Re: How to retrieve serial number of OS or CPU for copy protection?

Tech-Archive recommends: Speed Up your PC by fixing your registry

From: R.Wieser (address_at_not.available)
Date: 09/12/04 

Date: Sun, 12 Sep 2004 10:36:20 +0200

Slava M. Usov <stripit.slough@gmx.net> schreef in berichtnieuws
uYu83zDmEHA.2412@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...

Hello Slava,

> "R.Wieser" <address@not.available> wrote in message
> news:#q1zw1#lEHA.3612@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl...
>
> [...]
>
> > > > > Option three: find a job that will provide you with this software.
>
> [...]
>
> > But what are the chances to that ? When you enter a company
> > where there are more people doing a job like yours, or to replace
> > someone, you will have to adapt to whatever is allready there ....
>
> If you cannot find a job that will pay you for using the software
> that you have learned to use, then why do you need to have
> that software?

Because you needed *some*/any program to enable you to learn the generics of
a certain type of software ?

Hmm .. I think we where talking next to each other here ... :-\ :-)

Although the generics of all types of spreadsheets are the same, every
company's implementation of it has got it's specifics.

> The only software that you need is that for home use, and you
> get that software when you buy your PC.

I've got no idea what software nowerday's is sold as part of the OS, but it
better contain an layout-program (for electronics -use), as that is what I
use at home (in my hobby) :-)

> > What I ment is that such a "super dongle" which, as far as I understood,
> > cannot be tampered with, as it's an (allmost) self-enclosed piece of
> > firmware, only accepting input, and providing output, would look like a
> > play-station, would take a lot of space.
>
> Hardly. I imagine that you can package a decent CPU with lots of ROM and
> some RAM within a PII cartridge easily. Looking at the modern mobile
phones,
> it can probably be much less than that.

That leaves the question of how it will be connected to your computer
(keyboard, screen, harddisk) ...

> > Well, I've worked with micro-controllers which where fitted with a
> > "disable reading-out of the contents" -bit (you could leave it clear, or
> > set it in software). The controllers where based on EPROM technology,
>
> So, do not make it EPROM. The entire ROM (with its contents) can be
printed
> in the silicon.

The story was an example. Think of *any* solution, and probably a
counter-solution will be thought of within shortly. If not intended to
make copying possible, than just as an exercise in solving a puzzle :-)

> > Ofcourse, if that specific processor could be bought, I do think that
some
> > people would just place the ripped code in a new procesor,
>
> If you consider again that the CPU I'm talking about is printed together
> with ROM and RAM, then it might be difficult to "reprogram" it. Your only
> option would be to get a CPU with the same architecture and instruction
set,
> which may not be available. The latter can be made harder if the
> architecture and the instruction set of the super dongles changes for each
> game. Then you would have to buy either a very high performance generic
> "emulator", which will cost a lot more than a few games, or buy a "blank"
> super-dongle for each game, which will probably cost more than the game
> itself.

Things that where thought to be true for DVD-decoding chips too (locking the
customer to a certain region), but yet, just a few weeks ago some company
was charged with illegal producing of "unlocked" chips ...

> > (much like chip-cards that are used to unscramble sattelite-tv receiver
> > signals can be bought empty, and the code that should be put in it is
> > available within certain circles ...)
>
> Right. Which forces you to spend money and effort, which is a lot less
> comfortable than downloading a cracked game. Do you think that the number
of
> "cracked" sat-TV receivers is comparable with the number of "regular"
> receivers?

I would not know, as I can't remember ever having seen such numbers. :-)

But I do know that using those hacked cards was/is as easy as going to your
nearest hack-dealer. In other words : you just buy the hacked hardware from
someone else, and do not do it yourself at all.

Regards,
  Rudy Wieser

But shall we stop here ? My response was aimed at software-companies
artificially upping their loss-figures, and we have deviated from it quite a
bit. :-) It's maybe possible to get at a point at which, due to a
combination of points (of which not all may be of a technical nature), it's
not doable/advicable to copy software. The future will tell us. Let's wait
for it :-)

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