KR100637350B1 - Method for certifying execution of application, Recordable medium saved above method and External storage - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an authentication technology that can prevent illegal copying and illegal use of software stored in an external storage device.

In the execution authentication method of an application stored in an external storage device according to the present invention, when an application is loaded and executed from an external storage device to a host, the application program is a system area in which file allocation information is recorded in the storage means area of the external storage device. Check if the authentication key included in the file is valid. If the authentication key is valid, the application program starts to run normally. Otherwise, an error generation process is performed.

According to this aspect of the present invention, an application program stored in an external storage device according to the present invention may be loaded through a host through an authentication key recorded in a system area in which a user cannot access one of the storage means areas of the external storage device. Since the authentication is executed, the cloned application can be caught.

External storage, applications, authentication.

Description

Method for certifying execution of application, Recordable medium saved above method and External storage}

1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of an external storage device according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method for authenticating execution of an application stored in the external storage device of FIG. 1. FIG.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100: interface means 200: storage means

300 control means

The present invention relates to an authentication technology that can prevent illegal copying and illegal use of software stored in an external storage device.

Conventionally, various types of external storage devices have been used, including external hard disks, and in recent years, external storage devices using flash memories such as flash disks have been widely used due to their small size and relatively low cost. For example, the external storage device may store software such as Hangul 97 or Outlook, that is, an application program, be connected to a PC, and copied and executed by a user's PC mouse.

When an external storage device is copyrighted and particularly stores expensive applications, there is a need to prevent unauthorized applications from being copied or used illegally. As a solution, a password technology has been proposed in the related art. . This requires a user to enter a password when executing an application program stored in an external storage device, which not only requires a user's cumbersome work but also has a inconvenience of remembering a password. Also, if a password is exposed to someone, the application in the external storage device can be easily duplicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is derived from this situation and aims to provide a technique that can prevent unauthorized copying and unauthorized use of stored software.

The execution authentication method of the application program according to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object is that when the application is loaded and executed from the external storage device to the host, the application program in the system area of the storage means area of the external storage device; Check that the included authentication key is justified. If the authentication key is valid, the application program starts to run normally. Otherwise, an error generation process is performed.

According to this aspect of the present invention, the application program stored in the external storage device according to the present invention uses an authentication key included in a system area in which a user cannot access the storage means area of the external storage device when loaded and executed by a host. After authentication is executed, the cloned application can be caught. In addition, since the authentication key is stored in the system area that is not exposed to the user, there is no fear of leakage like the conventional password.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the application program according to the present invention checks whether the authentication key recorded in the system area of the storage means area of the external storage device is valid in response to an event (for example, a periodic time).

According to this aspect of the present invention, after the external storage device is connected to a host (PC) and loaded and executed by the host, the application program is detached and connected to another PC to execute the application program on the PC. Can be blocked. That is, the external storage device must be continuously connected to the host to run the application.

The foregoing and further aspects of the present invention will become more apparent through the preferred embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail to enable those skilled in the art to easily understand and reproduce the present invention.

1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an external storage device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the external storage device includes an interface means 100, a storage means 200, and a control means 300. The interface means 100 may be a universal serial bus (USB) type interface that is widely used in an external storage device, as is known. Since the USB method itself is a known technology, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The external storage device is connected to the host PC via the interface means 100, and the PC detects the connection of the external storage device. Basically, a driver for driving an external storage device must be installed in a PC, and the details of the driver installation are well known, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The storage means 200 may be a conventional flash memory or a hard disk, and includes a system area and a data area in which file allocation information is recorded, as shown. The data area is divided into user areas accessible by the user, and stores at least one application file.

The system area may preferably be sector 0 on the disk (the boot sector referred to in the PC's hard disk), and records file allocation table (FAT) information. That is, the system area includes the file system format type, the volume label, the volume serial number, the total memory capacity, the available memory capacity, the location where the files are stored, and the location of the file. Records information about size and attributes. This system area is divided into non-user areas.

The application program is divided into several clusters of the data area and recorded. Since the FAT has address information of each cluster, it is possible to provide one complete application program. Such a FAT is a unique information area fixed for each storage means such as a hard disk and a flash memory and has unique information. Therefore, the FAT cannot be copied and used. That is, the system area is an area where general access cannot be accessed, and therefore, a read / write area is prohibited.

According to the present invention, the authentication key is stored in the system area, preferably, it may be encrypted and stored in the reserved area. This authentication key is used as information for authenticating whether the application program is legitimate when the application program stored in the storage means 200 is loaded into the PC and executed as described below.

On the other hand, the drive driver for driving the external storage device in the PC to provide information on the data area of the storage means 200 to the operating system of the PC. As a result, the Windows Explorer on the PC (if the OS is Window) is stored in an application file stored in the data area of the storage means 200 that the user has access to a subdirectory of the newly assigned subdrive (e.g., F drive). Provide information.

When the PC user executes an application stored in the storage means 200 located in a subdirectory of the F drive through a mouse operation, the control means 300 accesses the address where the application is located in the data area by referring to the system area. Load the application. The control means 300 outputs the read application program to the PC through the interface means 100, and the PC loads the application program into RAM and executes it.

Hereinafter, a method of authenticating execution of an application program loaded and executed into RAM of a PC will be described with reference to FIG. 2. The application program loaded and executed in the RAM checks the authentication key recorded in a specific part of the system area among the storage means of the first external storage device (step S201), and compares whether it is equal to the value it has in binary code. (Step S203). If the same, the application program starts execution normally (step S205), otherwise performs error processing (step S220).

According to this aspect of the present invention, after the application program stored in the external storage device according to the present invention is authenticated through an authentication key recorded in the system area of the storage means area of the external storage device when it is loaded and executed by a host, Since it is executed, in the case of a cloned application, the system area cannot be cloned by itself and thus can be caught.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the application program whose execution is started by step S205 checks whether an event has occurred (step S207). Here, the event may be, for example, a timer event. That is, when the timer outputs a pulse signal every 60 seconds, for example, a set time interval, the application program accordingly checks the authentication key included in the system area among the storage means of the external storage device (step S209), It is compared whether or not it has the same value as the binary code (step S211). If it is the same, the application program keeps executing (step S213), otherwise performs error processing (step S220).

Also, although not shown, if the external storage device is not connected to the PC when the application executes steps S201 and S209, the application cannot even check the authentication key included in the system area among the storage means. Will be performed.

According to this aspect of the present invention, after the external storage device is connected to a host (PC) and loaded and executed by the host, the application program is detached and connected to another PC to execute the application program on the PC. Can be blocked. That is, the external storage device must be continuously connected to the host to run the application.

According to an additional aspect of the present invention, the authentication key further includes the available expiration date or the number of times for limiting the execution of the application in addition to the authentication value for authenticating the application. The reason for such a limit or the number of times of use is that a low-cost or pay-as-you-go product is required depending on the needs of various software products, for example, software products that can only be used 10 times, software products that can be used for up to 2 months after purchase, and daily software products. To service them.

The application first checks the authentication value of the authentication key and, if it is justified, that is, if the authentication value is satisfied, the application date is compared with the current date or the cumulative number of application usages up to the present date. Check if it has been exceeded or if the number of uses has been exceeded. In this case, the cumulative number of times can be managed by accumulating the information in the authentication key at each execution. If the secondary check also satisfies, the application starts or remains running.

According to another aspect, the authentication key further includes maximum usage time information for limiting the execution of the application in addition to the authentication value for authenticating the application. Similarly, cumulative usage time information of the application can be continuously accumulated and managed in the authentication key. The application first checks the authentication value of the authentication key and, if legitimately, secondly checks whether the cumulative usage time has reached or exceeded the maximum usage time. As a result of the secondary check, if the accumulated usage time is less than the maximum usage time, the application program starts or remains running.

According to this aspect of the present invention, the application program according to the present invention can be serviced at a low price according to various software products as described above, especially in case of high price.

According to an additional aspect of the present invention, the authentication key further includes specific function license information in the application in addition to the authentication value for authenticating the application. If the authentication key is justified and the execution of the application program is started, the application program provides the corresponding function according to the presence or absence of specific function license information included in the authentication key. This particular function can be, for example, the printing function of a document program.

According to this aspect of the present invention, the application program according to the present invention allows only a person having a right to use a specific function provided by the application program.

Meanwhile, the application program and the authentication key stored in the storage means of the external storage device may be downloaded and installed from a service provider that provides an application program by connecting to a network such as the Internet through a PC. The user can also manipulate the PC to additionally download dedicated content (e.g. video, audio, learning material files, etc.) for applications stored on an external storage device from the content server via the network. If a specific content is selected from among a plurality of contents provided by the content server, the content server requests an authentication key of the corresponding application.

The PC requests an authentication key from an external storage device that is physically connected through the interface means 100, and the control means 300 accesses the system area of the storage means and transmits the corresponding authentication key to the PC. The PC transmits the received authentication key to the content server through the network. The content server inserts the received authentication key into the content, encrypts the entire content, and transmits the content to the PC. The content encrypted by the authentication key received from the PC is stored in the internal local hard drive or stored in the storage means 200 of the external storage device according to the user's selection.

The content downloaded to the storage device 200 of the local hard drive or the external storage device is encrypted with an authentication key and thus cannot be used (played) with general software, and can be used only with dedicated software contained in the external storage device. That is, the external storage device, the software (application program), and the content each have the same authentication key to use the content.

As described above, the application program stored in the external storage device according to the present invention is authenticated through an authentication key recorded in a system area in which the user cannot access the storage means area of the external storage device when loaded and executed by a host. Since it is executed, it is possible to detect a cloned application. In addition, since the authentication key is stored in an area which is not exposed to the user, there is no fear of leakage like the conventional password.

In addition, the application program according to the present invention may be connected to a host (PC), loaded and executed by the host, and then separated and connected to another PC to block execution of the application program on the PC. That is, the external storage device must be continuously connected to the host so that the application can be executed, thereby preventing the copyrighted application from being shared.

In addition, the application program according to the present invention can be serviced at a low price by placing restrictions such as the expiration date or the number of times of use, especially in the case of high price.

In addition, the application program according to the present invention allows only a person having a legitimate authority to use a specific function provided by the application program.

On the other hand, the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, which are merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible therefrom. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention should be defined only by the appended claims.

Claims (9)

In the execution authentication method of an application program loaded and executed by the execution command from the host, the method includes: a) identifying an authentication key included in a system area in which file allocation information is recorded in a storage area of an external storage device in which the application program is stored; b) starting execution normally if the verified authentication key is satisfied; otherwise, error processing; Execution authentication method of an application comprising a. The method of claim 1 wherein the method is: c) responsive to an event, identifying an authentication key recorded in a system area in which file allocation information is recorded in a storage means area in which the application program is stored; d) continuing execution if the authentication key identified in step c) is satisfied; otherwise terminating or error processing; Execution authentication method of the application, characterized in that it further comprises. The method of claim 2, wherein the authentication key is: In addition to the authentication value for authenticating the application, the execution authentication method of the application, characterized in that it further comprises the available period or the number of information for limiting the execution of the application. The method of claim 2, wherein the authentication key is: In addition to the authentication value for authenticating the application program execution authentication method of the application characterized in that it further comprises a maximum usage time information of the application. The method of claim 2, wherein the authentication key is: In addition to the authentication value for authenticating the application further includes a specific function license information in the application, Step d) above: If the confirmed authentication key is satisfied, execution starts normally, and the execution authentication method of the application program, characterized in that to provide the function according to the specific function license information. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for executing the execution authentication method of an application program loaded and executed by the host according to any one of claims 1 to 5. 7. The computer readable recording medium of claim 6, wherein the recording medium is an external storage device. Interface means for interfacing with the host; Storage means including a system area in which file allocation information is recorded and a data area storing at least one or more application programs, the authentication area being stored in the system area; Control means for controlling the overall device, and reading the corresponding application program stored in the storage means in accordance with the program execution command from the host and outputs to the host through the interface means; I have an application loaded and running on the host: And a program code which checks the authentication key stored in the system area in which the file allocation information of the storage means is recorded, if justified, executes normally, and otherwise error-processes. The application of claim 8, wherein the application loaded and executed by the host is: And responsive to the event, checking the authentication key stored in the system area in which the file allocation information of the storage means is recorded, and if the confirmed authentication key is justified, continuing to execute the program. External storage device.

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