No, I didn't really mean that, but obviously the less they have to go on the harder it is for them to hack your code. Stripping the symbols out of your binaries is a good start (but then you get lousy stack traces...)
I also use another, slightly more devious scheme alongside all the technical stuff. I let them (the hackers) think they've won. Then, a month later, the app stops working. But the hackers never see that because they don't wait that long before they move on. This means that the hacked copies of my app for sale at bargain prices on so-called 'oem' software sites (which are actually run, according to whois, by small-time russian criminals) don't actually work for long on the purchaser's machine. Which serves them right, it's obvious that these sites are just selling ripped-off copies. Is any of this worth doing? Well in my case (shareware) it makes me feel a lot more comfortable because otherwise you leave yourself wide open. My webserver logs show a number of pirate keys in use (but only for a month!), although whether any of those naughty people have a genuine interest in buying the software I don't know. The thing to consider is how much work do the hackers have to put in to break the copy protection. If it's more work to crack the software than it is worth to them financially, they will give up and go elsewhere. And anyway, it's a matter of principle. I don't like people stealing my stuff. Paul Sanders. ----- Original Message ----- From: Michael A. Crawford To: Cocoa-dev@lists.apple.com Cc: Paul Sanders Sent: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 10:57 PM Subject: Re: Looking for info on anti-piracy and trial-mode techniques for my app . . . > Part of your response suggests that if there was an existing framework that > was openly available, it wouldn't do me any good because the bad guys would > have the source code. _______________________________________________ Cocoa-dev mailing list (Cocoa-dev@lists.apple.com) Please do not post admin requests or moderator comments to the list. Contact the moderators at cocoa-dev-admins(at)lists.apple.com Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/cocoa-dev/archive%40mail-archive.com This email sent to arch...@mail-archive.com
