[AccessD] How to set up a license key for an AccessFE/BE system?

Rocky Smolin rockysmolin at bchacc.com
Sun Mar 7 17:15:32 CST 2010


I put the license key and software in the front end. 60 days before
expiration I pop up a nag message when the app is started telling them how
many days are left and giving them a place to enter the new key.

R 

-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Dan Waters
Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2010 2:36 PM
To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'
Subject: Re: [AccessD] How to set up a license key for an AccessFE/BE
system?

The BE I'm using is SQL Server.  I need to preferably use a separate file -
perhaps emailed to the administrator on a periodic basis or if I can log in
then I'll install it myself.

Dan

-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Max Wanadoo
Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2010 2:06 PM
To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'
Subject: Re: [AccessD] How to set up a license key for an AccessFE/BE
system?

Umm, not so.

You can hide as much stuff as you want by creating user properties in the BE
mdb.  Put your license details there plus all the expirary dates encoded,
etc.

All lateral stuff

Max
 

-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Rocky Smolin
Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2010 7:31 PM
To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'
Subject: Re: [AccessD] How to set up a license key for an AccessFE/BE
system?

Well, you've got to hide it somehow, and there's no hiding in an mdb.  Use
vb and make a dll?  Assuming that mde is not an option.

R 

-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Dan Waters
Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2010 11:17 AM
To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'
Subject: Re: [AccessD] How to set up a license key for an AccessFE/BE
system?

This sounds like you have the key creator routine and key reader routine
written in VBA.  But I think that your system is an mde?  Is this correct?

Mine is an mdb, so for me that method would be easily readable.

Thanks!
Dan

-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Rocky Smolin
Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2010 12:09 PM
To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'
Subject: Re: [AccessD] How to set up a license key for an Access FE/BE
system?

Dan:

I did this for my manufacturing system.  I have several pieces of
information stored in it and it's fifteen characters.  I group them three at
a time for the user to input into the program to renew the license, so it
looks kind of like a Microsoft registration key.  

What I did for the expiration date was fairly simple - OK real simple - I
took the month of expiration and converted it to a letter, took the day of
expiration and converted it to two letters because it could go up to 31, and
converted the year of expiration to a letter as well, selecting a base year
far enough back so that the expiration year would not always be A or B but
would start further down the alphabet.  And added constants to a couple of
these number to make decryption even harder - but that is probably overkill.

I then scattered these three values in the key.  I have a routine in the key
maker that creates a key, and a routine in the product which decodes the
key.  

Simple but effective enough for my purposes.  There are several 'garbage'
characters in the key and those are generated randomly.  So comparing keys
over a period of years (assuming anyone had that interest) would be
difficult.  

Finally, one of the characters is a checksum.


HTH

Rocky

P.S.  Often wondered what scheme Microsoft was using and what information
they had encrypted in their key.

-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Dan Waters
Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2010 9:09 AM
To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'
Subject: [AccessD] How to set up a license key for an Access FE/BE system?

I'd like to learn how to set up an encrypted license key mechanism for a
customer using a split configuration system.  The key would allow the system
to work until a specified date.

What could I look at to learn how to do this?

Thanks!
Dan


--
AccessD mailing list
AccessD at databaseadvisors.com
http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd
Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com

--
AccessD mailing list
AccessD at databaseadvisors.com
http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd
Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com

--
AccessD mailing list
AccessD at databaseadvisors.com
http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd
Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com

--
AccessD mailing list
AccessD at databaseadvisors.com
http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd
Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com

--
AccessD mailing list
AccessD at databaseadvisors.com
http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd
Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com

--
AccessD mailing list
AccessD at databaseadvisors.com
http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd
Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com




More information about the AccessD mailing list