Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site ptsfb.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!lll-crg!dual!ptsfa!ptsfb!che From: che@ptsfb.UUCP (Mitch Che) Newsgroups: net.micro.pc,net.micro Subject: Re: Re: software protection - dongles & other gizmos Message-ID: <208@ptsfb.UUCP> Date: Thu, 8-Aug-85 15:27:52 EDT Article-I.D.: ptsfb.208 Posted: Thu Aug 8 15:27:52 1985 Date-Received: Mon, 12-Aug-85 04:21:07 EDT References: <433@othervax.UUCP> <1775@ecsvax.UUCP> <590@psivax.UUCP> <250@sesame.UUCP> Reply-To: che@ptsfb.UUCP (Mitch Che) Organization: Pacific Bell, San Francisco Lines: 27 Xref: linus net.micro.pc:4625 net.micro:10169 In article <250@sesame.UUCP> slerner@sesame.UUCP (Simcha-Yitzchak Lerner) writes: >A previous posting brought up the patching issue again. As previously >stated, if complex program routines are executed in the key and not >in the host CPU, patching will cause the software to malfunction. >You say that you can reverse engineer the routines? Even when their >are several random dummy paramaters going in and out? Even when the >routine varies by a state machine? [FLAME OFF] Hmm, still doesn't take care of the "black box" boys who hang a passive, intelligent device onto the RS-232 and monitor the data stream. I expect to see a hardware product in about 90 days of the first software package protected by a dongle. Yes, you can make the dongle- software interaction extremely sophisticated, but stable? At $5.00 a dongle? Gee, if you attach a dongle consisting of a CRAY-2 to the RS-232 port, I'd bet it would be almost unbreakable... Unless I had a CRAY too. The possibilities are astounding. Dongle Wars - The Movie... -- Mitch Che Pacific Bell --------------------------------------- disclaimer, disclaimer, disclaimer, too (415) 823-2438 uucp: {ihnp4,dual}!ptsfa!ptsfb!che