Protect-Software

Copy Protection and License Control for Software, Video and Content

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Software Copy Protection (ProtectDISC Software)

The Protect Software mass manufacturing software copy protection is today’s leading copy protection system in terms of security, reliability and features. Thousands of satisfied partners worldwide and hundreds of millions of protected discs since 1996 are an impressive demonstration of this market-leading technology.

With Protect Software you can protect software on CDs and DVDs. These copy protections can be combined with demo/trial and purchase/unlock versions so that you can always work with one and the same executable independent of which way you are going to sell/distribute the software.

With Protect Software you can protect your program in multiple security levels. From a simple protection against disc copies to a fully fledged solution against drive emulators and virtual machines everything is possible. 

Workflow

To apply the Protect Software mass manufacturing protection  for software to your program you can either work directly with Protect Software and implement the protection yourself or have your disc replicator handle this for you.

Before you can protect your program you or your disc manufacturer needs to set up an account with Protect Software. This process is free and if you are interested you can apply for an account here. Once you have done this, you or your disc manufacturer can follow the steps below to secure your software:

1. Use the web interface to create a new Product (one time)

Every protected software is linked to a Product. This Product links the software and produced disc together and optionally also links from demo/trial version to the web shop where users can purchase the full software.

The Product needs to be created only once even if you want to protect multiple modules of your software and go through multiple iterations

2. Protect the executables/apps of your choice

To protect the executables or apps of your choice you can use our software protection website to protect your file with your settings and you will receive an automatically modified executable within seconds. Alternatively you can download tools which you can integrate into your build process which perform the protection without the need to go to a website.

In case you don’t want to be involved with the protection process, your disc replicator can handle this step for you.

3. Quality Assurance

After the executable or app is protected, you can perform your final QA with the protected file, even without having the final media. You can check the copy protection itself, the demo/trial (if selected) and finally the purchase options (if selected) and pass the final file/installation to your authorized CD/DVD manufacturer.

4. Manufacturing

After receiving the final protected version from you the replicator will use the Protect Software tools to create a Protect Software secured glass master for replication, replicate these media and perform a special Protect Software Quality assurance process before delivering the protected discs to you.

Wrapper

The Protect Software copy protection is implemented in your executables or apps by the use of a Wrapper. This means you don’t need to have access to the source code of the executable to protect it. The Protect Software wrapper automatically wraps you security layer around your software and inserts active, polymorphic components, without changing the runtime behavior of your program.

You can select between one or more of the following options:

CD/DVD/USB related options

  • Check CD/DVD/USB at every start
  • Check CD/DVD/USB one time only
  • Check CD/DVD/USB periodically
  • Check CD/DVD/USB periodically and skip first check

Demo/Trial related options

  • Limit to a certain number of days from the first start
  • Limit to a certain number of days running the program
  • Limit to a certain number of starts
  • Limit to a certain total runtime
 

User Interface related options

  • Customize texts and graphics

Advanced options

  • Protection security levels
  • Expiration after certain date
  • Watermarking

Purchase related options

  • Use the Protect Software Web Platform to handle license purchases
  • Use the Protect Software Web Platform to handle code unlocking

All of these features are accessible within an easy to use graphical user interface and can be automated into the build process to secure the whole production chain starting from QA over early watermarked beta releases to the final gold master.