for the first time (step S11). In the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not the application is activated for the first time by determining whether or not the unique key of the application stored in the registry 7a has been rewritten.

  Specifically, if it is determined that the unique key of the application has been rewritten, it is determined that the application is the first activation, and if it is determined that the unique key of the application has not been rewritten, it is determined that the application is not the first activation. To do. Here, the unique key before rewriting is 5 digits as shown in FIG. 2, and the unique key after rewriting is 6 digits as shown in FIG. 3. For example, is the number of digits of the unique key increased? By determining whether or not the unique key has been rewritten, it can be determined.

  If it is determined that the application is activated for the first time (YES in step S11), the MAC address is obtained from the communication unit 6 (step S12), the obtained MAC address is encrypted (step S13), and the encrypted MAC address is obtained. Is stored in the license file 7b (step S14). As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the encrypted MAC address is stored in the license file 7b. In the present embodiment, for example, the obtained MAC address is encrypted using the first activation time of the application.

  Specifically, when the time of the first activation of the application is “15:12:33” and the acquired MAC address is “00-07-95-55-EA-E5”, the time of the first activation Add hours, minutes and seconds, ie, calculate 15 + 12 + 33 = 60 = 3C (Hex), subtract or add 3C to the MAC address, ie 00-3C = C4, 07-3C = CB, 95 -3C = 59, 55 + 3C = 91, EA + 3C = 26, E5 + 3C = 21, and the obtained MAC address “00-07-95-55-EA-E5” is changed to “C4-CB-59-9126-21” ". The MAC address encrypted in this way is stored in the license file 7b.

  Finally, the control unit 2 rewrites the unique key of the application that is activated for the first time (step S15). In the present embodiment, the unique key of the first activation application is rewritten to, for example, the first activation time (for example, system time) of the application. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, the unique key of the application that is activated for the first time is rewritten to the time of the first activation of the application. When the application is activated for the first time, the application is activated without being restricted in activation.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the application is not activated for the first time (NO in step S11), the encrypted MAC address is decrypted (step S16), the MAC address is acquired from the communication unit 6 (step S17), and decrypted. It is determined whether or not the MAC address matches the acquired MAC address (step S18). In the present embodiment, the encrypted MAC address is decrypted using the first activation time of the application used at the time of encryption. This decryption procedure is the reverse of the encryption procedure.

  If it is determined that the decrypted MAC address matches the acquired MAC address (YES in step S18), the application is permitted to start (step S19), and the decrypted MAC address matches the acquired MAC address. If it is determined not to do so, the activation of the application is prohibited (step S20).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the MAC address is automatically stored in the license file 7b when the installed application is started for the first time, and the license file is started when the installed application is started for the second time or later. It is determined whether or not the MAC address stored in 7b and the MAC address acquired from the communication unit 6 match. If it is determined that they match, the installed application is illegally permitted by permitting activation of the application. Even if the information is copied to another information processing apparatus, the illegal copy application cannot be used by the other information processing apparatus. As a result, unauthorized use due to copying of installed applications can be prevented.

  In particular, there is no need to obtain license file creation information (for example, IP address, host name, MAC address, etc.) from the user in advance, and the user knows what information is used for the license check. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a user or a third party from creating a license file illegally. As a result, even if the installed application is illegally copied to another information processing apparatus, the illegally copied application cannot be used by the other information processing apparatus.

  In step S13, the acquired MAC address is encrypted. In step S14, the encrypted MAC address is stored in the license file 7b of the storage unit 7, so that the license file 7b can be viewed as license information. It is difficult to discriminate whether the information is used, especially whether the MAC address is used, etc., it becomes possible to maintain confidentiality, and more secure unauthorized use by copying installed applications Can be prevented. In addition, in step S16, the stored MAC address is decrypted, and in step S18, the encrypted MAC address is decrypted by determining whether or not the decrypted MAC address matches the acquired MAC address. Since it is compared with the acquired MAC address, the MAC address encrypted and saved can be compared with the acquired MAC address.

  Furthermore, in step S13, the first application activation time is acquired, and the acquired first MAC activation time is used to encrypt the acquired MAC address, thereby installing the same application on the terminal of the same information processing apparatus 1. However, it is possible to prevent the same license information from being obtained. In addition, in step S15, the acquired initial activation time is stored in the storage unit 7, and in step S16, the stored MAC address is decrypted using the stored initial activation time, thereby encrypting the MAC. Since the address can be correctly decrypted, the MAC address encrypted and stored can be compared with the acquired MAC address.

  In step S3, when the application is installed in the information processing apparatus 1, the unique key of the application is stored. In step S15, when it is determined that the application is activated for the first time, the unique key of the application is rewritten. Then, by determining whether or not the unique key of the application has been rewritten, it is determined whether or not the application is activated for the first time, thereby providing a new storage area or the like. There is no need to rewrite the unique key of the application, and it can be easily determined whether or not the application is activated for the first time.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the MAC address of the communication unit 6 is used as the unique number. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, another unique number of the communication unit 6 may be used. .

  In the above-described embodiment, the acquired MAC address is encrypted using the time when the application is first activated. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a predetermined value set in advance is subtracted from the MAC address or You may make it add.

  In the embodiment described above, one communication unit 6 is provided. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a plurality of communication units 6 may be provided. In this case, there are a plurality of MAC addresses. Therefore, in step S13, the MAC address first obtained from the plurality of communication units 6 is encrypted and used. In step S17, all the MAC addresses are acquired from the plurality of communication units 6, and in step S18, all these MAC addresses are compared with the decrypted MAC addresses. Thereby, even when a plurality of communication units 6 are provided in the information processing apparatus 1, it is possible to obtain the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Explanatory drawing for demonstrating the application information which concerns on embodiment of this invention. Explanatory drawing for demonstrating rewriting of the application information shown in FIG. Explanatory drawing for demonstrating the license information which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 2 is a flowchart showing a flow of application installation processing of the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1. 2 is a flowchart showing a flow of application activation processing of the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Information processing apparatus, 6 ... Communication part, 7 ... Memory | storage part, S11 ... Step, S12 ... Step, S14 ... Step, S17 ... Step, S18 ... Step, S19 ... Step, S20 ... Step

Claims (8)

Determining whether or not an application installed in an information processing apparatus including a communication unit having a unique number and a storage unit for storing information is first-running;
If the application is determined to be activated for the first time, obtaining the unique number from the communication unit, and storing the obtained unique number in the storage unit;
If the application is determined not to be activated for the first time, obtaining the unique number from the communication unit, and determining whether the obtained unique number matches the unique number stored in the storage unit;
If it is determined that the acquired unique number matches the unique number stored in the storage unit, the step of allowing the application to be activated;
If it is determined that the acquired unique number and the unique number stored in the storage unit do not match, prohibiting activation of the application;
An application activation restriction method comprising: In the step of storing the acquired unique number in the storage unit, the acquired unique number is encrypted, and the encrypted unique number is stored in the storage unit,
In the step of determining whether or not the acquired unique number matches the unique number stored in the storage unit, the unique number stored in the storage unit is decrypted, and the decrypted unique number is acquired. 2. The application activation restriction method according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether or not the unique number matches. Acquiring the time of the first activation of the application, and storing the acquired time of the first activation in the storage unit,
In the step of storing the acquired unique number in the storage unit, the acquired unique number is encrypted using the acquired first activation time,
In the step of determining whether or not the acquired unique number matches the unique number stored in the storage unit, the first activation time stored in the storage unit is used to store the stored in the storage unit. 3. The application activation restriction method according to claim 2, wherein the unique number is decrypted. When the application is installed in the information processing apparatus, storing a unique value of the application;
If it is determined that the application is the first activation, rewriting the unique value of the application;
Have
In the step of determining whether or not the application is activated for the first time, it is determined whether or not the application is activated for the first time by determining whether or not the unique value of the application is rewritten. The application activation restriction method according to any one of claims 1 to 3. In a computer included in an information processing apparatus including a communication unit having a unique number and a storage unit for storing information,
Determining whether or not the application installed in the information processing apparatus is the first activation;
If the application is determined to be activated for the first time, obtaining the unique number from the communication unit, and storing the obtained unique number in the storage unit;
If the application is determined not to be activated for the first time, obtaining the unique number from the communication unit, and determining whether the obtained unique number matches the unique number stored in the storage unit;
If it is determined that the acquired unique number matches the unique number stored in the storage unit, the step of allowing the application to be activated;
If it is determined that the acquired unique number and the unique number stored in the storage unit do not match, prohibiting activation of the application;
An application activation restriction program characterized in that In the step of storing the acquired unique number in the storage unit, the acquired unique number is encrypted, and the encrypted unique number is stored in the storage unit,
In the step of determining whether or not the acquired unique number matches the unique number stored in the storage unit, the unique number stored in the storage unit is decrypted, and the decrypted unique number is acquired. 6. The application activation restriction program according to claim 5, wherein it is determined whether or not the unique number matches. In the computer,
Acquiring the time of the first activation of the application, storing the acquired time of the first activation in the storage unit,
In the step of storing the acquired unique number in the storage unit, the acquired unique number is encrypted using the acquired first activation time,
In the step of determining whether or not the acquired unique number matches the unique number stored in the storage unit, the first activation time stored in the storage unit is used to store the stored in the storage unit. 7. The application activation restriction program according to claim 6, wherein the unique number is decrypted. In the computer,
When the application is installed in the information processing apparatus, storing a unique value of the application;
If it is determined that the application is the first activation, rewriting the unique value of the application;
And execute
In the step of determining whether or not the application is activated for the first time, it is determined whether or not the application is activated for the first time by determining whether or not the unique value of the application is rewritten. The application activation restriction program according to any one of claims 5 to 7.

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