JPS62188055A - Use limiting method for duplicate of software - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To effectively limit the usage of a software duplicate by attaching a bit of disk proper information corresponding to the bit of device proper information of an information processor within a prescribed area on a floppy disk, and checking the bits of device and disk proper information before a subsequent read/write operation is performed. CONSTITUTION:On every unit of information processor main body 1 in which floppy disks A, B, C, and D are used respective different bit of proper information is attached in an area within each processor main body 1, then being shipped to the user. Meanwhile, the floppy disks A-D in which the software is stored are supplied to the user without attaching the bit of proper information on them when shipped. At such a time, when the user performs the prescribed read/write between the disk A-D and the main body 1 inserting the disks A-D to a driving device 2 at first, the bit of disk proper information corresponding one-to-one to the bit of device information of the information processor, is attached to the prescribed area on the floppy disks A-D. And before a second and subsequent read/wire is to be performed, both bits of proper information are checked, and when no coincidence is obtained between them, the read/wire is prohibited.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for restricting the use of copies of software recorded on removable auxiliary storage media such as floppy disks.

Conventional technology Conventional technology of this type can be roughly divided into the following two types.
There are two ways.

The first method is to make it impossible to copy the software by ordinary means.

The second method is a device (such as a personal computer) that uses software and an auxiliary recording medium (hereinafter referred to as a floppy disk) on which the software is recorded.
In combination with this, by making it possible for a specific device to use only software (a floppy disk containing software) that has been customized in advance to correspond to that specific device. This is a method that limits the number of devices that can use the software to one.

Specifically, the first method is to format the floppy disk differently from the standard physical format used by the target device, such as the FDC (floppy disk controller) ID, GAP, CR.
Special disk formatting, such as using abnormal parameters such as C, changing the order, making the number of sectors or tracks larger or smaller than normal, or writing the data part other than the data part. By putting a program on a floppy disk that has been formatted, and checking that it is in these special formats when starting the program itself, or when reading or starting some of its subroutines, you can save the floppy disk. Check whether the disc is an original disc (master).

During this check, if it is discovered that the product is a duplicate, program processing may be stopped or the product may be restarted.
It starts from the PL (Initial Program Loader) or performs processing such as destroying data on a floppy disk.

The second method is to first ship a device that uses floppy disks with a different serial number.

Each unit stores different individual number information. As a method for realizing this, for example, the individual number information is assigned to hardware (for example, ROM, etc.) within the device main body or on an expansion slot insertion board.

On the other hand, individual number information that corresponds one-to-one with the individual number information is previously assigned to the floppy disk containing the software at the time of shipment. Thus, when the software is started, if the two pieces of individual number information match correctly, the software is executed correctly, and if they are not matched correctly, the software is not executed normally.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, the methods described above cause the following problems.

Problems with the first method: A backup disk cannot be created because the software copy does not run correctly.

Problems with the second method: When shipping the software, individual number information for the device that uses it must be written, and the usable device is limited to one device at the time of shipping.

Furthermore, since each soft package is different, mass production is difficult.

To examine the above-mentioned problems more specifically, in the first method, the a
This is done with the aim of ensuring that the user or a third party is not responsible for the creation of the product. They are trying to protect the interests of software suppliers by making only what they provide available for use.

However, the fact that the user cannot create a backup disk of the provided software means that if the master is destroyed due to a mistake, the user must either purchase a new one or ask the provider to request a new master. This will require a complicated procedure to receive it. Therefore, conventional measures have been taken such as providing a set of two masters.

Also, the second method compensates for the shortcomings of the first method,
The interests of the supplier can also be protected, since the user can create a copy that can be used on one defined device and cannot be used on any other device.

However, since the user of the provided software must know the individual number information of the device used, it is necessary to supply the software and the device at the same time.
There are problems with the mass production of software and the way it is provided to users. As a solution to this problem, conventional methods have been adopted, such as selling an expansion slot card and the software that uses it as a set, or providing some hardware and software as a set.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and allows the software user to easily create a backup disk, and the provided software can only be executed normally on a specific device. By trying to get
This makes it easier to mass-produce software by prohibiting duplication that would harm the interests of software providers, and without limiting the equipment that can be used when shipping software, as has been the case in the past. Moreover, the method of providing the software can also be simplified. The purpose is to provide a method for restricting the use of software copies.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an auxiliary storage medium (
For each information processing device 1 that uses a floppy disk (floppy disk), different unique information (hereinafter referred to as device-specific information) is assigned to a certain area within each device.
Each of these devices is provided to the user in advance. On the other hand, floppy disks storing software are provided to users without any disk-specific information added at the time of shipment. Then, the user inserts the floppy disk into the drive device (disk drive) of the information processing device main body for the first time (initial entry) and executes predetermined reading and writing between the floppy disk and the device main body. Sometimes, arbitrary disk-specific information is added to a predetermined area of the floppy disk in a one-to-one correspondence with the device-specific information of the device, and the device-specific information is always added before the second read/write. The two pieces of unique information, ie, the disc specific information and the disc specific information, are compared, and reading and writing are prohibited only when there is a mismatch between the two pieces of unique information.

According to the present invention, with the above-described configuration, the provided software (floppy disk on which the software is recorded) can only be used in the device that uses it for the first time. There is an effect that there is no need to provide disk-specific information regarding the device used for one recording.

In addition, if you format a new floppy disk on that device and use a copy utility to copy the provided software to that floppy disk, the duplicate will work just like the original disk (master). It also has the ability to create a so-called backup disk that can only be used on the device.

Furthermore, when you try to use those floppy disks in another device of the same type, the disk-specific information given to the floppy disk by the first device is compared with the device-specific information of the latter device, and the unique information of both devices is checked. It is determined whether the information does not match, and the floppy disk is prohibited from being read or written, thereby making it impossible to use it in the latter device.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of a computer system including an information processing device and a floppy disk drive to which the present invention is applied, and in the figure, l indicates an information processing device such as a personal combinator. In the main body of the device (hereinafter referred to as the device main body), information unique to the device main body l (hereinafter referred to as the device unique information) is stored and given in a predetermined area of the non-volatile memo IJ 14 (described later) of this device main body 1. There is.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a floppy disk drive (hereinafter referred to as a disk drive) as a drive device connected to the main body 1 of the apparatus.

), and in this example, two disk drives are installed. 3 is a keyboard, and 4 is a display device. Floppy disk controller (hereinafter abbreviated as FDC) 12, main storage unit 13, and non-volatile memo +7
14, a frame memory 15, an input control section 16, an image display control section 17, etc.

2 and 3 are flowcharts for explaining an example of the control and operation of the present invention in the system of FIG. 1, and in the same figure, 5TI-8T12 indicates the steps of each control operation.

Furthermore, FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an example of the control operation of the present invention, in which 20 is an operating system (O8), 30 is a basic input/output system (BIO8), and 40 is a disk driver that is part of BIO8, and performs data write/read routines 41. It has a unique number write/read routine 42, a unique number verification routine [Y:f(x), where f(x) is a verification function] 43, and the like. 50 is a non-volatile memo IJ l
For example, the hardware 50 is equipped with a ROM or the like corresponding to No. 4, and device-specific information (temporarily assumed to be a device-specific number Y') is stored and assigned to this hardware 50. A, B
,C.

D is a floppy disk (hereinafter referred to as a floppy disk) as an auxiliary storage medium intended to be used in the disk drive 2.
It's simply called a disk. ), and on this disk A-D,
The software is stored on disk A
As will be described later, disc specific information (temporarily assumed to be a disc specific number X) is stored in a predetermined area e (see discs B to D). Note that the disk unique number X' has a one-to-one correspondence with the device unique number Y'(Y'=f
(x')) is any disc-specific information.

Next, the operation of the method for restricting the use of software copies according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1B to 4.

First, when a disk is inserted into the disk drive 2 shown in FIG.
An interrupt occurs from 12 onwards. From this, it is known that the disk driver 40IISt disk in FIG. 4 has been replaced.

Next, if writing from the device body to the disk or reading from the disk to the device body is performed between the disk drive 2 and the device body 1, the production is as follows.

First, at STI in FIG. 2, it is determined whether the disk has been replaced. This determination is made based on the flag set when an interrupt occurs due to the disk insertion described above.

Here, if it is determined that the disk has not been replaced (No in ST1), the disk driver 4 shown in FIG.
0 immediately executes a predetermined read/write operation between the disk and the main body l (ST8).

However, if it is determined that the disk has been replaced (S
If TI is YES), in ST2, the unique number reading routine of FIG. 42. The operation is as shown by arrow a in FIG.

Here, if some disk unique number (let's say X') is assigned to that disk (let's say it's disk C) (YES in ST2), then that disk C is already in use. The process jumps to ST6, where the process of comparing the disk unique number V of the disk C with the device unique number Y' assigned to the device body l is executed by the unique number matching routine 43 of the disk driver 40. It is done through. The operation is shown by arrow C in Figure 4.
I.

As shown in C2.

However, if it is determined that no disk unique number has been assigned to that disk (let's say disk A) (No in ST2), the disk AK write protection is then performed in ST3. make a judgment as to whether or not the

Here, if it is determined that write protection is not performed (No in ST3), it is assumed that the disk A has not been used since it was recently shipped, and the disk unique number is assigned to the disk A. X' is written via the unique number writing routine 42 shown in FIG. 4 (ST5). The disk in which data has been written is referred to as disk B. Incidentally, during writing, the disk unique number
f (X, X'= f-'(Y') However, f-' is f
] and write the result X' in the unique number storage area e of the disk A. The operation is as shown by the arrows S, B2 in FIG.

However, if it is determined that write protection has been performed (YES in ST3), a message such as "Please remove write protection" is output (ST4), and the third
Disk Verification Error Handling Routine (i.e., ST
Processes such as deleting the unique number verification routine [Y:f(X)] 43 in 9, deleting the verification function f(X) in 5TIO, and outputting a message such as "The floppy disk is defective" in 5Tll. ), the computer system is stopped at 5T12.

When the writing of the disk unique number X' to the disk is completed in Sr1, the disk drive bar 40 is then
The disk unique number X' is compared with the device unique number Y' of the device body 1 via the unique number verification routine 43. Next, in Sr1, the matching result [Y'=f (X')
A judgment is made whether or not.

Here, if the relationship Y'=7(X') is satisfied, that is, the disk unique number X' and the device unique number Y'
If it is determined that they match (YES in Sr1)
), the disk (temporarily referred to as disk D) is assumed to be usable by the device main body 1, and Sr8 specifies the prescribed read/write operations between the disk D and the device main body 1. Action is performed. The operation is as shown by arrows d, d2 in FIG.

However, if it is determined that Y' = f (X'), that is, the two unique numbers X'Y' do not match (N of Sr1
In o), the disk is considered to be invalid in the device main unit 1 (a disk for another device), and predetermined read/write operations between the disk and the device main unit 1 are executed. After executing the disk verification error processing routines ST9 to 5T11 shown in FIG. 3, the system is stopped (ST12).

Note that the following effects are specific to the implementation side.

That is, since the verification operation is performed only when the disk is replaced, the reduction in disk access speed when the disk is inserted into the disk drive can be minimized.

Also, if you insert an invalid disk (a disk for another device) into the disk drive of the main unit 1 and try to read or write, the disk will not be able to be read or written even once, and Since the unique number verification routine [Y:f(X)] is also deleted, it is extremely difficult for the user or a third party to analyze and reproduce the verification routine, device unique number Y', disk unique number X', etc. Becomes a solid female.

Furthermore, when creating a backup disk from the original disk (master) using a copy utility etc., the backup disk must be
After disk formatting is performed on this device, a disk unique number is written to the disk when reading or writing to the first disk, so it can be executed only on this device without any need for consideration. You can easily create backup disks.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the detailed description above, the present invention provides a system in which different device-specific information is assigned in advance to each information processing device main body that uses an auxiliary storage medium (floppy disk). It has an information processing device and the auxiliary storage medium storing software without adding any disk-specific information, and the auxiliary storage medium is first inserted into a drive device (floppy disk drive) of the information processing device. When predetermined reading/writing between the auxiliary storage medium and the main body of the apparatus is executed, arbitrary disk-specific information corresponding one-to-one with device-specific information of the information processing device is added to the auxiliary storage medium. , the device-specific information is always checked against the disk-specific information before subsequent read/write operations, and the drive of the information processing device is stopped only when the information does not match. Therefore, the software (auxiliary storage medium) provided to the user can only be used by the information processing device that uses it for the first time. Therefore, unlike in the past, it is not necessary to attach individual number information to the software at the time of shipment for the information processing apparatus that uses the software, which greatly contributes to improving the mass productivity of the software.

In addition, if you copy the provided original disc (master) to the auxiliary storage medium that has been newly formatted on that device, the copy can also be used only on that one device, just like the master. Therefore, the user can easily create a backup disk.

Furthermore, if you try to use these auxiliary storage media in another information processing device of the same type, the disk-specific information given to the auxiliary storage medium by the first device is compared with the device-specific information of the latter device, and both devices are It is determined that the unique information of the auxiliary storage medium does not match, and the copy of the software is made available in order to prohibit the execution of reading and writing of the auxiliary storage medium, making it impossible to use the auxiliary storage medium in the latter device. This also has the effect of protecting the interests of software suppliers by limiting the number of devices that can be used.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing an embodiment of a computer system to which the method of the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the control operation of the present invention, and FIG.
This figure is a flowchart following FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an example of the control operation of the present invention. l... Information processing device main body, 14... Nonvolatile memory, 2... Ringing device (floppy disk drive),
20..."Operating system (O8), 30..."
...Basic Input Output System (BIO8), 40...Disk driver, 41...
・Data write/read routine, 42...Unique number write/read routine, 43...Unique number verification routine, 50...Hardware, A, B, C, D...
Auxiliary storage medium (floppy disk). Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao Name: Figure 1 Figure 2

Claims (1)

[Claims] An information processing device that uses an auxiliary storage medium and is provided with information specific to the device itself (hereinafter referred to as device-specific information) in advance, and a device that stores software and is provided with unique information The auxiliary storage medium is first inserted into the drive device of the information processing device main body, and predetermined reading and writing between the auxiliary storage medium and the device main body is executed. At times, means for adding arbitrary unique information in one-to-one correspondence with the device-specific information of the information processing device to the auxiliary storage medium, and a method for subsequent reading and processing.
A means for collating the device-specific information with the unique information before writing, and a means for driving the information processing device after executing a collation error process if the comparison results in a match. A method of restricting the use of software copies consisting of a means of stopping the software.