JPH04287124A - Method and device for inhibiting software from being used without permission at computer system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To securely inhibit a software from being used without permission. CONSTITUTION:A ciphered software is installed at a computer system together with a processing software and in the case of installation, the software is stored in a cipher file 4 by executing a ciphering processing by a software supplying person side and the ciphered software based on a code corresponding to a code peculiar for the computer system. When the execution of the processing software is instructed, the ciphering processing is executed by the ciphered software based on the code peculiar for the computer system, it is compared with the contents of the cipher file 4 and only when they are coincident, the execution of the relevant processing software is permitted.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method and device for prohibiting unauthorized use of software in a computer system, and more specifically, to preventing unauthorized use of software by computer systems other than those approved by the software supplier. This invention relates to a method and device for prohibiting unauthorized use of software in a computer system.

0002

[Background Art] Conventionally, in order to prevent unauthorized use of computer software, (I) copy protection is applied to the relevant computer software to prevent the acquisition of computer programs other than legitimately purchased computer programs; and (II) investigate in advance the code specific to the computer system on which the applicable computer software will be installed, incorporate it into the applicable computer software and ship it, and install the applicable computer program on the computer system. If you instruct the computer to
A method has been proposed in which it is determined whether or not code incorporated in a program matches code specific to a computer system, and only when they match, execution of the corresponding computer program is permitted.

[0003] When method (I) is adopted, unauthorized use of a computer program can be prevented by preventing unauthorized acquisition of the computer program, and when method (II) is adopted, By specifying in advance a computer system that can execute the relevant computer program, unauthorized use of the computer program can be prevented.

0004

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] In the method (I) above, when a purchaser of a computer program has multiple computer systems, unauthorized use of the computer program between these computer systems is prevented. There is an inconvenience that it cannot be done. In addition, once the mechanism of copy protection is clarified, copy protection can be removed relatively easily, so it is not only necessary to upgrade the computer program that performs the original processing, but also to create a new copy protection mechanism. The problem is that the effort required to think about the problem places a significantly excessive burden on software development engineers, and the period for developing and updating the computer program that performs the original processing becomes significantly longer.

[0005] In the method (II) above, since it is possible to identify a computer system that can execute the relevant computer program, even if the computer program purchaser has multiple computer systems, , unauthorized use of computer programs between computer systems can be prevented. Also, unlike copy protection, it simply detects the computer system-specific code and determines whether the computer system is designated as executable. It is simple, and there is almost no pressure on the development and version upgrade of the computer program that performs the original processing.

However, since computer programs supplied by computer program suppliers have different contents depending on the computer system, it is difficult to supply a computer program that performs the same processing to be installed on a large number of computer systems. This has the disadvantage that the number of man-hours and the time required increase. Furthermore, when creating an upgrade kit for a computer program, there is a similar problem in that the number of man-hours and time required increase.

Furthermore, since the computer system-specific code is directly incorporated into the computer program, it is relatively easy to discover the part in which the computer system-specific code has been incorporated, and it is also possible to use other computer systems. Since it is relatively easy to replace the code with a unique code, there is a disadvantage that the effectiveness of preventing unauthorized use of a computer program cannot be increased very much.

[0008]

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and provides a method and device for prohibiting unauthorized use of software in a computer system that can achieve high effectiveness without significantly increasing the number of man-hours and time required. It is intended to.

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problem] A method for prohibiting unauthorized use of software in a computer system according to claim 1 to achieve the above object includes processing software for performing predetermined processing and encryption software corresponding to this processing software. and by installing it in a computer system, obtaining a code corresponding to the code unique to the computer system using encryption software, obtaining an encryption code determined based on the code corresponding to the code unique to the computer system, and supplying it to the encryption software. Encrypted data is generated and stored in an encrypted file, and when executing processing software to perform a predetermined process, the code specific to the computer system is encrypted with the encryption software to obtain encrypted data, and the encrypted data is stored in an encrypted file. This method allows execution of processing software only when the encrypted data matches the stored encrypted data.

[0010] According to the second aspect of the method for prohibiting unauthorized use of software in a computer system, the code corresponding to the code unique to the computer system is an encryption code obtained by performing an encryption process based on the code unique to the computer system. The unauthorized use prohibition device for software in a computer system according to claim 3 is a computer system in which processing software for performing predetermined processing and encryption means corresponding to this processing software are installed.
The encryption means includes a code output means that outputs a code corresponding to a code unique to the computer system when executed for the first time after installation, and an encryption code determined based on the code corresponding to the code unique to the computer system as input. a first encrypted data generating means for generating encrypted data; an encrypted data storage means for storing the encrypted data thus created; 2
The encrypted data creation means determines whether the encrypted data created by the second encrypted data creation means and the encrypted data stored in the encrypted data storage means match, and processes only if they match. and control means for allowing execution of the software.

In the software unauthorized use prohibition device in a computer system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the code output means outputs an encryption code obtained by performing encryption processing based on a code unique to the computer system. However, it goes without saying that the code corresponding to the computer system-specific code may be the computer system-specific code itself.

0012

[Operation] In the method of prohibiting unauthorized use of software in a computer system as claimed in claim 1, processing software for performing predetermined processing and encryption software corresponding to this processing software are installed in the computer system and the processing software is executed. When doing so, first, a code corresponding to a code specific to the computer system is obtained using the encryption software installed on the computer system, and an encryption code determined based on the code corresponding to the code specific to the computer system is obtained and supplied to the encryption software. By doing this, encrypted data is generated and stored in an encrypted file. Then, on the condition that the processing software is instructed to execute a predetermined process, the encryption software encrypts the code specific to the computer system to obtain encrypted data, and the encrypted code stored in the encrypted file and the encrypted data are obtained. The processing software is allowed to run only if they match.

As is clear from the above explanation, the processing software and encryption software to be installed on a computer system are the same even if the computer systems are different, and the processing software and encryption software to be installed on a computer system are the same even if there are multiple computer systems to be installed. The software and encryption software can be simply copied and installed on the corresponding computer systems, and the number of man-hours and time required for installation can be greatly reduced. Furthermore, since the processing software cannot be executed as is after installation, the encryption code determined based on the code corresponding to the code specific to the computer system must be obtained and supplied to the encryption software. As a result, encrypted data is generated by the encryption software and stored in an encrypted file. Therefore, when you subsequently instruct the processing software to execute a predetermined process, the encryption software encrypts the computer system-specific code to obtain encrypted data, which matches the encrypted code stored in the encrypted file. Execution of the processing software can be permitted only when the processing software is used, and unauthorized use of the processing software can be prevented.

[0014] In this case, the task of supplying the encrypted code to the encrypted software only needs to be performed by the computer system user, which reduces the burden on the software supplier. Since the encrypted data is completely different from the computer system-specific code, it is almost impossible for the computer system user to change the encrypted code so that it can be applied to any computer system, and it is difficult to ensure that unauthorized use is prevented. It can be achieved.

In the method of prohibiting unauthorized use of software in a computer system according to claim 2, the code corresponding to the code unique to the computer system is an encryption code obtained by performing an encryption process based on the code unique to the computer system. This makes it even more difficult to estimate the computer system-specific code that is the source of the encryption code, thereby making it possible to more reliably prevent unauthorized use of software.

In the device for prohibiting unauthorized use of software in a computer system according to claim 3, processing software for performing predetermined processing and encryption software corresponding to this processing software are installed in the computer system and the processing software is executed. In this case, first, the code output means of the encryption means outputs a code corresponding to a code unique to the computer system at the first execution after installation, and the first encrypted data creation means outputs a code corresponding to the code unique to the computer system. Encrypted data is generated by inputting an encryption code determined based on the code, and is stored in an encryption data storage means. Thereafter, on the condition that execution of the processing software for performing a predetermined process is instructed, the second encrypted data generation means encrypts the code specific to the computer system to obtain encrypted data, and the control means generates encrypted data. determining whether the encrypted data and the encrypted data stored in the encrypted data storage means match;
Execution of the processing software is permitted only when it is determined that they match.

As is clear from the above explanation, the work of supplying the encryption code to the encryption software only needs to be done by the computer system user, so the load on the software supplier can be reduced, and moreover, the work of supplying the encryption code to the encryption software can be done Since the encrypted data stored in the computer system is completely different from the computer system-specific code, it is almost impossible for the computer system user to change the encryption code so that it can be applied to any computer system.
Unauthorized use can be reliably prevented.

In the device for prohibiting unauthorized use of software in a computer system according to claim 4, the code output means includes:
Since it outputs the encryption code obtained by performing encryption processing based on the code unique to the computer system, it becomes more difficult to estimate the code unique to the computer system that is the source of the encryption code, and it becomes even more difficult to prevent unauthorized use of the software. It can definitely be achieved.

It is also possible to use a code unique to the computer system as a code corresponding to the code unique to the computer system, and in this case as well, an encryption code determined based on the code unique to the computer system is used as an input, and this encryption code Since encrypted data obtained by encrypting data based on the above information is stored, it is quite difficult to decipher the code, and it is possible to prevent unauthorized use of the software with a fairly high probability.

[0020]

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the method for prohibiting unauthorized use of software in a computer system according to the present invention. Install the corresponding encryption software on the computer system,
In step SP2, a code specific to the computer system is obtained by executing the encryption software, and in step SP3, the obtained code is notified to the software supplier. In step SP4, the software supplier performs an encryption process on the notified code based on encryption rules predetermined to obtain an encryption code;
In step SP5, the software user is notified. In step SP6, the software user performs an encryption process using the encryption software based on the notified encryption code to obtain encrypted data, and in step S
In step P7, the obtained encrypted data is stored in an encrypted file, and in step SP8, the process waits until execution of the processing software is instructed. In step SP9, the code specific to the computer system is obtained by executing the encrypted software, and in step SP10. In step SP11, encrypted data is obtained by performing encryption processing using encryption software based on the obtained code, and in step SP11, it is determined whether the obtained encrypted data is equal to the encrypted data stored in the encrypted file. However, if it is determined that they are equal, processing software is executed in step SP12. On the other hand, if it is determined that the obtained encrypted data is not equal to the encrypted data stored in the encrypted file, the process is stopped at step SP13 because the computer system is not permitted to execute the software. In other words, execution of the processing program is prohibited.

In the above flowchart, step S
Steps P1 to SP8 are setup operations based on the processing software and encryption software supplied by the software supplier, and steps SP9 and subsequent steps are operations for determining whether or not the processing software can be executed in the computer system. In order to allow execution of the processing software in the determination work, the setup work must be normally performed on the relevant computer system. Furthermore, since the setup process requires encryption processing on the software supplier side, it is not possible for the software user to complete the complete setup process alone.

As a result, execution of the processing software on a specific computer system is permitted, and execution of the processing software on other computer systems is prohibited, so that unauthorized use of the processing software can be reliably prevented.

[0023]

[Embodiment 2] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing another embodiment of the method for prohibiting unauthorized use of software in a computer system of the present invention. In response to the point that instead of obtaining the computer system-specific code, the encryption code is obtained by obtaining the computer system-specific code and performing the encryption process, and the fact that the encryption process in step SP2 is weighted, The only difference is the content of the encryption process in SP10.

Therefore, in this embodiment as well, unauthorized use of software in the computer system can be reliably prevented as in the embodiment of FIG. However, in the case of this embodiment, the number of encryption steps is increased, and the code that the software user notifies the software provider is not the computer system-specific code itself, making decryption extremely difficult. Unauthorized use of software can be more reliably prevented.

[0025]

[Embodiment 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the software unauthorized use prohibition device in a computer system of the present invention, in which a code reading unit 1 reads out a code specific to the computer system, and the read code is communicated. A supplier-side cryptographic code creation section 2 receives the cryptographic code via a communication line, performs predetermined encryption processing, and creates a cryptographic code; a first encrypted data creation unit 3 on the user side that receives the encrypted data and performs predetermined encryption processing to create encrypted data;
, an encrypted data storage section 4 that stores the encrypted data created by the first encrypted data creation section 3 on the user side, and a computer read out by the code reading section 1 on the condition that execution of the processing program is instructed. a user-side second encrypted data creation unit 5 that creates encrypted data by inputting a system-specific code and performing predetermined encryption processing;
a match determining unit 6 that determines whether the encrypted data created by the user-side second encrypted data creating unit 5 and the encrypted data stored in the encrypted data storage unit 4 match;
The computer system 8 receives a determination result signal from the match determining unit 6 indicating that the two encrypted data match, and allows the computer system 8 to execute the corresponding processing program, and performs a match determination indicating that the two encrypted data do not match. The control section 7 receives the determination result signal from the section 6 and prohibits the computer system 8 from executing the corresponding processing program. In addition, the code reading section 1, the first encrypted data creation section 3 on the user side, the encrypted data storage section 4, the second encrypted data creation section 5 on the user side, the match determination section 6, and the control section 7 correspond to encryption software. It is installed on the computer system in correspondence with the processing program to be used.

The operation of the software unauthorized use prohibition device in the computer system having the above configuration is as follows. A software user who legitimately obtains the processing software and encryption software supplied from a software supplier installs both software on a computer system, and the code reading section 1, the first encrypted data creation section 3 on the user side, and the encrypted data. The storage section 4, the user-side second encrypted data creation section 5, the match determination section 6, and the control section 7 are automatically incorporated into the computer system 8.

In this state, first, the code reading unit 1 reads out a code unique to the computer system and supplies it to the supplier side cryptographic code generation unit 2 via a communication line or the like. The supplier-side encrypted code generation unit 2 creates an encrypted code by subjecting the received code to a predetermined encryption process, and supplies it to the user-side first encrypted data generation unit 3 via a communication line or the like. do. The user-side first encrypted data creation unit 3 receives the encryption code created by the supplier-side encryption code creation unit 2, performs predetermined encryption processing to create encrypted data, and stores the encrypted data in the encrypted data storage unit. Store in 4.

By performing the above-described series of processes involving the processing by the supplier-side cryptographic code generation unit 2, the setup work is completed when the software is installed in a computer system. After that, when the execution of the processing program for which the setup work has been completed is instructed, the code reading unit 1
reads a code unique to the computer system, and generates encrypted data by subjecting the read code to predetermined encryption processing by the second encrypted data creating unit 5 on the user side. A match determining unit 6 determines whether or not the encrypted data created in step 5 and the encrypted data stored in the encrypted data storage unit 4 match. If both encrypted data match, the control unit 7 allows the computer system 8 to execute the corresponding processing program. Conversely, if the encrypted data do not match, the control unit 7 prohibits the computer system 8 from executing the corresponding processing program.

That is, if the above setup work is performed by installing the processing software and the corresponding encryption software in the computer system 8, the corresponding processing software can be executed as is since the two pieces of encrypted data always match. However, if the above processing software and encryption software are copied without the software supplier's permission and installed on a computer system, the software user who legitimately obtained the processing software and encryption software may install the corresponding software on a different computer system. In such cases, the two encrypted data will not match, so the control unit 7
Execution of the corresponding processing software is prohibited.

As a result, execution of the corresponding processing software by a computer system other than the computer system approved by the software supplier, ie, unauthorized use of the processing software, can be reliably prevented. In particular, it is almost impossible for the software user alone to make the encrypted data stored in the encrypted data storage unit 4 correspond to the code specific to the computer system, since the encryption rules are unknown.
Therefore, unauthorized use of software can be effectively prohibited.

[0031] Furthermore, even if the encryption rules are leaked to the outside for some reason, it is not necessary to change the entire encryption software; it is only necessary to change the encryption rules, so it is easy to prevent unauthorized use of the software. use can be achieved.

[0032]

[Embodiment 4] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the software unauthorized use prohibition device in the computer system of the present invention.The difference from the embodiment of FIG. The present invention further includes an initial cryptographic code generation unit 1a that performs encryption processing based on a code specific to the computer system and supplies it to the supplier side cryptographic code generation unit 2 via a communication line, etc., and the user side. The only difference is that the encryption rules in the second encrypted data generation section 5 take into account the encryption rules of the initial encryption code generation section 1a.

Therefore, in the case of this embodiment, it is possible to prevent the code unique to the computer system from being output in a state that is known to the user, making it even more difficult to estimate the encryption rules, and making the software more reliable. Unauthorized use can be prohibited. As is clear from the above explanation, the contents of the processing software and encryption software installed on a computer system are the same in all embodiments, so even if the software needs to be installed on a large number of computer systems. It is sufficient to simply copy the relevant software, and the number of man-hours on the software supplier's side can be significantly reduced. Additionally, when shipping an upgrade kit for a processing program that has already been installed, it is only necessary to make and ship the required number of copies of the upgrade kit, which significantly reduces the number of man-hours required on the software supplier's side. can.

[0034]

As described above, the invention of claim 1 is advantageous in that the processing software and encryption software to be installed on a computer system are the same even if the computer systems are different, so the number of man-hours required for installation is reduced.
The required time can be greatly reduced, and after installation, the encryption code determined based on the code corresponding to the code unique to the computer system must be obtained and supplied to the encryption software. When the execution of software is instructed, the computer system-specific code is encrypted using encryption software to obtain encrypted data, and the execution of the processing software is permitted only if the code matches the encrypted code stored in the encrypted file. This has the unique effect of preventing unauthorized use of the processing software.

[0035] The invention of claim 2 has the unique effect of making it more difficult to estimate the code unique to the computer system that is the source of the cryptographic code, and making it possible to more reliably prevent unauthorized use of software. In the invention of claim 3, since the processing software and encryption software to be installed in the computer system are the same even if the computer systems are different, the number of man-hours and time required for installation can be greatly reduced. After that, it is necessary to obtain an encryption code determined based on the code corresponding to the computer system-specific code and supply it to the encryption software. Encrypted data is obtained by encrypting the code specific to the computer system using encryption software, and execution of the processing software is permitted only when the code matches the encryption code stored in the encrypted file, preventing unauthorized use of the processing software. It has the unique effect of being able to.

[0036] The invention of claim 4 has the unique effect of making it more difficult to estimate the code unique to the computer system that is the basis of the cryptographic code, and making it possible to more reliably prevent unauthorized use of software.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a method for prohibiting unauthorized use of software in a computer system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing another embodiment of the method for prohibiting unauthorized use of software in a computer system of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a software unauthorized use prohibition device in a computer system of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the software unauthorized use prohibition device in the computer system of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Code reading unit 1a Initial encryption code creation unit 2 Supplier-side encryption code creation unit 3
User-side first encrypted data creation unit 4 Encrypted data storage unit 5 User-side second encrypted data creation unit

Claims (4)

[Claims] Claim 1: Installing processing software for performing predetermined processing and encryption software corresponding to this processing software into a computer system, obtaining a code corresponding to a code unique to the computer system using the encryption software, Processing software that generates encrypted data by obtaining an encrypted code determined based on the code corresponding to the unique code and supplying it to encryption software, stores it in an encrypted file (4), and performs predetermined processing. When executing the code, code specific to the computer system is encrypted using encryption software to obtain encrypted data, and execution of the processing software is permitted only when the encrypted data matches the encrypted data stored in the encrypted file (4). A method for prohibiting unauthorized use of software in a computer system characterized by: 2. The method for prohibiting unauthorized use of software in a computer system according to claim 1, wherein the code corresponding to the code unique to the computer system is an encryption code obtained by performing encryption processing based on the code unique to the computer system. . [Claim 3] In a computer system in which processing software for performing predetermined processing and encryption means corresponding to this processing software are installed, the encryption means converts into code unique to the computer system at the first execution after installation. Code output means (1, 1a) for outputting a corresponding code; cryptographic code creation means (2) for creating a cryptographic code determined based on a code corresponding to a code unique to the computer system; and cryptographic code creation means (2). The first encrypted data generation means (3) generates encrypted data by inputting the encrypted code created by the above, the encrypted data storage means (4) stores the created encrypted data, and the execution of the processing software is instructed. A second encrypted data creation means (5) that obtains encrypted data by encrypting a code unique to the computer system, and encrypted data created by the second encrypted data creation means (5) and an encrypted data storage means (4). ) is characterized in that it includes control means (6, 7) for determining whether or not the encrypted data stored in A device that prohibits unauthorized use of software in computer systems. 4. The computer system according to claim 3, wherein the code output means (1, 1a) outputs an encryption code obtained by performing encryption processing based on a code unique to the computer system. Prohibited device.